what a boring world this would be without color.
heather
At 04:22 PM 7/19/01 -0400, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>Dear Colin:
>In my mind, soul does not have a color because it comes from within. Others
>have tried to label it and categorize it towards a particular color, but it's
>essence has more to do with "feeling."
>
>Dusty Springfield was one of the most "soulful" singers I know who doesn't
>fit the traditional "mold" society has created for this term. Tom Jones, in
>my opinion has soul. Sting has soul. Janis Joplin had soul. Carlos Santana
>has soul. The lead singer from Matchbox 20, Rob Thomas has soul. Gwen
>Steffani has soul. Cyndi Lauper has soul. KD Lang has soul. Sade has soul.
>Jill Scott has soul. Dave Matthews has soul. Ann(sp?) DiFranco has soul. In
>the music business, it is also referred to as "it," an unexplainable term
>which translates into record sales. In this case, the beauty of soul has been
>downgraded into monetary terms. The industry has further diluted "it" by
>packaging it up all neat and pretty and including components that have
>absolutely nothing to do with a person's raw talent.
>
>There are many people in the music industry with "talent," the ability to
>sing, write, or dance. Packaged with a pretty face and nice (though skimpy)
>clothes, they do very well. However, the element of soul has the ability to
>transcend from the performer to the listener in a way that is very hard to
>describe. It has nothing to do with color. When Aretha Franklin was aptly
>named, "The Queen of Soul,'" and James Brown was dubbed, "the Godfather of
>soul," I think society started to naturally associated the term with black
>artists.
>
>Soul comes from experience and a need to communicate that experience. When I
>hear a sad Irish ballad, I can feel soul in that song. I feel the soul in a
>Native American chant over what was lost by a nation. Joan Baez sang a song
>called "Joe Hill" long ago which touched me to the roots. It was a song about
>the Union and the awful things which made it necessary in the 20's to start
>it.
>
>Joni's soul comes from her experience with life and with love. It comes from
>the need to communicate the hurt, the pain, and the joy she has felt all of
>her life. Soul takes courage to communicate because you expose your heart to
>another human being when you do it. You strip yourself bare.
>
>Without rambling further, I hope this answers your question that soul, in my
>opinion, has absolutely nothing to do with color, but has everything to do
>with being brave enough to share your heart with others.
>
>Sherelle
