Posted on 06/13/2004 2:05:54 PM PDT by clintonbaiter
I agree.
I'm glad Toby and Ted are playing for our men and women overseas.
I got into such a lather about VH1 Best Ever hosts slamming TK but I know what agenda is driving that. I like him but never hear any TK here, not in the yankee north. I almost had a stroke when a radio station played Lynard Skynard's Red White and Blue.
The troops love to hear them and they appreciate their efforts.
As for melody, no, rap doesn't have it. Can you whistle rap? No. Granted, there are a few musical lines thrown in from time to time, but a bass line or keyboard riff isn't melody. Since there's no melody, there is no harmony, by definition.
Think about any song...let's say "Stairway to Heaven", just for example. Whistle the parts sung by Robert Plant. That's melody, and the guitar and flute parts are harmony. Obviously, the bass and drums are the rhythm. Now whistle "Ninteenth Nervous Breakdown" by the Stones, "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd, or any other song that comes to mind. What you're whistling is the melody. Now try to whistle "Mama Said Knock You Out" (I choose it only because it is one of the few raps I know the title of). You can't, because there is no melody to whistle. Simply put, rap/hip-hop/crap is not music, it is partial music.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Or as I see it, rap is noise made by people with no talent for people with no taste.
As for you asking if classical music can be "kicked to the curb" because it doesn't have a vocal line, I say don't be ridiculous. Melody doesn't have to be vocalized...I used that as an example because in today's pop/rock/country/R and B/soul genres, the vocal line usually is the melody. Obviously, in classical, jazz, and other instrumental genres, the melody is performed on the trumpet, the violin, the piccolo, whatever instrument happens to have it at any given time.
My point is that in rap/hip-hop/whatever you want to call that garbage that I hear being vomited out on 98.7 and 95.7 FM in the Tampa Bay area, there is no melody. From time to time, you may have a chorus that is sung, and if you want to split hairs, I guess I'd have to concede that for that brief passage there is a melody line. But then it goes back to the primitive fart noises that rap is. Just try to whistle along with it...you can't, because there is no melody to whistle. A little riff on the keyboard, a bass line or a few chords on a guitar in the background doesn't qualify as melody, either.
Now whistle along with "Carmen Suite", or any of Beethoven's symphonies. Whistle along with "Freebird", "Green Grass and High Tides Forever", or anything by the Allman Brothers. Whistle along with anything by Kenny G (if you can do so and hang on to your lunch, that is). Yes, that's right...you've found melody. The instrumental accompanyment is the harmony, and the percussion and bass lines are the rhythm. Now listen to "Rapper's Delight" and try to find a melody anywhere. You can't because rap/hip-hop has no melody. It is partial music.
As for embarrassing myself, sorry bud. If you think Missy Elliot, Outkast, Mos Def, etc. are music, then you're the one who should be embarrassed. You obviously have no idea what music is, other than what's called music by your favorite room temperature IQ DJ at the local hip-hop station.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Good to know I am guilty of genocide since my wife is asian. With conservatives like you, who needs liberals?
I just whistled several rap cuts. Perhaps you're not musically inclined. Man oh man, folks are SHOWING their ignorance on this topic!
Well, let's see...I play trombone, bass baritone, tuba, guitar, banjo and bass guitar. I played in the high school band and orchestra, and in the percussion ensemble in college. I have played in numerous in bands since school, and written over 50 songs. No, I'd have to say that 1) I am musically inclined, and 2) you're either lying when you say you "whistled a rap song", or you just don't know what you're talking about. It is impossible to whistle rap, because it has no musical progression, no set of notes, arranged into a theme or melodic line. You can't write rap on a five line, four space standard music staff. You might be able to transcribe the rhythms and words onto a percussion clef staff, but that's strictly rhythm. Rap has no melody, and correspondingly, no harmony. It is a rhythmic spoken word form of...whatever.
Remember, a simple keyboard or guitar riff thrown in here and there is not melody, and if there is a chorus that's sung, then that part of the "song" isn't rap.
"Man oh man, folks are SHOWING their ignorance on this topic!"
And you, my FRiend, are those folks. You obviously know absolutely nothing about music. Just because your favorite know-nothing DJ calls it music doesn't mean it is. Just because "Vibe" magazine calls rap music doesn't mean it is. Just because you want it to be, doesn't mean it is. Rock is music. Soul is music. Jazz, blues, country, classical, Sousa marches, Gregorian chants, even that doofus Wesley Williams (Willis, whatever) is music. But rap is not music. It is 1/3 music, and all the wishing in the world won't give it any legitimacy.
It's bad enough you have the horrid taste to listen to rap/hip-hop/whatever else you want to call the guttural rhythmic fart noises you listen to. Stop embarrassing yourself in front of those of us who have a background in real music.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
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