In Reply to: Oh glorious day! Rap Rules posted by KCK on October 7, 2003 at 08:47:58:
...that you listened to as a kid†gets trotted out in rap’s defense every time this comes up, but it has one or two major flaws.Before the exploitation of sequencers, drum machines, and samplers by non-musicians, if you wanted to create music, you actually had to learn how to play an instrument and develop a musical vocabulary with which to express yourself. Music is a language, and literacy allows one to articulate their ideas with greater clarity and subtlety. Rap is the “musical†equivalent of having a conversation with a five-year-old; the musical content may be cute and even sincere, but it lacks any trace of deeper insight and emotional depth.
I’m not suggesting that rap has no value. Hell, in our culture, the commentators who best depict the pathetic state of our societal affairs are often comedians (intentionally or otherwise). Rap is illiterate social commentary, and as such, it’s obviously appealing to rebellious, unsophisticated kids who have never been exposed to real music.
And there’s the rub: The “music industry†(as though music can be assembled in a factory like a machine!) bean-counters have robbed an entire generation of music and replaced it with videos (themselves nothing more than commercials), “singing†strippers, toneless machines programmed by the musically ignorant, and LP’s of other people’s music being scratched (plagiarized) by half-assed DJ’s.
Juvenile nursery rhymes set to mind-numbing mechanical repetition may be a form of communication, but it shouldn’t be pawned-off in place of real musicians playing real instruments.
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Follow Ups
- The argument that “your parents probably didn’t like the music... - Fretless 15:48:45 10/07/03 (25)
- I think you made a legitimate point - Pete H 09:08:52 10/08/03 (0)
- Re: The argument that “your parents probably didn’t like the music... - sif1949 09:06:02 10/08/03 (10)
- If a turntable is an instrument, my ass is an espresso machine - Fretless 15:54:28 10/08/03 (9)
- No wonder the coffee's so crappy around here - J 16:52:35 10/08/03 (8)
- Re: No wonder the coffee's so crappy around here - Fretless 18:19:17 10/08/03 (7)
- Pissing contest? - J 20:52:09 10/08/03 (6)
- Frightening feces (cRap) - Fretless 16:04:04 10/09/03 (5)
- Re: Frightening feces (cRap) - J 16:50:48 10/09/03 (4)
- Re: Frightening feces (cRap) - Fretless 17:18:11 10/09/03 (3)
- Way to dodge - J 17:46:40 10/09/03 (2)
- Re: Way to dodge - Fretless 18:18:25 10/09/03 (1)
- Re: Way to dodge - J 21:22:31 10/09/03 (0)
- you miss the point of the argument - TA 17:30:44 10/07/03 (0)
- *Yawn* - J 17:21:26 10/07/03 (11)
- Re: *Yawn* - Fretless 18:07:08 10/07/03 (8)
- Thank you Fretless - Mike in NJ 11:20:16 10/08/03 (3)
- Re: Thank you Fretless - J 12:28:05 10/08/03 (2)
- Re: Thank you Fretless - Mike in NJ 14:44:09 10/08/03 (1)
- Re: Thank you Fretless - J 15:13:12 10/08/03 (0)
- Re: *Yawn* - J 18:22:16 10/07/03 (3)
- Re: *Yawn* - 3fd 13:31:20 10/12/03 (0)
- Re: *Yawn* - TA 19:30:37 10/07/03 (1)
- In retrospect... - Fretless 03:09:09 10/08/03 (0)
- well said (nt) - beasur 17:50:29 10/07/03 (0)
- Re: *Yawn* - CELT 17:42:23 10/07/03 (0)