Interesting Interpretation Of "the blues"

[bradm]

I was watching last night's episode of "The Blues" on PBS (the next episode of which airs tonight), and they had an old (black & white) interview clip with B.B. King.

At one point, he said, "All I want is to go out and have people hear me sing and play the blues."

The thing is, I fully epxected him to say, "sing and play the guitar"; when he said "hear me sing", and then put an "and", you'd expect the next phrase to be similar to the first. To mix mentioning his voice (an instrument) and a musical style (the blues) seemed a bit incongruous.

But then I thought about it: what if "the blues" weren't a musical style but a musical instrument? It's as if B.B. has this thing available to him (like a guitar, or his voice) called "the blues" which can be manipulated/used to produce music (as a guitar or his voice could be used).

So, just as B.B. wraps his hands around a guitar and and pushes and pulls on it to make stuff that (at least to him) sounds good (or the way he wants it to), he also takes what's sad and hurtful inside him and pushes and pulls on it to make stuff that also sounds good.

This, I think, is why blues music rings so true for a lot of people. Just as music with vocals is more palatable (then purely instrumental music) to most people, because we all have a voice and use it to communicate, we all have blues inside of us. And, just as with voices, people can manipulate them and create music with varying degrees of success.

I think it was also B.B. who said, "Everybody has the blues. A baby cries because he's hungry: he's got the blues."

Aloha,

Brad

[B & Z]

Charlie Parker once said "If you don't live it, it won't come out the horn...."

Of course he was referring to the black experience of that time.

Blues musings dep't:

I really do wonder if some people really experience the blues....there are a lot of "white people" abounding (this refers to an attitude not a racial profile) who seem indifferent to true artistic expressions- in short, any sort of abstract thought is beyond them to really experience anything outside of their own lame existence(blues of a sort in itself?)

The opposite condition of this seems to be rampant materialism.....the only high is being a competitive loser...."Look at my Rolex! DIg my BMW" Ugly ugly ugly.......! So our beautiful commercial Western culture does not promote any real attempt to enjoy the truth. WHy is there no real jazz or blues on tv for example?

And why do females not dig blues?(except when drunk-an observation!) My pal Steve and I are convinced that the "blue notes" bounce off of them and do not enter their inner being! Scary...!

The average cat thinks the blues is all sad...it's not, the best definition I ever read was that it's an affirmation of life...I'm gonna' survive no matter what....Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Chile-Slight Return is a perfect updating of the classic existential blues rant....

The best of all art-forms continually reinvent themselves, unfettered by commercial interfence(hopefully).

BB KIng is deserving of all the accolades, personally I find his latter day output a little to "Los Vegas" Elvis style blues...However, he's been there...the classic lp "BB KING Live at the Regal" is a textbook performance of blues guitar phrasing/vocalising..killer

one of the bibles of guitar playing...also any of his 50's lps will do....why is it hwen everyone gets successful they lose the edge??

His influence on guitarists(esp) cannot be under-estimated, I always have a sly grin when a guitarist will tell me he doesn't dig BB all the while he's playing a wrist-vibrato lick...I wonder who started that?

You have to wonder if the true(acoustic?) art forms like jazz and blues will survive this technological era once the old vanguard are gone? The new blues esp. is so lame (dad-jams HAHAHA) and funny but digital recordings are death-knells ..the old 50's blues have that menacing ominous vibe to them because of the recording limitations of the time...it's back to momo as Johhny WInter claims!

I've been taping the shows so I have some catching up to do....yes I know..technology!

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Interviewer: DO Black people play the blues better than white people because of all the suffering etc...?

MILES DAVIS: Listen m*f! My Daddy's rich and my Momma's good looking and I can still play the blues!

Interviewer: Oh...........

Take CAre N

[Davey Boy 2.0]

"And why do females not dig blues?(except when drunk-an observation!) My pal Steve and I are convinced that the "blue notes" bounce off of them and do not enter their inner being! Scary...!"

Steady now ! Maybe you just don't know the "right" kind of ladies...

She had rings on her fingers

and bells on her shoes

[bradm]

quote:

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Originally posted by B & Z:

The average cat thinks the blues is all sad...it's not, the best definition I ever read was that it's an affirmation of life...I'm gonna' survive no matter what....

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I think of it a bit differently. IMHO, to use music to change your mood (esp. to make you happy), the best thing isn't to find music that matches the mood you want, but to find music to match the mood you're in.

If you're sad, hearing people sing about how happy they are doesn't make you happier, it makes you sadder; it's better to listen to someone sing sad music, because then you both realize you're not alone (sad is bad; sad and alone is worse), and because, through the music (e.g., singing along with it, even in your head), you can let the feelings out, dissipating them.

Case in point: back in '91, I got a mid-term back (I was in 4th year of Engineering at Queen's), and, well, I blew it, bigtime. I was angry, filled with angst, and ready to hurt somebody or something.

If someone next to me had put on, say, Celine Dion or Kenny G or Anne Murray*, I would've throttled him/her/them.

Instead, I went home, took out Living Colour's "Time's Up" album, put it on the stereo, put on the headphones, and turned it up louder than usual. About half an hour of their aggressive, angst-filled music later, I felt better. The music provided a vent through which my heavy feelings escaped, rather than a blanket under which they were hidden.

Aloha,

Brad

* Note that I'm not (necessarily) saything these artists' music is bad, just that it fits into a "happy/light" category.