> "Yeah, it is...but a lot of things used to be "black people" music too. > Although jazz was pioneered by black artists...who is the most well known > "jazz" musician today? > Kenny G? > (What happened to Coltrane and Miles Davis?)
Um, they died. I would also suspect that these datys Winston Marsalis is more popular than Kenny G. > Although blues music was pioneered by black artists...who is the most well > known blues musician today? > Stevie Ray Vaughn? > (What happened to Muddy Waters, Albert King and Robert Johnson? Even Robert > Cray?) Again, mostly dead. As for Cray, I gotta figure that Vaughn's fusion of rock and blues was more appealing than Cray's more basic straigh blues style. > And although rock was pioneered by black artists...who is the most well > loved and respected rock group in the world? > The Beatles? > (What happened to Little Richard , Chuck Berry, and Bo Diddley?) I gotta say the Beatles took the formula of Richard, Berry, Diddley and made a lot of innovations on it. Their songwriting was much more advanced and as for recording, instumentation and experimentation, you can't touch the Beatles for their time. > Apathy. > People didn't care, they didn't pay attention to what was going on, they > didn't take a stand...they supported what was "safe", "common", > "predictable", "expected"...just like Living Colour's record company did > with the cover of their first album...they didn't and dont' challenge the > "presumed wisdom" of the day...and so much of this music (Black Music?) has > died. They largely did this because, they were comfortable and complacent in > the cultural resonance they were receiving from MI at the time - and the > fact that the music industry was successful in keeping them pacified in this > way. Same game today? > They were content with their "Bread and Circuses"... It's hard to say. .." > > > |-----Original Message----- > |From: David Powers [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > |Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 5:31 PM > |To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; David Powers > |Cc: 313@hyperreal.org > |Subject: RE: (313) Soul Music (was some nonsense spw was going on about) > | > | > |Great post. I may have been misinformed, I was thinking about it > |more in terms of the classifying of music by the record labels > |than the meaning of the music for the people who made it. Now I'm > |trying to remember which label it was that the record industry > |used, maybe it was R&B? > | > |And actually, I have to admit that the concept of "soul" you are > |speaking about does not require any kind of metaphysics and could > |be a very useful Idea. I come from a very conservative white > |Christian background where "soul" is used as an extremely > |repressive idea and justifies oppresion rather than encouraging > |people to seek for a better life here on earth. So what is really > |interesting is that African-Americans took a notion from their > |oppresors and transformed it, took it down a life of flight so > |that it became a liberating concept. > | > |And if you think about it in terms of music, this is really > |interesting because African-Americans have always borrowed from > |the white European tradition, but at the same time have often been > |successful at liberating these elements from their hierarchical > |origins and set them in motion, into a continuous variation where > |the elements that are ripped from their foundation in an oppresive > |hierarchical Culture now enter into free play and communicate with > |all the other elements of music. A continuous line of variation > |rather than a strict code of meaning. (On the other hand there is > |always a Winton Marsalis at the end of the line trying to block > |the development, saying "our music is a CLASSICAL music", hip hop, > |techno and free jazz, well THAT doesn't swing, that's not real > |music, that's not our identity, we need to find our place as an > |extension of Western Culture.) > | > |313 people, you might think I'm off topic but really I'm talking > |about things like jazz chords, instrumental virtuosity, 808, 909, > |303, DIY use of technology, sampler; all the elements of Detroit > |techno can be understood very well in this context. > | > |dave > | > | > |---------- Original Message ------------- > |Subject: RE: (313) Soul Music (was some nonsense spw was going on about) > |Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 01:41:17 +0200 > |From: "Sylvia" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > |To: "David Powers" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > | > | > | > ||>On the other hand, "Soul Music" as a genre was a just a euphimism for > ||"black music", and doesn't have anything >to do with "soul" as a spiritual > ||or metaphysical concept. > | > |Euphemism ???? > | > |'blues' is without hope and that its singers accept their > |conditions without > |complaint or expectation of anything better. Soul borrowed an > |expectation of > |a better world from gospel, but translate it into a worldly context as > |opposed to a religious one. Gospel gives soul its optimism because it > |believes in a better world in heaven, soul starts looking for that better > |world on earth. > | > |Soul Music is the product of ever evolving social conditions and a > |diversity > |of musical influences > |Soul Music is about the problems faced by groups of people, not of > |individuals > |Soul Music is about poverty and day to day drudgery > |Soul Music is the belief that circumstances can improve > |Soul Music is about realism, it is not blinkered by romantic ideals > |The 'Moan' is a defining characteristic of Soul Music > |Soul Music is tolerant > |Soul Music is..... > | > |Euphemism, psssst, dubya! but yes understanding Soul Music can just escape > |from a brain with 2 neurons without connector. > | > | > | > ||-----Original Message----- > ||From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ||[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > ||Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 12:58 AM > ||To: David Powers > ||Cc: 313@hyperreal.org; spw > ||Subject: RE: (313) Soul Music (was some nonsense spw was going on about) > || > || > || > ||>On the other hand, "Soul Music" as a genre was a just a euphimism for > ||"black music", and doesn't have anything >to do with "soul" as a spiritual > ||or metaphysical concept. > || > ||The hell it doesn't have a spiritual concept! Where the hell do you think > ||Soul music came from? > || > ||Listen to Ray Charles man, and then tell me that there isn't a spiritual > ||side to Soul music - one of the biggest influences on Soul music was the > ||church. All those singers - All Green, Mavis Staple, Aretha Franklin, and > ||so many more got their start in the church. That's not to say that Soul = > ||Gospel but there in a huge influence of Gospel on Soul. Soul music is the > ||merging of the spiritual with the physical - that's why it's so great to > ||dance to... it satisfies the body, mind and "soul". > ||(That's why I love the term "High Tech Soul" = Techno or "Techno Soul") > || > ||MEK > || > || > || > | > | > | > | > >
