J's Pages

by Alan Lomax 

I've really got to start paying better attention to my reading list. I added this book months ago. And then promptly forgot why it piqued my interest, Was it reviewed in a blog post that I found interesting? Was it featured on the Library's website and I tagged it on a whim? Like I said, I forgot. But it was on my list. And then, after a summer of reading about history, and racism, and politics, and racism, and religion, and racism, I was in the mood to read something lightweight. Entertainment history is lightweight, isn't it? A little book about a musical genre should be just the thing, no? 

Uh, no. The history of blues music is not light-hearted. The book just dove into a deep pit of early 20th Century injustice. And racism. Mr. Lomax spent years recording the music and stories of musicians in the Mississippi Delta. For centuries that land has been worked by people who were oppressed and exploited. But while African Americans were treated like animals, they were anything but. Over the years, people have responded to the troubles of hard labor and injustice. Pulling music and dance from their native African cultures, mixing it with the instruments and music of their oppressors, and infusing it with passion and humor, they created not only a balm for a weary life, but also a new art form. Mr. Lomax gives examples of the situations and settings which birthed the songs of the blues. He draws on his own experience as a global folklorist to highlight the strains of African culture that permeate the music. It doesn't make for lightweight reading, but it certainly makes for interesting reading. My only regret is that the Library's copy of the book doesn't come with the companion CD. 

Check. It. Out! 
LibraryThing link

Labels: CheckItOut

// posted by John @ 8:49 PM