http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/07/i-miss-the-temptations/ Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:40:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/07/i-miss-the-temptations/#comment-660 nate van til Fri, 27 Jul 2007 14:20:01 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=307#comment-660 I have a really hard time believing that those kids had never heard of records, because it makes them so shockingly ignorant of the culture that surrounds them: the cuttingest of the edge in hip hop and electronic dance music still uses records and turntables regularly, and the dj with his/her turntables and records has become a major icon in our culture. A seismic shift happened several years ago, when teenagers in California began buying turntables more than they did electric guitars. And yet these "precocious" kids don't know what records are? P'shaw. Even if they have no money, they've seen a TV ad once or twice in their lives, haven't they? When McDonald's ads have djs and turntables in them, you know it's taken over the culture. (And I'm loving it.) As usual, the genius of afro-american culture was way ahead of the curve in recognizing the possibilities and using them brilliantly (for popular culture rather than the avant-garde). I have a really hard time believing that those kids had never heard of records, because it makes them so shockingly ignorant of the culture that surrounds them: the cuttingest of the edge in hip hop and electronic dance music still uses records and turntables regularly, and the dj with his/her turntables and records has become a major icon in our culture. A seismic shift happened several years ago, when teenagers in California began buying turntables more than they did electric guitars. And yet these “precocious” kids don’t know what records are? P’shaw. Even if they have no money, they’ve seen a TV ad once or twice in their lives, haven’t they? When McDonald’s ads have djs and turntables in them, you know it’s taken over the culture. (And I’m loving it.) As usual, the genius of afro-american culture was way ahead of the curve in recognizing the possibilities and using them brilliantly (for popular culture rather than the avant-garde).
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]]> http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/07/i-miss-the-temptations/#comment-659 Jennifer Hewitt Thu, 26 Jul 2007 20:45:31 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=307#comment-659 You aren't crazy, I miss them too, and I especially miss David Ruffin's lead vocals. The interesting thing about their lyrics is that most of their songs were written by Smokey Robinson, who Bob Dylan claimed was the best American poet. One of the best musical moments of my life was getting to see them in Las Vegas in the early 70's. By then, David Ruffin was no longer singing with the Temptations, but that didn't matter, they were still great. I was the odd-ball white girl in San Francisco, listening to Motown records when all my friends were listening to the Beatles. The Temptations sang my kind of music: Smooth, sweet and sexy. The kind of music that you can dance to, dream to and feel that someone out there knows your true heart. Thanks for the video clip, you took me back to my more innocent self. You aren’t crazy, I miss them too, and I especially miss David Ruffin’s lead vocals. The interesting thing about their lyrics is that most of their songs were written by Smokey Robinson, who Bob Dylan claimed was the best American poet.
One of the best musical moments of my life was getting to see them in Las Vegas in the early 70′s. By then, David Ruffin was no longer singing with the Temptations, but that didn’t matter, they were still great.
I was the odd-ball white girl in San Francisco, listening to Motown records when all my friends were listening to the Beatles. The Temptations sang my kind of music: Smooth, sweet and sexy. The kind of music that you can dance to, dream to and feel that someone out there knows your true heart. Thanks for the video clip, you took me back to my more innocent self.
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