Shed no more tears shed for the music industry, says chief Radiohead scruffbag Thom Yorke.
If the mass-music industry had never been invented, we would still have had our own local Beatles, as people did before Edison, and we would have loved them just as much. In spite of what it likes to think, the industrialised mass-media didn't invent music.
True, the technology and commercial constraints formed the music of the C20th, but that was an artistic price we had to pay, and which was often a bargain. But compared with the real price of popular culture, it was nothing. The real price being the endless parade of tortured and destroyed lives required to feed the class-driven ShowBiz machine.
Before Minstrelsy and since, Showbiz has always been an escape from poverty, and many of its most memorable stars were performing out of fear, more than anything else. What we call talent is not much more than a neurosis. A horror of descent into the pit of poverty and abuse whicih always gaped under the feet of a Judy Garland or Charlie Parker or Billie Holiday or Richard Pryor... The Art of Desperation.
It is important, when popular culture has become so trivialised and devalued by the advertising industry (especially) to hear the real stories in the music. The stories of the little children afraid of hunger and sickness and desperate for security. When the real story is heard, the false barrier between art and showbiz tends to disappear.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
6/12/2010
11/08/2008
The Obama Backlash Blues
What happens to the blues now?
Nina Simone's Backlash Blues suddenly made a lot less sense today than it did last week. Something was missing, apart from George Bush. Obviously, the blues is more than just politics, but a certain kind of angry blues is now a bit more lavender. For the time being, at least.
Being the incredible, flexible musical form it is, it will adapt, and it is far too deeply interfused with existing popular culture to ever disappear. But surely the blues can only be sung by the underdog - not the winner. So as long as there are underdogs, someone will sing the blues.
Nina Simone's Backlash Blues suddenly made a lot less sense today than it did last week. Something was missing, apart from George Bush. Obviously, the blues is more than just politics, but a certain kind of angry blues is now a bit more lavender. For the time being, at least.
Being the incredible, flexible musical form it is, it will adapt, and it is far too deeply interfused with existing popular culture to ever disappear. But surely the blues can only be sung by the underdog - not the winner. So as long as there are underdogs, someone will sing the blues.
'Ain't nobody perfect, 'cos ain't nobody free.'And if Obama turns out to be only the first black president, and no more, the blues will definitely have to be unleashed again. He wasn't elected to fight better wars, and make more billionaires, but to make more people free. Truly free, without fear of the same gangster world which has just gone into meltdown, forging Barack Obama's victory in the process.
'Mr Backlash, who do you think I am?Maybe Obama should write himself a blues.
You raise my taxes, freeze my wages
And send my sons to Afghanistan.
You give me second class houses - and second class schools
Do you think that all working folk are just second class fools?
Mr Backlash, I'm gonna leave you with the backlash blues.'
-
You're the one who'll have the blues
Not me.
Just wait and see.
4/14/2005
Gospel & Hebridean Lining Up Synthesis
'Gospel Truth'posted 22-03-05 14:57 posted by Little Richardjohn:
Willie Ruff, famous jazz musician and college professor has noticed the structural similarities between antique Hebridean religious 'line- singing' and the Black Gospel music form.
The theory was recently aired on the Channel 4 program 'Gospel Truth' and carries a single overriding message.
Namely, that human beings adapt whatever they need from whatever culture they encounter to preserve their sense of identity and give expression to their feelings.
The ethnic or class differences do not matter. People are always greater than the differences which appear to divide them.
This leaves the isolationists and purists on both sides with the dilemma of explaining how their culture came to be the way it is.
Which tends to lead them to the conclusion that it has always been the same. That culture is a static, immovable object, defined by ethnicity, place and time, and unable to alter to address the questions of the obviously changing world around it.
Which is simply absurd.
typo
posted 22-03-05 14:57
Culture is a moving feast which changes as the environment around it changes. To try and prevent culture from changing is as futile as the French trying to prevent the english language becoming a part of the french language.Posts: 427
Franciscopizzaro
posted 22-03-05 14:58
Speak English or leave our country Posts: 647
Split Infinitive
posted 22-03-05 15:02
Personally I thought that the music all sounded as much like souix chanting as much as any other kind of music so I'll go for the more general answer to the debate. It's a sort of universal language of emotion.Posts: 1144
Franciscopizzaro
posted 22-03-05 15:30
I watch the programme last night and wasn't impress at all. The thing is, these revisionists always seem to find these stool pigeons Blacks to support their theory.
Next they will be telling us that Black music was a white invention. Infact, I have met kids who think Eminem invented hip-hop and that there's no such thing as Black music Posts: 647
Asarualim
posted 22-03-05 15:47
I watched bits of the programme last night and thought it was quite interesting. Gospel music is an entity in it's own right, but there does appear to be some influence from Gaelic psalm singing of the slave masters - which is just like any other musical genre, they're an amalgamation of various influences and can all be traced back to something. It would be interesting to trace the roots of this gaelic singing to see what influenced that - perhaps they got the idea from black roman soldiers singing on Hadrians wall.
Little Richardjohn
posted 22-03-05 20:12
Why is it treachery to point out that human beings are influenced by what they see and hear around them?
The isolationists' view would logically be that all black American music arrived fully formed from Africa. Which presupposes that it had always been that way. Which in turn assumes that the originators of the music were unable to use new forms to express themselves, but merely parroted the same forms as every previous generation. Which is a great insult to the humanity of their supposed ancestors.
Little Richardjohn
posted 22-03-05 20:19
When my mother was baptised in the local river, they had to break the ice. When my cousin was baptised, the minister died of a heart attack with her in his arms...
I think they finished the hymn as they took him away.
By the way, the two seminal baptist hymns - 'Amazing Grace' and 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' are virtually the same hymn, only one is the other upside down.
Salma
posted 22-03-05 22:07
we spend too much time diiscussing wat is different that we forget abt the similarities!Posts: 390
Franciscopizzaro
posted 23-03-05 10:13
"We spend too much time discussing what is different that we forget abt{about} the similarities2" - Salma
Yeah, great speech How about practising what you preach in pratical terms or do you think, humanity can live in harmony without actually interracting with each other on a one to one basis?
People always like to spout the above comments about similarities when its comes to Black culture and art, in order for them to claim or water down black culture to suit their taste. But watch how fast their prejudice comes out on the issue of racism, suddently they have no contact with the people they claim to share similarities with in art and culture
What a load of BS
Little Richardjohn
posted 23-03-05 11:20
White Racists have tried to claim that nothing worthwhile could ever be produced by black people and that therefore black music must either be inferior or have white origins.
Willie Ruff's thesis casts doubt on ALL claims of ownership. It implies that culture simply doesn't work that way. And that to deny the dynamic, organic, free nature of culture is to deny that people have the ability to exchange ideas and visions of the world. The further implication being that without that kind of free cultural exchange, you will always have racism.
The flipside of claiming that any cultural form is the exclusive property of any one race or culture is the demand for cultural purity. A world in which cultures are either handed down from above and only change by decree. In other words, a monolithic, static totalitarianism.
Was the music that 1st generation slaves brought to America the same as the music played by their forefathers three hundred years before, d'you think? Would it not have come into contact with other tribes, or the Arab traders from the north? Or did it all spring fully-formed from some legendary prehistoric genius?
Then there was the trade with the south and even India in some cases. Pre-Magellan Africa was a much busier place than we were taught at school. And with trade comes influence. It's all around. And when it stops happening, we're all dead.
It boils down to this: if we're allowed to learn from other people - ANY people, we are more likely to be happy and stimulated and are more likely to find a way of expressing our emotions and our vision of the world. Not to mention being then unable to not respect the people we learn from.
If we're not allowed that basic human right, then our humanity is oppressed and outraged, and we're very unhappy and tend to get a gun and kill our classmates, or run people down in our cars. And we are also naturally suspicious of anyone who looks or behaves a bit differently from ourselves.
Culture is not a jewel to be locked up in a bankvault, it is a way of setting people free. Perhaps the only way.
Willie Ruff, famous jazz musician and college professor has noticed the structural similarities between antique Hebridean religious 'line- singing' and the Black Gospel music form.
The theory was recently aired on the Channel 4 program 'Gospel Truth' and carries a single overriding message.
Namely, that human beings adapt whatever they need from whatever culture they encounter to preserve their sense of identity and give expression to their feelings.
The ethnic or class differences do not matter. People are always greater than the differences which appear to divide them.
This leaves the isolationists and purists on both sides with the dilemma of explaining how their culture came to be the way it is.
Which tends to lead them to the conclusion that it has always been the same. That culture is a static, immovable object, defined by ethnicity, place and time, and unable to alter to address the questions of the obviously changing world around it.
Which is simply absurd.
typo
posted 22-03-05 14:57
quote:Couldn't agree more with you on this last paragraph on the absurdity of a static culture which never changes. The culture of Britain has never stayed the same. Witness the cultural movements of the pre-renaissance, the enlightenment, the right to vote for women, the conservatism of the Victorian era vs the sexual liberation of the 1960s to the current day where the US culture dominates.
Originally posted by Little Richardjohn:
"That culture is a static, immovable object, defined by ethnicity, place and time, and unable to alter to address the questions of the obviously changing world around it.
Which is simply absurd. "
Culture is a moving feast which changes as the environment around it changes. To try and prevent culture from changing is as futile as the French trying to prevent the english language becoming a part of the french language.Posts: 427
Franciscopizzaro
posted 22-03-05 14:58
Speak English or leave our country Posts: 647
Split Infinitive
posted 22-03-05 15:02
Personally I thought that the music all sounded as much like souix chanting as much as any other kind of music so I'll go for the more general answer to the debate. It's a sort of universal language of emotion.Posts: 1144
Franciscopizzaro
posted 22-03-05 15:30
I watch the programme last night and wasn't impress at all. The thing is, these revisionists always seem to find these stool pigeons Blacks to support their theory.
Next they will be telling us that Black music was a white invention. Infact, I have met kids who think Eminem invented hip-hop and that there's no such thing as Black music Posts: 647
Asarualim
posted 22-03-05 15:47
I watched bits of the programme last night and thought it was quite interesting. Gospel music is an entity in it's own right, but there does appear to be some influence from Gaelic psalm singing of the slave masters - which is just like any other musical genre, they're an amalgamation of various influences and can all be traced back to something. It would be interesting to trace the roots of this gaelic singing to see what influenced that - perhaps they got the idea from black roman soldiers singing on Hadrians wall.
Little Richardjohn
posted 22-03-05 20:12
quote:Willie Ruff is in no way a stool pigeon.
Originally posted by Franciscopizzaro:
"I watched the programme last night and wasn't impress at all. The thing is, these revisionists always seem to find these stool pigeons Blacks to support their theory.
Next they will be telling us that Black music was a white invention. Infact, I have met kids who think Eminem invented hip-hop and that there's no such thing as Black music."
Why is it treachery to point out that human beings are influenced by what they see and hear around them?
The isolationists' view would logically be that all black American music arrived fully formed from Africa. Which presupposes that it had always been that way. Which in turn assumes that the originators of the music were unable to use new forms to express themselves, but merely parroted the same forms as every previous generation. Which is a great insult to the humanity of their supposed ancestors.
Little Richardjohn
posted 22-03-05 20:19
quote:It's something to do with the 'Blue Notes' - the flatted fifths - the Devil's Interval - which pops up in music all over the world from flamenco to the Welsh Baptist Raptural chorus. Now there was music that meant it.
Originally posted by Split Infinitive:
"Personally I thought that the music all sounded as much like souix chanting as much as any other kind of music so I'll go for the more general answer to the debate. It's a sort of universal language of emotion."
When my mother was baptised in the local river, they had to break the ice. When my cousin was baptised, the minister died of a heart attack with her in his arms...
I think they finished the hymn as they took him away.
By the way, the two seminal baptist hymns - 'Amazing Grace' and 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' are virtually the same hymn, only one is the other upside down.
Salma
posted 22-03-05 22:07
we spend too much time diiscussing wat is different that we forget abt the similarities!Posts: 390
Franciscopizzaro
posted 23-03-05 10:13
"We spend too much time discussing what is different that we forget abt{about} the similarities2" - Salma
Yeah, great speech How about practising what you preach in pratical terms or do you think, humanity can live in harmony without actually interracting with each other on a one to one basis?
People always like to spout the above comments about similarities when its comes to Black culture and art, in order for them to claim or water down black culture to suit their taste. But watch how fast their prejudice comes out on the issue of racism, suddently they have no contact with the people they claim to share similarities with in art and culture
What a load of BS
Little Richardjohn
posted 23-03-05 11:20
... People always like to spout the above comments about similarities when its comes to Black culture and art, in order for them to claim or water down black culture to suit their taste. But watch how fast their prejudice comes out on the issue of racism, suddently they have no contact with the people they claim to share similarities with in art and culture
White Racists have tried to claim that nothing worthwhile could ever be produced by black people and that therefore black music must either be inferior or have white origins.
Willie Ruff's thesis casts doubt on ALL claims of ownership. It implies that culture simply doesn't work that way. And that to deny the dynamic, organic, free nature of culture is to deny that people have the ability to exchange ideas and visions of the world. The further implication being that without that kind of free cultural exchange, you will always have racism.
The flipside of claiming that any cultural form is the exclusive property of any one race or culture is the demand for cultural purity. A world in which cultures are either handed down from above and only change by decree. In other words, a monolithic, static totalitarianism.
Was the music that 1st generation slaves brought to America the same as the music played by their forefathers three hundred years before, d'you think? Would it not have come into contact with other tribes, or the Arab traders from the north? Or did it all spring fully-formed from some legendary prehistoric genius?
Then there was the trade with the south and even India in some cases. Pre-Magellan Africa was a much busier place than we were taught at school. And with trade comes influence. It's all around. And when it stops happening, we're all dead.
It boils down to this: if we're allowed to learn from other people - ANY people, we are more likely to be happy and stimulated and are more likely to find a way of expressing our emotions and our vision of the world. Not to mention being then unable to not respect the people we learn from.
If we're not allowed that basic human right, then our humanity is oppressed and outraged, and we're very unhappy and tend to get a gun and kill our classmates, or run people down in our cars. And we are also naturally suspicious of anyone who looks or behaves a bit differently from ourselves.
Culture is not a jewel to be locked up in a bankvault, it is a way of setting people free. Perhaps the only way.
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