Betty Davis

Wow so much hate for Betty Davis on this thread.

Sometimes ILM should be IHM.

buncha jerks on this thread

maybe some will have changed their mind on it.

TBF I could imagine someone like xgau in 1973 just drowning in funk records and not thinking much of Betty Davis. I mean like every third record that came out had a funky-as-hell beat so it probably took a little more to impress. And they're not really great records.

dude citing Angelfood McSpade in his review is some fairly indefensible racist garbage. sorry "Dean".

wtf

didn't xgau call Hendrix a psychedelic uncle tom or something? or was that someone else. in his defense, I can see how Betty Davis records could be seen as cartoonish. not a bad thing, in my opinion -- i think they're fun records in that way.

you can call something cartoonish without referencing an explicitly sexist/racist caricature of a horny african tribeswoman in a grass skirt with Black Sambo lips

yes, true.

xgau:

Betty Davis [Just Sunshine, 1973]
Between her connections (wife of Miles, girlfriend of Jimi) and her concept (autonomous black woman forges metal funk), Betty's got a head start in the hype department. She makes up for these advantages, however, with a forced, narrow voice and a complete absence of riff sense or melodic gift. On the other hand, she--or producer-drummer Greg Errico of the Family Stone--does know a lot about rhythm. Upshot: most overstated comic-book sex since Angelfood McSpade. B-

What an arsehole

DUD DUD DUDDY DUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

j/k, love her

im just amazed at the xgau worship when he wrote racist shit like that.

lester bangs had some questionable stuff too ...

im just amazed at the xgau worship when he wrote racist shit like that.

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Thursday, May 6, 2010 4:45 PM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Even without the blatant racism, the guy's a fucking tool who completely sucks at what he does.

Depends on what you think he does.

he annoys bill is what he does!

he's great at that though!

First time I heard Betty Davis was about a year ago when a friend of mine was playing random shit off of her ipod and a Betty track came on, don't know which, and I said "who is this? reminds me of captain beefheart." lol. Have little idea why I said that. Anyway, tracked down those three albums and love all of them, though not for the same reasons I love beefheart obvs.

Anyway, I also know some people I would call friends, who I sometimes suspect of being bigger fans of music critics than they are of any bands that they purport to be fans of. Truth be told, even though these dudes do really exist, they are also strawmen that I invent and attack for having the slightest preference for aesthetics different than my own. Nonetheless, people with more than a summary knowledge of who christgau even is, live on an almost completely different planet than the one in which I inhabit.

Dunno what's racist about that xgau excerpt -- he thinks she's a black cartoon like Angelfood McSpade, big fucking deal. And he's OTM about her sharp rhythmic sense and non-talent for melodies.

OH OK HOW COULD WE MISS THAT

TBF I could imagine someone like xgau in 1973 just drowning in funk records and not thinking much of Betty Davis. I mean like every third record that came out had a funky-as-hell beat so it probably took a little more to impress.

ding ding

he thinks she's a black cartoon like Angelfood McSpade, big fucking deal

He PRAISES her for it. would you be cool with critics praising Li'l Wayne for bein a Li'l Black Sambo?

Bette Davis has more in common with McSpade than Lil Wayne does with Sambo! The comparison doesn't work.

"man Louis Armstrong, he can't really sing but I sure love the way he fits my favorite racist stereotype"

all that shuffling and smiling, just awesome!

seriously Alfred wtf

She's pretty good at being a dumb Robert Crumb cartoon -- that's what he saying. I find Adam Lambert a pretty decent minstrel.

i think betty davis sucks too btw, just throwing that out there. She ruins some decent productions with her weak voice.

Someone sum this thread up with a "FFFFUUUUUUUU" cartoon please

Kind of weird that the "Critic" would pick up on her fitting a stereotype, but slam her music. In his autobiography, Miles says how he respected guys like Armstrong but hated how they played to white audiences by grinning and shucking and jiving and shit. So he tried to keep it all about the music. Strange that his wife would be praised for just the opposite, but then consider the source of the "critique".

She's pretty good at being a dumb Robert Crumb cartoon -- that's what he saying.

I'm aware that's what he's saying. that's the problem.

I'm aware that's what he's saying. that's the problem.

Well, fine, but I don't find it "racist."

Strange that his wife would be praised for just the opposite, but then consider the source of the "critique".

We're talking about a woman who sings amelodically about kinky sex, right?

Well, fine, but I don't find it "racist."

in general, a white guy telling a black person they are an excellent example of an offensive stereotype is kinda racist FYI

Er, if you actually listen to Betty Davis' lyrics, they're certainly more complex than that stupid caricature. Yeah, she sings about "kinky sex", but do many other artists. I think she manages to make her subject matter interesting in a way that goes beyond any caricature; and on the second album you have tunes like "Don't Call Her No Tramp" or "70's Blues", which certainly put things in a wider context than just "kinky sex".

I don't hear the complexity, sorry; and her voice doesn't make me want to peer beneath their surfaces.

And yet you are willing to make grand statements what she's all about.

Yes, because I own both albums and listened to them several times.

Betty Davis' lyrics are about taking control of your sexuality, IIRC that Robert Crumb cartoon is about a racist cartoon nympho who has no problem getting raped and abused - even if you don't see the complexity, there's still a big difference between the two.

Fair enough. I'll give'em another shot tonight.

I'm not saying you have to like Betty Davis or find her lyrics compelling in any way... I just wanted to point out that the caricature she is compared to is really quite different from her lyrics, even if they're both about black women who enjoy sex, so you shouldn't be defending that comparison.

Like I said, I'll give'em another shot, but from what I remember the results don't support her intentions. I can't separate lyrics from voice, no matter how pithy the sentiments.

I realized the other day that if an artist puts any kind of dirty/kinky/sexually over-the-top lyrics over really any type of music, I will 99% likely enjoy that song.

not to esp defend r crumb, but angelfood mcspade is a little complicated than just being a racist caricature imho... she's, maybe, a quasi-racist caricature of a racist caricature, one that riffs on the hidden and not so hidden racism of american popular culture like cartoons and comic strips. i'm not sure how that helps lazy old xgau, tho

yeah I know, it's the same with his infamous "nigger hearts" strip - wasn't sure if I wanted to muddy the waters with the issue (is it a parody, or is it an homage? or just more R. Crumb masturbatory material? or all three?) Crumb is tricky. but Xgau's namedrop ref is terrible nonetheless.

http://soundcloud.com/lightintheatticrecords/iggy-pop-zig-zags-if-im-in

Great concept, great vocal performance by Iggy, but man, the backing band sucks.

https://light-in-the-attic.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/release_image/18787/image/large_550_tmp_2F1466791093063-xfnvfdm13h68nxrz-35bf92699ab44f47edb0f8a88686f322_2FLITA135_AlbumCover.jpg
http://lightintheattic.net/releases/2429-the-columbia-years-1968-1969

YES

listening to the clips now, seems more hard R&B than funk, but still interesting

yeah from the clips, i dunno if it really supports the idea that betty was the inspiration behind the bitches brew sound, everything here is pretty straight ahead (though maybe some of it gets more wigged out as the songs progress). but it sounds cool anyway!