Don't hate me because I love Bob Marley
The reggae legend has the world's most annoying fans, but that's not his fault
Spoils of my youth.
No related
Few people are indifferent about reggae—and when I say reggae, I'm really talking about Bob Marley, who represents the genre for casual fans much like Johnny Cash represents country music. While it's hard for me to accept that anyone could find Marley’s brilliant and incredibly human songwriting in any way unpleasant, I can understand why his fan base is a turn-off. Who's not annoyed by patchouli-soaked, trust-fund white kids hanging out in their dorms, smoking pot—er, ganja—and kicking around a red, yellow, and green Hacky Sack in the name of Jah and revolution?
Well, I guess I wasn't: I came to reggae in high school through the fruitless pursuit of lanky skater boys with crocheted rasta hats atop their dreadlocked, upper-middle-class heads. My enjoyment of reggae is not merely nostalgic, but I'm not sure the same can be said about tonight's Summerfest appearance of The Wailers, Marley's longtime backing group that's still touring nearly 30 years after he died. Even though I'm a Marley defender, I'm sure that this Saturday Night Live skit will sum up most of the audience tonight.
<div><object width="480" height="381"><param name="movie" value="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x78jm2_are-you-there-jah-y-its-me-ras-tren_fun&related=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x78jm2_are-you-there-jah-y-its-me-ras-tren_fun&related=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="381" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object><br />
Without question, the merchandise targeted to Marley’s fans is over-the-top and shameful. There is nothing in this world more ridiculous than those hats with the fake dreadlocks. You’d have to be totally high on the holy herb to wear one, or incapable of selecting your own wardrobe, like this little guy:
Rasta Baby
Even worse is the Marley-themed makeup bags, neckties, and trouser socks you can pick up at RastaEmpire.com. How many care packages are mailed off to colleges stuffed with cookies, underwear, and Bob Marley spiral notebooks from this place? If mom’s really confused, she might send this “Grateful Dead Steal Your Face Rasta Black T-Shirt”:
Grateful Dreadvia RastaEmpire.com
I don’t let all this baggage get in the way of liking reggae. I’m still a Marley fan, and I’m not just in the company of cheeseball potheads. Critics love Bob Marley; he has posthumous honors like Time’s Album Of The Century (for Exodus), a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and a host of others. But if you hate Marley solely for his fans, how about giving him another chance simply because he was an awesome dude? He infused politics into his music with an empowering and positive edge, and he never backed down, even performing a free concert in Jamaica two days after a politically motivated attempt on his life. Okay, so he had, like, a shit-ton of children—three of them born in spring of 1972 to three different mothers. Awesome or not, it’s certainly impressive, and many of his kids went on to become musicians.
If that doesn't work for you, there's always Bob Marley the marijuana spokesman. Yeah, it's part of the reason you hate Bob Marley fans, but I'm sure many Marley detractors would agree with him that "herb's so good for everything":
