The Other Betty Davis

"He was a big freak / I used to say all kinds of dirty things." Intrigued? Here's another snippet: "He was a big freak / Pain was his middle name / He was a big freak / He used to laugh when I'd make him cry / He was a big freak--a big freak, yes he was / I used to whip him with my turquoise chain." It's hard to imagine a song with those lyrics on the radio today, let alone in 1974. But 1974 is the year Betty Davis released that song, "He Was A Big Freak," on her sophomore album, They Say I'm Different. It's only barely the raciest song on the record.

Davis combined raw, raucous vocal performances with eminently danceable funk. She's been called the "black Janis Joplin," a "one-woman Funkadelic," and funk's "nasty gal." She married, briefly, to Miles Davis. During that time, she exterted tremendous influence on him, spurring him to create Bitches Brew, thereby inventing jazz-rock fusion. But Miles divorced her after only one year of marriage; her close relationship--and possibly an affair--with Jimi Hendrix is the oft-cited reason. Is it any wonder, then, that her albums feature plenty of Hendrix-inspired guitar riffs alongside one of the best rhythm sections ever assembled?

The self-titled Betty Davis and its follow-up were--and still are--the hardest, dirtiest funk recordings around. Both albums were re-released this year by Light in the Attic Records. These records didn't sell when they were released in the '70s, and they're being re-released by an indie label, so they won't sell today. But give 'em a listen.

It's The Phenotype, Stupid!

Scientists have shown that, after the first child, it's all downhill from there. Tell me something I don't know.

Explaining Intonation

It's come to my attention that not everyone knew what I meant when I said that Korean is not a tonal language.

A tonal language is a language whose meanings are affected by intonation, which refers to the rise and fall of the voice when speaking. Read this sentence: "The jury voted to convict Scooter Libby." Now read this one: "Convicts, like Scooter Libby, should serve their jail sentences immediately." The first sentence uses "conVICT," while the second uses "CONvict." It's the same word, but different intonation creates different meanings; intonation also affects meanings at the sentence level, though I'll leave you to come up with your own examples. Languages that aren't affected by intonation are easier to learn, all other things being equal.

안녕하세요!

The title translates, roughly, into "Hello!" It's romanized as "annyong haseyo" and it's pronounced, roughly, like "ahn yawng hah seh yoh." But faster.

I'm doing a language swap with a Korean student at the U of S Language Center. The Korean language is surprisingly intuitive. It was specifically designed that way, actually.

Oh! By the way, contrary to the assertion of the linguist I linked to in my last post, Korean is not a tonal language. It's a minor point, but I thought I'd mention it.

There Is An Article. The Article Is At Edge. You Should Read It. But Only If You Want To.

Edge has a very long and very interesting discussion of the Pirahã language and culture over at its site. If you're not familiar with the big debates in linguistics, consider searching for "Sapir-Whorf hypothesis" and "Chomsky + universal grammar" before you read the article. If you are familiar with those folks and their ideas, go read it already!

Shit-Hot Art

Kristin has posted some art drawn on bathroom stalls. Check it out if you haven't already.

Irony

Isn't it ironic that libertarians by and large don't believe in liberty?
Not really ironic. Just symptomatic of their stupidity.
What does that say about me, then, if I can't use "irony" properly?
Well, I'm not sure, but it's ironic.

RIP

Richard Rorty died yesterday. Rorty was one of the most important and influential philosophers of his generation, not to mention one of the most controversial. His influence reached far beyond the confines of both philosophy and academia. I can't say I agree with all, or even most, of his positions. But Rorty had a radical vision for philosophy--one that, I believe, most philosophers have sadly (and sorely) missed. He, too, will be sorely missed.

Icky Thump

The blues are back. On the White Stripes' new album, Icky Thump, the best rock band in America jumps back to the blues influences of its earlier work after sojourning in piano-and-percussion-land on 2005's Get Behind Me Satan. But Icky is no rehash. On the contrary, it's the most inventive--and, at times, downright bizarre--album in the White Stripes' discography. Really, there's no other word but bizarre to describe songs like "Conquest." Indeed, that sentence is mildly incoherent--because there aren't any other songs like "Conquest." It's Tarzan-meets-'70s sci-fi. Just imagine that crew rocking out in your garage.

But alongside the delightfully eccentric experiments, there are some conventional rockers that fans of Elephant (and earlier work) will appreciate. "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)" is one example, and it's one of the Stripes' best songs. And those who prefer their guitars screeching and squeeling will find plenty to like, including the first hit single from the album, its title track. Near the end, though, things slow down a bit. "A Martyr For My Love For You" dials down the guitars in favor of near-balladry, and Icky ends on a characteristically lighter note with "Effect & Cause."

Anyhow, it all adds up to another triumph for Jack White and the White Stripes. How many is that now? Four? Five?

Fringe Benefits

One of the disadvantages of graduating is losing access to university webspace, say, to host and share music files on one's blog.