The following thesis will describe the evolution of my musical interests:
1.
First, I will
introduce the musicians I first listened to as a youngster (Beach Boys, Beastie
Boys, Michael Jackson, M.C. Hammer, etc.).
2.
And then I will
discuss my opinions about these artists at that time and how I feel about them
now. I will intertwine that with their place in music history (Beach Boys in
Rocknroll; Beastie Boys in Rap history).
3.
The next step will be
discussing musicians I now listen to (Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Ben Harper, White
Stripes, Bob Dylan, etc), my opinions about them, and their place in music
history.
4.
And lastly, I will
discuss the evolution of these artists, giving their musical influences, and
how their influences fit in the evolution of their genre of music.
My intention is to
project a selective history of rocknroll from a personal perspective.
The Historical Perspective:
According to Philip
Ennis, in his 1991 publication The Seventh Stream - The Emergence of
Rocknroll in American Popular Music, Rocknroll emerged in the 1950s and
became the '7th stream' of American popular music by combining the other 6
streams (pop, black pop, country, jazz, folk and gospel). By 1949, 95% of
American households had at least one radio. RCA's new apparatus for playing music, a small, plastic,
$12.95 record player, was probably the single most important piece of
technology facilitating rocknroll's appearance (Ennis 132-3). Since everyone had a radio, and all the
streams were being played, it should be no surprise that musicians crossed over
to other genres, and combined them – “Rocknroll was one of those innovations,
appearing as the structure and metabolism of the pop, country, and black pop
streams grew to be more alike and as the speed of their ‘hit parades’ became
identical, allowing their musics to meet and mix on a regular basis” – equals
the emergence of a new music (Ennis 161).
Others
describe rocknroll as “….Essentially hybrid in origin,….[it] includes elements
of several black and white American music styles: black guitar-accompanied
blues; black rhythm and blues, noted for saxophone solos; black and white gospel music ; white country and western music ;
and the songs of white popular crooners and harmony groups” (“Rock Music”).
Disc jockey Alan Freed gave the new music its name in
1952 when he was in his studio with the lead singer of the Dominoes, Billy
Ward. "Sixty Minute Man", the Dominos hit that was being played all
over the nation, was being played on the radio while they discussed this new
music’s need for a name. When Ward sang, "I rock 'em roll 'em all night
long, I'm a Sixty Minute Man!" Freed shouted, 'That's it! Rock and Roll!
That's what it is!' (Ennis 18).
Interestingly, that phrase was slang for sexual intercourse, which most
people do not know now. I do not know whether or not that was widely known back
then, but it only adds to the 'rebelliousness' of the genre – the youth’s
genre.
Other music genres have been pinpointed to certain areas
of the country. New Orleans with Jazz; the South is the heartland of country
music; and New York and Hollywood generates the pop stream. Rocknroll could not
be pinpointed to a geographical location - "Rocknroll is located in the
hearts, minds, and feet of young people all over the world; that its homeland
is more a pilgrimage than a place, for instance in the memory of
Woodstock" (Ennis 40). Also, what made rocknroll unique was that all the
other streams did not have a definitive social, racial, religious, class,
gender or age that could pinpoint the stream. Rocknroll did - it was the music
of the youth (Ennis 97).
What was the first song? For many years it was taken as gospel (pun intended) that
the very first rocknroll song was 'Rock Around the Clock' by Bill Haley and the
Comets. That belief still exists today for most people, but some informed
individuals now believe otherwise, citing the Ike Turner-produced 'Rocket 88'
as the first (Fontenot). Some
would infer a racial element in this discussion - and I believe there is
validity in the position, given the social structure in America during the
early 1950s.
"Ike
had met Riley King a couple of times before he ran into him at the Harlem Club
in Chambers, Mississippi and managed to finagle a guest spot. King was
impressed and promised to help. Ike duly received a phone-call from Sam
Phillips' Memphis Recording Service. His plans were jolted by the departure of
Johnny O'Neal, a temporary blip overcome by the recruitment in 1950 of Jackie
Brenston, another native of Clarksdale. Ike, Jackie, guitarist Willie Kizart,
sax player Raymond Hill and drummer Willie Sims headed for Memphis in March
1951. On the way somebody suggested that maybe they should have something
original to offer at the session. Brenston came up with the idea, Ike wrote the
first verse and the rest of the band chipped in.
Jimmy Liggins had had a big hit with ‘Cadillac Boogie’ in 1947, and it was the concept and tune of this song that (Jackie) Brenston appropriated, dispensing with the Cadillac in preference for the new Oldsmobile Rocket Hydra-Matic 88, resulting in the song ‘Rocket 88’. The Kings of Rhythm recorded a five-song session on March 5, which included "Rocket 88" and ‘Independent Woman’. Jackie sang on a couple and so did Ike. The masters were sent to Leonard Chess in Chicago who credited "Rocket 88" to ‘Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats’ and not to ‘Ike Turner & the Kings of Rhythm featuring Jackie Brenston’ as was Ike's intention, although the two vocal sides by Ike were indeed credited to Ike Turner & the Kings of Rhythm. It was the Brenston record that entered the charts on the 12th May at #4 and became a smash hit, giving Chess their first #1 R&B hit. It is one of the several records that, with some justification, have been touted as the ‘First Rock 'n Roll Hit’. Kizart's electric guitar work and Ike's rippling triplets being years ahead of their time. It inspired a cover version from Bill Haley, who changed direction from country music to rock 'n roll as his Saddlemen turned into the Comets. The Ike Turner single sank without trace" (Salins).
Jimmy Liggins had had a big hit with ‘Cadillac Boogie’ in 1947, and it was the concept and tune of this song that (Jackie) Brenston appropriated, dispensing with the Cadillac in preference for the new Oldsmobile Rocket Hydra-Matic 88, resulting in the song ‘Rocket 88’. The Kings of Rhythm recorded a five-song session on March 5, which included "Rocket 88" and ‘Independent Woman’. Jackie sang on a couple and so did Ike. The masters were sent to Leonard Chess in Chicago who credited "Rocket 88" to ‘Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats’ and not to ‘Ike Turner & the Kings of Rhythm featuring Jackie Brenston’ as was Ike's intention, although the two vocal sides by Ike were indeed credited to Ike Turner & the Kings of Rhythm. It was the Brenston record that entered the charts on the 12th May at #4 and became a smash hit, giving Chess their first #1 R&B hit. It is one of the several records that, with some justification, have been touted as the ‘First Rock 'n Roll Hit’. Kizart's electric guitar work and Ike's rippling triplets being years ahead of their time. It inspired a cover version from Bill Haley, who changed direction from country music to rock 'n roll as his Saddlemen turned into the Comets. The Ike Turner single sank without trace" (Salins).
The music was changing with society:
American society was changing during the emergence of rocknroll – Word War II and its aftermath, race and gender questions, the fear of communism, the civil rights and feminist movements were all heated debates. The youth was told to obey authority, do what they were told and "shut-up". Most obeyed, but many did not and music became a way to rebel against authority. "To listen to [Rocknroll], to dance to that music, and to make that music was a political act without being political" (Ennis 19-20).
American society was changing during the emergence of rocknroll – Word War II and its aftermath, race and gender questions, the fear of communism, the civil rights and feminist movements were all heated debates. The youth was told to obey authority, do what they were told and "shut-up". Most obeyed, but many did not and music became a way to rebel against authority. "To listen to [Rocknroll], to dance to that music, and to make that music was a political act without being political" (Ennis 19-20).
Elvis Presley was rocknroll's first star. He was a solo
folk performer with a guitar and when he first started recording, the
acceptance of the mixture of streams began (Ennis 123). In 1956, Elvis was
introduced to the nation on the television show "Stage Show", Tommy
and Jimmy Dorsey's show on CBS (Ennis 131).
Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on
January 8, 1935, and grew up surrounded by gospel music of the Pentecostal
church. In 1948, the family moved to Memphis, where he was exposed to blues and
jazz on Beale Street. After graduating from high school in 1953, an 18-year-old
Presley visited the Memphis Recording Service, home of Sun Records. There he recorded his voice with
owner/producer Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black. In July 1954, the trio
worked up "That's All Right" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky" -
blues and country songs, respectively - in a crackling, uptempo style that
stands as the blueprint for rocknroll (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
Website).
(The Stroll on American
Bandstand - The Stroll was recorded by The Diamonds in 1958; written by Clyde
Otis & Nancy Lee)
But my
Mom, hardly a rebel, loved her Rocknroll through American Bandstand, a daily
live television teenage dance program based in Philadelphia that was broadcast
nationally beginning in 1956. With Dick Clark as host, the show became an
obsession with high school kids across the country. The 'regulars' became
celebrities; everyone knew their names and which ones were dating. American
Bandstand is the setting for the NBC show 'American Dreams.' This was hardly
'rebel' stuff; the music guests never really sang their songs, but rather
lip-synched as their records played. I guess Ashley Simpson should have been
born earlier!
Historians have noted that as rocknroll became more
popular and mainstream, it quickly lost its edge. Many youth became bored with
this trend and looked to go in a new direction, finding it in the Beat Poets
and folk music of the late 50s and early 60s. Enter one Robert Zimmerman a/k/a
Bob Dylan. This group would eventually re-emerge as a force in the mid 60s as
'hippies'. But others feel that 50s/60s rocknroll was about other things. I
received an email response from a friend of my Dad. His life is rocknroll:
"It was New Year’ s Eve - 1969. The
number 1 song on the charts was "Someday we'll be Together" by the
Supremes. Melodies, melodies and more melodies! Melody was the heart and soul
of Rock N Roll. Could you sing the lyrics and did it have a good beat? Positive
answers to both questions and you had a hit! The guitar playing of the 70s
changed all that - faster and louder was better - then the shocking lyrics of
the 80s & 90s took away my interest. Your dad and I grew up in an era of
Love Songs. Yes we had our weird songs also, but mostly the songs were about
love and having fun. To tell the truth, all the different eras of Rock N Roll
should have been able to stand on their own. Each era should have been left in
the dust to erode away, while the next newest music should have been able to
take over and carry the audience along with the music. Your dad and I, along
with the baby boom generation created rock n roll. We started it, and are proud
to lay claim to this fact. The strange thing is that the music from the 50s
& 60s still endures today. You can hardly see a movie or watch a tv ad
without hearing a song or melody from the 50s and 60s. Many of our peers moved
on and changed with the music. For me 1969 with the zenith. I do like some
songs and some artists from the 70s - 90s, but a small amount compared to the
golden age of rock. I count many
of the legends of Rock N Roll as my friends. I just came from Joey Dee's house
in Clearwater, Florida, where we spent an enjoyable weekend. Last Friday I was
with Carl Gardner (original lead singer of the Coasters), at his house; I will
see Ben E King next week. I have a band in Florida and we play nothing but the
old songs. We have played all over Florida. Say hi to your dad, and if you need
more info - let me know."
- Jim
Kane, St. Lucie, FL.
Thanks
Mr. Kane. I would love more information
from you, but like the rocknroll songs, my life is going by faster and faster,
and Mr. Thesis needs to be done…
Rocknroll had settled
into a stagnant period as 1963 neared its close. But two events took place that
would change all that - and our nation and our music would never be the same.
First, the assasination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on November 23rd
would jolt a generally optimistic youth into skepticism and real rebellion
against an increasingly ominous conflict in Vietnam (although it would take a
few years to surface). And second,
the introduction of the record album "Meet the Beatles" with its
initial single "I Want To Hold Your Hand", which overwhelmed the USA
music-listening youth. In no time, the Beatles completely dominated the record
charts; every song that was released jumped immediately into the Top Ten. And
by the time the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964, the
nation was frenzied over them. This gave rise to the "British Invasion"
of the mid-60s, an invasion that, with rare exceptions like the Beach Boys and
Bob Dylan, devastated the American music scene. The teen idols, doo-wop groups
and Phil Spector's girl groups never knew what hit them. They were immediately
and completely rendered insignificant. Some 'Invasion' groups were great,
others stunk, but they were British and America could not get enough of them.
The Beatles and Rolling Stones took R&B, blues and early rocknroll and
transformed it into their own style. Other, less talented groups like the Dave
Clark Five, Herman's Hermits and Gerry and the Pacemakers got famous with
catchy, lightweight songs and cute looks. Then a second wave of harder,
blues-based groups followed, such as the Who, the Kinks, the Animals and the
Yardbirds, and made rocknroll fresh and nasty again (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
and Museum Website).
In the early 60s, there was a growing interest in folk
music, because it was often used as the protest music of the civil rights
movement and other issues of the human condition. Pete Seeger was in the
forefront of this protest music, and he had significant influence on a young
Bob Dylan. And it was Dylan (along with sometime girlfriend, Joan Baez) who
became the genre's darling, making it hip to like it. But Dylan expanded his
style toward rocknroll and on July 25, 1965, in one of the most famous moments
in rock history, went 'electric' (backed by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band) at
the Newport Folk Festival and was booed unmercifully by the angry,
"betrayed” audience. Dylan was now a rocker and his influence exists to
this day, adding intelligent lyrics to the mix (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and
Museum Website).
The late 60s/early 70s found America in a war that split
the country. College campuses became centers of rebellion against the
'establishment'. Children had pressure to conform and achieve. The road to
success was laid out in schools and advertising - just follow directions.
Rebellious attitude increased in the 1960s. There were more dropouts and drug
use. The music reflected this, lots of deviation from normal styles, blending
anything and everything (Ennis 36-37).
The late 70s brought a reaction to the chaotic 60s with the coming of disco. Then punk and new wave came as a reaction to disco. The 80s just seemed to be bad music and worse hair. And that's all I am going to say on the subject. It could have been the worst decade in rock history. Which brings us to the nineties, when music began to get nasty again. It was about time! Punk, grunge and rap hit the mainstream youth of America. I look to my brother, Jonathan, for a perspective on Punk:
The late 70s brought a reaction to the chaotic 60s with the coming of disco. Then punk and new wave came as a reaction to disco. The 80s just seemed to be bad music and worse hair. And that's all I am going to say on the subject. It could have been the worst decade in rock history. Which brings us to the nineties, when music began to get nasty again. It was about time! Punk, grunge and rap hit the mainstream youth of America. I look to my brother, Jonathan, for a perspective on Punk:
“Punk
rock, at least the way I see it, is more than just the sound or the look, it is
the attitude, attitude about everything, your worldview. It is the DIY (do it yourself)
philosophy that started punk rock, the rebellion against over-produced
corporate rock. Music in general had lost its soul, and for rock, it surely had
lost its roll. This all started in the early 70's when bands stopped writing
protest songs and started playing watered-down meaningless shit. And I would
argue that it was not 1977, but 1991 that back to the basic music finally
reached the mainstream with Smells Like Teen Spirit, by Nirvana.
I mention 1977 because this is the summer of punk; bands like the Ramones, Sex Pistols, and The Clash started blowing up in London. Punk rock was a phenomenon in the UK; a significantly greater influence over the culture and youth than in the US. Though most fans of punk rock give the Ramones the title of "first punk band", punk music had been around in various forms for years, it just was not called punk. Bands like The Who were punks in the mid-60s.
Punk rock in the 90's was called grunge - long hair, flannel shirt, and from Seattle's underground came the new "it" bands; Sound Garden, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana. The Seattle scene was led by Curt Cobain of Nirvana, and for about three or four years in the early 90's mainstream music did not suck. But as always, good things have to come to an end. On April 8, 1994, this generation's music died with the sound of a shotgun to the head of rock's biggest figure, Curt Cobain. It is said that he killed himself; others say that it was his girlfriend rocker Courtney Love of the band Hole that made it look like a suicide”.
I mention 1977 because this is the summer of punk; bands like the Ramones, Sex Pistols, and The Clash started blowing up in London. Punk rock was a phenomenon in the UK; a significantly greater influence over the culture and youth than in the US. Though most fans of punk rock give the Ramones the title of "first punk band", punk music had been around in various forms for years, it just was not called punk. Bands like The Who were punks in the mid-60s.
Punk rock in the 90's was called grunge - long hair, flannel shirt, and from Seattle's underground came the new "it" bands; Sound Garden, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana. The Seattle scene was led by Curt Cobain of Nirvana, and for about three or four years in the early 90's mainstream music did not suck. But as always, good things have to come to an end. On April 8, 1994, this generation's music died with the sound of a shotgun to the head of rock's biggest figure, Curt Cobain. It is said that he killed himself; others say that it was his girlfriend rocker Courtney Love of the band Hole that made it look like a suicide”.
The music
of the 2000s has not seemed to be defined yet, but is mostly carrying on the
styles from the 90s.
The Personal Perspective:
Echoes of reggae comin’ through my bedroom wall
havin’ party up next door but I’m sitting here all alone
two lovers in the bedroom and the other starts to shout
all I got is this blank stare and that don’t carry no clout at all
The house shakes. Jonathan, up in his bedroom with the
door closed, pounds his 36” Easton metal-bat electric guitar as he growls the
lyrics with just the right inflections.
Destination unknown, Ruby ruby ruby ruby soho!!!!!!!
I have heard it a hundred times before. He loves Rancid.
They have cred. Green Day sold out. The Ramones were the first punks, Jonathan
says. No wait, he says in his animated I’ll-TELL you-the-way-it-IS manner, it
was the Velvet Underground. Yeah, they were THE ones; raw, edgy, way cool. Dad
says look at the Who. That they were Mod rocker tough-guys who followed the
Beatles, but were not so nice and cute; smashed guitars, sang about being
fucked-up kids- “hope I die ‘fore I get old. Talkin’ ‘bout my generation.”
That is a common scene in the Kennedy household – my brother upstairs listening to Rancid, pretending a baseball bat is a guitar. My dad downstairs, creating websites and blogs for the rest of the FAM while listening to Joni Mitchell, or maybe he is in the mood for the softer, yet just as soulful, Miles Davis. I took a Jazz History course in college. Liked it, moreso because it was easy, rather than because of my appreciation for jazz – that is for old people – or sorry dad, older people. Or that is what I used to think, but now I feel all genres are for everyone to enjoy. At the moment, I do not enjoy jazz, but I am coming around, expanding my horizons beyond the music I used to listen to. I thought college would expose me to more music – did not quite happen. I learned I must expose myself to the music. I have spent much of my free hours, not in class, listening to music and listening to music. That is my excuse for not getting a 4.0, and I have my father and brother to thank for that as they have turned me onto more and more music. I spent too much of my teenage years listening to pop-music; music all over MTV (which today I found out stands for Music Television). During those years, I listened to music all the time, but would not say I had a love for it. But now I do, and would like to share with you how my musical interests have evolved. But first I am going to listen to some music to get me in the mood, an excuse I have used often in order to postpone writing this thesis. I will be back to the keyboard after a couple tracks.
That is a common scene in the Kennedy household – my brother upstairs listening to Rancid, pretending a baseball bat is a guitar. My dad downstairs, creating websites and blogs for the rest of the FAM while listening to Joni Mitchell, or maybe he is in the mood for the softer, yet just as soulful, Miles Davis. I took a Jazz History course in college. Liked it, moreso because it was easy, rather than because of my appreciation for jazz – that is for old people – or sorry dad, older people. Or that is what I used to think, but now I feel all genres are for everyone to enjoy. At the moment, I do not enjoy jazz, but I am coming around, expanding my horizons beyond the music I used to listen to. I thought college would expose me to more music – did not quite happen. I learned I must expose myself to the music. I have spent much of my free hours, not in class, listening to music and listening to music. That is my excuse for not getting a 4.0, and I have my father and brother to thank for that as they have turned me onto more and more music. I spent too much of my teenage years listening to pop-music; music all over MTV (which today I found out stands for Music Television). During those years, I listened to music all the time, but would not say I had a love for it. But now I do, and would like to share with you how my musical interests have evolved. But first I am going to listen to some music to get me in the mood, an excuse I have used often in order to postpone writing this thesis. I will be back to the keyboard after a couple tracks.
The Elementary Years (boy were they – musically!):
Before my teenage
years, which were during the 1990s, I listened to the Beach Boys, Beastie Boys,
Michael Jackson, MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice and the Fresh Prince. But like the
colored three striped socks, jacked up to the knees, that my mom (Rockin’ Rita)
dressed my brother and me in, some things go out of style. So I stopped
listening to all of the above. I became thirteen, leaving Michael Jackson
upset. I do not listen to any of these artists anymore, except an occasional
nostalgic listening of “Watcha Want,” a classic by the Beastie Boys. However,
all of these artists played a major role in the evolution of their music genres
and my musical interests. Let us take a closer look.
If everybody had an
ocean
Across the U. S. A.
Then everybody'd be surfin'
Like Californi-a
You'd see 'em wearing their baggies
Huarachi sandals too
A bushy bushy blonde hairdo
Surfin' U. S. A.
Michael J. Fox, in the
mid-1980s hit movie “Teen Wolf”, surfed atop his van to the tune “Surfin USA”,
the Beach Boys’ first hit (1961). During the 80s, I found myself listening to
this song over and over until the tape broke (“What are tapes?”, asks Garrett
Junior? I am getting old). Growing up in Southington, CT, I never became a
surfer-dude, but surfed through my dad’s collection of music to find a Beach
Boys tape.
The main members grew up in Hawthorne, CA. They included the Wilson brothers, Brian, Dennis and Carl, cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Dennis was the only real surfer, but in the 1960s they became the nation’s surfer band. The Wilsons' father fancied himself a musician/songwriter and in their youth the brothers would harmonize for their father to songs by the Four Freshmen and Kingston Trio. The Beach Boys' pure harmony would become their signature as they ventured into 'surf music' and beyond.
The main members grew up in Hawthorne, CA. They included the Wilson brothers, Brian, Dennis and Carl, cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Dennis was the only real surfer, but in the 1960s they became the nation’s surfer band. The Wilsons' father fancied himself a musician/songwriter and in their youth the brothers would harmonize for their father to songs by the Four Freshmen and Kingston Trio. The Beach Boys' pure harmony would become their signature as they ventured into 'surf music' and beyond.
When the British Invasion hit the United States in late
1963, it hit the American music scene hard. Suddenly you had to be from the UK
to be cool, a frightening realization for the somewhat stagnated stateside
rockers. Music had been sliding away from its R&B/country roots to a more
'pop' sound and the Brits were using their love of American musicians Buddy
Holly, Elvis Presley and the old black blues legends as a basis for some very
new-sounding rock music. The Beach Boys (Brian Wilson in particular) was
fascinated by the turn of events, especially the Beatles' 'Rubber Soul' concept
album, and began to experiment with their own style to challenge the Beatles.
In 1966, they released the album Pet Sounds to spectacular critical
acclaim. It remains one of the best and most influential rock albums ever.
However, it was only modestly successful commercially and Brian Wilson set out
to create his masterpiece, to be called "Smile". What happened then
is the stuff of myth and legend. But for whatever reason (Brian Wilson became
heavily involved with drugs, had a nervous breakdown, stayed in his bed for
over two years, eventually weighing over 300 pounds and generally crumbled into
a creative vegetable), the album was never completed and only a couple of songs
ever made it out of the studio. The group then lapsed into kind of a traveling
oldies band, occasionally having a hit like the novelty Kokomo from the
Tom Cruise movie Cocktail.
I was in kindergarden and loved Kokomo so much I decided to sing
it for Kelley Elementary School’s talent show. I went to a music store and purchased the sheetmusic. Once or twice a week I stayed after
school with Mrs. Coughlin, our music teacher. She would play the sounds of Kokomo on the
piano. It was weeks before the
talent show and I had not sung a note – and never did. I bailed out of the contest and the
next Beach Boy was not born.
Futhermore, Wilson brothers Dennis and Carl died in the
1990s, leaving the band to lead singer Michael Love, while Brian Wilson
continued his estrangement from the band due to health/emotional problems and
creative differences (Bush).
 |
Epilogue:
Cut forward to 2004, Brian Wilson, after years of therapy and detox, finally
releases "Smile" to amazing critical and commercial acclaim and
tours the US and UK to adoring crowds. Who would have thought!
Here is a quite interesting discussion of the whole “Smile” adventure as told in the liner notes of “Smiley Smile”, an album released from scraps of the “Smile” project. - here... |
I do not listen to the Beach Boys
anymore. According to Professor
Bowling, the History Chairman and professor at Manhattanville College, I should
give them a try again. I will do
so after writing this thesis for him – or is it for me?
My musical
interests take form; reshaping them over the years like play-dough…
My father would wake my brother and I for school screaming “cock-a-doodle-doo” up the stairs. At the kitchen counter, we would sit at our stools, waiting for mom to fix the most important meal of the day. Dad played Van Morrison morning after morning. Although Van sounded better than the doodle-doo, at seven I was not feeling Mr. Morrison. Or maybe we were still pissed off from being awakened from the rooster again. Nevertheless, Moodance played regularly on the mourning rotation. I was like Woody Harrelson in the movie White Men Can’t Jump. I was listening to Van, but not hearing him. I would not appreciate his music until my college years. Flipping through the dad collection, I did give Stevie Winwood’s Roll With It (1988) a chance, and played it on my first CD-player that I got as a present for my first, and last! Communion. I was eight years old, in 2nd grade, and this was also the time I got my first CDs, which included Rap’s Greatest Hits and Mariah Carey. Mariah did not receive much airplay, or attention, except for looking at her picture on the front of the CD. Rap became the dominant genre played by the Kennedy ‘brothas’ during the late 1980s into the mid-1990s. This was a period when rap music became pop-music, and many suburban white kids started listening to ‘gangsta’ rap (while being afraid of white guys singing folk songs). So I passed on listening to Van (who I now think is “the man”). But before rap dominated my music collection, Michael Jackson was a Thriller to listen to.
My father would wake my brother and I for school screaming “cock-a-doodle-doo” up the stairs. At the kitchen counter, we would sit at our stools, waiting for mom to fix the most important meal of the day. Dad played Van Morrison morning after morning. Although Van sounded better than the doodle-doo, at seven I was not feeling Mr. Morrison. Or maybe we were still pissed off from being awakened from the rooster again. Nevertheless, Moodance played regularly on the mourning rotation. I was like Woody Harrelson in the movie White Men Can’t Jump. I was listening to Van, but not hearing him. I would not appreciate his music until my college years. Flipping through the dad collection, I did give Stevie Winwood’s Roll With It (1988) a chance, and played it on my first CD-player that I got as a present for my first, and last! Communion. I was eight years old, in 2nd grade, and this was also the time I got my first CDs, which included Rap’s Greatest Hits and Mariah Carey. Mariah did not receive much airplay, or attention, except for looking at her picture on the front of the CD. Rap became the dominant genre played by the Kennedy ‘brothas’ during the late 1980s into the mid-1990s. This was a period when rap music became pop-music, and many suburban white kids started listening to ‘gangsta’ rap (while being afraid of white guys singing folk songs). So I passed on listening to Van (who I now think is “the man”). But before rap dominated my music collection, Michael Jackson was a Thriller to listen to.
She told me her name
was Billie Jean, as she caused a scene
Then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one
Who will dance on the floor in the round
People always told me be careful of what you do
And don't go around breaking young girls' hearts
And mother always told me be careful of who you love
And be careful of what you do 'cause the lie becomes the truth
Billie Jean is not my lover
She's just a girl who claims that I am the one
But the kid is not my son
She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son
Michael
Jackson first burst on the music scene in 1969, when his family group, The
Jackson 5, released their first album, Diana Ross Presents The Jackson Five.
They immediately found success with their singles I Want You Back, ABC,
The Love You Have and I’ll Be There. The Jackson 5 became a
phenomenon during the 1970s. Michael stood out as he amazed people with his
singing and unique dancing. In 1982, he released his 6th solo album, Thriller,
which became the biggest selling album ever. This is possibly his greatest
accomplishment, and in the 1980s he became “The King of Pop”. In 2005, he is
more known for his private life, first being accused of child molestation in
1993, and again in 2003. He denies both allegations. What is also a question is
the change in the color of his skin. When with the Jackson 5, he had a dark
black and babyish face, and now has a light feminine face, which has made the
lives of comedians easier – as he has been referred to as the “Queen of Pop”.
Despite these troubles, Michael Jackson revolutionized music videos on MTV,
especially with his video for the single Thriller, a video favorite of
many still today. And everyone has tried imitating his trademark “moon walk”
(Huey).
During the late-1980s,
I decided to ignore my father’s music suggestions, except for the Beach Boys
and Stevie Winwood. Rap music burst into Suburban living rooms through MTV and
this is when I became interested in the Beastie Boys, L.L. Cool J., MC Hammer,
Vanilla Ice and the Fresh Prince. This is when my brother and I put the high
socks away, and put our Hammer pants on. The first rap music I listened to was
the Beastie Boys, which was the first significant white rap group. The Brooklyn
trio, Mike D, MCA and Ad-Rock, released their first rap album Licensed to
Ill in 1987. In the earlier-1980s, they were a hardcore punk band. This
album combined rock and rap to produced rap’s first number one album ever
(Erlewine).
I soon became a fan of L.L Cool J. My first listen of him
was of his single and album “Mama Said Knock Your Out”, which was released in
1990. L.L. Cool J released his first album “Radio” in 1985; however, I was only
three at the time, and rap music had not burst into the mainstream yet (Erlewine).
Because of the Beastie Boys many suburban white boys like myself became
interested in L.L. Cool J, and other rap artitis like D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the
Fresh Prince (Will Smith) who came out with their first album in 1987. The
single Parents Just Don’t Understand, from their 2nd album He’s the
DJ, I’m the Rapper, won rap’s first Grammy in 1988. This exposed rap to an
even wider audience, and Will Smith was one of the first rappers to crossover
into acting, first starting his acting career starring in the sitcom The
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Huey).
The other two rappers I listened to when I first started listening to rap were MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice. According to All Music Guide, MC Hammer’s 2nd album Hammer Please Don’t Hurt Them (1990) is still the biggest-selling rap album of all time. This album, mostly known for its single U Can’t Touch This (hook taken from Rick James’ Super Freak), brought rap popularity beyond anyone’s expectations (Huey). Hammer is the reason every elementary school kid, in my hometown, Southington, CT, wore baggy pants, which became known as “Hammer pants”. Vanilla Ice came onto the scene during the same time. He had only one successful album, To the Extreme, with his single Ice Ice Baby (a rip-off of David Bowie and Queen’s Under Pressure) (Erlewine). Both are considered jokes now, but did have an impact on the genre.
The other two rappers I listened to when I first started listening to rap were MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice. According to All Music Guide, MC Hammer’s 2nd album Hammer Please Don’t Hurt Them (1990) is still the biggest-selling rap album of all time. This album, mostly known for its single U Can’t Touch This (hook taken from Rick James’ Super Freak), brought rap popularity beyond anyone’s expectations (Huey). Hammer is the reason every elementary school kid, in my hometown, Southington, CT, wore baggy pants, which became known as “Hammer pants”. Vanilla Ice came onto the scene during the same time. He had only one successful album, To the Extreme, with his single Ice Ice Baby (a rip-off of David Bowie and Queen’s Under Pressure) (Erlewine). Both are considered jokes now, but did have an impact on the genre.
Backstroke lover
always hidin’ ’neath the cover
Still I talked to your daddy he say
He said you ain’t seen noting
’till you’re down on a muffin
Then you’re sure to be a-changin’ your ways
I met a cheerleader, was a real young bleeder
All the times I can remaniesse
’cause the best thing lovin’
With her sister and her cousin
Only started with a little kiss, like this!
See-saw swingin’ with the boys in the school
And your feet flyin’ up in the air
Singin’ hey diddle-diddle with the kitty in the middle
You be swingin’ like you just didn’t care
Still I talked to your daddy he say
He said you ain’t seen noting
’till you’re down on a muffin
Then you’re sure to be a-changin’ your ways
I met a cheerleader, was a real young bleeder
All the times I can remaniesse
’cause the best thing lovin’
With her sister and her cousin
Only started with a little kiss, like this!
See-saw swingin’ with the boys in the school
And your feet flyin’ up in the air
Singin’ hey diddle-diddle with the kitty in the middle
You be swingin’ like you just didn’t care
So I took a big
chance at the high school dance
With a missy who was ready to play
Was it me she was foolin’
’cause she knew what she was doin’
And I know love was here to stay
When she told me to
Walk this way, walk this way
Walk this way, walk this way
Walk this way, walk this way
Walk this way, walk this way
Ah, just give me a kiss - like this!
With a missy who was ready to play
Was it me she was foolin’
’cause she knew what she was doin’
And I know love was here to stay
When she told me to
Walk this way, walk this way
Walk this way, walk this way
Walk this way, walk this way
Walk this way, walk this way
Ah, just give me a kiss - like this!
The Middle School / High School Years:
The next stage of my musical interests is confined to my middle school years and high school years (ages 12-18; 1994-2003). This is a long period of my life, but rap wraps up the music I listened to. The early 1990s saw new styles of music in many genres (gangsta rap, grunge punk, etc), but I ignored all guitars and was entertained by beats and MCs. Like I said, I was afraid to listen to white guys, like Kurt Cobain, because that was not considered cool. Now I feel, if you used to listen to rap, and now you do not, then that is cool (because rap sucks now). Run-D.M.C., possibly most responsible for rap’s sound and style, was rap’s first hardcore rap group, and opened the door for Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions and N.W.A. Run-D.M.C. remade Aerosmith’s Walk this Way with the band’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. This was the first rock/rap collaboration that appealed to fans from both genres, and is arguably the song that brought rap into the mainstream (Erlewine). Without Run-D.M.C., I would not have screamed, You Gotta Fight for Your Right to Party, the Beastie Boys first hit from their debut album Licensed to Ill. Public Enemy, in the late 1980s, became the most influential and controversial rap group ever. Its lead rapper, Chuck D, brought politics and black consciousness to hardcore rap and paved the way for N.W.A. and eventually Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. Rap was brought to the west coast by N.W.A, having been primarily New York City music. They are considered the first gangsta rap group (Erlewine). Rap music had been seen as a fad, but in the early-1990s, the music was nationwide, critics of the music were silenced, and the music is here to stay.
During the mid-1990s, my brother strayed away from rap music. Green Day burst into the mainstream with their third album Dookie in 1994. “This is when real music started for me,” he said. At house parties, he would turn off the rap hit of the day, put on When I Come Around, and say, “I sound like Green Day, don’t I?” Many tried emulating Green Day after their breakthrough album Dookie, paving the way for many pop-punk bands of the 1990s (Erlewine). My brother played Green Day so much to the point I could not stand them, and did not become a fan. Now I do like them as long as they do not “come around” every hour of the day – remember, I live with a Billie Joe Armstrong sound alike (the lead singer of Green Day). This was my brother’s introduction to punk music, and later learned, Green Day is not “real punk”.
As for me, during the mid-1990s to the late-1990s, I remained primarily a rap music fan. You could not walk outside without hearing a car stereo system blasting the latest rap song. This was when my friends and I got our licenses, rap in the CD player, not one of us considered changing the dial. At school lunch, I would buy a slice of pizza and save the rest of the money my parents gave me to buy a rap CD almost every Tuesday, the day of the new releases. However, during my junior year of high school, a best friend, Nate Ouellette, picked me up for school, playing tunes of Sublime, a ska-punk band that I immediately loved. The lead singer, Bradley Nowell, had a unique singing style, that sounded somewhere in-between Bob Marley and The Red Hot Chili Peppers, both of which Sublime was influenced by. I will take my brother’s saying – “this is when real music started for me”. I did not immediately put away rap music. I would still buy it, but became tired of how repetitive the music got. Rap music had always been somewhat materialistic, but by the end of the 1990s, it seemed that was all the music was about. And if you are still alive, rap music keeps getting worse and worse. But hey, there is other music out there to listen to Garrett! So back to my dad’s collection of music I went.
The next stage of my musical interests is confined to my middle school years and high school years (ages 12-18; 1994-2003). This is a long period of my life, but rap wraps up the music I listened to. The early 1990s saw new styles of music in many genres (gangsta rap, grunge punk, etc), but I ignored all guitars and was entertained by beats and MCs. Like I said, I was afraid to listen to white guys, like Kurt Cobain, because that was not considered cool. Now I feel, if you used to listen to rap, and now you do not, then that is cool (because rap sucks now). Run-D.M.C., possibly most responsible for rap’s sound and style, was rap’s first hardcore rap group, and opened the door for Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions and N.W.A. Run-D.M.C. remade Aerosmith’s Walk this Way with the band’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. This was the first rock/rap collaboration that appealed to fans from both genres, and is arguably the song that brought rap into the mainstream (Erlewine). Without Run-D.M.C., I would not have screamed, You Gotta Fight for Your Right to Party, the Beastie Boys first hit from their debut album Licensed to Ill. Public Enemy, in the late 1980s, became the most influential and controversial rap group ever. Its lead rapper, Chuck D, brought politics and black consciousness to hardcore rap and paved the way for N.W.A. and eventually Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. Rap was brought to the west coast by N.W.A, having been primarily New York City music. They are considered the first gangsta rap group (Erlewine). Rap music had been seen as a fad, but in the early-1990s, the music was nationwide, critics of the music were silenced, and the music is here to stay.
During the mid-1990s, my brother strayed away from rap music. Green Day burst into the mainstream with their third album Dookie in 1994. “This is when real music started for me,” he said. At house parties, he would turn off the rap hit of the day, put on When I Come Around, and say, “I sound like Green Day, don’t I?” Many tried emulating Green Day after their breakthrough album Dookie, paving the way for many pop-punk bands of the 1990s (Erlewine). My brother played Green Day so much to the point I could not stand them, and did not become a fan. Now I do like them as long as they do not “come around” every hour of the day – remember, I live with a Billie Joe Armstrong sound alike (the lead singer of Green Day). This was my brother’s introduction to punk music, and later learned, Green Day is not “real punk”.
As for me, during the mid-1990s to the late-1990s, I remained primarily a rap music fan. You could not walk outside without hearing a car stereo system blasting the latest rap song. This was when my friends and I got our licenses, rap in the CD player, not one of us considered changing the dial. At school lunch, I would buy a slice of pizza and save the rest of the money my parents gave me to buy a rap CD almost every Tuesday, the day of the new releases. However, during my junior year of high school, a best friend, Nate Ouellette, picked me up for school, playing tunes of Sublime, a ska-punk band that I immediately loved. The lead singer, Bradley Nowell, had a unique singing style, that sounded somewhere in-between Bob Marley and The Red Hot Chili Peppers, both of which Sublime was influenced by. I will take my brother’s saying – “this is when real music started for me”. I did not immediately put away rap music. I would still buy it, but became tired of how repetitive the music got. Rap music had always been somewhat materialistic, but by the end of the 1990s, it seemed that was all the music was about. And if you are still alive, rap music keeps getting worse and worse. But hey, there is other music out there to listen to Garrett! So back to my dad’s collection of music I went.
The College Years (where did they go?!):
How many roads
must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
Before you call him a man?
Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
I had virtually stopped listening
to rap music by my senior year of high school. But then I became aware of Talib
Kweli, and he is the only reason I still listen to rap today. When you first
hear a new musician their lyrics do not jump out at you. It is music. If it
does not sound good then I do not care what the person is saying. I had never
heard rap music like his - it had a jazz feel to it and the more I listened, I
began hearing what he was saying. This is when I started caring about what
musicians had to say. And this is why I am attracted to the music of Talib
Kweli, Mos Def, Ben Harper, The White Stripes and Bob Dylan. These are my
favorite musicians today, all of whom write lyrics with the best of them. Let
us save the best for last – that being Dylan. For now, let us take a closer look at Talib.
Talib Kweli is the only reason I
listen to rap music today. His first album was Black Star, a collaboration with
his friend Mos Def. It was released in 1998, but I was too busy watching music
on that MTV channel. Like Lewis Black said, "MTV has ruined music like KFC
has ruined chicken". They do not get much airplay on that station so I had
no idea they existed. It was not until 2000, late in my junior year of high
school, that I became aware of Talib. I was still buying rap CDs, but was
getting very sick and tired of using my lunch money to buy albums that had like
two good songs on them, and the only reason the two songs were good is because
the rest of the songs were so horrible. I went to Strawberries, a local music
store. I needed a music fix and looked in the new releases section. We are told
to not judge a book (CD) by its cover, but I saw one that looked like it meant
something. Meaning is hard to find in rap music today so I picked the CD up to
see that it was Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek's album Reflection Eternal - The
Train of Thought. I had not heard of them so I put the CD back and I do not
recall what I chose to buy; obviously something not too spectacular if I cannot
remember what it was. I still needed my music fix and I will be honest (opposed
to if I did not say that, I would be lying) I still wanted to like rap
music. I searched the Internet and
found a list of 2000’s best underground rap CDs. Talib's Reflection Eternal
was number one on the list. Immediately I went to steal his music from Napster.
I downloaded tracks 1-20. Napster was working wonders then. I had the whole CD
downloaded within ten minutes. It became one of those CDs you could place in
your CD player, press play and let it go until it ended and you had to press
play again. I went to Strawberries and bought the real CD.
A month or so passed and I had not taken his CD out of my
stereo, probably pissing my mother off because to her it was "just that rap
music" again. But this rap music was different and that could not be
conveyed any better than in his song For Women, the last song on Reflection
Eternal. It was originally Nina Simone's song called Four Women,
discussing the struggles of four black women - as Talib states in the
introduction to the song, "Yeah, so we got this tune called For Women
right. Originally, it was by Nina Simone. She said it was inspired by, you
know, down south. In the south, they used to call her mother Antie. She said,
no Mrs., just Antie. She said if anybody ever called her Antie, she'd burn the
whole goddamn place down. But you know, we moving past that. Coming into the
new millennium, we can't forget our elders". His music certainly comes
from the hip-hop culture that he grew up in, but also comes from an
understanding of his history. Here is an example of lyrics from the song For
Women.
I got off the 2 train
in Brooklyn on my way to a session
Said let me help this woman up the stairs before I get to steppin'
We got in a conversation she said she a 107
Just her presence was a blessing and her essence was a lesson
She had her head wrapped
And long dreads that peeked out the back
Like antenna to help her get a sense of where she was at, imagine that
Livin' a century, the strength of her memories
Felt like an angel had been sent to me
She lived from nigger to colored to Negro to black
To Afro then African American and right back to nigger
You figure she'd be bitter in the twilight
But she alright, cuz she done seen the circle of life
Another great example is in his song Thieves in the Night:
"Give me the fortune, keep the fame," said my man Louis
I agreed, know what he mean because we live the truest lie
I asked him why we follow the law of the bluest eye
He looked at me, he thought about it
Was like, "I'm clueless, why?"
The question was rhetorical, the answer is horrible
Our morals are out of place and got our lives full of sorrow
And so tomorrow comin later than usual
Waitin' on someone to pity us
While we findin beauty in the hideous
They say money's the root of all evil but I can't tell
YouknowhatImean, pesos, francs, yens, cowrie shells, dollar bills
Or is it the mindstate that's ill?
Creating crime rates to fill the new prisons they build
Over money and religion there's more blood to spill
The wounds of slaves in cotton fields that never heal
What's the deal?
A lot of cats who buy records are straight broke
But my language universal they be recitin my quotes
While R&B singers hit bad notes, we rock the boat
of thought, that my man Louis' statements just provoked
Caught up, in conversations of our personal worth
Brought up, through endangered species status on the planet Earth
Survival tactics means, bustin gats to prove you hard
Your firearms are too short to box with God
Without faith, all of that is illusionary
Raise my son, no vindication of manhood necessary
This is a perspective that is absent in virtually all of
rap music today - or at least the music that is played on television. At this
point, I had not heard much of Mos Def. I went surfing on the Internet again
and found out Mos Def and Talib Kweli had an album called Black Star.
Again, I proceeded to Napster and downloaded tracks 1-13. Rapper KRS-One had an
album Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip-Hop, and rapper Jay-Z had made
an album entitled The Blueprint; however, Mos Def and Talib Kweli's Black
Star should be considered the blueprint - it is simply the best rap album
of all time and maybe one of the only rap albums that should be respected by
other genres. They write lyrics as meaningful as Bob Dylan or Bob Marley, and
in the December 2005 issue of JAZZIZ
Magazine, Mos Def is proclaimed to be "the birth of the brand new
cool". He is simply the most creative person that has come out of the
hip-hop culture, from his music to his acting.
Besides Mos Def and Talib Kweli, the only other rap music I still listen to today is Rage Against the Machine, the only truly successful rock/rap group. They were influenced by the rap groups Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys, and the rock groups Living Colour and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Rage Against the Machine combines hard rock music and political rap lyrics to create the most in-your-face music I have ever heard. The group includes Zack de la Rocha (vocalist), Tom Morello (guitarist), Brad Wilk (drummer) and Tim Bob (bassist). They formed as a group in 1991 in Los Angles, California and released their self-titled debut in 1992. They immediately gained recognition and became one of the most influential bands on the 1990s. Their second album Evil Empire was released in 1996. My brother played it constantly. I hated it. Their last group effort was in 1999 with The Battle of Los Angeles (Ankeny). Shortly after this, they supposedly broke up because of Zack del la Rocha's big ego. Again, I was stuck watching music on television and was scared of listening to music with guitars. Although Zack de la Rocha is as good as any rapper there has been, I did not start listening the Rage Against the Machine until my junior year of college.
Besides Mos Def and Talib Kweli, the only other rap music I still listen to today is Rage Against the Machine, the only truly successful rock/rap group. They were influenced by the rap groups Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys, and the rock groups Living Colour and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Rage Against the Machine combines hard rock music and political rap lyrics to create the most in-your-face music I have ever heard. The group includes Zack de la Rocha (vocalist), Tom Morello (guitarist), Brad Wilk (drummer) and Tim Bob (bassist). They formed as a group in 1991 in Los Angles, California and released their self-titled debut in 1992. They immediately gained recognition and became one of the most influential bands on the 1990s. Their second album Evil Empire was released in 1996. My brother played it constantly. I hated it. Their last group effort was in 1999 with The Battle of Los Angeles (Ankeny). Shortly after this, they supposedly broke up because of Zack del la Rocha's big ego. Again, I was stuck watching music on television and was scared of listening to music with guitars. Although Zack de la Rocha is as good as any rapper there has been, I did not start listening the Rage Against the Machine until my junior year of college.
Jonathan Richman:
Well I was dancing at a night club one Friday night
And that night club bar was a little uptight
Yeah, I was dancing all alone a little self conscious
When some kids came up and said, "for dancing come with us."
And soon...
I was dancing in a lesbian bar.
And that night club bar was a little uptight
Yeah, I was dancing all alone a little self conscious
When some kids came up and said, "for dancing come with us."
And soon...
I was dancing in a lesbian bar.
I was dancing in a lesbian bar.
Well I was dancing in the lesbian bar
In the industrial zone.
I was dancing with my friends
And dancing alone.
Well the first bar things were alright
But in this bar, things were Friday night.
In the first bar things were just alright.
This bar things were Friday night.
I was dancing in a lesbian bar.
I was dancing in a lesbian bar.
Well I was dancing in the lesbian bar
In the industrial zone.
I was dancing with my friends
And dancing alone.
Well the first bar things were alright
But in this bar, things were Friday night.
In the first bar things were just alright.
This bar things were Friday night.
I was dancing in a lesbian bar.
I was dancing in a lesbian bar.
I arrived at
Manhattanville College with an optimistic mind, free to learn and meet new
people - possibly become interested in more music. The first person I met was
my freshman roommate Scotty G. We had similarities, both 5'10 white dudes that
listened to mostly rap. We shared a couple brewskies one night at the beginning
of our first college semester, exchanging autobiographies. I had just started
listening to Jonathan Richman so decided to put him on. Scott had never heard
of him, but I soon realized he was the subject of one of Richman's songs. There
was a knock at our door. We hid our alcoholic beverages quickly and turned down
Dancing at the Lesbian Bar, a Jonathan Richman classic (not the song my
roommate was the subject of). It was our Resident Director telling us there
were complaints about loud music. He searched our room to find beer cans. We
got written up and were put on probation for underage drinking. We can thank
Richman for that. Our IDs said we were twenty-one, but Manhattanville campus
safety did not buy the twenty-one year-old freshmen idea. After that night, the
conversation between Scott and me stagnated and soon vanished. Communication
between us roommates was limited to a head nod, an occasional hello or what's
up. This called for some Jonathan Richman again, track number three, You
Can't Talk to the Dude, from his album I, Jonathan. The 'dude'
refers to Scott and Richman is telling me that I can't talk to him - yeah, no
kidding, Jonathan! (Some think I
am the subject). Rock on.
Nils Steveson, the Sex
Pistol’s tour mangers of 1976, talks about Jonathan Richman - “'Roadrunner' was
on the jukebox at Sex [the Kings Road shop in London]. We all thought it was
fantastic. It was one of the first proper punk records. What is amazing was that it was
recorded in 1971 and not released till years later. The Modern Lovers
album was produced by John Cale and was so influential for everybody”
(Colegrave 75).
You wonder why you're feeling blue,
And you live with a guy that you can't talk to.
You can't talk to the dude
And that's no longer in style,
You can't talk to the dude
No this "No es normal."
You can't talk to the dude
And things will never be right
Until you go.
And you live with a guy that you can't talk to.
You can't talk to the dude
And that's no longer in style,
You can't talk to the dude
No this "No es normal."
You can't talk to the dude
And things will never be right
Until you go.
Your sense of humor has gotten worse
Now that you live with a guy who can't converse
You can't talk to the dude
Well he's set in his way,
Got a bad attitude
When you say what you say.
You can't talk to the dude
And things will never be right
Until you go.
Now that you live with a guy who can't converse
You can't talk to the dude
Well he's set in his way,
Got a bad attitude
When you say what you say.
You can't talk to the dude
And things will never be right
Until you go.
Burn One
Down
Let us burn one
from end to end
and pass it over
to me my friend
burn it long, we'll burn it slow
to light me up before I go
If you don't like my fire
then don't come around
cause I'm gonna burn one down
yes I'm gonna burn one down
from end to end
and pass it over
to me my friend
burn it long, we'll burn it slow
to light me up before I go
If you don't like my fire
then don't come around
cause I'm gonna burn one down
yes I'm gonna burn one down
(benharper.net).
With My
Own Two Hands
I can
change the world
With my own two hands
Make a better place
With my own two hands
Make a kinder place
With my own two hands
With my own
With my own two hands…
I’m gonna
make it a brighter place
I’m gonna make it a
safer place
I’m gonna help the
human race
With my own
With my own two hands
(Ben Harper’s Diamonds
on the Inside).
“Harper has been on television and radio
but has become a star because of the people – word of mouth has spread his
music around the globe. The grassroots way of doing this rock thing has worked
quite well for him and that's why Harper does what he does. He makes music for the
people, people who are aware of the world's greater goals and unimpressed by
political mediocrity. Harper knows he can make a difference with his music, but
his fans carry him along so the message can be heard” (Wilson). Right on. My interest in Harper has rubbed off on my father (a tide
has turned). I recently purchased
Harper’s latest effort entitled, Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama’s There
Will Be A Light. My father
reacts to the album, “This is a wonderful album. A gospel feel throughout with
touches of Al Green, Otis Redding and even a little doo-wop thrown in, the
record just grows and grows on you with each listen. Favorite of the moment is
the 3rd cut, "Where could I go." Love it!”
Harper is
passionate about his music. That
is all I require from musicians.
You can tell how passionate a person he is by reading his admiration for
the Blind Boys of Alabama – “When
The Blind Boys of Alabama open their mouths to sing, what comes out is older
than salvation, older than redemption. It is the sound of oppression and
struggle. It is the sound of revelation and liberation. It is a sound as old as
time. The Blind Boys of Alabama are the pyramids of gospel music; the
birthplace of sacred soul”. On Ben
Harper’s website, the Blind Boys are interviewed. Other than Harper, they love the likes of Bonnie Raitt and
B.B. King. It also says, Harper
has the Stereophonics, John Coltrane and Coldplay in his CD-player – the old
and the new, showing his range of musical interests and influences. I am coming around, Ben; I am coming
around. Harper was born in Claremont, CA. His influences are Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, Son House and Taj
Mahal. He is famous for playing
the Weissenborn guitar (Wilson). I cannot wait to see him play it this
summer at the Meadows in Hartford, CT.
In fact, I will not wait! I
hear he is one of the best live acts today.
Bob Dylan:
Bob Dylan
is a latecomer to my music family, but I have become intrigued with him. If
someone were to say Bob Dylan is the greatest rock artist ever, I am certainly
not going to argue. He is another musician my dad played that I ignored, but I
chose to give him a shot in college (probably after taking a shot; not in
basketball because I do not shoot) and I am sure Bobby will stay in my musical
collection for the remaining years I have left on this planet. At first listen,
I did not hear him asking the Blowing in the Wind questions, but it did
sound like he was passionate about what he was saying.
Bob Dylan described, in his recent book Bob Dylan Chronicles Volume One, how one day he saw Mike Seeger and realized the type of songs he wanted to write. He knew then that he had to open up his mind more - "I had been closing my creativity down to a very narrow, controllable scale" (Dylan 69-71). He decided he wanted to write folk songs - "Folk songs are evasive - the truth about life. The thought occurred to me that maybe I'd have to write my own folk songs, ones that Mike [Seeger] didn't know" (Dylan 71). Besides his mind, he decided to change his whole persona. He needed a name change. He had grown up in Duluth, Minnesota as Robert Allen Zimmerman, and in 1961, traveled to New York City to pursue a musical career. He tried the names Elston Gunn and Robert Allen. Then he had heard of a saxophone player named David Allyn and liked the spelling so he called himself Robert Allyn. Then he read poems written by Dylan Thomas so he became Robert Dylan. He had always been referred to as Bobby, but there was already a number of other Bobby's, such as Bobby Darin. "The first time I was asked my name in the Twin Cities, I instinctively and automatically without thinking simply said, 'Bob Dylan'". He struggled at first to respond to the name, but people caught on fast and Bob Dylan became a household name across America (Dylan 79).
Bob Dylan became well known for writing protest songs. However, he did not see it this way, nor did he consider himself the voice of a generation as many referred to him as this. He thought of his writing as topical songs - "songs about real events," and this did not necessarily mean they were protest songs (Dylan 82-83). He was pinpointed as a protest singer and the voice of his generation - "the press kept promoting me as the mouthpiece, spokesman, or even conscience of a generation. That was funny. All I'd ever done was sing songs that were dead straight and expressed powerful new realities. I had very little in common with and knew even less about a generation that I was supposed to be the voice of. I'd left my hometown only ten years earlier, wasn't vociferating the opinions of anybody. My destiny lay down the road with whatever life invited, had nothing to do with representing any kind of civilization. Being true to yourself, that was the thing.I really was never any more than what I was - a folk musician" (Dylan 115-6). Dylan is now sixty-four. He still sells out shows.
Bob Dylan described, in his recent book Bob Dylan Chronicles Volume One, how one day he saw Mike Seeger and realized the type of songs he wanted to write. He knew then that he had to open up his mind more - "I had been closing my creativity down to a very narrow, controllable scale" (Dylan 69-71). He decided he wanted to write folk songs - "Folk songs are evasive - the truth about life. The thought occurred to me that maybe I'd have to write my own folk songs, ones that Mike [Seeger] didn't know" (Dylan 71). Besides his mind, he decided to change his whole persona. He needed a name change. He had grown up in Duluth, Minnesota as Robert Allen Zimmerman, and in 1961, traveled to New York City to pursue a musical career. He tried the names Elston Gunn and Robert Allen. Then he had heard of a saxophone player named David Allyn and liked the spelling so he called himself Robert Allyn. Then he read poems written by Dylan Thomas so he became Robert Dylan. He had always been referred to as Bobby, but there was already a number of other Bobby's, such as Bobby Darin. "The first time I was asked my name in the Twin Cities, I instinctively and automatically without thinking simply said, 'Bob Dylan'". He struggled at first to respond to the name, but people caught on fast and Bob Dylan became a household name across America (Dylan 79).
Bob Dylan became well known for writing protest songs. However, he did not see it this way, nor did he consider himself the voice of a generation as many referred to him as this. He thought of his writing as topical songs - "songs about real events," and this did not necessarily mean they were protest songs (Dylan 82-83). He was pinpointed as a protest singer and the voice of his generation - "the press kept promoting me as the mouthpiece, spokesman, or even conscience of a generation. That was funny. All I'd ever done was sing songs that were dead straight and expressed powerful new realities. I had very little in common with and knew even less about a generation that I was supposed to be the voice of. I'd left my hometown only ten years earlier, wasn't vociferating the opinions of anybody. My destiny lay down the road with whatever life invited, had nothing to do with representing any kind of civilization. Being true to yourself, that was the thing.I really was never any more than what I was - a folk musician" (Dylan 115-6). Dylan is now sixty-four. He still sells out shows.
So, where does that leave me?
The following quotes respond to the music of the times, the first being from 1948 and the second being from 2005. They are quite similar.
"Today the
relationship of musical creators, publishers and exploiters is a complicated
one, handicapped by bickerings and legal technicalities. Popular music has
become big business, with hugh investments and quick turnovers. The exact
reasons for the success of any passing hit are not always easy to analyze. If
anyone could consistently tell them in advance, he would be the highest-paid
employee in the entire industry. Statistics are not always dependable, and
commercial enthusiasms are sometimes misleading" (Spaeth 14).
And you say you want a revolution...
I would like one – musically. The above quote is from 1948! You could say the same for 2005. Popular music is big business; however, what proceeded from 1948 was a music revolution. Rocknroll emerged. Today the television is the radio of the 1950s. The difference is, all streams are not played on TV; therefore, they no longer merge. More specifically, this causes artists, or the music fan, to become interested in a narrow spectrum of music. My friends and I debate over what is real music all the time. If it is happening then it is all real, but they love rap – and that is it! There are worlds of music to listen to. Unfortunately, it took me almost twenty years to realize this.
The 2005 quote:
"In the end, what
is [good music] is as subjective a question as 'What is Disco?' or anything
else. What's more valuable than discussing categories is the sharing of music.
There are great resources on the radio and online for learning about and
hearing tons of music, listening for yourself and deciding what you like. The
main purpose however, is to allow yourself to be exposed to the music THEY
don't want you to hear. THEY are the record labels and radio stations who
dominate what you can and can't hear, forcing you to listen to bad music so
often you actually start humming it! Do yourself a favor and start fresh with
some real rock n'roll" (More Sugar 28 B).
People ask me what my plans are after graduating from
college. I tell some that I am going to retire. They do not believe me so I play their game. I proceed to tell them that I have come
to the conclusion to continue balding.
It is a well thought out plan for post-graduation. I have also, after twenty plus years of
never wearing them, decided to wear a lot of hats. There is no correlation between that and the balding. I just really want to wear hats now
that I am twenty-two.
People still do not believe these plans so I tell them
that I am going to move to Greenwich Village and become the next Bob Dylan.
Problems may occur with this plan. I cannot sing, or write songs. And I am not
too sure about living in the Village.
Now I am trapped into pursuing a writing career because nobody believes
my real plans. For now let me give
that song writing thing a shot.
Goodbye Manhattanville College.
Rock on.
Every Time I Write
I want to write
And I want
to write like there is no end
But
because I know there is an end
I want to
write so I can lend my friend - some knowledge
And in return
he can lend me some of his
I want to
write so we can live this
And the
result is our kids being better off
I want to
write so we respect the musician
And their
music we bought
I want to
write to ignite an original thought
Maybe
something I have never contemplated before
I want to
write so I can write more
Along the
way there will be some more wants and maybes
And I know
this music is not going to save me
Yet I
savor the time I spend to write a rhyme
Maybe it
will teach me
I want to
write so the subject matter matters
I want to
write for emotions like sad, happy, pissed off or cause laughter
I want to
write another chapter and predict my future
I want to
write not to preach
But tutor
to stop the stagnation of neutered minds
I want to
write not to undermine those who lived the life of crimes
But to
stop future crimes
I want to
write the sign of the times
And make
them brighter
I write
not to find her
Because it
will come naturally
I write to
capture the meaning of life
My life,
my future
I choose
to write
I want to
write to paint a bright picture
Worth more
than a thousand words but actions
Sent into
your heart instead of your eyes
I write
with no disguise
This is how I feel
I write to
deal with the frustrations of growing up
I write what’s up, what brings us down, and
what keeps evolution
I want to
write to stop pollution of environment and soul
I want to
write without races to see everyone as a whole
I want to
write so much
But I have
to pace
Because my
heart feels like it’s in a race
I know you
feel it in the base of my voice
I love
writing
And it was
completely my choice to take time and write this rhyme
I’ll write
to climb the hill to the mountain of my potential
Wanting to
write these is the writing credential
Write for
a reason
Call your
writing the age of reason
Write to
escape the treason of yourself
For
yourself and your family
I write
Not to
impress
But to
leave impressions
Writing
might be an obsession
But with
an objective to learn a lesson and testing my skills
While too
many others gain thrills from materialistic things and drugs like pills
So their
future never reaches the mountain of their potential
At the
blink of an eye self-esteem falls beyond hills
I don’t
want to write the tales about those who fail
Who go to
jail
And the only bail out of this misery
Is suicide
dead or alive
You in the past like history
Instead, I
want to write and make history
Yet I know
this generation isn’t going to read me
And even
if played they still won’t listen or understand me
But I’ll
keep writing and make sure my friends and family feel me
Because I
do feel them
Every time
I write.
Works Cited
Ankeny,
Jason. “Rage Against the
Machine”. All Music Guide.
Bush,
John. “The Beach Boys”. All Music Guide.
Colegrave,
Steven. Punk – The Definitive
Record of a Revolution.
Thunder’s Mouth
Press. 2001.
Dylan,
Bob. Bob Dylan Chronicles
Volume One. Simon &
Schuster. 2004.
Ennis,
Philip H. The Seventh Stream –
The Emergence of Rocknroll in American
Popular
Music. Wesleyan University
Press. 1992.
Erlewine,
Stephen Thomas. “Beastie
Boys”. All Music Guide.
Erlewine,
Stephen Thomas. “Green Day”. All Music Guide.
Erlewine,
Stephen Thomas. “LL Cool J”. All Music Guide.
Erlewine,
Stephen Thomas. “Public
Enemy”. All Music Guide.
2005.
Erlewine,
Stephen Thomas. “Run-D.M.C.”. All Music Guide.
Erlewine,
Stephen Thomas. “Vanilla
Ice”. All Music Guide.
2005.
Fontenot,
Robert. “We’re Gonna Rock, We’re
Gonna Roll – The First Rock and Roll
Song”. About.com.
Handyside,
Chris. “The White Stripes”. All Music Guide.
2005.
Huey,
Steve. “DJ Jazzy Jeff & the
Fresh Prince”. All Music
Guide.
Huey,
Steve. “MC Hammer”. All Music Guide.
2005.
Huey,
Steve. “Michael Jackson”. All Music Guide.
2005.
“More
Sugar”. Commodity Publishing. Page 28 B. November 2004.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
Website. “Elvis Presley”.
“Rock
Music”. The Columbia Encyclopedia,
Sixth Edition. 2001. Bartleby.com.
Salins,
Robbie Lamesan. Ike Turner/Jackie
Brenston. “Rocket” (Liner Notes). Proper
Records
Ltd, Kent, England. December 2003.
Spaeth,
Sigmund. A History of Popular
Music in America. Random
House. 1948.
Wilson,
MacKenzie. “Ben Harper –
Bio”. Ben Harper.net.
