In yesterday’s Dugout Chatter, Townsman Scott asked:
If it’s hard for white people to get into B.B. King, why do white people make up the vast majority of his fanbase?
Today, I’m no longer concerned with B.B. King, but I think the answer to this question raises a broader point: African American musicians and music fans seemed to have taken Satchel Paige’s advice to heart: Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you.
It’s extremely rare to find an African American musician who tries to re-create a vintage sound the way white rock musicians have done since about a week after the genre was hatched. What’s the closest you find, Prince dressing up styles from the past and paying homage to the masters? A modern-day R&B singer dressing up like Diana Ross circa 1966 for a few quick cuts in a video? Where’s the African American artist who’s trying to re-create the sounds of a Motown record or record an old blues-style song in scratchy mono? Where’s the African American artist who’s trying to sound like Prince circa-Dirty Mind? I find this seeming disregard for re-creating the past both fascinating and totally alien to the white rock mentality. I have some ideas about what’s behind this, but I’ve never seen anything written on or heard anything talked about the subject.
By the way, I am specifically using the term African American to identify a particular group of people, not just to follow a style guide’s suggestions for race terminology. British blacks don’t have a baseball history, and as a result, they’ve had artists re-creating classic ska and other styles.
So here are my questions:
- Has anyone read anything on what’s really behind this cultural tendency? I suspect it has a little more to do than reverance for Satchel Paige’s six “master maxims.” Any African American Townspeople out there who might have some insight or personal reactions to this issue?
- Is there a form of “white” American music that white Americans have let be and not tried to re-create slavishly and reverently?
I look forward to your responses.
Two words for you that might undermine your argument: Wynton Marsalis.
That said, African Americans are less likely to be nostalgic than white Americans about the American past, generally speaking. I hope I don’t have to explain why.
One word from my post that might undermine your attempt to undermine my argument: “rare”.
The easy answer, which you don’t have to explain, only goes so far. We’re talking about music, maybe even Art. Religious African Americans have no problem singing the same spirituals they did 100 years ago, songs, I might add, that are much more closely tied to a past better not glorified. Why are African American pop musicians so radically different from a large segment of white pop musicians?
Am I that stupid that there’s nothing more than the obvious answer to my question? A lot of you read music and other art criticism books, as I do. I don’t recall reading anything about this, not even something obvious. If I’m an idiot, so be it. I’ll try harder next time. Meanwhile, I trust there is no reason why the question should be dismissed without the slightest consideration and thought.
How about Outkast’s Idlewild movie as an example of African-American nostalgia?
And how about cutsie 50s pop like How Much Is That Doggie in the Window? as an example of white music nobody wants to revive?
As I said, Elijah Wald’s ESCAPING THE DELTA: ROBERT JOHNSON AND THE INVENTION OF THE BLUES discusses this tendency. It’s been a couple years since I read the book, so I apologize in advance if I misstate his gist, but my memory is that his argument is that African Americans are the original Modernists, in the ’60s youth group sense. African American popular culture is all about The New and The Hip.
Similarly, Lloyd Bradley’s splendid THIS IS REGGAE (released in the UK as BASS CULTURE) posits that reggae never found a black audience in the US because it’s “too country,” and not up to date and urban enough. The rise of reggaeton in the years since this book was published actually gives weight to his argument, because reggaeton was the hip new thing when it broke.
Good suggestions, BigSteve. Great One, what you have to say sounds interesting and similar to what was on my mind. I’m curious if these authors speculate on why this may be. Is it all similar to what I’ve read the Mods wanted, that is, to look better and more stylish than their working class backgrounds would have them look?
Yeah, pretty much. Again, I’m not going to try to summarize because I’ll get it wrong — I have a freakish memory, but it’s not THAT good — but I seem to recall that both Bradley and Wald talk about the aspirational aspect of African American popular culture at some length.
I think Mark is right, though, Mr. Mod. In the sense that straight ahead jazz was a glory in African American music intense enough and pure enough to draw people of every stripe. You could argue this is because of its unique position as both art music and pop music, and as music that is lyric- and image-free. When Wyman went out with one of the Ronettes, was it? I just remember the story about him gushing about the musical heritage of her people, the blues, this powerful background, and she allegedly tore into him with, “Fuck that old Uncle Tom sharecropper hick bullshit! I’m trying to GET somewhere!” She saw all of that primarily as limiting. With that idea in mind, I don’t think it’s a reach to say that black America was/is painfully disenfranchised, and is trying still to get somewhere. While white have the psychic luxury to sit down and peruse an often glossed-over past and recreate it as they wish it had been. Oldie acts and nostalgia acts would indeed play “That Doggie In the Window” long before they would play “Strange Fruit.” The only segment of African America that seems to feel it has arrived is a large swath of hip-hop artists of the stripe that creates paeans to their automoblies. “Some Bling, a Bevy of Hos, and Thou.” And lo and behold, it is this group of artists that is the most stagnant creatively. They have learned one lesson at least from their white kindred: lower your goals enough, and complacency can be yours!
Thanks, General, for helping to bring Mark’s original point to light. So the disenfranchisement aspect is key? I can buy that. I still think it’s odd that even a history concious artist like Prince rarely produces a record that sounds old fashioned. I mean, by the fact that he’s been around forever now, he’s made some records that come out of the gates sounding outdated, but on a technological level, he doesn’t put out a records made on certain vintage tube equipment like, say, Lenny Kravitz frequently does.
Frodo Baggins wrote about the blues? That kid got mad talent. I heard he’s gonna play Iggy Stooge in a movie.
Black people are REAL! Whites is just phony old devils tryin ta bake out in the sun to get a little of what a brother got.
No white kids right now are meticulously trying to recreate that Frankie Lymon and the Teenager shit. Thank Black Jesus!
p.s. I may be bongwater stupid, but i sure as shit aint gunrack stupid!
Sheesh, listen to you guys: the Black Man does this, the Black Man doesn’t do that; the Black People do things for this or that reason. In addition to being largely wrong about the lack of look-back-ism in black music (Brand New Heavies, Tony Toni Tone, the whole gangsta/Dolemite worship of the 90s, Erykah Badu and her gang of fellow classic soul recreators, anyone?) — the monolithic thang you’re ascribing to an entire culture is really surprising me.
And while we’re on the topic of the whole race thing, I submit the following for your “entertainment.” Skip ahead to 1:40 to get to the heart of the matter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWRSgjDEQy0
Townsman Hrrundi, consider the technology as well as the influences. OK, there’s Erykah Badu. Tony Toni Tone and rappers sampling old works have some merit in answering my question as well, but they’re different than 21st century rockabilly bands, 21st centruay ska bands, 21st century garage bands. There’s no need to characterize anyone’s views, maybe beside Shawn’s – whatever they may be – on the matter in some holier-than-thou way. I’m trying to discuss a trend. I acknowledged rare cases and all that, and I’m open to discussion. If it’s all a non-topic or exhausted topic already, so be it.
Touchy, touchy, Mr. Mod! I just wanted you guys to know what you *sounded* like. I know you have no malice in your hearts.
I would say, however, that there was a definite *trend* in black pop music throughout the 90s and early oughts that most definitely took giant steps backward in terms of Look, sound and such. The 1990s were, like, the new 1970s in many black music quarters. Were they quite as obssessed with prock “accuracy” as the practicioners of rockabilly, blooze, etc., that you’re talking about? For the most part, no. But I’d say the look-backwardness was more widespread through “black” music than it was in “white” music during that time.
I hear you, Hrrundi. Good points. Thanks.
Well, it seems to be a fairly common impulse to look back 20 years, and the late ’80s and 1990s were quite possibly the first time black America could look back 20 years with some degree of wistfulness. It sure wasn’t happening in the ’70s.
I was under the impression that that was Mr. Mod’s entire point.
Right, that was my part. It must be painful to just agree with me, sometimes:)
Good points re: ’90s attitudes vs ’70s.
I think it’s definitely worth noting that nostalgic looking back may be on the rise in music by African Americans, and certainly in music clubs. I tend to see the Bohemian Caverns (is that the right name?) phenom in DC that way, selling a sort of “Wasn’t Kansas City cool in the 30s and 40s” vibe.
Don’t you think some of the 90’s “Quiet Storm” artists harken back to early 70’s stuff?
And I would think Lenny Kravits doesn’t count 🙂
I agree with the moderninst take The Great 48 brought forth. Why celebrate the past. For many african americans, the past sucks.
I always think its funny though to read stuff about black america from some of the whitest people I know
Yes, I believe that stuff does harken back to all the tracks I skip on Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On and Stevie Wonder’s ’70s albums.
Where do we fall in the spectrum of blackness-whiteness, my friend? Does it really matter? We’re talking about music first. We’re not talkin’ about games; we’re talkin’ about music!