sexta-feira, 24 de agosto de 2012

The unmistakable Uncle Sam

"Look what they did to my song!"
"This could be the unburden of the dying european music of the XXI century. In half of a dozen years, Europe, as a fruitful music power, was completely deleted. The production of songs that once jumped borders well known world wide - french songs, italien songs, spanish songs and even portuguese songs are reduced to scrapers to domestic consumption.
A phenomenon with the signature of the unmistakable Uncle Sam.
USA really has a very subtle way of neutralizing any culture that threats them. But they do it in a diplomatic and elegant way almost like community property of a marriage. So, USA invented the terminology of World Music, to make only "picturesque" some musical focus that could become serious threats to the market, like saying: "we allow you to play with sounds, yes we do, but do that in your small corner, because we don't want our nephews to discover that your music is better than our!".
Another example is that so called "latin music". The rubbish that America foist to the world like "latin music" provokes a reaction of rejection ("un pasito para tras...") in any person with the minimum of musical sensibility. The plan workd like a charm! Firing in all their directions its artillery of latin icons like Shakira, Ricky Martin, etc- America hits the bullseye, causing a generalized allergy to "latin music" and hiding and drowning the true latin music that- and the plan never fails- nobody heard. I can mention, for instance, the classic "El Cantante", of Hector Lavoe or "Pedro Navaja" of Ruben Blades...and I bet you never heard about them!
However, Uncle Sam knows very well that "la musica latina es la mejor/ musica americana no tiene sabor" (words of Kid Kreole). And we not even got to Brazil..Tom Zé or Xangai always were as or more feared that the Bin Laden itself, and all their movements must be controlled from space by CIA satellites.
Back to the old Europe: who knows that exists an annual festival in San Remo, Italy, that has been one of the most popular music competitions ? And what about the french example? How is it possible that the offspring of the numerous batallion of welsh artists world-renowned has been silenced by the ruthless exterminator? An authentic cemetery! From Leo Ferré to Yves Montand, from Gilbert Bécaud to Jacques Higelin, nobody left folowers! And if they left them, they are lost in the banlieues, without find a way to the internationalization.
And Sam smiles satisfied! Mission more than accomplished!"

I translated this chronicle review of the musician Gimba from the portuguese magazin of music "BLITZ" of july of 2011 (nr 61)

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