Thursday, March 01, 2007
JITTERBUG, TAP & BOOGIE WOOGIE
I hope you weren't working on anything important when you stumbled on this site because there's no way you're going to finish what you were doing now!
The first video (above) is a jitterbug sequence from "Hellzapoppin'". Some say it's the best jitterbug ever captured on film.
Next is a tap number by the Nicholas Brothers from "Stormy Weather." The original uploader quotes Fred Astaire as saying that he's never seen a finer tap dance on film. A few years ago I recognized Fayard Nicholas in a theater and foolishly asked for his autograph. I say foolishly because Fayard was in what looked like his late 90s and it took him 15 or 20 minutes to painstakingly write his name. I felt terrible for putting him to the trouble.
Classic Boogie Woogie!
Classic Fats Waller, including the kind of mugging to the camera that inspired Clampett and Rudy Ising...or was it Harmon? I'm always confusing the two.
A word of thanks to John K who introduced me to these singers and dancers long ago and who has impeccable taste in these matters!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
50 comments:
Oops! I transposed the last two captions!
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSS!! I love you to bits! I love this stuff soooooo much. Sometimes I feel like I'm born in the wrong era or something.
I echo Cable Clair. I love, love, love this stuff! I wonder what it is my daughter will be looking back at with fondness.... (I sure hope it's not 80's break dancing!)
Thanks for sharing Uncle Eddie!
Dang, that stuff is cool. It blows me away that people can do that stuff.
INSANE!
People make a big deal about action sequences in films and fight choreography- but these sequences are on a whole other level.
The second clip is just sensational- I bet they couldn't conceive children after that dance!
Exactly Mr. Cruickshank- no MTV editing or CGI here- or anything MTV for that matter! That tap was amazing, but I thought the jitterbugging was astonishing!
Of course, this could be an excellent introduction to another discussion. Remember when Frank Sinatra danced with the Hoover or whatever? That was bad. So this could be either a great thing, or a travesty. This is entirely real, they just superimposed Gene Kelly's head.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hur1qMsiyw
For reference, this is the original bit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8xyWhoLJCY
Fascinating if you think about it. I personally am on the love side of the equation. The song just makes me happy.
which for if anyone wants to know, is by Mint Royale, and here's the full video with full song etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cscZeUqxxM
Funny how most break dancers, and I've been hanging around them most of my life, aren't really as exreme as jitterbugging as per exampled here, and no breakdancing goes with that much power for that length of time...or approaching it. Those guys were amazing. The purest youth dancing, in my opinion.
What the HELL has happened to Black music in this country?
How in hell did it degenerate so Goddamned fast from such lofty heights? And why isn't THIS stuff being played on BET instead of crass rap videos?
To employ an oft-used metaphor, when did the "stupid bomb" go off?
When did talent, craft and musicianship suddenly become passe?
And why isn't the public up in arms about it? Why aren't people SCREAMING about it?
How can you go from Slim Gaillard (clip #1) and Fats Waller (in other words, pure genius!) to hip-hop (i.e; pure shit!) in just a generation or two?
If you criticize hip-hop in public, like I do, some idiot will immediately accuse you of hating Black music in general - no matter how much you admire jazz, blues, gospel, soul and R&B.
As a consequence, rap and hip-hop get a criticism-free ride which they don't deserve.
I'm not afraid of being criticized by morons.
I'm much more concerned that popular culture has taken such a huge hit during my lifetime. I think it's tragic that people have been bullied into being afraid to talk about what's plainly obvious.
I think these forms are wreaking havoc on Black music and dance - which was once as proud a tradition as anything this country ever produced. The proof is captured on film for anyone with eyes to see, ears to hear, and a brain to tell the difference.
It's absolutely shameful.
Mike, THIS is for you.
Yeah, I know... too little, too late.
Holy sh!t! Where in heaven's name do they get the energy and talent for the jitterbug dancing? That requires a lot of talent.
As for the Nicholas Brothers, they were some of the greatest dancers in American entertainment. Their dance moves were amazing.
Thanks for posting this, Uncle Eddie! It was really fun to watch.
HOLY SHITTT. That dancing is INSANE!!!
mike f. I couldnt agree with you more!!!
GONE, is the melody from all Rap/HipHop..it shouldnt even be classified as Music...Music, by definition, requires a melody.
I can still remember the huge smile I'd get listening to Earth,Wind & Fire or Kool and the gang...what the hell happened? There must be talent out there somewhere.
I blame MTV back in the 80's...it suddenly became :no talent required" must look good on TV.
There were some '80s break dancing that was pretty good! Lots of skill and inventiveness there. I too blame MTV & movies like "Flashdance", where a "performance" is put together withe editing, showing a little part of the action in each clip; a quick shot of feet - a sultry close-up head turn - reaction shot of onlookers - and the audience have the "impression" that they saw dancing. (kind of like Hitchcock's Psycho shower scene) Fred Astaire & these jitterbuggers don't need editing - it's all real and it's much more ecxciting to see the "real" thing.
I remember going to a screening at UCLA back in the mid 80's of a lot of this kind of stuff and being mesmerized at the ability these people had. I agree that nothing today can even come close to any of these talents.
Thank for posting 'em eddie!
Thanks for posting this. It is awesome. I have been reading the comments on Cartoon Brew about happy feet winning the oscar, and I can say animated dancing should be more dynamic, like these videos you posted. It's animation for crying out loud. Be bold! I love seeing the talent that has been lost oh so many years ago. Not just in entertainment, but in craftsmanship. Just try and find someone that can do wood carvings, tin smithing, or just about any skilled trade at the level that was practiced in the centuries before the first few decades of the 1900's. We should be building upon what our ancestors left us, not degrading to below their level.
i LOVED Fats Waller in "Tin Pan Alley Cats"!!!
Actually, I WAS working on something important. What was going to be a short break turned into a long one. Thanks, Eddie. Haha!
Mike, I agree with you 100%.
the raw power in that first clip is soo breathtaking. pure joy!
If they tried to mocap penguins doing that the computer whould explode.
I found this in the Webster Dictionary:
The definition of Rap
Pronunciation: \ˈrap\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English rappe
Date: 14th century
1: a sharp blow or knock
2 a: a sharp rebuke or criticism b: a negative and often undeserved reputation or charge — often used with bum or bad "given a bum rap by the press"
3 a: the responsibility for or adverse consequences of an action "refused to take the rap" b: a criminal charge c: a prison sentence
If they named the so called form of artistic expression from this definition, then no wonder people cringe at the sound of it. I have never liked it.
Wow, I wish I can dance like that! :)
I like boogie-woogie, but I like it even better when they speeded it up and it became R&B, which stands for Real Black. Afterwards they mixed that with country and formed REAL Rock & Roll, with geniuses like Chuck Berry and Fats Domino raised black music to new heights.
And I mean REAL Rhythm & Blues, not that fake faggoty crap they play on MTV, where it's basically pop with a black boy singing like a girl (voice altered in pro-tools, of course) and hip-hop beats.
I think what they call "R&B" today is just pop music but for some reason black people don't want to admit that:
1. Black people like pop music (it's not a "cool" term)
2. They killed R&B.
It's like Weekend At Bernies, they're lugging a dead body around that's obviously dead, and it should fool NO ONE but for some reason everyone is stupid enough to be fooled by it. If you don't believe me, watch that crappy tribute to "R&B" they did at the grammies, where Smokey robsinon, Lionel Ritchie, and Chris Brown (!) showed the disconnect between what should be a similar style of music. The same thing happened to REAl country & western music.
>To employ an oft-used metaphor, when did the "stupid bomb" go off?
When did talent, craft and musicianship suddenly become passe?
This'll offend the majority of the populatiin, but I blame the Baby Boomers, Mike. I don't feel bad my generation is gonna take their jobs when they retire one bit. (People born in 1945 are starting to retire, and I shouldfinish college around 2012!)
I bet when the last boomers die all the history books will have to be re-written.
No offense to the many baby boomers reading this, but a few rotten apples spoil the whole bunch!
>If they named the so called form of artistic expression from this definition, then no wonder people cringe at the sound of it. I have never liked it.
Actually it came from jive for "talk." I hate overly literal use of language.
Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, and other black artists all did rap style vocals in their prime (Greenbacks, Monkey Business, Maybelline, Coal Black) Improvised spoken word is a black music tradition.
To Jorge:
No.
Don't forget my Soupy badge Mike!!
P.S. I Love You.
Oh yeah, well you're steenky!!
Jorge,
Mike and Eddie was just emphasizing the talent for inspirado, try learning to incorporate it once in awhile. Eddie and Mike are just showing you not forcing you ;).
Hey, I agreed with Eddie and Mike 100%, I love old music and agree that pre-60s was the most talented time for music.
Right now I'm listening to the original verison of Hound Dog by Big Mama Thornton. Brilliant ad-libbings and harch vocals! If Eddie and Mike have heard it's they probably love it, being fans of classic race music.
If not it's on youtube.
Jorge: Ah I see. But judging from the tone of your letter I thought you were being sarcastic.
I wish they would teach jitterbug lessons, I wanna show the world what a 250 lb guy like me looks like when we dance! (Eat your heart out FOLKS!!!).
the problem is, you can't get into "Good-Ol-Days-ism" and think everything was great then and everything sucks now. The ratio may well have been the same, we just remember the best from then, same as people will later on.
That said, people have no idea what standards, par, values, etc. are nowadays. It's true. Just don't get caught up on it.
It's like saying we should make all our supersonic aircraft look like the SR71; it's an astonishing accomplishment but I think we should worship the spirit behind it rather than what it actually was.
Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley where ya been? Wrote the very first rap song when I was ten.
HEY, BO DIDDLEY! HEY BO DIDDLEY!
Somebody scream! [screams]
Now wave yo hands in the air like you just don't care! [waves hands]
[does robot dance...exits stage left]
William,
I don't think that was Eddies or Mikes intent of telling us in terms of how everything SHOULD be like the old days (At least that's my interpretation of what Eddie and Mike are saying). I think they are on the same page and trying to keep the spirit of what things were, not necessarily repeating it as you say. I think they are trying to teach us and show us something to inspire.
I think the problem is that nowadays not enough kids today know what it was like back then. If it wasn't for people like John, Mike and Eddie showing us this stuff, we would not have known about cool stuff like knickerbocker toys, old golden books or how to do limited animation right (they don't seem to be teaching it in schools nowadays that's for sure!). We seep in too much of the modern and not looking back at past influences to further strenghten our skills, to learn what/ what not to do.
Ooh time to dance! :)
What the HELL has happened to Black music in this country?
How in hell did it degenerate so Goddamned fast from such lofty heights? And why isn't THIS stuff being played on BET instead of crass rap videos?
The irony here is that Rap and Hip Hop, almost by definition, are entertainment that does not care what a middle aged white guy thinks about them. You seem unaware of the cultural and socieconomic context of this. So much so that a person could be forgiven for thinking racism when you essentially call rap degenerate music.
There is also BET on JAZZ, which I used to watch a lot when I had it. Never watched Rap videos on BET. I don't find that rap has deprived me of anything. Not in the same sense that crappy cartoons deprive me of good ones. It's just the latest thing not to pay much attention to, and there have been many.
I find that it has given opportunity to a lot of people who otherwise would have had none, and I am happy they found a path to prosperity of any kind.
And it is more justifiable on every level than let's say, Hair bands or goth posing. It's actually based in how real people behave, just getting from day to day, not in being pampered and bored.
[The irony here is that Rap and Hip Hop, almost by definition, are entertainment that does not care what a middle aged white guy thinks about them.]
I'll keep that in mind the next time someone objects to Amos n' Andy or Coal Black And De Sebben Dwarfs. I'll simply use your brilliant logic - and point out that those particular entertainments don't care what Black people think about them, because they were made for middle class white audiences.
We'll see how well that goes over. (I have a feeling you'll start squealing when the shoe is on the other hoof!)
[You seem unaware of the cultural and socieconomic [sic] context of this. So much so that a person could be forgiven for thinking racism when you essentially call rap degenerate music.]
Sure, why not? Why not raise a purely emotional, firestorm issue which has nothing to do with the argument? That's a great way to debate, and always improves race relations.
By the way, I know PLENTY of Black people, including educators on both coasts, who would take issue with your characterization of hip-hop as "cultural".
[Never watched Rap videos on BET... It's just the latest thing not to pay much attention to.]
Hmmm, I see. Perhaps if you paid some attention to it, you'd be in a more informed position to argue about it.
[I find that it has given opportunity to a lot of people who otherwise would have had none, and I am happy they found a path to prosperity of any kind.]
You can say the exact same thing about crime.
[And it is more justifiable on every level than let's say, Hair bands or goth posing. It's actually based in how real people behave, just getting from day to day, not in being pampered and bored.]
Rap "culture" is every bit as ludicrous as hair bands and goth posing - you're simply uninformed, as you admitted yourself.
I would argue that rap and hip-hop are actually worse, because hair bands were always trash. They haven't engulfed and devoured something that existed before that was great.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for hip-hop. As I said, the proof is available for anyone with eyes and ears. It's too bad otherwise intelligent people like yourself pretend not to see that.
Do you make lame, pretentious excuses for graffiti, too? I recognize a pattern here...
There are two ways to argue. One is to try and understand your opponent, and the other is to force your oponent to such a level of precision that it becomes too fatiguing for him to continue. Please choose "A".
Rap does not equate with crime, and I didn't say I've never seen a rap video. I don't watch them to the point of complaint about the fall of black culture. I watch more accomplished black artists instead, because that is my taste, and it's better than complaining. On the other hand, if I wanted to drink and have a live party, I'd probly prefer Snoop to Herbie Hancock. Evidently so does almost everyone. Even Herbie has gone pop from time to time, and made the most money and garnered the most attention.
I'll try it another way.
Let's say you invented a new entertainment form.
Let's say it was one part rythm, one part rhyme, one part bragadoccio, and one part cheerleading. That might not sound like a recipe for an art form. I never said "art." I said "entertainment".
Let's say you did so from nothing, for your own reasons, to entertain yourself and your friends.
Let's say it caught on, to the extent that major channels of distribution started to pay attention to you --the same channels that before had pretty much ignored your entire race. The same ones that until recently would not even play Michael Jackson because he was too black.
This is not an argument for pretending that rap is high art. It's an explanation that it most often is not, and that that is perfectly OK.
Remember the Hokey Pokey? When you were 4, that was entertainment. If it helps, think of rap as the Hokey Pokey for young adults. It's easy, it's fun, and anybody can join in, as long as they've got the feel; it's not about the complexity. Perhaps you are prepared to pass judgement that everyone who approaches their entertainment that way is wrong, but I'm not. It's a big enough world for them as well as me.
Now of course I expect you will counter by telling me that the Hokey Pokey is infinitely more justifiable than rap.
This is an argument for the fact that rap has no obligation to meet your standards, and no interest in doing so. It was created by outsiders for their own reasons, and absorbed by the mainstream entertainment industry purely as a last resort. They have nothing else people want more. At least not that they know of.
...So blame the entertainment industry if rap does not meet your standards. Or maybe the fact that the same companies that own record labels own bottled spirit companies, and perhaps they have stumbled on a winning combination.
It seems unlikely to me that underpriveleged kids from the inner cities have plotted to end culture by dismantling all existing structures and replacing them with beat boxes and grafitti.
What they have tried to do is entertain themselves to the best of their own abilities without letting persecution, lack of skill, lack of education, lack of money, lack of any chance of participation in regular white society, lack of music training or lack of anything else to stop them. Rap and Hip hip are to a certain extent, blowback.
Of couse now you will respond by informing me that some rappers are middle class or sons of brain surgeons.
Although as long as I can remember they have held the monopoly, white people are not the only ones entitled to be crass and commercial.
Rap is the Inner city Black man's Indian Casino. They did everything they could to exterminate them, but somehow they found a loophole through which they could prosper.
Rap is not a crime. Grafitti is. But when you see a kid tagging, remember how you got where you are and that that path probably does not exist for him. Maybe he could be better than you, in a world of level playing fields.
I don't know any black person who would deny that Hip hop is cultural, and an outgrowth of socioeconomic realities. So was the Blues. If you know some, please ask them where they think Hip hop came from, cuz I'd like to know.
Rap is democracy in action. The result is that my people are more known and less feared than at any point in prior history, and the lowly unlikely rapper --even the "gangstas" --have been some of the ambassadors of good will. Imagine that.
P.S.-- I don't want to be inflammatory. I only think this needs to be looked at honestly. Racism isn't really the issue here, I failed to point out, but it seems classism might be. It's a close cousin, which can easily serve the same function.
Thanks for a highly analytical answer, which you obviously gave some time and thought to.
I think you're being entirely too forgiving, and it will have unfortunate repercussions in the future - but that's your privilege.
A few thoughts:
My resentment of hip-hop is neither racially motivated nor class-conscious. I would have thought that would have been obvious.
It includes issues such as its blatant (some would say pathological) misogyny, and its brazen, shameless illiteracy. (Also, its alarming level of negative, violent imagery and its glorification of crime, drugs and illegitimacy.)
These issues, at least to my way of thinking, pretty much swamp any mitigating factors it may or may not possess regarding its inner-city origins and commercial viability.
I would add that any entertainment form which is so completely lacking in craft (Please don't take my word for it. Consult any trained musician) should probably try to make up for it with SOME redeeming virtue, or else it would seem to be utterly without worth.
Time will tell whether hip-hop will have a positive effect on youth culture, or whether you'll be crying the blues in a generation's time due to the repercussions, as Black youth falls even further behind their Caucasian and Asian counterparts in education, mathematics, literacy, and job skills.
Unfortunately, the jury seems to be in right now, which is why it's a point of concern with Black leaders and educators who aren't as passive as you are, and not as afraid of being attacked or labeled.
No doubt, when that time inevitably comes, and it's too late to undo the damage, you'll find another culprit. You'll probably blame it on The Man or something.
My resentment of hip-hop is neither racially motivated nor class-conscious. I would have thought that would have been obvious.
What makes it obvious?
It includes issues such as its blatant (some would say pathological) misogyny, and its brazen, shameless illiteracy. (Also, its alarming level of negative, violent imagery and its glorification of crime, drugs and illegitimacy.)
How many Blues recordings have you rejected because the author or the
singer obviously did not take the SAT's?
...These issues, at least to my way of thinking, pretty much swamp
any mitigating factors it may or may not possess regarding its inner-city origins and commercial viability.
They do have some merit in a discussion of social responsibility.
But I'm not such a snob that I believe that drug dealers, thugs and mysogynists can't make whatever noises they like in order to entertain themselves, or that they won't make them about the things they think about. When it somehow develops the legs to spread beyond that community, I'm not persuaded that they automatically owe somebody an apology. How harmful that influence may be on other people is only one aspect of a bigger topic. Even the most critical black leaders are not calling for the abolishment of rap because of some off-color comments some gangbanger or pimp makes about bitches or ho's.
I've been hearing black street talk all my life. Maybe YOU haven't. The issue doesn't change for me just because it has crossed some new threshold of general public awareness, scrutiny or exposure.
My point is that gangbangers and pimps are real, and if you put a mic in front of them, what would you expect them to say when they are addressing their own kind? Don't take your grandma to see them.
But if you took them to meet your grandma, I'm sure most of them would be polite and cordial They have grannies, too.
My other point is that Hip Hop is broader than that. Where does Mary J. Blige fit into your complaint? Public Enemy? Grandmaster Flash?
I would add that any entertainment form which is so completely lacking in craft (Please don't take my word for it. Consult any trained musician) should probably try to make up for it with SOME redeeming virtue, or else it would seem to be utterly without worth.
As simple as 12-bar Blues is, there are guys who can't play it because they can't feel it. Rap is often even simpler but the same holds true.
Why would I ask musicians about something which I have already defined as OTHER than music? Musicians often know nothing about making Hip Hop. But most people know about the impulse to shake their asses to a beat. That is as old and older than music. Rhythm is much older than virtuosity. Virtuosity has not rendered rhythm obsolete.
I would challenge the presumption that it has no redeeming virtue. It just has none that you respond to. Me either, for the most part. So what? Even when I don't like it I like it more than much of the other crap I've had to endure coming out of my radio and tv for 50 years.
Time will tell whether hip-hop will have a positive effect on youth culture, or whether you'll be crying the blues in a generation's time due to the repercussions, as Black youth falls even further behind
their Caucasian and Asian counterparts in education, mathematics, literacy, and job skills.
You got it wrong, Mike. Hip hop is the expression of a decimated community, it is not the catalyst of one yet to come.
I don't know how rappers spend their money, but if any of them spend any of it on getting their kids --illegitimate or otherwise --into better schools and environments than they had coming up, I don't see how that can be a bad thing in the long run. Maybe in 20 years we can all vote for young Senator Doggy Dogg.
No doubt, when that time inevitably comes, and it's too late to undo the damage, you'll find another culprit. You'll probably blame it on The Man or something.
You have not persuaded me that there is any such foregone cause-and-effect conclusion. As I have said above, our communities are already and have long been in decline. Hip Hop is your poke in the arm with a sharp stick. The train has already left the station. Culture is forever changed. I have no idea where we go next, but we are rolling on 22's.
But you do. This is about your skills as a prognosticator. Black people like me will one day have to pay the price for so cavalierly sending inferior entertainers to the top of the mainstream, to promote fornication, drugs, crime and moiderin da king's inglish. I don't want to mock you but I really don't know what you could be saying.
You blame Hip Hop for Black youth falling behind? You're kidding,
right?
No, you're not...
You mean The Man whom nothing is ever his fault? I should blame the
victims of generations of systematic oppression, exclusion, and persecution for making their own path despite their shortcomings, and for being unashamed about it? I should decry rappers for sullying the pristine tastefulness of the world before Hip Hop?
I should blame the people who simply because they were raised in a certain zip code and have a certain hue, might be 50 times more likely to be in jail than you?
I should not think of you as classist?
Just out of curiosity, what would you have them do?
[What makes it obvious?]
...That's as far as I got.
To paraphrase "Pops" Armstrong: If you have to ask, you'll never know.
In the meantime, I've lost interest, along with everyone else.
People say they wanna talk about things openly, then something happens and it turns out they really don't.
I'm gonna have to call this one an uncategorical fold. That was the response of a punk ass turntail little beyotch.
At least that's what they'd say on my side of town.
We should all have a giant pow wow
"I'm gonna have to call this one an uncategorical [sic] fold. That was the response of a punk ass turntail [sic] little beyotch."
HA HA! NOW I know why you defend sub-literate misogynists. It's because you ARE one!
A silly typo you have time to respond to, but you leave the real challenges lying on the table. Typical. We have plumbed your true depth.
Ooooh, he's mad! I notice you didn't use any racial slurs this time. You must be slipping.
By the way, that was no typo - that was pure, unadulterated ignorance. Please don't flatter yourself.
What would be the point of my continuing? It isn't any fun beating up a retarded opponent. Go ask your little brother to help you with your spelling and grammar the next time you want to play with the big kids.
Have fun fuming!
Mike F.
It was a mistake. I have made others. You might want to scan for them. I was thinking of "categorical" and "unqualified" and I split the difference. I was going to come back and correct it, but I thought it too insignificant to bother.
Sur,e tell yourself this is now about my spelling and grammar. Who are you kidding?
You have some canoli on your chin, altar boy.
I'll come back one more time out of courtesy to see if you want to respond to the real topic or if you just want to keep sniping and bloviating. After that, have fun being you.
Now I guess I'm supposed to notice your "Sure" typo, eh?
Is that what you're waiting for, Captain Obvious?
(I feel like Bugs Bunny looking at the silly box-and-string trap that the retarded hunter left for him. "Gee, me grandfather told me about dese t'ings. I didn't t'ink I'd ever SEE one, though!")
Pathetic.
LOL
If you were selling any more woof tickets we'd all be buying YOUR rap album. Peace.
Mike, I don't: Me, I'm not a fan of rap music but I love the dance that goes with it.
Post a Comment