hello Mark,
Thanks for addressing the argument, instead of smart alec comments like a few
others.
I too enjoy assonance. I happen to feel that a lot of the rhymes in rap are not
assonance, but merely "close enough". One time there is a perfect rhymne, another time you
dignify it with the term "assonance". To put it simply, it's like the composer who fully
intends the consecutive fifths and the third-rater who just happens to write that way.
... I love assonance. One of the reasons I have such affection for today's rap is that
it has made the way for creative use of assonance, so long neglected as a result of
formal rules of rhyme which you so Beckmesserishly allude to.
Yes, Meistersinger is a great comic opera. I understand your "dig" at me.
More generally, what I love about rap is how it explores the beauty of the spoken
language, in a way that one can't achieve with poetry or music alone.
Frankly, I have difficulty understanding what they are trying to say. They don't
enunciate.
And, it all seems to me to be aimed at the lowest common denominator. Just as one list
member recalled of the Pop Idol reality show: you've had musical training - we don't want
your talent. I make no apologies: I am not generally a fan of pop music. Sorry.
The rhythms are complex because there is no discipline. It is a case of fitting any
word and words desired into 4/4 time. It's a long way down from Shakespeare or
Swinburne.
But that's exactly the art. A good performance is about fitting and coloring the
syllables with just the right rhythm to best bring out the beatiful patterns of sounds
that don't come through with simple tetrametric delivery. (And I might add that a great
many Shakespearean actors could learn a lot from quality rap.)
Twenty-some years ago it was said that many "classical" performers could learn how to
perform Bach from the The Swingle Singers. I think we have got beyond that. An actor
might learn something from a rapper, but I think study of the libretto of a play would
teach more.
Funny how your attempt to denigrate rap reminds me of exactly what it is I like so much
about it.
I am happy that you and others enjoy it. I have musical interests that some would probably
scoff at. Taste is hard to argue about. I admit it: I don't like rap. I don't understand
it.
It is irritating to me. I prefer real music. So there we are back at what is
music.
<elbow in ribs>
-rob
mdl
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