Beth’s Music Moment: The Godfather of Soul

Today I finished up this week’s lectures in History of Rock, and the week ended on a GREAT note, with a discussion of the one and only James Brown!

I won’t pretend to be any sort of expert on JB. I didn’t grow up listening to him, other than the usual hits, and only got turned on to him in the ‘90s, when a boyfriend introduced me to him. The boyfriend turned out to be a real dick, but my love for JB stuck with me, and that was one good thing that came out of that relationship. Hmph.

Anyway, I really enjoyed that particular lecture in the course, and it really put JB’s place in music history into perspective for me. This was a time when the Brits were invading the American music charts; American pop was trying to promote its own versions of teen idol groups; Stax was releasing what some see as more “authentic” black soul music, but still using studio musicians; and Motown was trying to have black artists cross over to the white pop charts—and having great success with it, but seen by some as “selling out” the authenticity of black music. (I’M not saying that, so don’t come after me on it. That is a criticism that has been levied at Motown and Berry Gordy, Jr. Personally, I don’t think it’s accurate. It was just a more polished version of this music, and it was some great stuff.)

James Brown comes along and kind of sets all this stuff on its head. A total showman, probably the best frontman EVER—discuss amongst yourselves—and this is from me, a huge fan of Mick Jagger, the current best frontman, in my opinion! An American artist, James is seen as not “selling out” in any way, shape, or form, not changing his Southern soul sound or his black identity in order to cross over to the pop charts...but having HUGE success there, anyway. The professor speculates that this could have been because he was essentially non-threatening. His songs, at least early on, weren’t overtly sexual. The lyrics weren’t, anyway.

In fact, the lyrics of a lot of his early songs didn’t really say a whole lot. The focus here was not on the songs or the lyrics, but on the grooooove, man. In fact, that should be capitalized. The Groove. James and his band made the whole thing about laying down the beat and gettin’ your funk on. The prof said that even some of James’s vocals became a part of a meshing of sounds...a sound that resulted in this glorious mix that makes you want to shake your moneymaker.

I can personally testify (Testify, sister!) that when out and about, and a band plays some James Brown, and The Groove grabs you...well, you just gotta go with it and work it on out. I find The Groove almost hypnotic, and it just kind of takes you over. It’s a powerful thing. It transcends race and time. Can I hit it and quit it?

Take it to the bridge!

Have logic and proportion fallen sloppy dead?

Mission: Migration

Status: Accomplished!

Whew, what a relief to get that done. I had some problems with Ken's, but turns out his password was case sensitive. Once I fixed that little problem, all went well. I had one hitch, where it created his new blog, but there were no entries there. That could have been my fault, though, for "refreshing" before everything was complete. Anyhoo, it's done! If I hadn't been able to do it, I don't suppose I would have curled up and died, but it would have been a shame to lose all of it. Even just seeing the names of some of my entries made me go, "Hey, I remember that!" I had titled one "He hit it an' quit it," and that was for when James Brown died. It made me sad.

It also made me sad to make what will probably be my last entry over at my AOL Journal. It was merely a repeat of the entry I wrote about the song "Closing Time," and it seemed very fitting. I'll admit that I got kind of choked up when I put it up there, and listened to the song again. I'll leave it up for a while, but I'll probably delete the journal myself. Hey, I think I'll delete it at the stroke of midnight, when October 30th turns to the 31st. Halloween! Yes, I think that's what I'll do. Maybe it's a little silly to get so verklempt over a journal, but I think you all understand. Just the fun I had with it, practicing my writing, but more importantly, all the wonderful friends I made there...I'm just so happy that most are making the move! I love you guys! I am NOT going to burst into tears, so just cut it out!! Ha ha! Just remember, "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

I even managed to get a few things done today. WOW, I am so proud of myself! (It really has been pathetic.) Finished some laundry, took care of the garbage, and got a pot of chili going. I've had a hankering for chili for a while now, so this should taste good. I've been in the mood for all kinds of soup lately. I've got a recipe that combines tortilla soup with red beans and rice, and I think that sounds delicious. I've also got a package of black beans, so I'll try some black bean soup one of these days, then there's vegetable soup, and maybe some potato soup, and some beef stew...aaaaagh! Yum, it's just that time of year!

The latest feel-good news from the campaign trail comes from a McCain-Palin rally at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. McCain was talking about Obama's tax plan, and someone in the crowd yelled "Off with his head!"

Are you freakin' kidding me? What is this? France in 1789? Maybe a better analogy would be Alice in Wonderland and we've followed the White Rabbit down the hole and through the Looking Glass. I'm going to start looking for a hookah-smoking caterpillar in the audience at these rallies! There is no excuse for this, and with every day that goes by that McCain allows these violent and hate-filled outbursts to continue, his silence is complicit endorsement of violence against a fellow human being. Palin seems to whip the crowds into an even more violent frenzy. How can we condone this kind of behavior? I may be passionate about politics, but there is NO EXCUSE for allowing such attitudes to continue, and anyone who truly cares about their fellow human beings and about our society in general would stand up and say, "Stop this. It isn't right, and this is unacceptable behavior." I cannot begin to tell you how disgusted I am with the sight of fellow Americans shouting such murderous invective, and I'm even more disgusted that no one is putting a stop to it.

See you on the other side of the Looking Glass.

White Rabbit

Jefferson Airplane

One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all
Go ask Alice
When she's ten feet tall

And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you're going to fall
Tell 'em a hookah-smoking caterpillar
Has given you the call
Call Alice
When she was just small

When men on the chessboard
Get up and tell you where to go
And you've just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving low
Go ask Alice
I think she'll know

When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's "off with her head!"
Remember what the dormouse said:
"Feed your head
Feed your head
Feed your head"