[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > "every kind of music played by a black musician includes a black message" > > my favorite is "we are going to create something they can't steal because > they can't play it" monk during the evolution of bop > > > This list doesn´t even come to the point to reflect it in the > way it should be because everytime someone appears to shout STOP IT > > yes > > as long so many people STILL keep bumpin it against the wall > REJECT IT or IGNORE IT by calling it COMPLETELY OFF TOPIC > it needs to be corrected, everytime
While I agree that talking about race, racism and institutional privilege as it relates to techno and Detroit artists in particular is most certainly a relevant topic for this list -- shame on whoever said it wasn't -- it seems that people on all sides of this industry -- fans, artists, and business insiders of all races -- are still having great difficulty pinning down the identity of this music they love, especially with respect to claims of ownership of a genre by a race of people. This to me is just the growing pains that are to be expected as the music becomes bigger than the people who originally created it, taking on a life of its own and finding audiences and imitators who, through no fault of their own, are diluting the marketplace with music that doesn't fit certain views of what culture the music should be reflecting and more importantly who / what color of people should be producing it. I think that is what is getting the list so riled up: the implication in certain provocative postings that this music still "belongs" to black America and that if the rest of the world wants to hear & speak this language or anything remotely like it, they darn well better draft an Oakenfold-sized cheque to Juan, Derrick and Kevin; and if they don't, then it's just another example of how art is being "stolen" from the oppressed minority and how it's obviously all about racism. No one is denying that racism exists in the business or that non-white Americans are reminded of their second-class status every single day, but the person who posted that from a business perspective it's all about the Benjamins did have some valid points that by your own argument should not be ignored or rejected. Further discussion and hearing more points of view is essential for all of us to come to terms with the identity of techno and how it reflects race & culture as its diluted forms become ever more popular. It is my hope that contrary to appearances, people don't feel that the only opinions that matter are the ones that most closely identify with the obstacles that black techno musicians in Detroit have had to face. It's an attempt to say two wrongs make a right -- Black artists get a slap in the face when White artists are coddled by the music biz, so now we've got to turn around and slap anyone who is, for example, white, and just happens to love and find inspiration in this music without fully understanding where it originally came from. At least, that's what it sounds like from this armchair. It's no wonder readers of this thread are dismissing it as irrelevant; they're essentially being told that it (techno, Detroit techno) is *all* about race, and that if they are white, then their love for the music is the illegitimate offspring of an industry that has exploited and shafted the true innovators. Perhaps if the accusations that led to these (possibly misguided) assumptions were explained better, and not just implicit in lengthy diatribes borne of frustration, everyone here wouldn't be so on the defensive. I'm just saying it shouldn't surprise anyone that it gets called 'the race card' and is dismissed out of hand because, quite frankly, the people who are playing that card are closing their eyes to the reality that they can't retain ownership of something that they've already set loose in the world, once it's out there. And they shouldn't have to. - Mike ____________________________________________________________________________ mike j. brown | xml/xslt: http://skew.org/xml/ denver/boulder, colorado, usa | personal: http://hyperreal.org/~mike/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
