Analysis of The Legend

What a song it would be, the corrido of Gregorio Cortez from The Legend. The song of every man in Mexico, every man they strive to be. I gathered from the reading that Cortez was not really a man, but an embodiment of what every man wants to be. What they work to be, and emulate. Cortez was “not too dark and not too fair, not too think and not too fat, not too short and not too tall.” The average man, the man that every man could see himself in and could attribute himself to have the same qualities of this perfect Mexican. The author illustrates this idea by saying, “he looked just a little bit like me,” and he looked a little bit like every man in Mexico.

That is what corridos did, they told a story, and I can visualize this story being told by straight-faced singers, bellowing out the virtues of living a quiet and honest life, while encouraging people to turn away from a selfish, and loud life.

The corrido of Gregorio Cortez is the corrido of every honest man in Mexico, while “the north” stigmatized Mexicans as lazy, brash people the corrido of Cortez brought light to the true character of Mexicans. The songs meant to get the true story out, to dispel the myth that Mexicans were their stereotypes; they were hard working, honest, and respectful.  The music was the only medium these people had to try and stop the rumor that what was being said was in fact true. Music that was sang with vigor, and this appeals to many human emotions. Music allows for release, and this may be why corridos are still so popular, release comes fast when you are yelling lyrics you connect with deeply at the top of the lungs. The songs give you a picture of what happened, who to be and through corridos people form an identity. 

Blogs and Jokes=Better Blogs

            Chapter eight reads like a current piece on the state of indie music, other than the parts where it says rock n’ roll and refers to the 50’s.

Let’s try this: “Fats Domino, Ricky Nelson, the Everly Brothers, and Elvis Presley were all lumped together as “rock ‘n’ roll singers”—meaning simply that they all had records being listened to and purchased by large numbers of teenagers”

And make it this: “Fats Domino, Ricky Nelson, the Everly Brothers, and Elvis Presley Bon Iver, the Strokes, Passion Pit, and Wolf Parade were all lumped together as “rock ‘n’ roll singers” “indie rock”—meaning simply that they all had records being listened to and purchased by large numbers of teenagers hipsters”

I read this and felt like a 14-year-old girl in the 50’s. The new “HOT” genre, indie rock, fills all the qualities that Starr and Waterman detail. A bunch of artists that sound barely to nothing alike are being lumped into this genre that basically has come to mean different or weird. The bands had a cult following, just as small indie bands have now and they each formed their own identity (is this my midterm again?). Hipsters are seen around town (LA=town) wearing skinny jeans, flannel, carrying around their vinyl, just so people know they collect it.

The music has accumulated a following of people who are grounded by the same aesthetic and attitude.

Rock ‘n’ roll was the beginning of this audience, of us young adults being appreciated as music consumers with power. I’m no different than any other consumer, obsessed and guided by what I idealize about “hipster” culture. I completely connected with the video professor Kun (see above) showed on Tuesday with the people waiting in line to see the Beatles. I connected all right…with the screaming girls (I’m more of a John man myself). While indie rock doesn’t write songs about the trends it facilitates (it’s too cool for that) it certainly holds the same amount of clout that rock had over its audiences. And we both think we are cooler than school.  

Rock did something in the time that wouldn’t be possible now. When a generation was trying to assimilate and a group of kids were taught who to hate, who to fear, only music could “tear down that wall” (Oops, wrong historical event)! Starr and Waterman said no matter who you were, as long as you were young, “rock ‘n’ roll was your music.” Rock gave access to all audiences, it was a blend of many genres and therefore was musically accessible, but it was more than that. Kids were looking to revolt, they were finished with being frightened and they wanted to put fist pump, just like those kids in the Jersey Shore. The president talking about possible nuclear war no longer filled TV’s, Elvis was on now. Rejuvenating the generation with music that wasn’t afraid, so why should they?

Rock ‘n’ roll was the music of a new generation, just like Pepsi, or Kanye West, and it formed their listening habits as well as their ideals. Rock shredded the industry and the young minds it reached when turned up to 11. 

Radiohead + Mingus= Best. Blog. Ever.

Disclaimer: An unabashed Radiohead fanatic writes this blog.  The views expressed in this blog may be sensationalist, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Charles Mingus is still heard in the world of popular music, I can hear him recklessly going through life in Radiohead’s chaotic brass section. A section that is reminiscent of the ones seen in many of Mingus’ songs.

A book like Beneath the Underdog has so many different topics possible of covering that if I tried to do it all in one blog the Internetz would explode! Therefore, I have decided to focus on further impact in music and culture, using Radiohead as my main specimen,  this will probably only lead to the explosion of Blogspot. Before I begin I must point out that Thom inspired this. While trying to go to sleep one night I gave up and decided I would listen to Kid A maybe look over Thom Yorke’s wikipedia page (again) see if something new was added. To my pleasant surprise I saw that ol’ Thom listed Charles Mingus as one of his influences. “Great news,” I thought and from then on I’ve been mapping out the web of ideas written on this blog.

            Charles Mingus was always getting into trouble, never felt comfortable with his own skin, his own culture; he didn’t fit in anywhere. Mingus grew up feeling hated and not accepted by anyone so he had to use music to get away from it all. Mingus did so by being the best, by being the leader by controlling the only thing he felt he could control. In “Original Faubus Fables” Mingus speaks out against the government, directly addressing his adversary by name, declaring war. “Knives Out,” Thom Yorke would retort. Professor Kun stated that Mingus represents a crucial figure in the idea that politics and music have something to do with one another (He next said specifically racial politics, but that ruins the fun comparison). Racial politics or not, they were politics; Mingus was using his music to revolt, to make music and protest synonymous. He certainly wasn’t the last artist to do this: John Lennon, Bob Dylan, and Thom Yorke would follow, just to name a few. And what do those guys have in common? Oh yeah! They’re all incredibly popular. Without Mingus, popular music may have never taken that next step, the protest in music may not have been brought to the forefront, remaining a genre for small musicians and small audiences to hear. Mingus made sure this was no longer an issue, and musicians have been using music as a sound of revolt ever since.

Mingus uses music constantly as an outlet, he doesn’t know how to say what he means—but he knows how to play it.  Mingus wasn’t like most popular figures of that time, doing music for the fame and the attention. Mingus did more with his music, Mingus was his music and he certainly needed his music. Professor Kun asked what was Mingus enslaved by in class Tuesday and I was hesitant to say what was on my mind because slavery seems like a dissatisfactory word to describe the relationship Mingus shared with music. Although the relationship almost seems slave like, music was Mingus’ holder, Mingus needed music to express himself, and Mingus needed to express himself. Did Mingus control the music? Or did the music control Mingus? In the book it seems like a beautiful relationship, two forces combining to help each other. Mingus was certainly helped by the control he was able to exert over music, ironically, not knowing that he needed the music, too, and without his bass he would be devastated, lost. This has become a theme in music, the musicians need the music just as much as music needs them. Thom Yorke is crazy, probably not Mingus status, but certainly would prefer to be a recluse, just knowing it’s not viable if he wants to continue making music. As a child in Oxford his family had to move around a lot because classmates teased Thom for his droopy eyelid, only finding solace in his weekly band practices. In Radiohead’s documentary Meeting People is Easy the viewer sees Thom battle depression, watching the startling correlation of rise in fame and plunge in happiness. Most striking about this is that Thom is a charismatic performer, an excellent dancer and a master of letting loose in shows.

Mingus wrote, “I’m trying to play the truth of what I am. The difficulty is because I’m changing all the time.” Mingus didn’t even know who he was, how was music going to remain the same? It was impossible; he had 3 different personalities at any given time, probably why his songs sound schizophrenic. Many start one way, smooth or chaotic or somewhere in the middle and the next section will be a different tempo, and different theme. We see Mingus switching personalities mid-composition. Without knowing it Mingus created a successful style that every artist strives for—the mobile self. Mingus reinvented himself on every album, something artists are always looking to do in present day.  The most successful bands don’t sound the same every album, the two prime examples are the Beatles, who released a large amount of CD’s in a short amount of years and managed to reinvent themselves every time. Fans now have a short attention span and if the band can’t keep up they move to something else—the key being to keep the sound that became popular initially but change it a little to grow fans and keep it interesting. Radiohead’s Pablo Honey and The Bends sound nothing like Kid A, which sounds quite different from In Rainbows. This is what success looks like nowadays and Mingus was doing it at a time where change was risk, and people at the top weren’t willing to take that risk. But Mingus needed to take that risk, to remain sane, to try and get out of the body that he felt everyone hated.

“I’m trapped in this body and can’t get out”—Radiohead, “Bodysnatchers,” In Rainbows

Yes, sometimes I read the Wikipedia page on Thom Yorke.

No, I'm not embarrassed.

"In interviews Yorke has cited a variety of personal musical heroes and influences, including jazz composer and bassist Charles Mingus..."


His legend lives on.
PS. Tell me one thing not to love about this photograph.

How could I not be infatuated?
(His middle name is Edward, 50 hip points)