DaCapuchin
1 post
Feb 10, 2009
10:00 AM
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hi everybody,
I know this is not a specific blues harp question, but I think it's not too off topic in this forum:
I'm writing an essay about the spirit of Blues in school and I just want to collect some ideas and opinions of some blues interested people.
So, things like:
What feelings are expressed in the Blues?
What is the spirit behind it?
why do they call it the music of the devil?
how does this manifest in the sound and style of the music?
In what way is it routed in the history of the blues?
If you have an opinion on that or any personal ideas, please share them, you'd do me a great favour. :)
PS.: Please don't tell me to watch adams lesson about the blue third^^
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Buzadero
27 posts
Feb 10, 2009
11:28 AM
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I can only speak from my own personal experience in learning the blues in and around the Delta and Bayou regions of the South.
I can't speak to any of the other questions, as they are far too multi-faceted and subjective, and probably more suited for the front porch or a campfire. But, in my experience, the spirit behind the blues is whiskey, followed closely by vodka (but, almost imperceptably close behind that is cheap brandy/cognac.
While not spirits, I would say that wine and beer have and continue to play very significant roles, as well.
Hope this helps.
~Buzadero
Underwater Janitor, Patriot
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harmonicanick
134 posts
Feb 10, 2009
3:00 PM
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I would agree with Buzadero particularily with regard to whiskey (single malt please no ice)
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GermanHarpist
77 posts
Feb 10, 2009
3:44 PM
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Check out this site. Has a couple of really nice documentaries that may help you:
http://www.folkstreams.net/film,1
Btw: Blues is not about Booze. Booze is about Booze.
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http://www.youtube.com/germanharpist
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Miles Dewar
168 posts
Feb 10, 2009
6:18 PM
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Well....
1. Every emotion known to man.
2. The spirit of the player
3. Almost all music was called the devil's music.
4. I don't think it always does.
5. With 20 billion diff. topics in songs. It's everywhere
That's what i say.
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---Go Bears!!! (Richard Dent for Hall of Fame)---
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oldwailer
498 posts
Feb 10, 2009
8:11 PM
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Since I am a Westerner, I would have to defer to Buzaderos analysis of these questions--the only thing we would change out west here is that the whiskey has to be of the very cheap-assed rot-gut type. Contrary to Nick's remark, out west we'll take as many malts with the whiskey as we can get. Beer chaser, please.
A little known fact is that when John Lee Hooker wrote the song, "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer," he wasn't ordering for three people!
Last Edited by on Feb 10, 2009 11:07 PM
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Blackbird
40 posts
Feb 10, 2009
10:26 PM
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Are you looking for quotes that sum up the spirit of the blues at all? At the risk of hearing a "no!", this came from the back notes of the cd "Laughin' at the blues", and I think it has some relevance:
"Contrary to the 'I woke up this mornin'' stereotype of the blues, the original purpose of the music was not to encourage its listeners' mass suicide but to purge his or her woes either by confronting the demons by naming them or, just as frequently, by ridiculing them."
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KingoBad
19 posts
Feb 11, 2009
5:53 AM
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Howlin' Wolf does a fine job...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ou-6A3MKow
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MrVerylongusername
139 posts
Feb 11, 2009
6:54 AM
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Blues is both a celebration and a mourning of the human condition. It is raw, intense and sexual. Sometimes it can be angry or boastful; other times it is joyous and cheeky. Blues is all human experience - good or bad.
Public Enemy, who do not play blues music, are more akin to the spirit of the blues than Eric Clapton (who does).
Anything that can invoke such a blend of powerful emotions is never going to sit comfortably with the Christian establishment.
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XHarp
11 posts
Feb 11, 2009
11:31 AM
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DaCapuchin, It may be best for you to read a few books on the Blues and then formulate your own answers.
I can recommend two if you can find them,
Deep Blues by Robert Palmer, considered by many to be the definitive book on the topic and Chasin' the Devil's Music by Gayle Dean Wardlow. A reprint now of the original text and most informative.
The answers to your questions are not defined by others but by yourself and your experiences with the Blues.
for me: The feelings in the Blues is about the ups and downs of life.
The spirit is that of the player related through the music that defines their mood.
For the rest of your questions,
It was called the devils music because it origins were in stark contrast to the preachings of the church and the music was not rejoicefull in the church's eyes. Those practicing/enjoying or playing blues would be found in juke joints and other establishments where drinking, drugs and sex were had often and resulted in many wrong doings. Read the books.
Because the very execution of the music was regarded as demonic, the very intrigue of that flowed out of the music. It gave those who practiced it, notariety and gave them a status among followers. That led to the use of the devil and devil related stories in promotion of the music. This is how the devil got rooted in the blues.
There have been many, many essays, papers and other research into this. Check out the Smithosian recordings and library for more information. This era of music is well documented.
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"Keep it in your mouth" - XHarp
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