All Shook Up
I strongly recommend you read the article “A Paler Shade of White - how indie rock lost its soul” by Sasha Frere-Jones. It has received both cheers and jeers, but it was definitely the most fun I’ve had reading a music article in quite a while.
As an argument, it’s really a mess, especially when the Frere-Jones gets autobiographical, but that’s where the fun really began for me. For it was there that I learned that Sasha Frere-Jones was a white man, and for some reason I had always thought he was a black woman. I don’t know why — the name, the articles, who knows? At any rate, as he recounts in his article, he is a white man who feels uncomfortable singing “black” in his band. He need not worry, there are other brave white men and women who will continue to sing “black” now and into the future. And many black people will sing “white,” though perhaps to less mass audience acclaim.
Beyond the argument, the article did give me a lot to think about. When I was growing up, I definitely felt the crossover of indie music and black music. I got into reggae through the Clash, and discovered Talking Heads’ “Remain in Light” long before I ever heard a note of Fela Kuti. I also hope people will check out The Minutemen as a result of this article, which I think is one of the most underrated and influential bands of the 80’s. I discovered them far too late, buying a Black Flag record instead when I was in sixth grade. I should have bought “Double Nickels on the Dime.”
I think that even if indie rock is a little less interested (though that’s REALLY debatable) in black music, I’m happy that the thing that major indie artists seem to be fusing with the most is classical music. Bjork, Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Sigur Ros, etc. etc. It sure makes my job easier, and the music is good too.
At the end of all this I have to think about the Beatles though, who managed to fuse white, black, classical, Indian, and more in one album seamlessly. Maybe that’s another reason why they’re still the greatest.