This post is dedicated to my friend Lana whom I always end up arguing about music with and my mother, who always told me not to sell out.
Lana and I go way back, we met in the mid-’90s when I was going to the Boston Conservatory. She was friends with my roommate at the time, who was involved with the music scene in Cambridge/Boston, and Lana used to play in a few bands. At some point after I graduated from college we ended up being neighbors in Cambridge and spent a lot of time going to the Middle East bar/club, going to parties, traveling to Mexico …you know, doing mid-twenties things. Anyways, she moved, and over the years, we have had a few “reunions."
Last night, Thanksgiving 2019, we saw each other at our friends’ house. The subject of music (which has come up in the past) made its appearance once again. Lana remembers (probably not very fondly) how one time when she was telling me she enjoyed listening to Gloria Stephan, that her voice was amazing, etc. etc. I said: Lana, what happened to you??!! We got into this back and forth about her telling me Mark Anthony was terrific and me saying it was shit.
So, am I a snob and judgemental asshole? Perhaps I am. I have come to realize (pointed out by my friends) that I am quite a snob when it comes to food and I agree. Why would I go pay tons of money for mediocre food? I love food and I want a good experience! But I deviate…
Ok back to music. I was thinking about how strongly I felt about mainstream music on my drive back from Thanksgiving last night, and here are some thoughts.
I grew up in Mexico city with my mom and my stepfather. My stepfather, Fernando was a writer and a theatre critic, my mother a singer who at a very young age ran away from the record labels and commercial TV that wanted to package her into a product they could sell. She then became an independent artist who had the freedom to perform what she wanted to and be the type of artist SHE chose to be.
In my teens, in Mexico City, I was part of a counter culture group of kids that would listen to music like The Cure, Bauhaus, Nina Hagen, The Police, and other New Wave and Post-punk bands. There were also rock bands from Mexico that we would follow, and we appreciated Latin rhythms /music (although at the time, we weren’t into them all that much). We dressed, acted, and created art a certain way. We would be part of political marches and strikes.
That’s a little bit of where I came from.
Then in the 90's I moved to Cambridge, and after a few years, thankfully, I found my peoples!! People in this country that would share the same political beliefs and tastes in music and art.
When Lana tells me Gloria Stephan and Mark Anthony are super talented and that their music is so good, I instantly draw a line. Talent? Many people are talented. The question for me is how that talent gets put out in the world. How do people use their talent? for what purpose? Someone who uses their talent for the purpose of making money is very different than someone who uses their talent for self-expression, to create change, to make people think and feel, to challenge themselves, to re-create themselves, to try new things. People like, my mother who is not financially wealthy, although if it was about talent, she should be. But she stood her ground and did not sell out and sang her heart out everywhere she went.
People like Gloria Stephan or Mark Anthony use their talent, their own culture, and exploit it. I do not have anything against certain popular music like good cumbia or salsa bands, music that comes from the people, but I don't like and don't want to support this type of mainstream commercial artist.
Having said this, I like bad music with awful offensive lyrics. I like Migos and Lil’ Wayne. They are no Wu-tang Clan, not a bit, but I enjoy them. Talk about commercial, mainstream stuff, right? The fact that rap and hip-hop music came from a culture that was trying to find ways to express anger about inequalities and terrible socio-economical situations makes a difference to me. Most of these artists, good and bad ones, come from undesirable conditions. They are not famous just because they have a pretty face. I am aware that there is so much more to discuss on this matter. Either way, I recognize that Migos are not good but I like them…a lot. I am aware of the bad stuff, and I do not buy their albums either.
I support talent, creativity, change, and integrity, and I listen and dance to some really "bad" music.
Oh, and Lana? We do have some music we both like: Manu Chao, Leonard Cohen, Buenavista Social Club…
