Beyoncé Knowles and the hegemony of the English language

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GoogaMooga
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Beyoncé Knowles and the hegemony of the English language

Postby GoogaMooga » 17 Apr 2021, 12:32

DR TV Streaming:
Catching up on the music docs shown on DR, I found a quick 28 minute run-through of Beyoncé's 10 greatest hits, as selected by popular radio hosts here in Denmark, people in their 20s and 30s, I guess. I saw highlights from the videos along with running commentary from the hosts. I was and still am a Destiny's Child fan, saw them on the Survivor tour, and even own the promo poster for that particular album, one of the high points of modern R&B, or "urban", if you will. In fact, I went on to get some solo stuff, too, Kelly Rowland's couple and at least four of Beyoncé's, but I realize now that after 2001 and Survivor, is where I draw the line. I like scattered hits from later, but not whole albums, if you can even talk about albums as an artform any longer. The hosts focused on everything but the most important bit, the compositions. Instead they chose to talk about the videos, the dance moves, the objectification, the lyrics, the vocals, and I came to realize that music and visuals have fused, they are regarded as one. Beyoncé has bagged 28 Grammys and is tied with Quincy Jones for second place after Georg Solti, with his record 31. If you can accept that actual composing takes a backseat to all the other things that make a hit today, the 28 Grammys make sense. But that is more than Dionne Warwick, who had the Burt Bacharach songbook, one of the finest catalogs in the history of popular music. I have never felt so old as when I watched that program. And the commentary? Every sentence had one or more English words or phrases thrown in for added cool. I love Danish and I love English, but that is neither fish nor fowl, and I think in 100 years' time, the Danish language will be a dead language, like Latin. I could not relate to their talk at all, felt they were on a different planet. Sorry, rant over.

Beyoncé's big solo hit, "Crazy in Love":
Image
"When the desert comes, people will be sad; just as Cannery Row was sad when all the pilchards were caught and canned and eaten." - John Steinbeck

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The Fish
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Re: Beyoncé Knowles and the hegemony of the English language

Postby The Fish » 17 Apr 2021, 13:29

GoogaMooga wrote:
Beyoncé's big solo hit, "Crazy in Love":


Not as good as the "original"

We're way past rhubarb

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Minnie the Minx
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Re: Beyoncé Knowles and the hegemony of the English language

Postby Minnie the Minx » 19 Apr 2021, 01:33

GoogaMooga wrote:And the commentary? Every sentence had one or more English words or phrases thrown in for added cool.


Every sentence?
You come at the Queen, you best not miss.

Dr Markus wrote:
Someone in your line of work usually as their own man cave aka the shed we're they can potter around fixing stuff or something don't they?


Flower wrote:I just did a google search.

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GoogaMooga
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Re: Beyoncé Knowles and the hegemony of the English language

Postby GoogaMooga » 19 Apr 2021, 01:51

Minnie the Minx wrote:
GoogaMooga wrote:And the commentary? Every sentence had one or more English words or phrases thrown in for added cool.


Every sentence?


Just about. Seemed that way, at least.
"When the desert comes, people will be sad; just as Cannery Row was sad when all the pilchards were caught and canned and eaten." - John Steinbeck

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Minnie the Minx
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Re: Beyoncé Knowles and the hegemony of the English language

Postby Minnie the Minx » 19 Apr 2021, 12:48

Hmm.
You come at the Queen, you best not miss.

Dr Markus wrote:
Someone in your line of work usually as their own man cave aka the shed we're they can potter around fixing stuff or something don't they?


Flower wrote:I just did a google search.


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