(And why I still don't like rap...)
Okay, so I already know that this blog may have the
potential to make me seem like a ole’ fuddy duddy. Do I give a rats ass? No, not really. It’s one of the benefits of being a (usually)
very nice person. Most of the time, I
don’t have to worry what others think of me, because I know that I am a pretty decent
person. Thus, occasionally, I get to
speak my damn mind. Okay?!
I have been around for forty three years now. I have been listening to music for each and
every one of those years, including whatever my parents fed to me when I was
too young to choose it for myself yet. (Which
was, in hind sight, some pretty cool stuff if memory serves... We had albums
like “Jesus Christ Superstar” sitting around, “Peter, Paul and Mary,” Sandy
Nelson’s “Let there be Drums” (badass), “Godspell,” Cat Stevens, Beatles,
Elvis, Roy Orbison, Janis Joplin’s “Pearl,” Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, and so
on... So sure, a lotta “hippie era”
stuff, which was really a bit before my time, but great. I was either four or five
when all the good bands were out there playing, or had already missed them, or
were still just a bit too young to go and experience them live. So we had a pretty decent selection of
musical inspiration in the house. We
listened to albums, yes, the big wax albums of the early days, (33’s, 45’s and
75’s, I do believe) on a large, wooden, stereo, with a real live turntable, and
a built-in am/fm radio with a huge dial... it was the coolest thing in the
world when I was that age. The speakers
were massive... and I’ll never forget what it looked like.
From there, I went through music as a lot of people my age
might have; genres of classic rock, when I was a “kid,” (probably still my favorite kind of music,
really), some classical music, in college, (had to learn a lot of this stuff as
a music major) a bit of punk rock and new wave, good punk and rock and blues
inspired pop, some blues (even sang with various blues singers of some note back
in the day), jazz (went to see and loved Chik Corea and Al Di Miola, Zappa,
Yes, Public Image Limited, David Gilmour, Robert Plant, and many others in my
teen years) browsed through hard rock and heavy metal, then alternative rock
and grunge, and even a smidgen of experimental Goth and such here and
there. (Another of my faves I guess
you’d say... though I do like it, my knowledge of this particular genre isn’t very
extensive.) Anyhow, the point is, I’d
explored quite a bit of different stuff.
Like most, I knew what I liked, and was sure of what I loved.
Though far from claiming to be an expert on musical genres, I
can at least see, sense and appreciate how music has evolved over the last few
decades. I have my favorites, as anyone
would, and my not so favorites, and then my absolute dislikes, and honestly, I
have attempted to find something redeeming in all genres and styles of
music. (Truly, I have.) and mostly, I’ve
succeeded in doing so.
Yet...
No matter how much I have ingested, no matter how it evolves
and continues to do so, and no matter how “new” and “fresh” it becomes, I
just... no matter how open I have tried to be to the art of music as a whole, I
still simply do not like rap.
It might not be the most popular statement of the present
day, I realize. Unfortunately, for
someone who does not like this form of art, or music, (or whichever you choose
to call it), we must, even so, as open minded music appreciateurs, live with
its presence in almost every single aspect of our daily culture, today. I am amazed at how many programs I watch on
TV that reference rap and hip hop culture... how many styles and fashions,
manners of speech and dress and every day reference to it that can be seen, and
how widely it has, in just the past couple of decades, grown to be almost a
movement and a new language of its own.
And well, someone must really like, it, because every where
you turn, hey, there it is!
Now please, for those of you who feel insult at this, or my
dislike of it, (and there have to be many of you out there, because as we know,
it’s just everywhere) don’t get me wrong. I do find love and inspiration within almost
all kinds of music. I can definitely relate
to how rhythm and blues came from this and evolved into that, and so on and so
forth, and how and why it has inspired so many others. (Not the least of which, I find interesting,
is the great amount of British musicians who could and can still never seem to
get enough of Elvis, and the old blues singers and such, almost as rabidly as
we devour them and their music, in return.) But... I guess I just can’t “appreciate” rap,
and hip hop, as an art or music form.
This is not to mention the state of music, today overall. Where is
the music? Where is the passion? At ALL?
I mean, every thing is so incredibly overproduced, inorganic, simple,
forged, forced, fast and phony sounding, and everything seems to be centered
upon, or stemming from, or at least having something to do with some form of bubblegum
pop and rap and hip hop ad nauseum... so much so that it is hard to discern if
there really is any real good, genuine MUSIC out there at all these days. (I can really only name a handful of
mainstream artists that I’d even bother to actively listen to these days, and
that would take some doing.)
I loved the eighties, and a lot of the music that came along
with it, (probably largely just because I was there and lived through it) but I
truly do believe that the eighties had a lot to do with the decline of good
music, overall. Everything seems to have
been so much more about hairstyles than music styles. Everyone that used to play a piano now played
a keyboard, rock bands became hair bands (not that that was a bad thing,
necessarily, but the glam of it, overall, was sometimes enough to make one wonder
who was the man and who was the woman... not that that is a bad thing, either...
but....) WHAT ABOUT THE MUSIC??? People used to care so much less about what
kind of designer outfit to wear to an awards show, than about how to actually
play, and hone, their musical abilities.
WTF ever happened to the four piece band? You know... vocals, guitar, bass... DRUMS???
Stadium shows? Solos? Throngs of fist pumping, air guitar playing,
mosh-pit slamming, passionate rockers?
Man, maybe I am growing
to be an old fogey, and okay, maybe I am
just kind of an old fashioned “Lady” at heart, with too much sensitivity to the
vulgarities of the current world. (Or
maybe Johnny is right, and I do have a little version of Jack Black living
inside my heart.) But... {sigh} Geez. I miss the romance of really fine, rock and roll music. (Or maybe I’ve just been reading too much poetry,
and watching too much Masterpiece Theatre.)
It seems like most of what I listen to these days at all, is either what
is playing or being written in my own head, by myself, or music by one of my many
talented friends. (Also neither of which
are a bad thing, at all.) But the
“Radio?” Ugh. Main stream music? Forget it.
Where is it? What is it? I haven’t listened to the radio, for much
other than the weather, for probably over a decade or more now. And really, I do think it’s been far longer
than that since the beginning of the “decline.”
Maybe I just cannot appreciate the evolvement of what came from
classical music, then (in my humble opinion) to progressive and (what is now) classic
rock, to... to what? The (ahem) “music”
of today? I can’t wrap my head around
it. Hell, MTV doesn’t even PLAY music
anymore. I remember when my friend Julie
and I were sooo excited at the first broadcast of MTV, when they played that
song by the Buggles... and then so many other great music videos... that was
back in the day, when we had to sit and listen to St. Louis’ “real rock
station,” K-SHE-95 and wait, just wait, for them to play our favorite song
again, so that we could press the button quickly on our little tape recorders,
so that we would finally have a copy of the latest song we loved and we could
listen to it over and over again and write the words down to it! By hand!
Most up and coming “celebrities,” musical or otherwise, of
today, (because everyone has to “drop” a damn cd these days; actors, heiresses,
reality show stars) are now so fully focused on the new “reality” of such a
mishmash of pseudo pop and done to death (and badly) over-covered retro crud, that
they seemed to have missed the part where it’s all been manufactured, for the
most part, for them, by the music
industry. (WHO thought this was a good idea?
Do they even allow people to
write their own stuff anymore?) Today, every
little kid wants to be a rock starr. Bratz
Dolls are way cooler than Barbies anymore... every doll has a guitar... you can
buy a cardboard amp, drum set and guitar rig at Wal Mart, and nearly every
eight-to-ten year old wants to dress like... well, like one of the monsters at
Monster High. (Or rather, like...
well... like I would have never, ever been able to dress back then, even at
sixteen.) Today’s music “biz” is chock
full of teenagers, and even younger kids, spoon fed to us from and by the
Disney generation of soulless crud that invades my kid’s primetime program
schedule, (though some of them are, admittedly, kinda cute, and we do watch
them because she likes them and they are largely harmless and mildly
entertaining, but it seems that every other show is about how to become a freakin’
pop star. “How to Rock,” Austin &
Ally,” “Shake it Up...” Oh I could go on
and on...) and even her (our!) mp3 player, magazines and walls are saturated by
it all. Sadly, even some that do have a
smidgen of talent, are winning their record contracts on game shows now days. (And the ones who don’t make the cut, are made
fun of. Cause yeah. That’s constructive. And entertaining.)
(And back to my rap rant from a few minutes ago again... Is
it really necessary for every pop singer these days to add a rap part into
their mixes, and vice versa? No wait...
mostly, it’s just the rap being enmeshed into everything else. When is the last time you saw a rapper
actually playing an instrument?
Blagghhhh....)
Granted, rap, and hip hop, merging from and with R&B, in
some cases, (though the creator of Soul Train himself even admitted not liking,
or understanding, rap/hip hop, if that tells you something) is part of the evolvement
of art and music, and no one can deny that.
I realize that rap isn’t really “about” playing musical instruments, anyhow,
or for that matter, neither, really, is pop.
To say it’s just “not my kind of music,” overall, wouldn’t be accurate
or fair, either. I can fully appreciate
Madonna, Gwen Stefani, and even Gaga, but honestly, to me, a lot of it is so
much more about the movement and the statements it makes and the changing
times, than it is about the music itself.
I’m sorry, but I don’t think it takes musical genius to hash out a dance
floor groove with a drum machine and midi synth sounds to rap (or sing)
over. (Maybe to a proficient studio
engineer it’s an art, but to a songwriter?
Are any of these artists even writing songs at all anymore?) Yet, this is what is being churned out by the
boatload these days by our “music industry.”
(Whatever that is, these
days.) Do I “Like” Lady Gaga? Sure I do.
I love the shit out of her. HER. But her music, honestly? Truly?
Meh... I could do with or without it.
I guess that when I hear that someone wrote a song in five minutes, about
their cell phone, I am just missing the whole point of what “art” is really
supposed to be these days. I am sure
Lady Gaga is a very nice person, as she seems to be... and I will still dance
to her songs when I hear them (who could resist?) it’s just that “IT” (pop, and
much moreso, rap, the more I get to know
of it) is just really, really not my thing, and I guess it never really has
been, and likely never will be. (To each
his own, of course. If you like it, good
for you, keep on rappin’ yo!)
I have loved many forms of music, but mostly, I dig on it when
it moves me... when something about it speaks to me, when it turns me on, when
it is full of passion, or even pain, or something that I can relate to, from
some important time in my life. Or even
when it is just lighthearted fun. But it
has to be... something. Something
created out of love or even hurt and need... with some heart and soul in it. And sure, I can just cut loose and hit the
dance floor with a drink in my hand, on occasion, too... but repeatedly
blathering on about “Whipping my Hair Back and Forth” or about such deep
subject matter as, hey, “Do ya wanna be my “Girlfriend,” in another form by the
latest boy band, just doesn’t do it for me.
And, I guess they really aren’t supposed, to, I’m forty three, for
Chrissakes! I suppose I was in love with
Davy Jones at about my daughters age, (going on seven, in just a few days now),
and I guess I can understand how and why little girls would also be attracted
to Justin Beiber, but by Gods, I made damn sure that there was at least some
Zappa and some Led Zeppelin in that child’s MP3 player, as well, and I am
hoping she will be open to all of it.
(And I am proud to say, that not only is “Black Hole,” by Sabbath, one
of Béla’s favorites, but also Bowie, Evanescence, and Zappa’s “Joes Garage...”
which amuses me to no end...) Next
additions? The Beatles and then, when
she is ready... ELP. Gotta start slow
and then work up to Zeppelin, you
know. But of course she’ll always have
her own taste, and I’ll encourage that.
I just don’t want her to think that Disney has the monopoly on music,
even for kids... and that she has so many more choices than what her classmates
listen to or what she sees on TV.
So overall, it seems to me, that all of these new (pop) artists
(and even more) have some sort of connection to rap, whether they like it, or
want to connect to it, or not. (But what
do I know about the big, corrupt business of music? Maybe they really do want every song to be a
mixup between pop and rap.) Heck, even
Aerosmith did it once, and that was pretty cool. But... every single pop song these days? Give me a break.
Has it become, really, all about fashion? About who is “wearing” who? And about who can throw down, hold a grudge,
start a beef, and who can rhime betta that thou? More about style, these days, it seems, and crazy
fingernails and stilettos, hairstyles and plastic colored wigs and dance
routines than about an awesome, well thought out and performed guitar riff or mesmerizing piano parts. I just... I guess I don’t understand.
Greg Lake, from the significant seventies progressive (and
now classic) rock trio “Emerson, Lake and Palmer,” (and an old, though new love
of mine these days, whom a late friend gratefully tuned me on to recently
though I should have known how great they were years ago) said, when asked
about his views on the music of today, had this to say, which resonated with me
deeply:
(from his online chat session via the Greglake.com website)
paul1peacock asks: “Hi Greg, what is your take on the
current state of music?”
Greg answers, “With
music there is almost always something great just around the corner but right
now is perhaps not a high watermark as far as originality is concerned. I still
hear some nice music being made but I would be lying if I told you that I
thought it was as exciting as it was during the late 1960’s early 1970’s. Music
at that time was changing the world not just entertaining people.”
Even if it were JUST entertaining, it might be alright. But... Why can’t we “Change the World” again, with our music, today? Surely there are things that need to be
addressed in 2012, too, rather than the blatant materialistic and selfishly ego
driven blather that pollutes our airwaves and digital players and tablets and
cell phone screens at this time. Am I
really that much of an idealist, and is my head really that far up in the
clouds, to this day, to think that it is too far out of our reach anymore? Because, I think we can make a change, or a difference, musically, and otherwise. Not necessarily politically (that really
isn’t my thing, musically, either) but everyone has their passions. It can’t all be about “shakin’ that ass,”
surely. Sure, people are rooting for
causes, speaking their minds politically, and using their celebrity to advocate
notions and ideals of all kinds, and likely have done so with music throughout
mankind, but what is being said in the message of music these days? What are the stories we are telling, sharing,
and creating, to leave for our children to pass on? “Cha-ching cha-ching we're
loaded and we're not gonna blow it?” Or
oh hey, maybe it’s even more profound; “Hood n!$$@from Bankhead, I stay by
Grandma Nana... I lay by my
banana, dumpin’ and punkin’ monkeys!”
(Whaaa?)
(the last bit of wisdom from the from the rather hilarious and
brief article on rap music that can be found here: http://coedmagazine.com/2010/07/14/the-14-dumbest-rap-lyrics-of-all-time/
)
So, um, yeah. I don’t
get it. I want my music back. Or better yet... I want people to start
creating real music again some day, very, very soon. And if they already are, could someone please
share it with me??? I am always seeking
new inspiration, entertainment, and I just love music... really, I do.
(Ahhhh. So yes... it
is good to get this off of my chest. Just a wee bit more of a rant then I’ll
get to the good stuff.)
Do I care that Axl Rose decided not to attend the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame’s induction recently, and do I think he is an ass for not
doing so? No, absolutely not. (Well, yes, I do think he is an asshat, but
that has nothing to do with the RRHOF baloney.
Anyone who has been paying attention knows that the Hall of Fame is
pretty much a joke, anyhow, so that isn’t really the issue. I’d rather not even get started on that.) The point is... are there people out there
even, still making great rock music, that would deserve such an honor? Or, is anyone making anymore progressive
music? Or classical... symphonic,
beautiful, artistic, “sorrow sighing slices of beauty” that one can admire time
and again, that sets of an ageless, timeless reaction in people, makes them
cry, laugh, want to fuck, fall in love, or draw a painting? Are there any true, diehard rock and rollers
out there anymore at all making great new music???
Well, sure, they are out there, here and there, I suppose... (but where exactly are they?) I know that there are even a few programs here
and there dedicated to the memory of it, and the creation of it, like the stuff
that VH1 Classic sometimes attempts to do, or one of my favorites, “That Metal
Show,” does, which is devoted to hard rock and heavy metal, and it’s just an
interesting place to see what some of those old guys are up to these days. But that’s just it. Most of them are, well, getting pretty
old. Where is the NEW generation of
rebels? Or REAL rockers? Of heavy metal head bangers and all out punks
and thrashers and chain wearin’ hippies who love flower power? Are they all dead? No... I can’t let myself believe that they
are.
Perhaps the “Steampunk” movement has some promise... though
all that I can say that I know of it, is that it seems also like a general
fashion statement... or a movement related to gears, timepieces, goggles, and
brass and copper gadgets... and even though I haven’t really explored it just
yet, I have to say that I have yet to really hear anything that turns me on
about it thus far... (except that my friend Darwin Prophet is involved in that
genre these days, and she is flat out an awesome talent, with an awesome voice,
musical prowess, AND writing skills, all together... so... where are more
artists like HER?)
I don’t want to be stuck in the past. I want to carry on with the spirit of the
“progressive...” which is what I think that groups like ELP, ELO, Rush, Genesis,
Yes, and the likes were doing. I don’t
want to move backwards in time, and I want to look and move forward, but I
feel, some days, that I might either have to settle for an O.D. on nostalgia,
or not even bother to listen to what’s out there, at all.
Ah, well. ‘Tis a good
thing that music is timeless. Our
bodies, not so much. But the music that
comes from them... good, really grand, soul moving, earth shattering, mind
bending, ground breaking, edge cutting stuff...
That kind of art will live on and on and on, as an imprint into
eternity. Thank the Gods.
{Sheesh.}
I miss the days of the badass rocker chicks like the Wilson
Then, there are those of us who do is at as we go, when we
can, make it a part of us, but not the whole of, our lives... appreciate it
when we can, and love it when we can do it and appreciate it; see it more as an
act of love than a fierce driven crawl to end up at the top of some unreal
heap. I don’t know. I can only speak for myself. I honestly haven’t put out much music these
last few years. It doesn’t mean I
haven’t been writing or recording though, or that I haven’t wanted to... I have
been living, experiencing, and constantly creating, even if I’m not out there
doing it each and every day. Even though
I am not always touring and traveling and making a new cd every few months, I
do feel more than blessed that I am able to do it during the warmer months, at
all, genuinely love it when I do do
it, and adore that I have a family that is supportive of it when and if I do
choose to do it. I do know that it makes
me feel good, makes me feel real,
makes me alive... feel like I am becoming more of who I am, every day that I am
blessed enough to be inspired to write or record or sing. (And I do
not write, unless I am so
inspired, which is why sometimes months or years may go by without a new song
from me, and sometimes, one comes every other day during those more poignant
times of my life.) And, I fully plan to
write and record and sing many more songs, for many more years, too. I guess now, I am at the point that I am only
doing it because I love it though, and not for that “record deal” or TV show
placement or major worldwide tour, anymore.
To me, the real thrill of a lifetime would be to work with some of those
people who I have been luckily enough to call my mentors, inspiration, or
muses, and not necessarily to be working and on the road, each and every
day. I very much love to have this place
to call my home, to dig in and become a part of the earth here, and even when I
do get wandering feet, which is an inevitable part of me and an annual
occurrence, I always appreciate being able to come back to this place, and to
have a normal life with some privacy.
Oh, and maybe I’ll get a subscription to Taxi when my new cd is out, and
see where the music can take me, if that seems right. Maybe I’ll even get another movie offer one
of these days. But honestly, and for
now... there is so much more to my life now, that just traveling from pagan
festival to pagan festival, though I do enjoy it even ever more immensely for
those few months, when I am able to do it.
It is like... such a blessing, that I appreciate it more and more with
each year. So, in the end, it doesn’t
seem to matter how old I am. Some
things, blessedly, do not age, or even get better with age. I am still going to do it, as long as I love
it, and as long as it feeds my soul.
Oh, and I wrote a new song last night, or in the early hours
of this morning. ;-) I can’t wait to
share it with you. It is most decidedly
a rock song. A poetic, mystical,
magickal, meaningful, inspired piece of my heart, and it comes from a place of
beauty, memory, honor, and humility.
Love, Light, Music, and even the Darkness,
Bernadette {Beltana Spellsinger)
