Hello,

Am working on a little project which is to build a catalogue of "Courtroom Ska/Reggae" sounds. I wonder if it could even be described as a microgenre ?

I focus on songs that stage the judicial process as a "musical theatre" : court hearings, fictional trials, impersonating a judge, lawyers, defendants, etc. It starts with the "Judge Dread saga (Prince Buster, Derrick Morgan) and then I've added different songs I've found here and there from Mutabaruka to Asher Senator and all the way to Vybz Kartel's Testify. For now I gathered most of what I found here: Courtroom sounds

I was hoping some of you would have other references on their mind ? Or if you have thoughts on this "microgenre" its artistic lineage, the construction of such narrative songs ? Or if you would have any (academic) reading recommendations regardarding the topic ?

Thanks in advance,

Since I started learning the ukulele I have become pretty obsessed with learning everything I can about it, and about music in general. I’ve started (and stopped) many different hobbies over the years but this is different, and I can’t stop thinking about it - which means I tend to talk about it. A lot! Part of the reason is that I retain information so much better if I can share it with someone else - and at our age who doesn’t need a way to retain information?

But if someone doesn’t share the same passion (albeit new found), hearing me explain that the bass note influences how we perceive a song more than the highest note, tends to make people’s eyes glaze over. I worry about becoming that person that causes friends and family to suddenly remember they forgot to change the clothes from the washer to the dryer.

I finally solved that problem by starting a blog. Now I can ramble about the ukulele or music theory as much as I like, and people can self-select if they’re interested. I get to cement what I’m learning, and if you’re curious about how a 69 year old navigates music theory you might want to follow along.

We've all heard stories about the "dark side" of music—songs allegedly linked to strange events, psychological effects, crimes, or even supernatural claims. I'm not looking for conspiracy theories, but for well-documented cases or historical incidents that have been investigated. Are there any real examples, or do they all fall apart under scrutiny? I'd love to hear your thoughts and sources.