World music in keeping it postive
- Oct. 10, 2014, 2:29 a.m.
- |
- Public
I just came back from a panel discussion about South African music. Although the musicians speak various languages, much of their music/singing is in English.
I still am not sure if it’s to gain a larger audience, to ride the wave of popularity of American/English speaking singers, or this is the “new” Africa.
I kept thinking of the irony of African-Americans striving to become more “afro-centric”, striving to add more culture of the “homeland” into their lives, while these musicians seem to be trying (at least in the bits that they said and that we saw on video) to become more American.
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ermentrude ⋅ October 11, 2014
Certainly, the English speaking world is, as a general rule, pretty lazy when it comes to other languages and often foreign language music is ignored if it isn't understood. To become mainstream often means singing English. We try to go to Womad most years (money permitting) and my Girls love hearing music without needing it to be English, and I've discovered many bands from going. One of my favourites are called Chet Nuneta. They are based in Paris with members from France, Morocco, Italy and Spain. They sing in every language you can think of and their album from a couple of years ago was called Pangaea because they believe that the world should be one large community. I recommend searching them out, their music is truly incredible.
Darcy0207 from OD ermentrude ⋅ October 11, 2014
When I was in college and beyond, I loved a certain album - African "high life" music. It made me want to dance. I listened to it over and over.although my other dorm mates got irritated eventually.
One of the audience members during the Q and A, asked if the panel felt that true South African music ended when Apartheid ended. I think she was thinking similarly to my way of thinking. This was globalization, but not South African per se.
Darcy0207 from OD ermentrude ⋅ October 11, 2014
When I want to hear "world music", I want to be transported to another place... music FROM another place.
It reminds me of how some parts of NYC are "sanitized" - cleaned up for the tourists' eyes... I guess it's also about meeting a broader audience, a wider audience... MORE money. So much of Manhattan is like any strip mall - the stores you'd find anywhere - Old Navy is on 125th Street. Forty-Second Street is clearly more crowded than it used to be... and NO I am not saying, "bring back the porn", but why come to NYC if you're going to eat at Applebee's or Olive Garden... you can do that at home... why listen to world music, if it's like what you'd hear on the radio anyway...
Rant over.