It's been a while since I blogged... not since the end of 2005, I figure I'd give it a try again, it was something I always enjoyed, but also something that got away from me for one reason or another. The title is in honor of Fela Kuti... the Black President himself, the progenitor of afro-beat, and one of the most influential musicians the world has ever known. I started listening to him in 2004 (my favorite tracks are Lady and Scuffering and Schmiling), but I'm sad to say that I haven't been giving him much of a listen lately. Music like that.. afrobeat, bebop, prog rock, the more innovative varieties of jazz-fusion and free jazz, have not been on my radar nearly as much as they have been the past few years. Music like that is deep music, the kind that takes an investment from their listeners that other, more accessible types of music don't. And the thing is, the investment is a long term one, it takes multiple listens before it starts to pay dividends, the bandleaders/composers/musicians, take risks that aren't often safe and not immediately satisfying. Oftentimes, I'm confused... like the time I listened to Miles Davis' Pangaea... I couldn't place my finger on it, which is my charitable way of saying that I thought it sucked.. the first time I truly understood it was when I came to work hungover, Miles' pulsating, whining horns punctuated ever step I took. Music like that has its niche, it's moment where there is clarity about the musicians vision.. not saying that Miles Davis wrote it with a hungover young wage slave in mind, but that it was in that mode where I could finally access what he was trying to do. The point is that now that I'm free from some of the constraints that senior year of college placed upon me, now that my evenings, for the most part, are mine, I think I can get back to that moment, place Fela back in my radar.
Anyway, I got completely off topic. This is how I am though, I'm going to go off on weird tangents from time to time.. My posts are gonna be about anything and everything and nothing in particular. The first few ones will be from my old blog.. ones that upon rereading them after several years I'm the least embarassed by. Hope you enjoy!
3 comments:
I have no idea who this man is.
But if we're talking about "deep music," I guess mainstream music, whoever sings it, is "shallow," right???
I'm not so sure that that notion is necessarily true.
I almost think that any music that touches you is "deep." Almost.
Even if it's some crap singing about Apple Bottom Jeans and boots with a fur trim, something that compels you to go and dance until you're exhausted arouses chemicals (I forget which specific ones) that make you happy.
Think about how you feel when your song comes on, and all you can think about is getting twurked on.
And I maintain that said music is "almost" deep because it's difficult to argue...and so many feel the need to argue for/against it in the first place.
Also, I must know one thing: why is it that I have never heard you speak the way you write??? I know for a fact that you are capable of doing so, so why??? Have we never had a deep enough conversation???
Don't say I've never spoken this way, either: I have a specific reason for not speaking this way. I am simply more articulate on paper.
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