Week 8

When examining the regional styles characteristic of African traditional music, one can in most cases find that certain characteristics of musical sound often reflect an image or identity its performers are attempting to convey. For example, in West Africa, the music of drum ensembles found in the Ewe tribes of Ghana has the characteristics of: call and response forms, interlocking rhythmic parts, a prevalence of ostinato-like patterns, and a polyrhythmic texture created by dense musical organization. This heavy emphasis on the strict regimentation of individual parts, the interdependence and collaboration of participating ensemble members, and the idea of responding to the call of a privileged leader creates in the mind of the listener the idea that somehow among these performers there exists a functional hierarchy. And of course this idea of a functional hierarchy holds true to lives of the larger Anlo-Ewe people, who reside in a society reminiscent of feudal chiefdoms. For even when it comes to musical culture, still the formation of ensembles, organization of events, who participates, and even what instruments are played must have the consent of the ruling chief.

One popular artist of recent interest to me has been the grungy alternative-rock band Nirvana. When I listen to songs like “Heart Shaped Box”, over heavy distortion, pounding volume, and crashing drums I hear clever minor harmonies and the lingering of a melody. The clarity of the lead melody’s sorrowful yet hauntingly memorable melody cutting straight through the band’s entire sound is really what grabs me as I listen idly to the album In Utero. And then I hear the quiet singing accompanying solo acoustic guitar on the song Polly. As the band’s front man Kurt Cobain plays he tells the story of a young, female rape victim. While enduring terrible physical pain, this young girl intelligently feigns affection for her abductor, and in causing the abductor to let his guard down she ultimately ensures her safe escape from the horrible situation. Such daring yet innovative lyrics in combination with superb musicianship give Nirvana just the grungy yet distinct type of image they are trying to convey. This sad, angry, ragged aesthetic, telling as it was of a popular grunge aesthetic sweeping the nation, even more so was a reflection of Cobain’s mental unrest. One week after escaping a rehabilitation clinic, Cobain’s body was found alone in his upstairs greenhouse. He committed suicide with a shotgun to his head.

Exploding into pop mainstream with their album Nevermind, released 1991, the band Nirvana brought an enormous following of young listeners commonly referred to by the media with the term “Generation-X”. Although their appeal strictly speaking can only be explained by listeners individually, the depressing, mysterious, sexually explicit, yet bitterly true lyrics written and sung by the band’s front man Kurt Cobain are as difficult to ignore as they are exhilarating. Over a decade past the band’s abrupt end, Nirvana’s music retains its legendary fame and can still be heard across the airwaves.