On the current radio podcast episode, Rick has several Irish friends/guides/musicians on, and one jokes about the Irish being an -ish people, because things start 9-ish, not on a tight schedule. The Irish are like white Jamaicans, one of them suggests. Laid back.
Then they talk about the importance of folk music in Irish culture, especially sad formats like laments.
Well, on tonight's (friday the 13th) episode of Tavis Smiley, the main guest was Ziggy Marley, talking about carrying on the heritage of Bob Marley, and darn if they didn't talk about the importance of sadness and lamentation in Jamaican music!
"It's not Bob Marley and the Whiners," Tavis said (quoting Cornel West), "It's Bob Marley and the Wailers."
The deep, soulful sadness is one important mark of the music... Just like in Ireland.
Rick says he's never found a society in which music is more central than in Ireland. Maybe we should look right off our own southeastern coast!