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Post by rrw on Jun 14, 2007 13:07:52 GMT -6
Been listening to a CD called Red, White & Blues which has a killer blues song called I Got Them Blues All Over Me, which in turn got me hungry for some Rap. I know, I know lots of people don't like the Rap, but it has been the most powerful musical movment to come around in a very long time. Back in the 80s people swore it would be gone the next day, but here we are in the 21st Century and the style is still going strong, still irritating the hell out of us old folks. It has infiltrated every other contemporary musical form. Latino, Rock... Heck! There's even a Country Western rapper! Maybe the best thing to ever happen to Rap was the introdution of Rhythm & Blues into the mix. The albumn I'm listening to is the soundtrack to one of HBO's greatest TV series, OZ. If you've never seen this show, you need to, really makes The Sopranos look like choir boys! You can get it on DVD but make sure you start with the first season. My first love when it comes to music is the blues of Howlin' Wolf.  Yep! That's him. You may or may not know who the Wolf is, but all the English rock groups out of the late 60s, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Rolling Stones, etc., knew who he was. Wrote tunes like, Killing Floor, Sitting on Top of the World and covered a lot of Willie Dixon songs, Built for Comfort, Three Hundred Pounds, on and on. I really didn't get turned on to the Wolf until I was 50 or so. Yeah, embarrassing. When I first heard him I was just blown away. And it may be because a lot of us "old people" are getting into the blues that the "younger generation" and the Hip-Hop culture sort of dismisses the blues. But that's the way. I know as a teenager I wouldn't be caught dead listening to or appreciating the music that my parents and grandparents liked. Man, talk about your social suicide! The blues speak to me in a way no other music ever could. Yes, we think of the blues as being mostly about being sad, lonely, trashed by the world (Country uses the same themes), but there's also a dance type of blues which is more up beat and extremely danceable. The invent of rock, to me, comes from Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters turning electric. It seems to me that they are the ones (along with Willie Dixon and Ike Turner) who gave us the driving beat and fast tempo. So if you haven't had the pleasure of listening to Howlin' Wolf, get to it! |
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Post by DavidMc on Jun 15, 2007 9:48:28 GMT -6
To be honest Rap is one of the few music genres I'm not into. I love the blues, particularly the three kings BB; Albert and Freddie Just been listening to Moaning in the moonlight by Howlin' Wolf, makes me wanna join a chain gang LOL!
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Post by rrw on Jun 15, 2007 10:33:45 GMT -6
Well, Like I said in the post for me the blues is everything... but I like ALL music types and I think Hip-Hip gets a bad rap (Oh! Did I just say that?!). But like Country I like specific songs and artist. As far as "Rap" goes I'm probably at least twenty years behind. I love groups like Public Enemy, NWA, Kid Rock, etc! There's a power to Rap that when the artist taps into it truthfully, honestly it just can't be denied. I think the same can be said about Slam Poetry! I have never been able to figure out exactly how to do it in my own poems but I sure love it! If you're really into the Wolf, there's a CD I can recommend: Howlin' Wolf
The Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues It's two Albums on one CD! Most big music stores have a copy or two of it. |
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Post by Sam on Jun 15, 2007 11:26:41 GMT -6
I am a real Nelly fan!! I love every mix and match he has put together.
Sam
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Post by anirbas on Jun 15, 2007 12:16:02 GMT -6
I've been calling rappers street poets for awhile now...Nelly, Fifty Cent, Eminem, Missy Elliot are some of my favorites. Don't necessarily like every piece they do...As songs that glorify degrading women or killing people make me want to puke, no matter the genre...But, I do have my favorite songs...Chris Brown's Run It is just fun, fun, fun to dance to, period!
However, though I'm not up to date on my blues knowledge, I've always adored the genre...Billy Holliday's reedy but soulful little voice is a favorite of mine...Taj Mahal...He's good...And like what I've heard of the blues greats you mentioned, Rob and David.
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Post by rrw on Jun 15, 2007 12:49:18 GMT -6
Ani, I think there's such a variety in blues that it makes the style standout. You got slow blues, fast blues, Chicago blues, Delta Blues... on and on. I think the problem with some styles like Country and Rap is the artistic community gets stuck on one subject and one set of images... But I guess you could say that about any genre and even poetry. The problem I have with a lot of anti-war poetry isn't the message, but the expression can become extremely cliched. In Rap the ones you mentioned (Missy, Em in particular) are innovators and have added a new wrinkle or two to the style. That's what sets them apart.
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Post by Sam on Jun 15, 2007 15:06:18 GMT -6
"Shake a Tail Feather" is still the hottest song, to me, on any remix!!!  Ever listened to any Furry Lewis? Ever been to Beale Street? Now, that is Blues, my friends! Sam (Of course I am from Mississippi, and I was born to sing the Blues) |
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Post by rrw on Jun 16, 2007 0:29:13 GMT -6
"Shake a Tail Feather" is still the hottest song, to me, on any remix!!! Ever listened to any Furry Lewis? Ever been to Beale Street? Now, that is Blues, my friends! Sam (Of course I am from Mississippi, and I was born to sing the Blues) Actually, i worked for a for a theatre company called Gaslight Dinner Theatre and one of our stops was Memphis and we went to Beale Street all the time. It was really cool. Down stairs was the house band that played till around 10 then all the musicians would come in off the street and jam. Upstairs was a jazz club where we got to see Carol King play bass. |
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Post by pamela on Jun 16, 2007 14:24:46 GMT -6
Absolutely love blues. I've made it a point to take each of my sons to see BB and they've developed a love for him, too, along with Robert Cray, Delbert McClinton, Buddy Guy, Susan Tedeschi, Clapton, so many others. My daughter wouldn't give it a listen if her life depended on it - she's strictly a pop/dance diva. There's nothing quite like a blues guitar or harmonica. I catch a live blues show whenever I can.
~P.
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Post by anirbas on Jun 28, 2007 21:48:52 GMT -6
One of the most prominent figures in late 20th century blues, singer/multi-instrumentalist Taj Mahal played an enormous role in revitalizing and preserving traditional acoustic blues. Not content to stay within that realm, Mahal soon broadened his approach, taking a musicologist's interest in a multitude of folk and roots music from around the world -- reggae and other Caribbean folk, jazz, gospel, R&B, zydeco, various West African styles, Latin, even Hawaiian. The African-derived heritage of most of those forms allowed Mahal to explore his own ethnicity from a global perspective and to present the blues as part of a wider musical context.
Blues Ain't Nuthin lyrics by Taj Mahal.
Blues ain't nuthin but a woman lookin for a man
Blues ain't nuthin but a woman lookin for a man
Honey She can't love him when she wanna,
She go to love him when he can
Blues ain't nuthin but a lowdown shakin chill
Blues ain't nuthin but a lowdown shakin chill
You got to grab man when you can baby
And Love him when you will
She might be down in the church house Kneelin' down to pray
Down in the church house Kneelin' down to pray
She been lovin' that man
Drove her heart insane
Blues ain't nuthin but a woman lovin' a married man
Blues ain't nuthin but a woman lovin' a married man
Honey She can't get him when she want him,
She got to love him when he can
She left him walkin fast - cryin didn't have nuthin to say
Walkin' fast - didn't have nuthin to say
You know the woman be here in the morning
Oh she won't be back today
I'm gonna sing it new time for Muddy water, singin deep down in the blue
Sing it for Muddy water, singin deep down in the blue
Oh Muddy did 'em first,
Honey Now I'm gonna do 'em too
My Horse gone lame, believe you done gone blind
My Horse gone lame, believe you done gone blind
I wouldn't be here in the mornin baby
Might get back in a coupla days time
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