Street fightin' Burkeans
Brooks joins the discussion of the current nichification and race-sorting in popular music, and adds his own center-right worries about the loss of a common lineage in our cultural products, which makes me ask if anyone else finds it ironic to see the heyday of the Rolling Stones – “‘Paint it Black’ you devil” – invoked as a time when young people appreciated the value of tradition.
True dat! (Practicing hipness so I can embarrass my children in front of their friends.)I never thought I’d be defending Boy George because he was original by comparison.
— Joules · Nov 20, 11:42 PM · #
I’ll agree with Brooks on one point: Indeed, “There are almost no new groups with the…longevity of the Rolling Stones, Springsteen or U2.”
Other than that one self-evidential observation (one group can’t be “new,” and also be as old as a band launched in 1979 Dublin.”) Other than that, Brooks comes off as a fusty gasbag.
Take the second half of his lament, that current acts can’t match the Stones, Springsteen or U2 in breadth of appeal. Audiences for acts like Gnarls Barkely, Jay-Z, the Dixie Chicks, Prince, M.I.A and Alicia Keyes
dwarf Brooks’ big three in manifold composition (if not in all cases in sheer scale.)
Then there’s this bit of reality-resistant analysis: “It’s considered inappropriate or even immoral for white musicians to appropriate African-American styles.” Sorry, Justin, Madonna, Joss Stone, that black-face schtick’s been over for years. Please step aside and allow appropriate fragmentation to proceed.
Speaking of which, Brooks’ larger point is distillable to an equation that looks something like:
fragmentation/genre multiplication = musical culture cut off from routes = clueless artists = lousier music.
Sounds – and I literally mean “sounds” – dire, right? But Brooks never explains why a music less monolithically based on Rock and mass airplay will be any less authentic, or aware of antecedents, like the blues and folk. Pop music from most any era seems to follow the same general rule of thumb:about 95% detritus studded by 5% that’s genuinely fresh, felt and inspired.
Case in point: Consider that, in 1983, acts like Kajagoogoo, Culture Club, Air Supply, Frida, Taco, Men Without Hats, Men At Work, Adam Ant and Quarterflash all placed hits in Billboard’s Hot 100. U2’s first US hit, In The Name of Love, barely scatched the top 200.
— joel MaHarry · Nov 23, 04:32 PM · #