Although for most people the strains of "The Entertainer" and other rags now primarily evoke quaint, scratchy images of silent films projected at the wrong speed, when ragtime first appeared around the 1870s, it was the soundtrack of Missouri's whorehouses, parlors and gambling clubs. St. Louis in the 1870s Ragtime was also one of the first … Continue reading The Roots of Jazz: Ragtime
Month: August 2009
The Roots of Jazz: Cakewalk
A performative, competitive dance known as the chalk line walk first appeared around the 1850s on the plantations along the Gulf Coast. Its origins lay in the African-derived dance known as the bamboula -- also the name of a drum -- and it was performed in New Orleans, where on Sundays slaves were allowed to … Continue reading The Roots of Jazz: Cakewalk
The Evolution of the Music Video
Video and the Radio Star I think it's safe to say that many, if not most, people seem to assume that music videos began with the initial broadcast of MTV on 1 August 1981. That first video, the Buggles' excruciating "Video Killed the Radio Star," came out in 1979, so what were they singing about? Were the Buggles prophets or … Continue reading The Evolution of the Music Video
Eric Brightwell 