Re: cRAP, Jewish or Otherwise - My Many Opinions!

[Shirona <shirona...>]

  Eliott - may I return the compliment?  Perhaps the problem isn't so much
with "bad art" - but with the hijacking of true and sincere judgment...
People are made to feel "insecure" about their gut feelings regarding art or
music by those who profess to be "more enlightened than thou". I've heard
and regurgitated all those arguments..."don't criticize what you can't
understand".  It is precisely this fear (of being thought of as
"unenlightened" or "unsophisticated" or just plain ignorant) that caused
people to shut up and say nothing...and to end up not even knowing HOW they
feel.  Cultural Entropy.

  Read articles about hip-hop or rap...?  What for?  To find out what I'm
somehow "not getting"?  If there was anything attractive about it for me - I
probably would, on my own, without having to be intimidated into doing so.
I'm sorry - not everything is relative.  For me there is an "absolute"
difference between lyrics that say "I want to hold your hand" (even if that
was really, really "radical" back then...;-) and those who say "I want to
f--- your little sister".  Female singers have morphed into soft-porn
"artists".  (Gee - am I missing the "above my comprehension abilities"
message in this "art-form"?

  Folks - please re-read this story by Hans Christian Andersen

  http://hca.gilead.org.il/emperor.html

  Maybe it's about us.

  Shirona
  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
  Singer, Songwriter and Teacher of Jewish Music
     www.shirona.com
     www.cdbaby.com/shirona
  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: "Eliott Kahn" <Elkahn (at) JTSA(dot)EDU>
  To: "World music from a Jewish slant" <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
  Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 11:12 AM
  Subject: Re: cRAP, Jewish or Otherwise - My Many Opinions!


  > Beautifully said!
  >
  > I'm afraid we've been living in times where--especially Academe--has a
relativistic conception of truth and beauty. If it's true or beautiful to so
meone, somewhere, it must be truth or beauty. Right?
  >
  > Wrong. A "ready-made" bicycle wheel or toilet found by Marcel Duchamp
simply cannot be considered alongside great works of art, such as
Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel.
  >
  > And rap music cannot even be compared in the same category as Bach's St.
Matthew Passion, Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, Porgy and Bess, or Charlie
Parker's horn.
  >
  > I've always believed that black people are the most musical on the
planet.  That they come up with this trash is an awful commentary on the
state of ghetto culture--and the greedy corporations that promote it.
  >
  > Eliott Kahn
  >
  >
  > At 10:12 AM 3/22/2004 -0500, Shirona wrote:
  > >  Some questions can never be answered..."Yes, but is it ART"?
  > >
  > >  As a frustrated art student in the 70's, where it seemed like all
rules,
  > >standards of visual criteria or any sense of a movement were
  > >abandoned...where in the wake of that abandonment was the vacuum into
which
  > >all forms of BS were sucked in...unchallenged - I got tired of asking
that
  > >question.  Art was reduced to "claim".  If you put it in a museum and
  > >declared "this is ART" - then it was! (Of course you needed lots of
confused
  > >suckers to back your claim).
  > >
  > >  Perhaps every art-form needs to go through a phase like that...like a
  > >natural disaster that causes death... and re-birth (hopefully),  and
only
  > >time will tell.  If the so-called ART can survive successive
generations who
  > >will "buy into" whatever it is and find value in it - aesthetic,
musical,
  > >visual, intellectual...write books about it, lecture about it, have
shows
  > >and concerts (and people will come and love it) - then you probably
have
  > >ART.
  > >
  > >  It's hard for me to imagine that rap would earn such status in the
  > >future...but then I still can't believe it got so big and popular in
the
  > >present, so what do I know?  Are we plunging into a massive cultural
  > >dark-age period?  Maybe.  We know what composers accomplished 50, 100,
200,
  > >300 etc years ago...what do we have to show in the present?  If rap
  > >generates more "business" than any other form of music ( revenue, CD
sales,
  > >concert attendance) - does this mean that "this is it" for our
generation,
  > >and this is how we will be judged in the future? (Imagine a little bust
  > >portrait on a piano with Puff Daddy alongside Mozart and Beethoven...or
a
  > >gallery in a museum dedicated to the "style" of rap artists...their
  > >clothing, cultural milieu...their contribution to world culture and
  > >enlightenment...  I dunno - it's too depressing to think about it.  I'm
  > >going to listen to my classical music, or Klezmer or good old fashioned
Rock
  > >'n roll and make believe everything is cool...;-)
  > >
  > >  Shirona
  > >  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
  > >  Singer, Songwriter and Teacher of Jewish Music
  > >     www.shirona.com
  > >     www.cdbaby.com/shirona
  > >  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
  > >
  > >  ----- Original Message -----
  > >  From: "Farfl's House" <farfl (at) idirect(dot)ca>
  > >  To: "World music from a Jewish slant" <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
  > >  Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 8:23 AM
  > >  Subject: Re: cRAP, Jewish or Otherwise - My Many Opinions!
  > >
  > >
  > >  > In my sometimes-not-so-humble opinion, "rap Artist" and "rap Music"
are
  > >  > oxymorons.  I prefer to side with the late bassist John Entwhistle
who
  > >  > was of the opinion that rap was for those that couldn't sing.  I'm
also
  > >  > of the opinion
  > >  > that drum machines are for demo tapes and should be used as a
practicing
  > >  > tool only.  They have no place in recorded music being released to
the
  > >  > public.
  > >  > Anyone can learn to program a drum machine and a sequencer with a
  > >  > minimum of instruction.  Anyone can buy Adidas gear and learn all
of the
  > >  > correct and approved  hand gestures from  their local 24-hour video
  > >  > channel.   This stagnant cliche "form of expression" devolved out
of a
  > >  > rather interesting past time that took place in basements in
  > >  > economically-depressed areas.  Kids were using turntables to play
short
  > >  > *snippets* of records to form sound loops.
  > >  > Malcolm MacLaren had a hand in exposing it to the public,  hoping
to
  > >  > make a profit from it.  Unfortunately, he paved the way for such
things
  > >  > as "Puffed Wheat Daddy" or whatever his name is speaking about
Godzilla
  > >  > over Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir".
  > >  > -Steven
  > >  >
  > >  >
  > >  >
  > >
  > >
  > >
  >
  >
  >



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