Cultural appropriation and covers

[peteb]

1 hour ago, Burns-bass said:

This.

 

Shows respect and an understanding of the context. 

 

it's also the most middle class thing ever!

 

If the OP feels that he has to apologise before playing a song that you might not expect them to, then perhaps they could jokingly announce the song as 'some might think it strange that five white guys from the south east of England could play a song about the struggles of people in a land far away that we know very little about... but we're gonna do it anyway! It's a great song and I hope that we can do it justice'... 

 

[Steve Browning]

17 minutes ago, chris_b said:

Oh dear. I suppose because I'm white British I should only be playing for Morris dancers!

Without blackface make up, I trust?

[tegs07]

19 minutes ago, peteb said:

 

it's also the most middle class thing ever!

 

If the OP feels that he has to apologise before playing a song that you might not expect them to, then perhaps they could jokingly announce the song as 'some might think it strange that five white guys from the south east of England could play a song about the struggles of people in a land far away that we know very little about... but we're gonna do it anyway! It's a great song and I hope that we can do it justice'... 

 

From Alan Lomax protesting electricity at Newport folk festival, Santana fusing Latin rhythms with rock, Cream taking the blues to a new level, British SKA, Northern Soul, Heavy metal in Delhi, Katmandu and Tokyo. Cultural Appropriation, dilution, desecration or just art? I am all for culture NOT being either sacred or static. That’s the death of creativity. I don’t think Dylan should have apologised to Lomax or Cream apologised or Santana etc. I think George Harrison had as much right to pick up a Sitar as  any young lad in Delhi has to wear cowboy boots and sing country music and if working class white lads in Wigan have a passion for US Soul music and are inspired to dance please do.

Edited 2 hours ago by tegs07

[Baloney Balderdash]

Quite on the contrary, music is an universal language, and I would call it a racist decision if  fear of cultural-appropriation is the reason not to play it.

 

But then again I am not a zealot woke, you'll have to ask one of them how it is even supposed to make sense.

 

I am almost certain that Fela Kuti would be really happy about a British white person playing his music.

 

Culture is if any just a social construct, break down some barriers!

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Baloney Balderdash

[SumOne]

It seems to me that more often than not it isn't the ones that are 'appropriated' that get offended - it is other people getting offended on their behalf.

 

I think the biggest risk is if it is a straight-up copy (including accents and clothes etc) it starts to obviously not be genuine and seems a bit naff. 'Keep it real' and all that.

[chris_b]

7 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

I am almost certain that Fela Kuti would be really happy about an British white person playing his music.

 

He welcomed Ginger Baker into his band on many occasions.

 

I went to see the Fela Kuti show at Sadler’s Wells and Femi got up and sang a few songs. the audience was predominately white British and the band was white French. None of which mattered a jot to anyone present.

[Baloney Balderdash]

16 minutes ago, SumOne said:

It seems to me that more often than not it isn't the ones that are 'appropriated' that get offended - it is other people getting offended on their behalf.

 

I think the biggest risk is if it is a straight-up copy (including accents and clothes etc) it starts to obviously not be genuine and seems a bit naff. 'Keep it real' and all that.

 

Yeah, definitely do not copy the accent and appearance, that would be pretty seriously cringe, and border parody.

 

As always with covers, respect the original material, by doing it your way!

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Baloney Balderdash

[Burns-bass]

32 minutes ago, peteb said:

 

it's also the most middle class thing ever!

 

If the OP feels that he has to apologise before playing a song that you might not expect them to, then perhaps they could jokingly announce the song as 'some might think it strange that five white guys from the south east of England could play a song about the struggles of people in a land far away that we know very little about... but we're gonna do it anyway! It's a great song and I hope that we can do it justice'... 

 

Not at all.

 

In my Chicago blues band we play a song called “little schoolgirl”. 
 

The singer explains that the lyrics are a bit dodgy, but it’s a fun song.

 

World has changed and it’s worth reflecting on that.

[Burns-bass]

This is going to go straight into Reform UK, political correctness gone mad BS so I’m out.

 

Have a good gig whatever you decide. 

[miles'tone]

2 hours ago, tegs07 said:

Oppressive governments using coercion and violence against their own people. Working class and oppressed people being used by the military to further their own agenda. Feels like fairly universal concerns to me.

 

I think this song is as relevant to the victims of ICE, the residents of Gaza, the people of Kiev, the immigrants detained in hotels facing a howling mob as it is to the people of Nigeria in the 1970s. To me it’s a universal message that echoes our common humanity and sense of injustice.

100%.

Also there might be a couple of people who like it and ask who the tune is by, thus getting turned on to looking into Fela, his work and message more deeply. 

I'm sure the man himself would have approved of this.

 

Edited 1 hour ago by miles'tone

[chris_b]

Fela Kuti's Afrobeat was a mixture of Nigerian music and American Jazz and Funk, mixed with Nigerian politics. So who was appropriating what?

 

What does it matter that Kiri Te-Kanawa sang Mozart or Yo-Yo Ma plays Bach, or Howlin Wolf toured being backed by the (very white and very British) John Dummer Band?

 

Influences are good. Mozart and Muddy Waters had them. Take them from where ever you can, and make your music to the best of your ability.

[Dad3353]

The drummer on the original recording was Tony Allen. Anyway, the question has come up before, with...

 

 

[Baloney Balderdash]

"Hvide Mænd Spiller Afrobeat" (White Men Play Afrobeat) by the Danish band "Smag På Dig Selv" (Taste Yourself)

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Baloney Balderdash

[Steve Browning]

51 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

Not at all.

 

In my Chicago blues band we play a song called “little schoolgirl”. 
 

The singer explains that the lyrics are a bit dodgy, but it’s a fun song.

 

World has changed and it’s worth reflecting on that.

We play that number too. I wonder if Led Zeppelin ever covered it?

[Chienmortbb]

Good Morning Little Schoolgirl was a favourite of the band Ten Years After, but also done by Muddy Waters, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Yardbirds, Grateful Dead, Rod Stewart, Van Morrison etc. 

 

As a young man just older than many schoolgirls it did not seem out of place but at 73? 
 

The problem is that most of the songs we do are talking of young men and their longing for young women although age is rarely mentioned in the lyrics. 
 

The one I have trouble with is Brown Sugar. It’s a great song but does it have racist overtones or is it just an historically accurate of days gone by? By all accounts it was written in  about 15 minutes and the Stones no longer do it. 
 

What about the maddest appropriation of all, Swing Low as the anthem of English Rugby?

[Cato]

I think we're moved away from the OPs original point about being uncomfortable about playing a specific song rather than an issue of whether or not whole genres should be taboo.

 

Having looked at the lyrics of that song I would say that the casual listener is very unlikely to have a clue about the real events it's referring to so I probably wouldn't be worried on that score. 

 

It does however appear to be in a dialect or patois which is likely going to sound very odd if sung in an English accent and probably even more ridiculous if said English person tries to 'do' the correct accent, so I'd probably be out on that score.

Edited 11 minutes ago by Cato