response 76 of 133:

Nov 14 04:38 UTC 1993

Black folk music has as much in common with rap as a Rolls Royce to a 
pig.  Rap is ghetto slang/rhyme.  It ain't music.  African music is as
beautiful as any symphony we white people put together.

Folk is far from dead.  If you had been at the ARK this last thursday and
Listened to the "BATTLEFIELD BAND"  with the other 250+ plus people as they
played their sets with enough energy to light Manhattan, you would not think
folk was dead.

Sure they have a problem breaking into the mainstream companys fun by geeks
who don't know good music from bad, but far out from mainstream and force 
their vision of music on us.  Hell, they probably wouldn't give the Beatles
a chance unless Ringo put his rings thru his nipples.

The Kingston Trio have enough pull to fill the Misic HAll in Detroit next
week, I think dillon just released a new song, and NPR fills at least 6
hours every weekend with folk.  The Weavers may be old, But they are well
remembered.  And Peter,Paul and MAry put several thousand out on the lawn
at Meadowbrook this last fall so they are far from "dead".

Time you got an education in music as opposed to shit stuffed in your ears.

response 78 of 133:

Nov 15 16:55 UTC 1993

Fah.  I made my statement and will defend it.  I made the point that, yes,
there is still an *audience*, but IN NO WAY does it have the *impact* that
it did 50 years ago.  I *like* folk music, but I can see this.
 
Sure, true "folk" music probably would go back as far as Stephen Foster, but
I'm not trying to classify it in that broad of a scope.  

response 80 of 133:

Nov 16 02:35 UTC 1993

#77: About $250,000.

response 82 of 133:

Nov 16 10:52 UTC 1993

Unfortunately, Kicking Mule and flying fish have both gone the way of
the dodo, Ie: dead animals. They're out of business. <sigh>

response 84 of 133:

Nov 21 19:24 UTC 1993

I'm a little lost as to the argument here. I thought this was a forum

re: music's effect (however temporary) on a person's IQ. Unfortunately, it

seems that SOMEONE wanted to take a cheap shot at someone's different, yet

equally valid musical preferences. Give me a break!

        I'm personally a fan of rap music. Having been a fan of many types

of music, I'd like to think that all of it has some sort of value. Granted,

there are your "throw-away" types, the one-hit wonders that fade like a

sweater, but most can find that special something within a person that gives

them a feeling they want. When I listen to rap music, it's usually as a form

of release. Throw on NWA's _Straight Outta Compton_, and I'm a happy person.

Put on Digital Underground's _Sex Packets_. Heck, I even enjoyed "Ice Ice
Baby"!

I recognized it as a very watered down rap derivative, but so what? It was

catchy, and I had never heard "Under Pressure" (the Queen sample), so it was

a sort of, oh, I don't know, something of value. Little, but some.

        I can't be convinced that the rise of rap equals the rise in

violence in today's society. I'd place the blame more on TV. Most of the

 "gangsta" rappers have enough sense to stick a "positive" spin somewhere on

their album. "Dopeman". "Night Of The Living Baseheads". "Self-Destruction".

"My Summer Vacation". If you listen to any one of, say, Ice-T's albums, you'll

notice that he despises the violence and drug use that most of "civilized"

society despises. He does indulge in the occasional fantasy, but if you

can find someone who doesn't indulge in personal fantasies, I'll show you

someone who isn't human.

        The argument that rap will never be classical is a sort of "which dog

is older?" argument. "Classical" music is only as narrow as the mind/generation

that defines it. If music "dies" every time something different comes along,

it should be a welcome rebirth, not a lamentation. Be thankful for new types

of music. Without them, we'd still be singing Gregorian chants.

        Society doesn't reflect music any more than art does. It's the other 

way around. 

response 86 of 133:

Nov 22 01:28 UTC 1993

[technical advice]
Carson, I think your terminal emulator is set up to send <cr><lf> when
you type return. If you undid that, your response wouldn't double-
space. Now back to your ordinary drift.
[end technical advice]

I dislike rap music intensely. I know how rogue feels about it not
having any permanence. But (perhaps because I'm older :-) I had this
same experience years ago when hard rock music appeared. I disliked
it intensely (still do) and believed it was a short-lived fad with no
long-term potential. It appears that my younger beliefs were proven
wrong by its continued appreciation, and so I'm reluctantly forced
to conclude that rap is going to follow a similar course.

I cannot see why rap would follow any different course through
history than hard rock. I am merely grateful that there are radio
stations for those of us who like other stuff (like Bach, Mozart,
Tchaikovsky, Joplin, Stravinsky, Richard Rogers, and Paul McCartney).

response 88 of 133:

Nov 24 03:28 UTC 1993

What's your definition of "hard rock"?

response 90 of 133:

Nov 24 06:21 UTC 1993

  I did, and it was an interesting article. It seems that the record cos
are somewhat responsible, by allowing this kind of stuff to perpetuate
itself. I read somewhere that Mitch Miller, who at the time being a 
record exec for CBS allowed no rock and roll contracts, nor did he
allow rock and roll to be recorded by his label.
  The warning labels seem to have backfired, as the ones without labels
don't sell as well as the ones that have warning labels. It is something
that we will have to live with until it dies. Otherwise it will be unstoppable.

 This was the case with the Volstead Act, which outlawed alcohol, but did litt
little to stop the mob, The same with the current drug problem, and the 
black talon bullets. There is no such thing as an absolute ban on anything.

response 92 of 133:

Nov 24 11:53 UTC 1993

I don't think I would toss the Grateful Dead in with the "hard rock"
catagory -- I don't like hard rock, and I do like the Dead, so I
don't think they're the same.  The bands Steve describe are more like
Primus, Fugazi, and Minor Threat.  The music more or less sounds like
a number of people who sort-of know how to play their instruments
standing in a recording studio.  Somebody says, "Go," and they all
start playing the same bar of music over and over again while they
scream into their mikes.  After a few minutes of this, they turn off
the tape, give the song a title, and go on to the next one.  There's
no discernable melody or lyric track.

(I've been spending entirely too much time recently around people who
listen to this sort of music.  I don't like it.)

response 94 of 133:

Nov 24 16:33 UTC 1993

I suspect Mark's right about the Dead. Just my ignorance showing.
I really liked his description of how hard rock is made, though.
THere was a time when it seemd 75% of all radio stations carried
this noise^h^h^h^h^hmusic, and it really amazed me.
It's still around, but much less prevalent, I believe.

response 96 of 133:

Nov 24 21:00 UTC 1993

  Look at the selection called "Hammer Time" or whatever it is, where 
this guy Hammer lifted a riff from Rick James's "SuperFreak" and just
repeated it over and over. In this vein, this is redundency at it's finest.

response 98 of 133:

Nov 27 05:24 UTC 1993

I thought the Greatful Dead were more "Acid Rock".