Jus' playin' the natch'l blues
4
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This is the first of a two-part series' on the Blues by
Fine Arts writer Bart Becker.
by Bart Becker
" do not play no rock 'n 'roll. jus' play the
natch 7 blue'. "-Mississippi Fred McDo well.
Without a long sociological discussion, let it suffice
to say that life for black and white Americans has
been largely a separate experience. As the two groups
adjusted uncomfortably to the separateness of their
experience, each developed its own popular song; the
blues became to the black musician what
conventional popular music became to the white.
The white parallel to the blues lies in mountain
folk music, rockabilly andor blueorass.
Since the audience for the Wues-and for popular
song-is often a young audience, its most persistent
theme is an overwhelming concern with heartbreak
and the sudden consciousness of sexuality. There are
other themes, but the despair of love is the most
dominant.
As the Mississippi singer J.D. Short expressed it in
Samuel Charters' The Poetry of the Blues: "Well, the
blues first came from people being low in spirit and
worried about their loved ones."
It is not essentially in its subject matter, however,
that the blues differs from conventional American
pop music. It is in the strength and vitality of its
imagery and expression that tne blues becomes a
more poetic language. And it is in the raw vigor of
presentation that the blues shows its contrast with
the weak-kneed quality of white pop music.
Many early blues singers were travelling men,
moving from place to place on a whim. But many of
the performers were playing only to local audiences
in areas where they lived and worked.
The earliest blues recordings, in the early 1920s,
opened up a new audience to blues performers. It
spread their reputations so that they could go on the
road, playing from town to town.
Both the poetic and musical language of the blues
reflects an immediacy of experience. It is a terse
experience. Blues often has as few as a dozen lyrical
lines-often arranged in three-line verse-built around
an unsophisticated musical framework often a
simple three-chord progression.
The earliest blues verses developed from the
shouted work songs of the field and prison yard. One
of the workers would call out a line like, "My woman
up and left me." The men would respond with a
rhythmic phrase that emphasized their work
movements, such as "Hammer ring!"
Some field hollers and prison work songs are
preserved on records, particularly the Folkways and
Everest labels. For the inexperienced listener, they
may be too far removed from pop music, and,
therefore, relatively unlistenable. But they are the
roots of the blues.
Some of the earliest blues performers available on
records include Blind Lemon Jefferson and Charlie
Patton. These artists, and others, are available on the
Biograph, Arhoolie and Yazoo labels. The recordings
are sometimes subpar, but they give a good indication
of the feeling these men had for their music.
The blues singers have always felt a direct
emotional relationship with their audiences, and it is
that feeling that is behind their insistence on the
blues as "truth." As Memphis Willie B. implied when
he said the young men can't sing the blues because
they don't know about the emotions that go into the
blues, it is necessary to be involved with this life to
reach the most intensely creative level of the blues.
Lightnin' Hopkins, despite his years as a successful
performer for audiences in universities and
consciously artistic night clubs, used to return to
Houston between jobs to work weekends in the local
juke joints.
In 1962 Big Joe Williams, after a number of
successful recordings and two or three years of
touring the universities, dropped out of sight. He
finally turned up playing five hours a night for $10,
with a rough three-piece blues band in a dance hall in
St. Louis.
For the blues novice, listening to any of the artists
mentioned or any artist on one of the labels
mentioned will provide a good introduction to the
beginnings of the blues.
Unfortunately the history of the blues can't be
covered by a short series of articles in a newspaper.
People have written books on the subject. Luckily,
i-jjpjpippjjpjiiPiiiijipp
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photo by Bill Ganzel
Blues artist Sun House. . .appeared in the
Union last spring.
some of them are available.
Blues Line is a $20 book of blues lyrics. Samuel
Charters has authored a number of books, including
the aforementioned Poetry of the Blues. Another
good book is Leroi Jones' Blues People.
Living Blues magazine is published quarterly. It
includes some information on festivals and blues
performances. In addition, it runs record and book
reviews and some excellent interviews with blues
ro rf nr m a c
Berg criticizes
Thone's policies,
refusal to debate
by Steve Arvanette
Democratic first district congressional
candidate Darrell Berg, at a press conference
earlier this week, blasted his general election
opponent for refusing to debate him.
Berg said Congressman Charles Thone "is
so insecure about his record that he is afraid
to defend it in public."
Thone's administrative assistant, Robert
Palmer, said that no debate could be planned
until it is known when Congress will
adjourn.
Thone, accorc'ing to Palmer, "has told
Berg several times that until Congress
adjourns he will be in Washington."
Speculation is that Congress will adjourn
Oct. 14, Palmer said. However, until a firm
decision on adjournment is made, Thone will
bo unable to schedule a debate.
Berg has criticized a tax reform plan
offered by Thone as fiscally "irresponsible"
and of having no chance of getting through
Congress.
Berg said Thone had admitted he didn't
know how much his plan would cost,
although it might be as much as $16 billion.
Since the present federal deficit is $20
billion, Berg speculated Thone's proposal
"will be laughted right out of Congress."
Berg also called for an immediate
congressional investigation of the
"favoritism shown the big wheat exporters."
"I am finding that this is the No. 1 issue
on most farmers' minds," Berg said of the
recent sale of wheat to Russia.
Berg quoted Farmers Union figures that
rated Thone's record on agricultural issues at
53 per cent and said if farmers knew that
fact they would support him (Berg) instead.
Palmer, in response, said Nebraska has
four farmer's organizations. "If you get 100
per cent with one, you may get zero per cent
with another," he said.
Berg said Field and Stream magazine has
rated the congressman at zero per cent on
evnironmental issues.
Palmer questioned what issues were used
in the magazine's 'rating, and pointed out
that during his term in office Thone opposed
President Nixon's request for continued
federal support of the supersonic transport
(SST) project.
The project was strongly opposed by
environmental groups.
Berg also critized Thone for voting seven
times against amendments that would end
financing the Vietnam war.
Palmer said Thone has fully supported
President Nixon's attempts to end the
Vietnam conflict.
Bidding opened
for library addition
It literally took years to accomplish, but the addition to
Love Library is finally solidifying according to Library
Director John Heussman.
Bidding on the new structure began yesterday and will
continue until the last week of October.' The lowest bid will be
presented to the Board of Regents at its November meeting
for approval, and "hopefully" ground breaking for the
structure will be in mid-November, Heussman said.
The two-story addition will be constructed north of Love
Library on what is now a mall. Heussman said it is scheduled
to be finished in "a year or a year and a half, although we
don't know for sure."
The addition, funded with a $3.5 million appropriation
from the Legislature, will house 700,000 volumes and seat 400
students. It will be connected to Love Library's central
structure by a second-floor walkway. The card catalog,
currently located in the second floor lobby of the main
building, will be moved to the walkway, Heussman said.
"The addition will take care of our needs (storing books)
for, oh, five to seven years," Heussman said. "It's hard to
estimate, but I would say we're going to be faced with a
problem after that."
The library shelves have been overflowing with books for
several years. New libraries like the one at Nebraska Hall have
been created on both UNL campuses in the last five years to
house the overflow from the main library.
The $10,000 collected last year from contributors and
students in their "Make Love No. 1" campaign is resting in a
special fund in the University of Nebraska Foundation to be
used at a later date, Heussman said. v
Probasco
Continued from page 1.
"Reporters are still unable to treat unorthodox,
unconventional people objectively," he said.
However, Probasco ventured that if he would have
known how much student interest his editorial would
cause, he'd have written it the second week of school.
Not because he wanted to make an issue, he said,
but because of the way it brought the campus aiive in
times when "you almost had to create issues."
One showing of the film on the UNL campus was
nearly empty; the next one was full.
"I was concerned at the time-not wanting to
embarrass the University," he said.
Probasco said he feels he's become even more
radicalized in the 12 years since his editorship.
After he graduated, Probasco forgot about
journalism for awhile, he said, because he wanted to
be involved in the movements at the time, not report
them.
He applied for and received a conscientious
objector draft classification. Between bits of graduate
school he spent 20 months as a Peace Corp volunteer
in the Phillipines. This interested him in Asian
studies, and in 1967 he received his masters degree in
Asian history from the University of Hawaii.
Probasco participated in a Pentagon march in 1967
and somewhat in the dump-Johnson movement in
1968.
After marriage, he traveled in Asia, especially in
Indonesia and the Phillipines, before coming to work
for the Herald two years ago.
The Vietnam war still concerns him.
Probasco is aware that tome say the cycle from
apathy to protest to violence has turned full face and
that campuses are apathetic again.
And he admits there have been great changes on
campuses within the last three years.
He blames much of this on the Vietnam war not
winding down, and credits Nixon with cleverly
making the war a non-issue. There is no leadership on
the other side of the fence, he said, and there is
nothing radical at all about George McGovern.
Probasco credits consumer champion Ralph Nader
for redirecting the attitudes of some kids who found
dropping out was not rewarding and came back to
find their role within the system.
And while now there seems to be a certain
calmness and apathy in the country, Probasco said,
it's not like Eisenhower and the fifties.
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doily nebroslcan
Editor in chief: Jim Gray. Manning Editor: Tom
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page 2
daily nebraskan
thursday, October 5, 1972
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