RIP James Brown
Dec. 25th, 2006 12:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ihcoycJames Brown has died.
Probably one of the few genuine geniuses the U.S.A. has produced, and the man who, more than anyone else, deserves credit for the worldwide popularity of US pop music.
Probably one of the few genuine geniuses the U.S.A. has produced, and the man who, more than anyone else, deserves credit for the worldwide popularity of US pop music.
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Date: 2006-12-25 08:00 pm (UTC)You haven't seen nothing yet
until you see me do the James Brown!
James Brown and the 1960's in Bamako, Manthia Diawara
When James Brown laid down the original version of ‘There Was A Time’, he created a record so powerful, that it stands to this day as a sort of three-minute manifesto on the importance of dance steps as a signifier of power, masculinity and all around coolness.... If there was anyone that wasn’t paying attention, they were certainly listening now. In a country whose cities were racked by riots, James Brown had harnessed the power of his band, and his own immense power as an entertainer and brought its full weight to bear on the idea of the dance as freedom (no bullshit, it’s there, just listen)."
"If you ever get a chance, seek out the video of Brown’s performance at the Boston Garden in 1968... a concert that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, which was broadcast on local television in an effort to keep the kids off the street to try to stem the tide of unrest..."