Before the Music Dies

"Music has been the language of our culture. Words & sounds that come from the street & the barrio, from fields & churches, from coffee shops to arenas. Our music defines us as Americans. This fertile land of immigrants, slaves & dreamers has created more forms & styles of music than any before it.....Whether a song of passion or pain. A voice of patriotism or a scream of protest. American music has never been bound by category or cowed by rules. Our rich & often tumultuous history has meant a continuous reinvention of who we are; often expressed through our music..... As one musical form emerged on our cultural dance floor, another cut into the fray determined to make it's new voice heard. Blues howled & boomed. The powerful & articulate Jazz stepped onto the floor & everyone took notice. Rock & roll had been criss-crossing the nation in a dusty van with country & western & they, too, joined the party, eager to show off the stuff that they'd both learned from gospel. The dancers all parted when the loud and rebellious punk arrived and the dance floor heaved again as hip-hop, the loudest & flashiest guest yet, arrived on the scene with a slam & a thump heard around the world.."

So begins the "Before the Music Dies" documentary (see http://www.beforethemusicdies.com) created by Andrew Shapter & Joel Rassmussen. It's a powerful vision of the current state of the music industry & music as a whole.

I played hooky from work one day last december. I called in sick. Wasn't entirely physically sick. Didn't feel 100%, but was more just sick of working than physically sick. In the middle of this day, I happened to be driving my car & happened to hear someone on CKUA radio mention this video & thought it was something that my friend Andrea, being an artist & musician, would want to see & would be the perfect thing to complete her birthday/christmas present. Long story short, it came in, made it into the gift, she liked it & loaned it to me to watch.

I had a quiet afternoon with an appointment getting canceled (get well soon, my friend) & so decided to retreat to my house to have lunch & watch the video. Made for a fantastic afternoon. Watched it mesmerized for an hour and a half. Sometimes laughing, sometimes stupified, most times crying through the whole thing - sometimes with gentle tears, others with birth-pang like gasps (yeah, that's a weird image that I'll have to explain later)... I had sort of thought about watching this either with Andrea or others in the community house, but it's maybe good I watched it on my own 'cause then I was free to express the emotions of the moment....

... so much good stuff in it that I'm going to have to watch it again, just to hope to absorb it all. They paint a picture of American music as being this voice that came out of slavery & bondage, a voice that grew through spirituality & just calls out to all that will listen.... they paint pictures of the battle between art & commerce... they show how the commercial side of the music business is being crippled, is crumbling & how there is a new face of art & music emerging from the grassroots. The whole thing is very revolutionary (i.e. starting a revolution, rebellion, overthrow) & whispers/shouts of things to come. It felt very much like listening to the prophetic voice heralding the coming of Renaissance II. (which is maybe a farcical imagery that will never happen, but if it does, you heard it here first (or whispered on the wind), & if it doesn't happen, well, at least it's a beautiful dream.....)

If you have any heart for music, the arts, creativity, passion, love for life, I very much recommend the video. Will likely have to post more after watching it the second time.