"Music Then and Music Now!!!"
Yes, where we compare that obviously inferior, stupid, naive and idiotic culture of American yesteryear to the obviously superior and hip American culture of today by comparing the lyrics of those old foggies to the contemporary geniuses of today.
The first contender is the lame-o loser from the song of 1926, Tip Toe Through the Tulips;
Tiptoe to the window,
by the window that is where I'll be
Come tiptoe through the tulips with me!
Tiptoe from your pillow,
to the shadow of a willow tree
And tiptoe through the tulips with me!
Knee deep in flowers will stray,
we'll keep the showers away.
And if I kiss you in the garden,
in the moonlight,
will you pardon me?
Come tiptoe through the tulips with me!
And now (I have no idea why the font decided to change this color) the superior rantings of 2 Pac Shakur
oh, who hoo hoo
live from the crazy house
you heard that shit nigga
live from the crazy house
yo that nigga be crazy as hell
(hey yo, what you doing with that big ass nigga anyway ?)
my ghetto love song
(set it off, set it off)
lets be friends
mixed together:
(where my niggaz at, where my niggaz, where my niggaz, where my niggaz, where my niggaz at)
(where my real niggaz at, all my real niggaz, throw you mother fucking hands up)
(c'mon, lets go, lets go, lets go, lets see you throw you hands in the air, throw em, throw em, throw em)
(west side in this mother fucker right here, west side)
(throw you hands in the air, let me see you just throw you hands in the air)
[Verse 1]
approach you and posed a minute
all on my double R tinted
as you pass bye
winkin' my eye
freshly scented
what's the haps baby, look
get with me and perhaps lady
you can help me multiply my stacks baby
currency seems small I need companionship
do with that scandalous shit
I bet your man ain't shit
so why you hesitating, actin' like your shit don't stink
check out my diamonds
bitch everyone gon' blink
this be a thug thing, outlaw
nigga with riches cream dreamin' mutha fucka
on a mash for bitches
check my resume, sippin' on crystal and alize
smoking on big weed, key'd the Cali way
don't like trickin' but I'll buy you a fit
I can't stand no sneaker wearing, nappy haired bitch
let my pedigree read briefly
their so cheap
puttin bitch made bustas to sleep with no grief
mash on my so called car
who the man while I'm tuggin' on your main bitch hand
(west side)
understand this, ain't no nigga like me
fuck Jay-Z
he broke and I smoke dearly
(C'mon y'all)
baby lets be friends
[Chorus]
lets be friends
(where my niggaz at c'mon)
you ain't gotta by my man at all
as long as you just give me your
friends
(all my niggaz c'mon)
while you trickin' on them other hoes
lets be friends
(where the bitches that want a nigga with money, where you at baby?)
(hu, huh)
Lets be friends
you ain't gotta by my man at all
as long as you just give me your
friends
(cash making hoe's)
while you trickin' on them other hoes
lets be ...
[Verse 2]
I met you and I stuttered in passion
though slightly blinded
but at last, it was hard to keep my dick in my pants
every time you pass, got me checking for you hardcore
staring and watching
me and you
one on one, picture countless options
was it prophecy, clear as day ?
visions on top of me
erotic, psychotic, would possess my body
far from a crush
I wanna bust your guts
and touch everything inside you, from my head to my nuts
you got my sweatin' like a fat girl going for mine
just a skinny nigga fuckin like she stole my mind
back in time, I recall how she used to be
I guess
money and fame made ya used to me
what's up in 96 ?
lying tricks in drag
fuck Dre
tell that bitch he can kiss my ass
back to you
my pretty ass, caramal queen
got my hands on your thighs
now let me in between
as friends
[Chorus]
lets be friends
(west side in this mother fucker right here)
You ain't gotta by my man at all
as long as you just give me your
friends
(west side in this mother fucker)
while you trickin' on them other hoes
lets be friends
(west side in this mother fucker right here)
Lets be friends
You ain't gotta by my man at all
as long as you just give me your
friends
(in this mother fucker right here)
while you trickin' on them other hoes
[Verse 3]
can you image in me in player mode ?
rush the tricks
I got em, ready for a booty call
I fucked your bitch
was it me or the fame ?
my dick or the game ?
bet I screamed west side when I came
(WESTSIIIIDE!)
scream my name
cause baby it's delicious
got a weak spot for pretty bitches
up and down, similar to switches
my movement, baby let your back dip into it
make it fluent
in and out, all around when a nigga do it
you got me high, let me come inside
love it when you get on top, baby let me ride
who wanna stop me ?
in my top notch
fucking player hating niggaz cause they cock block
you probably hate to see a real thug envisioned with the game
rather see a nigga up in prison, why you change ?
made a living out of cuss words, liquor and weed
a bad seed turned good, in this world of g's
baby got me fantasizing of seeing you naked
it's a fuck song, so check my record
and let me friends
where my niggaz at?
(ahahahaha)
show me where my niggaz at
where my bitches at?
thugstyle
lets be friends
where my niggaz at ?
(huh,huh)
where my bitches at ?
throw your guns in the air
friends
my ghetto love song, it goes on and on and on and on
lets be friends
where my niggaz at ?
(huh,huh)
where my bitches at ?
where my niggaz at ?
friends
where my niggaz at ?
where my bitches at ?
where my people at ? Lets be
where my people at?, Show me where my people at.
where my people at?, Show me where my people at.
where my people at?, Show me where my people at.
all my niggaz now, just my niggaz come.
where my niggaz at ?
just my niggaz now.
be friends, tell me where my niggaz at ?
be friends, tell me where my bitches at ?
be friends, tell me where my people at ?
make money, take money
be friends
[Chorus]
Friends
(get your cash on)
(lets get money)
You ain't gotta by my man at all
as long as you just give me your
friends
(c'mon, get your cash on)
while you trickin' on them other hoes
(lets get paid)
lets be friends
(c'mon, get your cash on)
You ain't gotta by my man at all
(lets get paid)
as long as you just give me your
friends
(c'mon, get your cash on)
while you trickin' on them other hoes
(lets get paid)
make money, take money
make money, take money
make money, take money
make money, take money
No doubt, society is on the right track.
Meh...
ReplyDeleteIn 1926 Tupac Shakur was a second class citizen, as opposed to today. So in that sense, society is on the right track. I dont buy into the false premise that previous societies/generations were more moral/better off. Times change, societal expectations change. The older generations have a hard time coming to terms with this, and thus equate the change with a downturn in morality.
Hell, I'll probably forget this and feel the same way when I'm old and grey too.
I don't think that it's just about generational conflict. You have to differentiate things. Some things have improved, some have worsened.
ReplyDeleteOf course there was organized racism in early 20th century. But at that time nobody would've treated women the way they are treated now by some guys who think they are phat kingz...
It makes no difference. There are always people being treated badly, whether it's african-american or women. Society was never on the right track, it's only changing between wrong tracks.
Actually, if my arithmetic is correct, in 1926, Mr. Shakur wasn't alive.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the commenter meant that Mr. Shakur's ethnicity made him a second-class citizen? If so, does that somehow grant him the license to write and use the lyrics quoted? Shall the Captain perhaps have quoted from, say, Duke Ellington or Nat King Cole or Cab Calloway or Louis Armstrong instead? After all, they were "second-class citizens" as well, yes? And yet, somehow, they felt no need to use such melodious lyrics to express their no-doubt pent-up rage and fury at The White Devil keeping them down.
"Older Generations". Pah. Take physic, pomp.
I'm old enough to remember Steve Allen doing a bit about the advanced poetics and meaning of the lyrics of then modern music. He read the lyrics of a song as poetry in a deadpan voice - it was a hoot. Basically, the song said more or less nothing.
ReplyDeleteOf course then, he could read the lyrics and not run afoul of the censors.
Comprehend the profound significance of this one:
I know a ditty nutty as a fruitcake
Goofy as a goon and silly as a loon
Some call it pretty, others call it crazy
But they all sing this tune:
Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?
Yes! Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?
If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, a little bit jumbled and jivey
Sing "Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy"
Oh! Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you-oo?
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?
But, yes certainly parts of society have gotten more openly vulgar and coarse, and in the case of Tupac, there's lots of money to be made in it.
But another point - fifty years from now will anything done by Tupac be considered "classic".
The really good stuff is truly timeless. Somehow, I don't think Tupac and his ilk will make the cut.
I could have just as well quoted M&M and evade the whole race aspect of my post. Regardless, my original point is, black or white, the quality and caliber of today's musicians and their lyrics pales in comparison with the wit and cleverness, not to mention just outright civility of yesteryear.
ReplyDeleteCreate rationales all you want, today's musicians suck and are utter filth and crap (not to sound too religious right) compared to the 1940's.
If I recall correctly, Mahan, you and I witnessed a fine example of what would torpedo the entirely of modern day hip hop in watching "Stormy Weather."
I'd love to see any modern day hip-crap artist pull off what the Nicolas Brothers did. Not to mention, is there a modern day equivalent to Lena Horne? OH, but wait, those blacks really weren't "real blacks." Obviously uncle Toms like Walter E Williams and Thomas Sowell, Colin Powell and Bill Cosby and Condi Rice (who is a babe by the way). And please tell me somebody today that has anywhere near the class as Cab Calloway or Louie Armstrong.
Oh, but I heard "Flava Flave" has a TV reality show.
The sad question is who do young black youth desire to emulate? How many young black youth could even tell you who Duke Ellington was? Such a pity such a rich culture risks being forgotten because of the likes of Tupack Shakur.
Captain-
ReplyDeleteIf one were to *gasps of shock and outrage* examine history, I think we'd find that, oddly enough, depsite the many and varied obstacles placed in their path in this nation, blacks (or whatever name folks are comfortable using) did well enough here that the notion of "Back To Africa", regardless of source, was a dead letter on arrival.
We'd find that, over time, and even with such terrible constraints as Jim Crow laws in the South especially, blacks were becoming more and more mainstreamed in American society DESPITE racist attempts to keep them out (Hmmm. First it was the Irish, then the Italians, then the blacks. I sense a pattern here.); I own a capitalist economic history of this nation that notes those laws were regulary evaded, as blacks made up more and more of the clientle for Southern business as they climbed the economic ladder.
The sad fact of the matter is that it was the government intervention in the 1960's that disrupted the process by which *every* minority group has joined the American mainstream; by turning the blacks almost overnight into a "victim" group, the government has removed the work ethic and installed this nihilistic and parasitic culture in its place.
A horrible shame, truly, because, as noted, the culture of the 1930s and '40's was incredible in terms of music and dancing and a general happiness in life, as though they knew they'd turned a corner.
Dtrum,
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed with your use of the phrase "phatz kingz"
I know, it's from CNN, but it's interesting to know the numbers:
ReplyDeletehttp://edition.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/05/14/lw.catcalls/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
New poster here.
ReplyDeleteCaptain, I totally agree. It's not a race thing, it's a culture thing. I don't care if you're purple with yellow stripes, you don't have to act like a complete idiot. I hate racism and I believe that it is where people equate this stuff to black and white automatically that the racist people show. They immediately think that's what you meant, because they see race, not the individual.
To be fair to Tupac Shakur, he did write a great deal of songs with inspirational lyrics that addressed major social issues of his time,for all races of Americans and in this commentators opinion the world. With lyrics such as "It doesn't matter if you're black or white, because we're human. I hope we see the light before we're ruined" granted he also wrote some lyrics that were inflammatory to his overall cause. No one is perfect I guess. In answer to the original question of which generation of music is the better I believe it comes down to personal taste the way music is produced in todays modern age of technology allows for the sound to be completely different. I believe for the most part the older generations had a greater dependance for lyric quality than a great deal of today's artists but that being said I am sure there was a fair share of artists back in that period that weren't that skilled in writing lyrics either.
ReplyDelete