mikeldmv

mikeldmv t1_j9y5b01 wrote

Reply to comment by Apostate_Nate in Am I the only one who thinks that What a wonderful world by Louis Armstrong should be humankind's anthem? by Historical_Ad1970

Ever heard the song Nappy Heads by The Fugees? Sure doesn’t sound like a respectful reference he’s making there to me. Mocking the shit out of him with his impression, and then he says, “But what the fuck was so wonderful 'bout pickin cotton, on a farm?”

Bob O’Meally, the head of jazz studies at Columbia University in New York, remains divided. While lauding Armstrong as “one of the greatest people of the 20th century”, he was “offended by his presentations … At the time of the rise of Malcolm X, the authority of Martin Luther King, examples in the popular media like Muhammad Ali and others, there was Armstrong – a kind of throwback from another era, with this borderline minstrelsy role that he played. I cringed as a black American.”

article

“Armstrong was regularly called an Uncle Tom.”

Armstrong’s hesitancy to speak out against racism was a frequent bone of contention with his fellow black entertainers, some of whom branded him an “Uncle Tom.”

“During the civil rights movement and beyond, many Black Americans viewed Armstrong as a subservient Uncle Tom figure, a perception "Black & Blues" refutes.”

I love the song. The context is that OP is nominating it to be ‘humankind’s anthem’ ffs, so it definitely seems relevant to bring up controversy. I pointed out there would be push back, and generally topics like this become a much bigger deal for much lesser titles.

1

mikeldmv t1_j632jpa wrote

Reply to comment by Salty_Pancakes in A rant about Maggot Brain... by wtanz

Can’t argue with that. I prefer the intensity of the early albums and compositions, but I think he’s continued to make good music his whole life. I’ve only come to fully appreciate a lot of it recently to be honest, including Caravanserai and some of his other more mellow stuff

2

mikeldmv t1_j61mgu7 wrote

Reply to A rant about Maggot Brain... by wtanz

Everyone and their mother has this song in their top 10 though. You want unappreciated perfection, look up Santana Live at the Fillmore ‘68. The entire show is just immaculate. But never in my life have I heard anyone bring up how incredible Chunk a Funk is, or tell me to check out Freeway, or listen to his cover of As the Years Go Passing By.

Not only that, but his solos in much lesser known songs from his first few albums like Guajira and Taboo are also worthy of mention, imo. And as a lover of Maggot Brain myself, I would highly suggest checking out Latin Tropical and Flame-Sky. Both 10 minutes plus with similar vibes.

Even though Santana’s name commands such respect in the guitar world, people often don’t do enough to appreciate the quality pf some of his individual work imo.

8