What I am talking about is a tactic of cultural survival in the face of slavery, oppresion and genocide. This is not simply about an exchange fo cultural ideas, although exchanges do happen
The problem faced by Africans of the diaspora was: what do we do when the master takes away our drums, our language, our religion, by force? The answer, as far as I see, is that they took what they had, even if it was part of the masters' culture, and transformed it in order to re-assert themselves collectively. We can't play our drums? Then we will take your instruments, and your songs, and we will transform them, add our own inflections, we will drum even more effectively through your music until it is not any more yours but ours again. We can't speak our own langauge? Then we will transform your language until it becomes our own, allowing us to expresse ourselves collectively even in a medium that is not our own, since what is our own has been stolen from us. We can't practice our religion? Then we will follow yours, but in such a way that everything that matters is still there, your saints will be taken on a journey to Africa, they will now function as our own gods once did, we will go to catholic church and at the same time we will preserve the traditions which we have always followed. It is not only a question of black and white, it is something faced by all kinds of oppresed people. BORROWING DOES NOT IMPLY LACK OF INGENUITY OR DEFICIENCY!!! Rather it implies a joyful pragmaticism that allows one to create no matter what circumstances one is faced with. It does not matter what material elements you begin with, it only matters whate creative use you make of what you have. Use the enemy's resources against them. So if you have 303 808 and 909, use that. If you have a laptop, use that. If you have a washboard and a harmonica, use that. Use your poverty as a strength, transform your disadvantages into advantages. Empower yourself. The techno philosophy of DIY as pioneered by the Detroit crew can be seen in this light as an extension of the creative strategy developed time and again by the Africans of the diaspora. dave ---------- Original Message ------------- Subject: Re: (313) Soul Music (was some nonsense spw was going on about) Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003 08:52:39 +1000 From: "Cyclone Wehner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: 313 Detroit <313@hyperreal.org> I think maybe what David was trying to say is there is a series of exchanges, a dialetic? I am sure no one here would dispute that African-Americans have been the driving force behind today's pop cultures. I think you guys are in agreement. There's just been a misunderstanding because of the medium of the Internet. > Its discussions like this that really makes me hate techno and everyone that > goes with it. > > |-----Original Message----- > |From: Sylvia [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > |Sent: 18 June 2003 23:52 > |To: David Powers > |Cc: 313@hyperreal.org > |Subject: RE: (313) Soul Music (was some nonsense spw was going > |on about) > | > | > |>because African-Americans have always borrowed from > |>the white European tradition, > | > |Borrowed ? say What ? Kind of comment can just come from a > |perfect imbecile who is a waste of human flesh, and his only > |use on this earth is to take up space, God knows why, thank > |you very much for your brilliant comments, I much appreciated > |meantime let me tell you that: > | > |The music was a product of the existing environment of the > |time in which the musicians who created it lived.. social and > |political striking periods of black people in America, have > |always been accompanied with a new musical genre, as an > |example Period of Soul is roughly defined as 1955 - 1970. It > |very much parallels the Civil Rights movement. > | > |- African roots music 1619! brought to us Negro spirituals 1825-1850 > |- Negro spiritual "antique Gospel" Music brought to us Gospel > |music: 1890 then Rhythm and Blues as BLUES: early 1900s and > |then Jazz: 1920 > |- Gospel and R&B brought to us Soul > |- Jazz brought to us Funk > | > |I wonder how you can be daily, next, go alongside to people of > |which you do not even know the life, the existence, the > |history ...the roots! > | > |Take some teach on my web at > |http://www.guerrillafunk.com/thoughts/doc1788.html > | > |And let me quote myself from an email that I sent to this same > |list on March 6th 2002! > | > |"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?) 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?) > |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?) 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 > ||| > ||| > ||| > || > || > || > || > |
