Respond to The Daily Sheet

[milomorris]

Country music is very, very popular among Australian Aboriginal people. And Aboriginal people have written great songs like 'My Brown Skin Baby They Take'im Away' about mixed-blood children being stolen from their Aboriginal parents to be brought up away from their Aboriginal families, languages and culture in government and church mission schools remote fom their parents. (This went on until the 1960s. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd mada an apology to the Stolen Generations at the first session of parliament aftr he took office.) Another hit song was 'My Island Home' which  I played to my students in East Timor in 2000. They loved it.

Are you telling me that Aboriginies are currently writing original music in the C&W genre? That is fascinating!!

[CellarDweller115]

I also enjoyed the article on country music, and much like Milo, I've reconnected (in a way) to it since Brokeback.  I say "in a way" because I wasn't a big fan as a kid, but I remember a number of artists my dad listened to, so when he would drive, that's what I would hear.

At this point, the radio in my car is tuned to WXTU. I visit their website and listen online when I'm alone at work. I turn it on before I go to bed at night. Recently, I contacted Andie, of the WXTU morning show Doc & Andie. I explained (briefly) that I was ready to come out of the country "closet," and was looking for a place that does country karaoke. I also told her how important I think Darius Rucker is to country music and to black children. Unfortunately, she didn't know of any places in the Philly area that did country karaoke specifically (go figure). But she did want to follow up on the urban black/country angle. She said that would be interviewing Darius that Friday, and that she wanted to know if it was OK for her to read my e-mail as part of the interview. Naturally, I consented.

The more I thought about the country color barrier, the less sense it made to me. If you listen to country music--the vocals particularly--you will hear a very close relationship to gospel music. And many musical "family trees' used in teaching the history of popular music show country on a branch that stems out of the gospel/sprituals roots. (Other branches include jazz, blues, R&B, and rock.) Moreover, much of what we call country music is the music of the American south. The roots of African-American culture are part of the broader culture of the south, and as such, black and white southerners share many common cultural elements. Closer to home, my generation was the first in my family to be born in the north. During my childhood (and still today if I'm lucky) I heard countless stories of life in the south from my relatives. So listening to the music brings back the nostalgia of sitting at my great-uncle Pete's feet listening to him tell tales about how he would get into trouble out among the pecan trees on his folks land when he was my age.

Milo, I think it's great you mention Darius Rucker.  I think he's going to break down a lot of doors for black performers of country music.

For readers who may not know, Darius Rucker was the lead singer for "Hootie & The Blowfish".  Last year he released a solo CD that was country music.

His singles "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" and "It Won't Be Like This for Long" both hit #1 on the country music chart.  A third single, "Alright" got to #3 on the chart.

His country CD "Learn To Live" sold over 1 million copies, and he won a Country Music Award in 2009 as best new artist.

[tfferg]

Are you telling me that Aboriginies are currently writing original music in the C&W genre? That is fascinating!!

I know that they listen to and play country music songs a great deal. I'm not sure how much original country music they compose. I've never been very interested in country music, but have been more open to it since I learnt how important it is to Aboriginal people and since BBM.

It's interesting. Thais have a country music genre called luk thung (child of the rice-fields) which I think has a good deal in common with American country music though it sounds nothing like it. Apparently it developed from Thai folk music mixed with elements from popular music genres from the Western world. Bands play electric guitars and electronic keyboards and some bands have a brass section. It doesn't sound like other traditional forms of Thai music and the vocal style sounds less "oriental". Luk thung is very, very popular among ordinary Thais and epecially people from the northeast, I think, less so among the urban middle classes and the elite. There are always luk thung talent competitions, outdoor concerts that combine songs and comedy - the comedy routines always have characters in drag - and ubiquitous karaoke bars feature luk thung.

There is a Buddhist temple in Suphanburi province in the central rice-growing plains north of Bangkok where there is a shrine to an immensely popular luk thung singer who died prematurely of cancer many years ago. Luk thung shows are given at temple fairs arranged by their communities, though the monks are not allowed to listen to or play music. (A film was censored a couple of years ago because of a scene where a monk character plays a guitar.)

A few years ago, someone took me to a luk thung nightclub with a big roster of singers. Lots of men invited me to dance with them. Some turned away from their female partners to dance with me for a while.

My partner is luk thung crazy, buys luk thung CDs and makes his own cover versions of the ballads to play in the car and give to friends and family. He says he finds the uptempo numbers too difficult. He also loves Western classical and choral music.

I hate most of the videos because the visuals are unrelentingly heterosexual. His brothers have some which are close to horrible hetero soft porn. But the music is very melodic and the uptemp numbers are very cheerful. Apart from the romantic stuff, there are also songs and videos which deal with rural life and problems in the northeast and the experience of rural migrant workers in Bangkok.

[milomorris]

Milo, I think it's great you mention Darius Rucker.  I think he's going to break down a lot of doors for black performers of country music.

So do I. I'm hoping like hell that I'll have time to get to see Darius (with Brad Paisley) at the Susquehana Center in a few weeks. I think that guys like Darius say more to blacks than "you can be a country singer if you want to." I think seeing him in an "unusual" role opens up the possibility that a black person can literally do anything they want. I discovered this reality when I was a kid, and it frustrates me that there are still blacks right within earshot who don't believe it. They themselves are holding on to old barriers that now exist only in their own minds. If they see only whites doing something, they cross it off their list of things to do.

Here's an interesting article on the color divide in country music:

http://www.theroot.com/views/yee-haw-rise-black-country

[Rosewood]

I loved that story/picture of the 'almost' riderless horse - the jockey crossing the finish line clinging to the horse's neck.
Wow. I think I'd heard or read about this before, but still it is a WOW!

Mostly I wonder what the horse was thinking all the while this was going on.
I mean, should I stop? should I go on? Should I stop? Should I go on? This can't be right. He's never done this before. WTF?//!!!

Horses are so gallant.

[kathy]

Hi RW:
I love the beauty and nobility of horses.  To me, the Arabian horse is the most beautiful and noble in all of history.  Just think of how long and distinguished that history is.      
kathy 
p.s.  any painting or drawing of a "riderless horse" can bring me to tears. 

[Lyle (Mooska)]

This week’s Question: Going by time as we know it on Earth, a year on the planet Mercury lasts 88 days, how long is a day?

Well, in case I'm horribly incorrect I won't divulge
my computations, but I tried out my math skills from
some vague recesses of past arithmetic classes, and
came up with approximately 5 hours and 45 minutes.

[BayCityJohn]

It's a trick question.


Going by time as we know it on Earth, a day is 24 hours.

[gnash]

smartypants.

[foreverinawe]

Fun Question of the Week   

      This week’s Question: Going by time as we know it on Earth, a year on the planet Mercury lasts 88 days, how long is a day?

Mercury takes 87.969 earth days to orbit the sun. By definition, one orbit means one year. However, in Mercury's case, TWO years (175.938 earth days) is highly significant.
 
Why? Because Mercury only rotates 3 times in two years. A rotation means a day (like the Earth rotates once every 24 hours). It's hard to believe, but Mercury has only three Mercury days in two Mercury years.

So one Mercury day is a third of 175.938 earth days, or 58.646 earth days.

~~~fia

[Sason]

Thank you so much for putting two of my pics in TDS!!

[milomorris]

I'm happy to read about the book "Queer Questions Straight Talk." I am a firm believer that the only way to foster understanding between different types of people is through open dialogue. You just don't know what is bothering a person until you start talking to them.

What is interesting is that many times a straight person apologizes before they even ask their question. They think that by asking they are being offensive or homophobic. I think that sexual minorities would do themselves and heteros a big favor by helping to make it OK to ask. If people think that we will take offense or ridicule them, they won't bother to ask...and who knows what kind of messed-up stuff they might continue thinking.

Its important.

[kathy]

1) The "Peanuts" character Peppermint Patty is always falling asleep in class.

2) I think Ang Lee is just wonderful! 

kathy   

[chapeaugris]

I'm happy to read about the book "Queer Questions Straight Talk." I am a firm believer that the only way to foster understanding between different types of people is through open dialogue. You just don't know what is bothering a person until you start talking to them.

What is interesting is that many times a straight person apologizes before they even ask their question. They think that by asking they are being offensive or homophobic. I think that sexual minorities would do themselves and heteros a big favor by helping to make it OK to ask. If people think that we will take offense or ridicule them, they won't bother to ask...and who knows what kind of messed-up stuff they might continue thinking.

Its important.

It's why I love the Ignorant Straight Girl thread. (The only problem is, the gay friends in my real life don't realize how knowledgeable I really am...)

[Ellen (tellyouwhat)]

oh, the knowledge/acknowledge gap.  a new age problem