i've been away for awhile. i needed time to sort out whether i even wantd to blog this anymore. i don't even know if i still have readers. but inevitably, things happen which cause me to think. about race. in portland. but the summer respite was nice.
i feel like i'm SUCH a (bad) product of the lack of good radio stations in portland. lately, i feel like i despise black music. it's stupid. it's so simple minded-it's either about 'making slow looooove baby' or it's about 'shaking that thang'. period. that's all black people sing about. or is it that that's the only non-white music the radio stations in portland play?
i know there's better r & b out there. but i've been conditioned to despise it. if i don't watch BET on cable (which, by the way should be boycotted because of it's total degradation of black women and black people in general...but wait! It's the only channel us black people have!!) and i'm too old for MTV, how would someone go about finding good soul music out there?
seriously. it all sounds the same. it all sounds like R.Kelly whining about making love, making love, making love, making love...UGH! and don't get me started on the ghetto moms i see dropping their kids off at school with their slippers and rollers BLASTING that slow, lovemaking, baby-baby music at 8am in the morning.
so typical. that's another post though.
10 comments:
hey girl, welcome back! keep blogging, i appreciate your point of view! i know my comments in the past have bled with self-righteousness...but i'm a little bit more grown up now!
anyway, i feel ya! i'm a sophomore at howard - and i know a ton of ppl my age who absolutely despise BET! i am one of them! and the radio -- ICK! it's all about the same thing and most songs have the same boring sound and have the same people featuring on the songs! artists need to stop thinking about "what's hot right now" but instead "what's hot right now...and is still gonna be hot next year, 10 years, 50 years from now"...and quit putting out crappy, forgettable songs.
satellite radio has nice soul stations. and as far as blogs go, soulbounce is a music blog you might like...if i find anymore i'll let you know! :D
there IS good music out there, it's just the mainstream "music" gets all the attention!
There is good R&B available. I think you should try satellite radio or go on-line. I live in Austin, Texas where the "black" radio station plays fairly good music but I am originally from a small town near Houston; so I tune into the station I grew up listening to from Houston; KMJQ 102.1 FM. They tend to play some oldies (Patti LaBelle, Maze, Isley Brothers, Cheryl Lynn) with some new sounds (Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Anthony Hamilton).
HI TBG,
I have the same feelings about a lot of "our" music, and I tend to listen to stuff I listened to in high school back in the 80s. Whenever I think about how black music tends to always have the same themes (you left out the "how much paper/cars/diamonds I have" theme), I do have to admit that all of the mainstream music sounds the same, too. Let's not be too hard on ourselves. That's why I'm living in the past, music-wise, these days.
That said, I agree with the previous posts that satellite and internet stations are the way to go. You can listen to stations all over the world. No need to be limited by the Portland offerings.
I'm glad you're back!
-JD
TBG, I am so glad your back. I ahve been checking your page everyweek since July for new post. So, yes you still have your readers keep blogging; it keeps me sane at work.
Now regarding music and radio stations, there are good music out there for black people, there are: contemporary jazz, jazz and blues, and other great genre of music other than hip hop and rap. I'm in Portland also and I listen to KMHZ on 89.1FM. its broadcasr out of Mt Hood Community College in Gresham and they usally have local and national artists interviews. I would highly recommend this station. Before there used to smooth jazz which is 105.9 (I think) but that is now gone and replaced with 80s type music (not really my type since I'm only 25).
Welcome back again and keeping bringing up the subject that are so sensitive for even dinner table conversations.
Hey, you are back! I stumbled onto your blog awhile ago and have read it regularly. I've never commented, but wanted to let you know you have readers. I like to read your perspective.
Hey! You're BACK! Good thing too.
You must remember, Blacks don't control the radio stations or the recording studios or the lables (well, some rappers have some lables, but they're part of the problem) so what you hear on the radio and on BET is what they think we want to hear. Try to find a decent Jazz station (that's Black). Or like others said, internet/satalite radio. I listen to alot of 70's & 80's stuff from when I was growing up. Not Jill Scott but Gill Scott.
Welcome back,
You must remember that there are alternatives to the "ho's ho's ho's and I got money and bling" theme of a lot of rap music. There are positive artists such as Angie Stone, India Arie, John Legend and Kirk Franklin, the late Phyllis Hyman, to name but a few.
I too am tired of BET and the negative images of black culture which are broadcast everywhere. In fact I couldn't tell you the last time I watched BET and I would never watch MTV as it is too inane for words.
It would take you a bit of research to find it in your area, but I guarantee great black music does exist.
I live in the #1 radio market in America (NYC) and they are playing the same crap too, it is not just Portland. It is Clear Channel dictating to black folks what we should listen to. If you want to hear music just go to the blogs like Soulbounce to see what new RnB is out there.
TBG
I want to thank you for your post. I really appreciate your honesty, no matter what others think about your ideas. I totally feel the same way about modern day R&B music. I listen to Classic Rock and I love 70's R&B, maybe you should get satellite radio, lots of options for listeners and they have a much more adult section or R& B classics, its funny how you describe your feelings on this topic because as I would get into my car I would cringe at todays modern R&B as I would search up and down the radio for something more low key. I would always say to myself, is this all black people can sing about! "doing somebody", "getting done by somebody", "doing somebody elses' spouse" all that etc etc. WOW TBG you have read my mind!
Those hip hop / rap lyrics can be sickening! I now listen to Gospel r&b and hip hop or positive r&b and hip hop.
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