Music and Culture Imagine It Is prime time prohibition era In the city of New Orleans. Music Is blasting, the alcohol is freely flowing, and there are crowds of dancing flappers and dapper gentlemen all over the French Quarter. For decades, New Orleans has been the epicenter for Jazz music in America. It is essential to the culture, economy, and history of the city. Over the last few years, however, some of New Orleans city officials seem to think the beat has left the city, and its personality Is suffering because of It.
Others believe New Orleans Is tired and old, and should be used for no ore than a ghostly museum of what used to be: a vibrant explosion of all different kinds of culture. Two articles specifically have opposite views of the same topic of revival: while one encourages the rebirth of Jazz and the lifestyle that comes with it, the other seems to side with the ever-changing culture of America, rather than New Orleans rich background. In an article called, Tapping New Orleans Musical Mine, Martha Bayle believes in what New Orleans Jazz used to be: a lifestyle.
While she knows It still exists In dirty street corners and hole-in-the-wall diners, she cannot deny just how tiny of a portion s still thriving. But to Bayle, sometimes culture isn’t about enriching your own life; it’s about sharing it with others. The NONE (New Orleans Music and Entertainment Association) has agreed to steer the city into an outward approach in gathering fans. “Europeans’ says Ramsey, who points out that New Orleans recordings sell briskly overseas… If we can Import the music, NONE asks, why can’t we Import the fans? ” (Bayle. Martha).
Most natives seem skeptical about the plans for their city, but NONE insists that a foreign fan base will not only revive the old jazz culture, but also ill improve the suffering economy. Though Gnome’s confidence cannot be shaken, citizens of the historic city have doubts of their own. “But, frankly, I don’t see what singles out New Orleans as opposed to any other music scene as far as the current pop culture goes. ” Some citizens think the city has separated Itself from the rest of the country with Its unique scene and spicy way of life (Bayle, Martha).
The music scene will continue to strive to make outreach possible, through publicizing on local radio stations, and selling the idea to musical cities overseas like Liverpool. The effort o restore the old ways of New Orleans has begun, with a broader goal in fan base. Though the city seems to barely cling to what it was, organizations like NONE have expectations on what the future of the city should look like, that is what it once was: a flourishing place of cultural renaissance. Mr..
Brothels, a public school music teacher and record company owner agrees with the pollen that something Is Indeed special about New Orleans musical culture: ” ‘That’s one of the advantages of New Orleans. When people get turned off to the National culture, they can always come back to what’s here. “(Bayle, Martha). The question still remains as to when pop culture will get tired; when will people start searching for the old ways to fill their entertainment needs? In the comparative article called Will New Orleans Bury Jazz Alive? Author Tom the new thing so no one has to rely on the past. He puts great value on the historical aspect of Jazz, pointing out to the readers a time when thousands upon thousands of people attended the great Louis Armstrong funeral to honor him and the great city of New Orleans. He wrote of the respect that Jazz has obtained over time. (Bethel, Tom). He also speaks of the impact it makes on the tourism industry. ” they asked tourists to put down what they came to New Orleans for… Jazz was third… First was the French Quarter and second was food.
Jazz, in fact, may be the most important attraction because these categories overlap. ‘ ” (Bethel, Tom). While there is no arguing that Jazz is important to the tourism and history, Bethel writes how this might lead to the genres ultimate downfall. “Jazz… Has now reached the stage of being regarded as a suitable recipient for grants, donations, federal funding, and corporate underwriting. ” (Bethel, Tom). According to the article, Jazz is not the defining aspect of New Orleans, like it used to be, and now it is a silly excuse for scholarships.
What is the reason for such change? In the Jazz Age, New Orleans was a thriving town full of aspiring stars on the rise. Today, most artists don’t think twice about performing at music festivals, and spectators think crafts are the main attraction. ” ‘Today the music is used for concerts,’ Russell explained, ‘It’s used for festivals and it’s used on Bourbon Street. All the wrong things in other words… All the wrong things because music is supposed to be for dancing and having a good time, ND not for Just sitting there” (Bethel, Tom).
The rest of the article explains that in today’s world, music has a different definition than what it used to be. It is very possible that, according to Bethel, the Jazz Age has simply slipped through our fingers, being replaced by phones and gaming consoles. The revival of Jazz seems to be a choice: it is up to the audience, who doesn’t seem to realize the importance or relevance of the genre. Bethel and Brothels do not differ in that they both rank the genre in the highest regard. The differences are noted when the problem of a shrinking fan base arise.
In Tapping New Orleans Musical Mine, author Martha Bayle explores the theory of widening the search: taking the music scene to an international level. The NONE organization is optimistic about their future plans of revival. On the other hand, the article titled Will New Orleans Bury Jazz Alive? Bethel gives a more pessimistic view of the problem, and doesn’t offer a solution besides making a museum to commemorate the great time. The purpose is to convince the reader that the Jazz Age was an enlightening period that should be admired, but not replicated, because the ritual passion that is required simply isn’t there.