Blue notes (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_note as referred before) are problematic for me, not because of any racial issues, but because they can be abused.
A perfect example is the the guy who sings for the Black Crowes, who hammers incessantly on the flat 3rd, 5th and 7th notes. Some of his 'melodies' end up being just those notes. I can take about 30 seonds of the Black Crowes before I start feeling like kicking a dog. And I like dogs. Beyond that, the vast majority of music made in any genre isn't very original, and breaks down into a collection of genre gestures and cliches. These can be strung together on a standard template to produce music in the genre, but with nothing really new to say. The 'blues' gestures, the 'i-used-to-sing-solos-in-church' ornamentation, can become pretty empty, rote exercises in the wrong hands. As with any music, as a listener, you have to work pretty hard to find the original and authentic work out of the sea of workmanlike imitations and rank crap. Contrast and compare the early work of Aretha Franklin -- especially the real gospel she recorded when she was a teenager -- with annoyance-factories like Mariah Carey. Aretha sounds fearless and completely free in her singing. Mariah by comparison is a talented kid who'll never touch that depth of feeling. I can understand the musical choice to shy away from music that's heavily dependent on the R&B and Blues idiom, because it doesn't speak to your condition. If you don't connect emotionally as a listener with a genre, it's all going to sound the same. More power to someone who goes a different direction and find the sound that feels authentic to them. On the other hand, statements like "I don't play Black Music" are unfortunate, whether they indicate a bit too bluntly an aesthetic choice, or reflect a real prejudice. The latter is obviously a bad thing, the former a lack of sensitivity. Not being able to speak English well isn't really an excuse, because it's not like the statement is idiomatic or abstract. On 7/28/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Well, that doesn't explain the "I don't play blue notes" thing.
