Re: black and white

[rhys daily <shadow at teuton_org>]

On Thu, 8 Feb 2001, Tina Ladner wrote:

> somewhat further because i'm white, and i feel like Thelonius and many
> other black jazz musicians put up with a lot of crap from white
> people.

there were white people in jazz too, ya know.

> when i suggested that for me, ric's music was "very white", i didn't
> mean "very caucasian", i meant, for me, it lacked something akin to
> soul. other people might be deeply moved by it. i'm not somehow, and
> that's ok. i think.

'sfunny, to borrow your terminology, i found it rather 'black' - which
means nothing at all really. 

first time i heard Monk, it caught my fancy right away.  i was driving a
beat up dodge ram in new hampshire.  it was late at night, and i was
revelling in the silence of my fellow travelers who were sleeping.  
there's snow up there for a long time, and the stars were clear and
close. and the cd player switched to 'womb of God'.  there's not much to
explain why i like it, i just do.

soul may have originated with african-americans, but that doesn't mean
that other races of people can't have it. Karin does, i think.  when she
breathes her whole self into a phrase as she rocks back and forth, or
linford when he's putting himself into the music so completely. anyone can
have soul, it's like a visitation of music in spirit form. i bet you've
experienced it... 

> can white be a musical term. a very subjective one that doesn't have
> to just refer to white musicians.

maybe you mean light pop music? bubblegum brigade type stuff? i'm not
trying to put words into your mouth/screen, just trying to understand what
you're saying.

i think sometimes white means more than just a race, the same as black
does. latin mostly means one thing - 'latin' and all that encompasses
culturally. white/black are colors - they also refer to huge groups of
dissimilar peoples who get lumped together by an unfortunate lack of
spectrum.  is Ghanaian music black, like Cameroonian music?  is german
music white? is sedish music white? they're both white groups of people...

i guess, no, white carries an awful lot of connotation, and seems like an
easy way out in trying to define music.  sometimes it's good to use a
widely accepted but loosely understood word to define somehting new so
that people understand what you're talking about,  but then it's good to
redefine it and redefine it until truth is found.

i'm increasingly curious as to what music types are particular to one
race/culture group. rock - american? at least it started there... jazz -
american? (cos it was black people *and* white people who made it what it
is)  samba/marimba/mariachi - mexican. flamenco - spain. etc.

is it bad to you to hear western influence in a band/group from another
country? i've heard people become upset about that. there seems to be a
feeling that they should remain pure - untainted.  *but* when Paul Simon
takes South African rhythms and puts them into an album, and takes various
latin rhythms and combines them with english words, he's applauded. i
don't understand. -not that i'm saying anyone here has - just a random
thought.

rhys

use context::humor

-- 
Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so. - Ford Prefect - The Hitchhikers
Guide to the Galaxy

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Follow-Ups:

• Re: black and white
• From: Kelvin Bailey <prestokelvo at yahoo_com>

References:

• black and white
• From: Tina Ladner <unbornbuddha at yahoo_com>

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