Can we talk about the magic only The Police can produce?
This post was born the moment I saw a video on Tik Tok of an "influencer" stating; not only giving her opinion, but being categorical with something that is not only indefensible but extremely easy to disprove. What this girl (who I will not name) was saying was that "The Police is a repetitive band that appropriated the rhythms of reggae and ska from the Jamaican culture...". And yes, that's how blunt his words were.... Shocked, outraged and touched to my core, I decided to make this post: not only is she overwhelmingly wrong, but I will show her how easy it is to disprove everything....
You see guys, I don't usually get upset about things we all see on reels or Tik Toks. I don't care about that, really. The problem is that I grew up with The Police. I've been listening to them since I was little. My daughter uses their music at the dance academy where she is for choreography, and even in my younger girl years, haha, I was the subject of love songs that had these three geniuses of British fusion music as performers. So, yeah, I'm taking it personal..... Also, after watching that short video, I went to the comments, and everyone seemed supportive.... No way, there can't be that much impunity, I refuse.
So, who are The Police, exactly? And I answer this question, because I understand that there will be people who may not have heard their music (I doubt it very much, but there is always a possibility). Well, they are an English band, who from their origins have been nurtured by the black influence of music in general. From the African rhythms that we can hear in a couple of the band's tracks, to the magic they have harnessed from precious and legendary musical genres such as ska and reggae.
But it doesn't end there, The Police is one of the bands with the best use of the chorus resource that you can ever listen to, don't you believe me? I dare you to pay attention to any song I leave in this post using headphones and you will notice that the voice of the three members is also an instrument in itself. What do I mean by this? Well, this band didn't tie themselves to a single, strict type of music. They took the best of the influences that inspired them and as they were making music, they created the impressive work of art that we can hear now....
That is one thing undeniable, it is a completely different thing to say that "they appropriated something that is not theirs..." when in music, as well as in literature or philosophy, the concepts of appropriation are not entirely valid. It is much better, even for pragmatic and pure creativity purposes, to say "influences". And this is not just a technicality between whether music should be regionalized or not. Nothing to do with that, but I do get a bit annoyed by the fallacies. And more so, in bands that make adjectives insufficient; like The Police; which is splendid.
On top of that, the music they have made is so incredible that it has transcended its historical time. We can see it in almost every aspect of our lives today. As a soundtrack to multiple movies, in videos within streaming platforms, as advertising; even, in entertainment shows like the Jimmy Fallon Show. Friends, The Police is magic, it's beauty, it's beautiful music! Hopefully, if you see this Tik Tok that I saw, you will share with me what I have explained here. And if not, I hope you know how to nuance it a little, at least.
I have not been someone who has isolated myself from the advantages and wonders of modern technology. In fact, thanks to the internet and the development and success of technology there are you and I, all gathered in HIVE, sharing our lives with a purpose of authenticity and freedom, but it does bother me that someone who knows nothing, absolutely nothing, with total impunity goes viral like that.... One of my dreams in life is to be able to talk freely about music; because it's something I'm extremely passionate about. So, if you liked this post, let me know in the comments. And please, enjoy the songs; let yourself be carried away by that rhythm....
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Well I dont care who said:
But you got to give credit where credit is due and it´s kinda true. When The Police was formed they were just a bunch of Kids adapting to what was becoming a very popular sound. Reggae & Ska were getting big and that will leave it´s mark on your musical direction. Nothing wrong with that because they ended up writing the song most played on the radio ever: https://accumulate.com.au/this-is-the-most-played-song-in-the-history-of-music/
And a lot of other great songs, they just got lucky being from the UK as in the Netherlands we had a similar band back in the early 80s using Ska and reggae influences and becoming the biggest Dutch singing band ever at that time- Doe Maar and of course they also sang about Ganja
But thanks for putting some Police in my mind on a lazy Sunday morning
@whywhy, sweetie... You can debate with by saying almost anything you want to Thing is, this girl (the one from tik tok I was talkin' to) was saying The Police has no talent skills... She said, she couldn`t believe why people was nuts about them... And she practically call them a non talented and thieves band. C'mon... That's too much, even for me... Thanks anyway for leave such an interesting comment, sugar babe!
That´s too much for the both of us😆
I mean I agreed with the core setup, saying they used a popular kind of music that as not native to them....but anything beyond that is just screaming for views, likes and DISLIKES 🥴
Exactly. Thing is, a lot of kids could believe any of that... And that's kinda sad, babe!