Messy but Beautiful

James Brown.



I saw James Brown perform in person in 1992 in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was an experience of a lifetime.

Celebrating James Brown

I was kind of looking for a bit of guidance on writing today's post from paz, the path, but what I got was that paz, like many Americans, is reverent about James Brown, the godfather of soul, the hardest working man in show biz, which is fine. I was watching on TV the public funeral, billed as a "Homecoming Celebration" for Mr. Brown, coming from the James Brown Arena in Augusta, Georgia, and had some thoughts on the whole thing. I missed the beginning of it, but I saw enough of it to get a flavor.

Pleased and Dismayed

I was pleased by the event, and dismayed.

James is Smiling

One thing that made me happy was that I felt Mr. Brown would have approved much of the celebration.

African-American Contribution to the World

Second, in listening to the music, the rhythms, the cadences of speaking, the living poetry spoken by such masters at it as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, two people who are normally not my heroes—I had to admit that blacks in America, African-Americans, have created something unique in the world.





A musician myself, though not an expert at the various genres, I recognize that African-Americans have created the blues, soul, funk, rap and other genres, and that this is a magnificent contribution to the world.

One thing that is cool is that African-American singers, and even rappers, have taken and used human resonances in ways and combinations never done before. Having traveled the world, I am acutely aware of variety in the human being's musical expression, from the Middle-Eastern ululations, to the atonal Japanese kabuki, to the rich Muslim call to prayer. The sounds at James Brown's "funeral" were rich and melodious. I do believe that African-American performers send their vibrations to parts of their bodies that no singers have done before.

The Spoken Word

I even admit that African-Americans, despite the whole Ebonics thing and bad grammar etc., have contributed these same resonances and rhythms to the spoken word, again as with the poetry of Jesse Jackson, rap, and jive talking. I know that the "bad grammar" part of the whole deal is in one sense just a shortcut to allow the rhythms and resonances to flow. So, I guess it's kind of a separate language, a language with a beat. A language with soul.

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The only problem I have with this is when people rely just on this language and don't develop also proper English. Again, Reverends Jackson and Sharpton are adept at both "languages," which is a good thing.

Church Cadences

Another interesting consideration is the "church cadences," which blacks get into in public events. This cadence is a beautiful thing. The crowd gives their "Amens" etc. showing they are in sync with the speaker. The only problem I have with this is that it doesn't matter what the speaker is saying. The rhythm is the thing. He could be saying, "Brothers and sisters, I want you to go home and fry your hamsters," and the crowd would be yelling, "Tell, it Brother." We tend to turn off our brains when we get into these flows. Still, this was a funeral, so church cadences were appropriate. I was just making a global comment.

A Great Show

A Bit Messy

Overall, it was a great show. This is part of the problem. Part of it was seemly, and part of it unseemly. In case you think this is just another white guy critiquing a black event, you could hear members of the audience actually saying real-time some of the things I'm writing now. You could actually hear one person complaining, "This is so egotistical," and there were other comments too. Several members of the audience told certain people to "get off the stage." For example, there was some animosity for James Brown's companion of many years, Tomi Rae Brown. She sang beautifully, with soul, like James Brown used to sing; and spoke eloquently too. She and Brown had many troubles over the years, and I'm not an expert on this, but part of it involved accusations of physical abuse. I don't take sides on this issue because I wasn't there, and it's none of my business. I just report, however, that the crowd seemed to be blaming her. Recently of course, she was in the news after Mr. Brown's death for not being allowed back into their home of residence.

So, again, it was a great show, if a bit messy. Even the messiness of it all, though, I don't think would have necessarily bothered Mr. Brown. Part of the reason for Mr. Brown's genius I imagine was an attempt to deal with the messiness of life. He had been in and out of marriages, four of them, and in and out of jail. Overall, I'd say he led a good life, and the good he contributed to the world far outweighed the bad, but you have to admit it was a bit "messy." So, the funeral celebration was apropos.

Show or Funeral?

My second critique of the "show" was that it was just that, a show. I couldn't figure out at times if I was listening to a New Orleans' type funeral where the participants "celebrated" the life of the now deceased rather than mourn his passing. Nobody seemed sad that James was gone. Many of the "performers" were just that, performers. They were there to show off their talents, with songs often that had nothing to do with James Brown. It seemed like a chance for them to shine, rather than an opportunity to make James Brown's memory shine. This is the second time I've seen an African-American funeral where (the first time I actually attended) the "mourners" were competing, it seemed, to give the best "performance" at the funeral. I of course will make no generalizations from this, but I do think the center of attention ought to be the deceased, not the mourners. If you're at a James Brown funeral, sing a James Brown song, mention James Brown, tell a story about James Brown. Don't get up there and start reviving your singing career.

Again, oddly enough, the ones who steered away from this kind of thing, and kept things proper, were Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, who were most appropriately somber and centered on James Brown.

Tribalism

My third critique is quite a serious one—one that has little to do with this particular funeral, but one that is directed at the African-American community. I don't suppose Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson could have done anything different, but their welcoming of Michael Jackson to the event went a bit too far. To Mr. Jackson's credit, he had been urged to sing at the event, but he declined. I don't mind welcoming people back into the community when they are prodigal sons. Forgiveness is a virtue sometimes. But you have to be sorry to be forgiven. With Michael Jackson, there is no admission of anything, and no expression of regret. He has not received any psychological therapy to make him less of a threat to young boys. Al Sharpton, like he did with the fraudulent case of Tawana Brawley, seemed to stand with Michael Jackson against his unjust, and white, accusers.

Mr. Sharpton seems to communicate quite consistently that if you are black, then you are good, period. This is tribalism. This is what happened with the O.J. trial, where a black man was defended by his race simply because of his race, despite mountains of evidence. I don't hate Michael Jackson. I can understand why he would be included in this funeral. James Brown loved Michael Jackson. Yet, don't make Michael Jackson, or O.J. Simpson, or Tawana Brawley, out to be heroes, heroes who are slandered by the white community. Even if Mr. Jackson never did all the things he was accused of, his behavior with children has been inappropriate, and this ought to be recognized. Don't treat the guy like a returning hero, a victim of society. The children were the victims.

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Messy but Beautiful

All this being said, and allowing that my life has been just as "messy" as James Brown's, and forgiving Mr. Brown for his taste in friends and judgment about them; and inserting my big punch about tribalism; I'm willing to admit that the funeral celebration, despite being "messy" and despite my two other criticisms, was, on the whole, a good thing. It made me feel good; smile; laugh; and get into its rhythm. It showed Mr. Brown's influence on music, musicians, on America, and on the world.

James Brown was a great man, gave us great music, and I loved hearing it and grooving to it.

Thank you James. Go in peace my Brother.

Rock

(*Wikipedia is always my source unless indicated.)


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