Music as Cultural Criticism Essays -- Music Musical Culture History Es

Music as Cultural CriticismWorks Cited Not IncludedIn his rule book free-and-easy Life in Black Africa Elements for a Critique, author Paulin Houtondji offers his perceptions of several(prenominal) aspects of life in Africa. His statements atomic number 18 explicit, observant, harsh, and backed up with examples and anecdotes. Many African pop musicians provide similarly critical assessments of various aspects of African life, only they choose to do so in a much subtler way. Houtondjis criticism of Africa for its serious failure is similar to that of artists like musician E.T. Mensah, who uses welfare music to lessen the sting of his subversive lyrics. In fact, so deceptively happy is the sound of the music that missing the entire message of the meter is highly possible. His candor and blatancy in expressing his opinion, however, also parallels the work of artists like Fela Kuti, unsung Heroes, and Prophets of Da City. Though Houtondji and many musicians share the common goal of meliorate society, or at least highlighting its flaws, the parties focus on varied aspects of society, and probably garner different results. To a Western reader, Houtondji and his writings may seem more serious, scholarly, and even competent, even for such(prenominal) a undecomposable reason as a societal bias towards the written word over the spoken. On the other hand, taking into account the low literacy judge in much of Africa, as well as the aural language, the berth may be the opposite in Africa. The spoken, or sung, word should plant highly strong in addressing social wrongs, suggesting societal change, or transaction people to action. Using words as weapons is not uncommon, and they are effective both set to music and written.A preliminary reading of Houtondjis article leads to a c... ...such injustices. Words are often used as effective weapons in written and verbal war. Though seemingly non-violent, these conflicts dispel elements of violence, and can thus p rove highly painful. In his article Daily Life in Black Africa Elements for a Critique, author Paulin Houtondji criticizes superficial problems in daily life in Africa, while hinting at the issues of the bigger picture. convertible to this approach, E.T. Mensah uses music to soften the blow of his loaded words. Other pop musicians, such as Fela Kuti, choose not to be sensitive to their audiences, and instead despoil them with politically charged lyrics, calling them to action and demanding social change. Both approaches and styles are effective, but an audiences receptiveness and perception may be the most important determining factors of an artists success in issuing a call for change.