That's an interesting point Denise made about separating personal
ideology and art that i never really gave too much thought to before.
But i think what it comes down to is the practice-what-you-preach-ethic
being ignored that rubs people the wrong way. You don't "keep it real"
people are gonna talk shit...
Enough Stevie W... uhh...i mean Jamiroquia. I picked up a couple records
on this label called Dot that are incredible. It's a group called Friend
and it's experimental drum and bass in a 4 Hero "parallel universes"
direction. Very smooth, very chill, yet totally pushing in new
directions. A must have for people heavy into new directions in drum and
bass. The LP is called "Hot Rod". Also check out Quaint on the same
label. Oh and thanks to the guy who posted the Solsonics in his top 10 a
ways back. I just picked up "Jazz in the Present Tense".
Finally and most importantly, does anyone know where i can order online,
the new Nobasaku Takemura on vinyl... thanks in advance.
Ditch the bad vibes the list!
peace,
Argo
"show me a man who lives alone and has a perpetually dirty kitchen, and
5 times out of 9 I'll show you an exceptional man."
-Charles Bukowski, 6-27-67, over 19th bottle of beer
"show me a man who lives alone and has a perpetually clean kitchen, and
8 times out of 9 I'll show you a man with detestable spiritual
qualities."
-Charles Bukowski, 6-27 67, over 20th bottle of beer
> ----------
> From: denise johnson
> Sent: Friday, April 3, 1998 12:55 PM
> To: acid-jazz@ucsd.edu
> Subject: anti-jamiroquai sentiment
>
> First of all, I'd like to say that yes, I'm new to the acid jazz list.
>
> And I have been reading the comments in reference to Jamiroquai.
> Here's
> my $0.02 cents--mind you, I've been known to 'throw in' some extra
> change:
>
> 1. Too many folks get sucked in by the media hype. The itty bitty dude
>
> does some interviews, says Stevie Wonder is his idol and suddenly it's
>
> interpreted as 'he sounds like Stevie Wonder', 'he copies Stevie
> Wonder'
> blah, blah, blah. As an American who was literally breast fed on
> Stevie
> Wonder's music--Jason Kay does NOT sound like him. Like other half
> decent
> artist of today (and there ain't that many) you can hear (on the
> previous
> albums) the INFLUENCE of Stevie Wonder. Just as you can hear Roy
> Ayers,
> James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, P-funk, jazz, latin, disco, r&b etc. And
>
> I'd say, for some cheeky little former street rat who doesn't read or
> write music, that ain't too bad. Frankly, there hasn't been that much
>
> 'new' stuff musically in the last 20 years (damn, I'm starting to date
>
> myself). And Jamiroquai isn't doing anything different than what the
> BNH,
> Maxwell, Erykah Badu and countless others of 'new neo-soul,
> hip/trip-hop,
> acid-jazz, pseudo-funk wannabe bands are out there doing. Let's not
> forget that every ten years, culture gets recyled.
>
> 2. There was a comment about the band not recording or playing an
> 'original' note in their entire careers. Most art comes
> from--guess what? Art.. I'm sticking my ass on the line here, but more
>
> than often, a song comes from another song. Same goes for painting,
> poetry, novels etc. Somewhere, in the corners of the mind, a note, a
> melody, comes to an artist--but, because they've heard so many
> different
> things--it isn't necessarily original. It's a sort of epiphany when a
> songwriter can come up with a tune that is totally original--which is
> possible if you use the understanding that, music, like numbers, is
> infinite. If you have a large music collection and a good ear, I'd say
>
> you could hear a 'new' song and actually pick out something in that
> song
> that 'came' from something older. That's where that whole thing about
> 'influences' come in. Ya' dig? An excellent example of this is in the
> hip
> hop song 'When the East is in da' House (omigod!). I don't remember
> the
> name of the group (I'm not that heavy on rap) but what made that rap
> creative, in my opinion, is that the entire song, drums, bass, melody
> was
> based on a single note from an OLD song.....my memory t'ain't what it
> used to be but the older song was done by a woman, early 70s called
> 'Rockin' Chair' ('I wanna be your rocking chair'). In the original
> song,
> there is an instrumental break where the singer goes 'Hmmmmmmm' ( I
> believe its an 'a' for you musicians). The rap group took that single
> note and 'created' a song. Jamiroquai has done some, if not new, at
> least
> refreshing things. Especially on their first album. To have a song
> start
> out with a Curtis Mayfield flow, then a James Brown groove, then a
> basic
> jazz groove--in one song, flowing together smoothly is quite
> constructive
> if not new. Sometimes it's not whether they bite from somebody but
> whether they do it well. And Elson Trinidad said it succinctly when he
>
> said ' you obviously haven't seen them in concert.' Whether you like
> them
> or not, they are one of the tightest live bands around. And should
> probably focus on more live music than studio. Oh, and incorporating
> the
> yidakki into the music is a lot newer than a lot of the shit that's
> been
> glutting the market. I think groups like Jamiroquai should get a
> brownie
> point for trying to keep a particular genre of music
> alive.....Personally, if I hear anymore tired sampling, I just may rip
>
> out my uterus to ensure that I have no offspring who may fall prey to
> the
> crap that's out there now.
>
> 3. Someone puh-leeeeese tell me what owning luxury cars and writing
> about
> the environment has to do with being hypocritical? Damn, I'm a poet
> and I
> write about my 'blackness' and things associated with 'black culture'.
> So
>
> if I date a white guy and not a dreadlocked-ganja smoking
> revolutionary
> brotha, does that make me a hypocrite? It is possible to separate
> personal ideology from art. It's also possible to combine the two.
>
> 4. I dig funk and I don't dislike the clown. Personally, I think he
> can
> do a better job--specially vocally and lyrically--and hopefully, as he
>
> matures and builds confidence (not arrogance) he will do one or two
> albums that, 10-20 years from now someone will say, "That's a
> classic". I
> think he has the potential.
>
> I give most artists the benefit of the doubt--particularly when a big
> corporation owns a big chunk of them. Try being new and innovative
> when
> you have an AR guy and a PR guy and half a dozen other pricks in suits
>
> looking at charts and sales and have dollar signs in their eyes,
> reminding you of your contractual obligations. Try being artistic AND
> making money. (We all know most 'stars make their money from
> endorsements.) Frankly, if the money aspect was taken out of the
> industry, we'd probably have better music.....sure, there'd be more
> poor,
> homeless starving artists out there but the quality would be great!
>
> 5. Lastly, ( I know y'all are glad) find a better way to attack
> someone's
> creative ability. Why not talk about the lack of better lyrics on the
> latest album and their inconsistency? Or the fact that, most of the
> songs
> are WAY shorter with less instrumentals than the previous albums? And
> how, even though the songs on the previous albums where much longer,
> they
> didn't appear to be as 'self indulgent' as the TWM album? How about
> the
> way the album was promoted? Blah, blah, etc........calling him a twit,
> a
> wanker, or a clown is irrelevant to the product he's put out. Hey,
> Miles
> Davis was probably the prototype for Yoda. But that doesn't affect the
>
> greatness of his music. Gillespie looked like a blowfish. Dude was
> still
> great. Coltrane spent a good deal of time high. But that doesn't
> change
> the fact that music majors are STILL writing their thesis' on his
> musical
> style.
>
> Any way, my fingers are tired. If anyone wants to, check out
> http://www.abc.se/~m8877 Miss Funkyflyy's page. She's got some
> interviews
> (that she conducted) with some old school folks.....mostly r&b/soul.
> But
> definitely worth checking out. Especially if your under 25 and don't
> have
> an extensive music collection.
>
> Now, I'm looking forward to participating in this list. Peace and all
> that good stuff.
>
>
> Denise
>
> "Think twice about disrespecting me. I can be an evil, wicked,
> wretched
> wench when I hafta."
> ---Me
>