GET UP IN THE MORNING, SLAVING FOR BREAD, SIR . . .
I'm not gonna pretend I was a fan, nor that I know any of his songs other than "The Israelites," but I read this morning that Jamaican singer, Desmond Dekker died.
"The Israelites" is a cool song, and definitely one of those tunes you've "just kinda heard" through the years, though you can't quite place it. In fact, for years I thought the singer was a woman.
Anyway, the real reason I care, the only way I actually know the song & the artist, is Gus Van Sant's brilliant use of it in his 1989 Independent classic, Drugstore Cowboy. One of the real underrated gems of the past 20 years, this flick has always been one of my favorites, and it stands as a real precursor of the whole "cool, detatched anti-hero" films that dominated the early to mid-90's independant film scene.
If you've seen the film you can certainly think of Dekker's haunting-but-beautiful vocals, set against the song's sweet melody & lilting rhythms, as Matt Dillon's "Bob" & his crew go "cross-roading" about one third of the way through the film. For those of you who haven't seen it, first of all, shame on you. And, assuming you do the right thing and decide to remedy that missing piece in your life, you'll see why this song is so affecting, whether you like the movie or not.
As said, I know nothing about Dekker, but I've always feel just a small tinge of sadness when anyone who's given me something good passes on. And "The Israelites," especially in one of my favorite films, qualifies as something good.
So long, Desmond.
"The Israelites" is a cool song, and definitely one of those tunes you've "just kinda heard" through the years, though you can't quite place it. In fact, for years I thought the singer was a woman.
Anyway, the real reason I care, the only way I actually know the song & the artist, is Gus Van Sant's brilliant use of it in his 1989 Independent classic, Drugstore Cowboy. One of the real underrated gems of the past 20 years, this flick has always been one of my favorites, and it stands as a real precursor of the whole "cool, detatched anti-hero" films that dominated the early to mid-90's independant film scene.
If you've seen the film you can certainly think of Dekker's haunting-but-beautiful vocals, set against the song's sweet melody & lilting rhythms, as Matt Dillon's "Bob" & his crew go "cross-roading" about one third of the way through the film. For those of you who haven't seen it, first of all, shame on you. And, assuming you do the right thing and decide to remedy that missing piece in your life, you'll see why this song is so affecting, whether you like the movie or not.
As said, I know nothing about Dekker, but I've always feel just a small tinge of sadness when anyone who's given me something good passes on. And "The Israelites," especially in one of my favorite films, qualifies as something good.
So long, Desmond.
posted by Mike at 8:09 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home