Actually, it was more party/drinking music with dancing occuring. This was nothing like Northeast
urban Lindy-dance/flapper music, to say nothing of the famous organized dance contests and events in
the big cities. And, much of the slower blues can't be danced to very well, because it's about being
sad, down, cheated, etc. I would guess the primary activity at many if not most blues performances
in the 30s was liquor consumption, gambling and scouring for sex partners. Not to say this was going
on right next to the Lindy/flapper dancing in the Northeast (or at any given pop music festival
today, except that the gambling is probably replaced by drug-seeking and drug-taking).
-- Tom Fine
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Stamler" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2014 2:13 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Records Ruin the Landscape
> On 9/22/2014 9:32 AM, Tom Fine wrote:
>> Let's be honest and say that many of the older blues guys played in a
>> "primative" manner to say the least, probably because they were more
>> interested in their next drink or their next bedmate than their next
>> hours-long practice session. That's not to say the end result, at least
>> in their recordings, isn't entertaining and compelling, but Johnson
>> stands out for his musical skill (which is probably what caught the ear
>> of other musically-skilled/aware people like John Hammond and Eric
>> Clapton).
>
> It's also worth remembering that this was *dance* music. That "primitive" style may well have
> been a consequence of the need to provide a strong beat for dancers in a noisy roadhouse with no
> amplification.
>
> Peace,
> Paul
>
>
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