| rss2email.ru |
 Спец и промо акции в Таиланде  |  Блог о жизни и браке в Европе.  |  Актуальные статьи о финансах и законах  |  Nice 2 Look | Смотреть Приятно  |
 |  Music: Music blog | guardian.co.ukArticles published by guardian.co.uk Music about: Music blog http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog рекомендовать друзьям >> |
- Ari Up: a punk with the courage to confront
When I saw the Slits in 1977, Ari Up would howl, scream and hitch up her clothes. No audience had ever seen a young woman behave like this on stage. And like the best punk rock, she had a gleeful desire to shock and outrage
Slits singer Ari Up dies aged 48
In pictures: The life of Ari UpAri Up, whose death from cancer has just been announced, was an extremely powerful energy force – a trailblazer who embodied the punk spirit. As singer and co-writer in the Slits, she completely redefined what a woman in music could do and – in the ethos of the time – opened up possibilities that would be explored by herself and many others in the years to come.
The Slits erupted during their appearance at the Harlesden Coliseum in March 1977. Like many groups at that time, they were learning as they went along: the performance was chaotic and violent. But no one had seen young women behave like this on stage: enacting a flagrant parody of sexuality, at the same time seemingly tougher and more disturbing than the other (male) groups on the bill.
I loved seeing them in 1977 and 1978. The shows became more coherent, but there was always this edge of chaos – which added to the excitement. Visually, drummer Palmolive was fantastic: standing up to play, beating the crap out of her set in thundering, tribal patterns. Bassist Tessa Pollitt stood stock still and watchful, while guitarist Viv Albertine prowled the stage like a tiger.
Up front, Ari howled, screamed, toasted, crooned, skanked, hitched up her clothes, pulled at her bird's nest hair, and generally behaved in a most un-lady-like fashion. She was confrontational in person and on stage, but her courage went hand-in-hand with a gleeful, teenage desire to shock and outrage that was a major impulse in punk.
The Slits found it difficult to assimilate within a conservative, male-dominated music industry. The songs became clearer, and when you listened, they were tuneful, witty and extremely sharp. One masterpiece was FM – recorded for a John Peel session in 1977 – which tackles the insidious psychic effects of the mass media. It ends with a radio sweep that includes Union Gap's salacious Young Girl.
By the time the Slits recorded their first album in 1979, they were a completely different band from their thrash beginnings. Produced by Dennis Bovell, the reggae-infused Cut is justly celebrated as a landmark statement that includes strong songs such as Newtown, Shoplifting and, of course, Typical Girls – an enduring manifesto for young women who seek to reject the norm.
Punk has now become so familiar that people forget its primal, revolutionary drive. For a brief period, everything had to be new. If it hadn't been done before, do it: why not? What's to stop you? Ari Up enacted this impulse on stage, on record, and in person into the 21st century. In any language, this was heroic, and I salute her for that: I'm sorry she's gone.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsПереслать - Dizzy Gillespie: Happy birthday in clips
As a Google Doodle celebrates what would have been the jazz maestro's 93rd birthday, we pay tribute with a selection of clips
Dizzy Gillespie was born on this day in 1917, meaning he would have been a ripe old 93 had he not sadly died of pancreatic cancer in 1993. A Google Doodle celebrates the life of this jazz pioneer, so we thought it would be a good time to revisit a few highlights from his career.
Gillespie was known for many things, one of which was his signature "bent" trumpet, a result of someone having sat on it. Here he is (above) playing the unusual instrument with Louis Armstrong for this performance of Umbrella Man in 1959.
It may be the skewiff trumpet and puffed-out cheeks that make you think of Gillespie, but the musician also ran for office. Sort of. Of Gillespie's 1964 presidential run, our own jazz critic, John Fordham, said: "Gillespie's ticket advocated US withdrawal from Vietnam, putting African-American astronauts into space, and renaming the White House the Blues House."
Still, that hardly compares to the above clip. Some musicians appear on Sesame Street, but those with real class appear on The Muppet Show.
His 1942 composition A Night in Tunisia went on to become a jazz standard. Here he is performing it with the Terry Gibbs Orchestra.
There's not much to see in this clip, but fortunately Gillespie's performance at the 1957 Newport Jazz festival is good enough for an audio-only experience.
Those are our favourites, let us know some of your highlights from Gillespie's career.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsПереслать
| rss2email.ru | отписаться: http://www.rss2email.ru/unsubscribe.asp?c=90855&u=756462&r=477547156 управление подпиской: http://www.rss2email.ru/manage.asp |
