maybe I can also contribute in demythologizing the Blues
Brother Isaiah, I appreciate this contribution, but it is slightly problematic…I want to digress somewhat to make my point.
I remember the story about a white professor at the prestigious Julliard school of Music who was making reference to the social circumstances he felt inspired the Blues, in his attempt to define the more melancholy harmonic structures and lamenting melodies of the Blues, he related their origins to the suffering, impoverishment and depressive state in which “Negroes” lived. So happen, one of his students was a young Miles Davis, which upon hearing this explanation, made it clear he could play the Blues and rebutted his instructors observations by paraphrasing a lyric from the song Summertime, “my daddy’s rich and my mother’s good lookin’” (Miles’ father was a Dentist in East St. Louis).
This was an important statement, because it has been a misnomer that the blues were only about depression and hard times. The Blues dealt with sex, love, happiness, superstition, wisdom, sadness, African-derived religiosity, love, strength and even weaknesses.
Now I’m not disputing that Blues people didn’t live under oppressive conditions, but this oppression wasn’t just a coincidental condition, but this oppression was a well thought out political and social institution and like racism was systemic. And Miles statement elevated the concerns of the Blues man from just an emotional response and/or reaction to hard times and suffering, but his or her music was an well-articulated political statement and a intellectually thought out lyrical pronouncement and assertion of our story and plight in America or exile, in all its complexities.
The Blues notes and minor harmonies are derived from African (pentatonic) scales and more meditative and earthy harmonic modalities. But Instead of embracing the hypnotic and earthy resonance, linear-Europeans could only relate to what was seemingly the melancholy sadness that haunted them in every song (even though it is true that some Blues speak to loneliness and sadness). It’s like how Whites were always jittery when they heard African drums. Now they liked the exotic melodies and the “savage” beats but they could not discern their complexity.
This is the true science of our music…it was more than just an emotionally simplistic choice of notes.
They do this with our politics, In other words you are only politically conscious, militant and progressive because you’re angry, and you’re angry because you feel insecure (fear), and you’re poor and are reacting to some traumatic incident in your life (like Pavlov’s dog). And you really have no ideological stance or intellectual reason for your politics....or your music..
h_mmmm...mmmm?
Peace
Brother Isaiah, I appreciate this contribution, but it is slightly problematic…I want to digress somewhat to make my point.
I remember the story about a white professor at the prestigious Julliard school of Music who was making reference to the social circumstances he felt inspired the Blues, in his attempt to define the more melancholy harmonic structures and lamenting melodies of the Blues, he related their origins to the suffering, impoverishment and depressive state in which “Negroes” lived. So happen, one of his students was a young Miles Davis, which upon hearing this explanation, made it clear he could play the Blues and rebutted his instructors observations by paraphrasing a lyric from the song Summertime, “my daddy’s rich and my mother’s good lookin’” (Miles’ father was a Dentist in East St. Louis).
This was an important statement, because it has been a misnomer that the blues were only about depression and hard times. The Blues dealt with sex, love, happiness, superstition, wisdom, sadness, African-derived religiosity, love, strength and even weaknesses.
Now I’m not disputing that Blues people didn’t live under oppressive conditions, but this oppression wasn’t just a coincidental condition, but this oppression was a well thought out political and social institution and like racism was systemic. And Miles statement elevated the concerns of the Blues man from just an emotional response and/or reaction to hard times and suffering, but his or her music was an well-articulated political statement and a intellectually thought out lyrical pronouncement and assertion of our story and plight in America or exile, in all its complexities.
The Blues notes and minor harmonies are derived from African (pentatonic) scales and more meditative and earthy harmonic modalities. But Instead of embracing the hypnotic and earthy resonance, linear-Europeans could only relate to what was seemingly the melancholy sadness that haunted them in every song (even though it is true that some Blues speak to loneliness and sadness). It’s like how Whites were always jittery when they heard African drums. Now they liked the exotic melodies and the “savage” beats but they could not discern their complexity.
This is the true science of our music…it was more than just an emotionally simplistic choice of notes.
They do this with our politics, In other words you are only politically conscious, militant and progressive because you’re angry, and you’re angry because you feel insecure (fear), and you’re poor and are reacting to some traumatic incident in your life (like Pavlov’s dog). And you really have no ideological stance or intellectual reason for your politics....or your music..
h_mmmm...mmmm?
Peace