If you love R&B and soul, you know about retro soul singer, Amy Winehouse. Her voice is compelling. Her story is tragic. Listen to her music and you are drawn right in. But her songs are hard to listen to because of the lyrical content. Hers is relationship music and you can see trouble coming in just about every song. People who live like the songs she sings suffer. There are laws of God. The spiritual laws of God are as real as the physical laws of God's universe. Ignore the laws and stuff happens. Lives can become unbearable.
As I am wont to say, quoting nationally recognized poet and Baha'i Robert Hayden in a World Order magazine from the 60's, there is art of affirmation and art of negation. There is a place for both. But some of artistic creations are positively toxic.
Did Amy Winehouse live like the songs she sang about? I don't know, I haven't researched her life, but I know she's gone.
Sometimes making a comparison is positively unfair. But when I think of the best of R&B/soul, I think of gems like "Wake Up Everbody." The songs of Amy Winehouse -- I pray for the progress of her soul -- are not in the same league as that Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes/Teddy Pendergrass wake-up call. -gw
No comments:
Post a Comment