Skip to main content

John Cale - Like A Hurricane

Before discussing these regional and stylistic aspects of Louisiana blues, a few basic premises should be established. To begin, much of the musical terminology found here, and in similar articles elsewhere, is rarely used by blues musicians themselves, who might well find it irrelevant. Such jargon has evolved, rather, as a useful way to categorize material and standardize research, as well as for marketing. When superimposed on active music traditions, it does not always fit neatly. In addition, meanings and inferences change continually with time. Such limits should be recognized.

Next, the on going folkloric debate over authenticity is certainly relevant here. At this point in time it seems safe to state that no living blues artists have learned through oral tradition only, with absolutely no exposure to mass media. Except in rare cases, such as the pre War blues genre known as work songs, for instance, the influence of recordings, radio, and the internet on Louisiana blues is an inevitable, important factor. One musician whom I interviewed in the field in 1989 illustrated this point in a particularly striking way... he learned solely by listening to records. Dorsey mimics Hopkins' records perfectly in a very soulful and convincing manner. Although then in his late fifties, and still performing today, with his longtime partner Wayne Tookie Collum, Dorsey claimed to have never traveled outside of this isolated rural area, nor ever heard, let alone been taught by, any other guitarists.


John Cale - Like A Hurricane
  • Released on: January 16, 2016
  • Released on: Rockin' In The Free World album 
  • Genre: Rock

"Since leaving The Velvet Underground in 1968, John Cale has released seventeen solo studio albums, including the widely acclaimed Paris 1919 and Music for a New Society."

See previous Song of the Day 

Labels:
Location: United States

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Veronica Swift - A Little Taste

There has always been an uncomfortable tension between rhythm and blues and rock and roll, a cyclical influence that vacillates between inspiration, appropriation and separation. Popular music has broken off into categories of rock, pop, country, and R&B, each with their own origin stories. But R&B and rock, usually codified as vastly different, Black and white styles, have long been intertwined in ways our historical memory may have us forget.  Despite the innovation that comes from separation, rock and R&B always find their way back to each other. In recent years, rock veterans have turned to the genre’s classics for inspiration. Queens of the Stone Age veered from their typical hard rock with 2017’s Villains, a dance y album inspired by frontman Josh Homme’s love of 1920s jazz and swing, other Black genres that laid the groundwork for the popular music of today. The whitewashing of rock’s history has oversimplified music’s malleability and silenced the voices of Amer...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Gap Band - The Sun Don't Shine Everyday

The Gap Band - The Sun Don't Shine Everyday Genre: RnB Released in: 1984 Duration: 5:14 "The Gap Band was most successful when working with producer Lonnie Simmons, with four consecutive gold records. Their party train soon slowed to a stop. They reformed in the 90s and occasionally toured and attempted a comeback album." See Previous Song of the Day 
Post a Comment
Read more

Moondog - Behold

The history of jazz has been one of fusion. Its musicians and composers have continually drawn upon a huge range of different musics to create the rich and diverse tapestry that is world jazz today. Jazz is an evolving tradition of music making. And how often, in the life stories of individual jazz musicians, do we see these same patterns operating at microcosm? The richness of Turkish music and culture sometimes seems at odds with its turbulent and cruel history. In 1979... the country suffered its third military take over in thirty years... Every kind of music was in Turkey at that point. But it was not appreciated. To understand the culture of the country, with those three military takeovers, Turkey could not go anywhere. Musically, it was very difficult. But things were beginning to happen. Traditional Turkish music is essentially monophonic, rich in melody and rhythm but with little by way of harmony. The contrast with western music, with its beautiful harmonies but rhythmic weakn...
Post a Comment
Read more