America names 11 music ambassadors
NewsThe emissaries named on Monday by the State Department are Herbie Hancock, Denyce Graves, Chuck D, Lainey Wilson, Justin Tranter, Teddy Swims, Armani White, Jellyroll, Breland, Kane Brown and Grace Bowers.
Apparently, ‘In their work, they speak to female strength, gender fluidity and sexual identity, systemic racism and discrimination, but also the joy of wide open roads, big trucks, good parties, dewy love and the soul-lifting joy of a single beautiful note launched into the wind.’
Secretary Blinken said: ‘The number of times I’ve been able to connect with counterparts, even in governments that have different views than our own, through music has been quite something to see.’
What genres have they overlooked? Genres that might play well in Russia-Ukraine, China-Taiwan and Israel-Palestine?
I would be willing to bet President Trump is going to shut this whole thing down next year.
I know Hancock and Graves. Never heard of any of the others. My tax dollars hard at work.
How did Renée Fleming miss this opportunity? She must be royally p***ed.
“gender fluidity and sexual identity, systemic racism…” All the telltale symptoms of today’s Woke-ness disease.
This selection of Music Ambassadors by Blinken was a good idea in theory, but in practice he failed. This demonstrates the typical lack of American respect for British wisdom acquired over the centuries. He should have consulted with the British government to make selections better suited to achieve the most important objective of ridding the European continent of the Russian scourge. Norman is right — Blinken should have selected musicians that will be accepted by the Russian population to lead them to a better future by promoting democracy within Russia. The more sophisticated and elite Russians aren’t going to be easily fooled by musicians that specialize in hop-hop, rap, and sport tattoos. It would be much easier to send them classical musicians of renown to lead a national democracy movement.
Blinken probably thought that Russians are just as unsophisticated as as Americans, who were fooled by the Democrat Party into thinking Biden was something more than a brain-dead dementia patient.
Considering Blinken’s performance as Sec. of State, this list is no surprise.
I would love to see a group that explores the large common ground between Jewish Sephardic music, flamenco, and Arabic classical music. It might be a way of opening hearts and a movement toward peace. Some examples of Sephardic music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq5cAJuUjAE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YgjBh9wHHg&list=PLHJ2yZN3z7kD4-KxCc4oIKWBU4LTJJpf5&index=1
And this which is especially beautiful and plaintive:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2siNjpiyKY&list=PLHJ2yZN3z7kD4-KxCc4oIKWBU4LTJJpf5&index=2
The Moors occupied Spain for 780 years which created a hybrid Spanish-Arabic culture that gave the world extraordinary cultural riches. After the Reconquest, the Spanish tried to purge Arabic culture from their heritage, but fortunately they were unsuccessful. At most, they and their fellow Europeans simply denied this heritage, but to think of Spain without its rich Moorish influences is unthinkable.
It is also interesting that most of the expelled Jews of Spain settled in the Ottoman Empire which was far more tolerant than the Christian countries. To this day, the Sephardic language, though dying, is still the third most spoken Jewish language.
I’m happy to see Sephardic music being quite successfully revived and I hope it will celebrate its sizeable common ground with Arabic music as two brother-sister people learn to live together in peace, cooperation, prosperity, and friendship. One can dream.
leave it to the UK’s CBSO CEO to find the best antisemite ambassador. She might as well hire a martyr coach as well
(sigh): They don’t have Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Goodman these days. No Sir, they don’t make them like this anymore.
I’m suprised Taylor Swift is not on the list. She’s the greatest American export since Pat Boone.
According to my woke dictionary, “gender fluidity” is a term that describes a person whose gender identity or expression changes over time or in different situations.
In other words tomorrow I can identify as a female giraffe.