Gosh, this seems to have largely passed by the media in the UK. Just seen it browsing the LA Times site.
Afrika Bambaataa -RIP
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Musings on the byways of popular culture
Musings on the byways of popular culture
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Gosh, this seems to have largely passed by the media in the UK. Just seen it browsing the LA Times site.
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Maybe the child sex abuse charges contributed to that?
This is the only track by him that I have
I thought twice about posting something. He made some significant records, but was also a complete turd.
True. but quite a few people who were not good people and had done similar things got more in the way of attention.
Yes I know, and I would call them turds as well.
I saw this announced a few days ago. Mention of his name always takes me back to my days as a secondary school teacher in the early ’80s.
One of the lads in my 5th year group was a big Planet Rock fan. On Friday afternoons, when the entire class was itching to get out of school and get on with something more serious, I’d let them play themed Hangman on the blackboard. The themes would be steered by me, of course, and I’d try to make the choice of words of some educational value – I’d do the first one, and whoever ‘got’ it would then take over, subject to choosing a word and having it approved by ‘Sir’.
One week I decided we’d do the names of our favourite bands or artists, and started with one of mine that they might also know – ‘Dexy’s Midnight Runners’. I think it was the ‘N’s that finally gave it away. After a few other act’s names had gone by, the lad with the hip-hop/electro obsession got to chalk up his favourite artist’s name:
– – – – – – _ – – – – – – – – – _ – – – _ – – – _ – – – – – – – – – _ – – – – –
The class knew to start with vowels, and as soon as someone said ‘A’ I knew where this was going. I let them struggle on for a good five minutes, but the oceans of As had them stumped. Suggestions dried up and accusations of cheating started to be voiced. The lad looked at me for direction, and I said out loud, “I think I know the answer.”. His grin said he didn’t believe me. When I announced that it was ‘Afrika Bambaataa And The Soulsonic Force’ I was rewarded with a dropped jaw, and another even wider grin as he chalked in the missing consonants.
Teaching could be real fun sometimes.
Class!
Planet Rock was incredible. I remember hearing it for the first time and being absolutely blown away. His DJ set at Camden Palace a couple of years later was the best DJ set I ever witnessed. Every record was great, and I didn’t know a single one of them.
I have stopped reading music biographies because I usually finish the book thinking that the person it’s about is not a very nice person. We know now that it also applies to Bambaataa. My sympathy goes out to his victims, but I can’t unlike the great things that I liked.
Nor should you. Picasso was an utter arsehole, which is a drag, but his work shines on.
Pablo Picasso never got called an asshole, not in New York.