The ~Rift~ [Long]

[Robb Bingham <robbingham@xxxxxxxxx>]

[Lots of cuts and snips]
THE Iceman said:

My observation is that the split between the 
chromatic/diatonic community has 
grown wider in the last 3 years.>>>  start by trying
to examine the nature of "the 
rift".

Bob Maglinte said; 
I attempted to post a similar message agreeing with
him and was myself given the boot from that list.

Scorcher replied;

I still don't have a solution....you?
- - -Scorcher

==

Good points. All. No solution. But I have also long
theorized- but never been able to put into
intelligible words- that it had to do with ~The Rift~.
I?ve hinted at it before [ during ~Tone~/~Notation~
~Theory~, ~Toots is God~, ~S.Wonder Is Ignored~,
~Crunch~
threads] but it usually gets pulled out of context and
hurts lots of ~Chromatic Oriented Players [hereafter
referred to as, ~Cops~] feelings. That?s a drag.

~Blues~ is just one example- But maybe the best. It
happens with lots of Blues-type things [mostly things
that have to do with things that Bluesguys LOVE:
crunch, tone, amps, mic, Beer, America- - -[ Opps]].].
These same guys [ The ~Cops~ who want threads to stop,
now!] post page long diatribes, laced with opinion and
inflammatory rhetoric. I?ve never understood it.
Honestly. It happened, for example, when someone was
touting Schlapzinski [sp?]. Weeks of praising the guy,
as if it would somehow advance our whole community. I
wasted a lot of money and time to discover that he
just ~sounded~ different to those who?s agenda is to
~reshape~ how harmonica is thought of
[not to discount normal differences of opinion].

So it ain?t just ~Bluesharpers [hereafter referred to
as ~Coolguys~] vs. ~Cops~. Take the month long thread
on how Adler had been ~chased out of the USA by
McCarthy~. I watched that thread- in pain- for weeks.
I knew McCarthy was an unpopular hate object, and
probably a jerk- - but I also knew [could you have
guessed, PS was my minor] that Joe had zero to do with
Hollywood or the HCUA. And I knew how much Cops loved
Adler. Sigh. I also knew that if I posted ~the truth~
I would be ragged on as a Rabble-rouser. 

This has happened at least 20 times over the years:
Fifty posts stating some falsehood as fact. And the
guy who corrects it gets a new one chewed. I would
HATE to think of what would happen if someone
introduced ~race~ [and no reason we should, except for
the dumb comments that might get made] into the ~Rift
Question~. I can tell you how it would end. A group of
deputy ~Cops~ would come along, with torches,
chanting, ~ Can?t we all just get along!- - -And can?t
we all just get along by slandering, smearing and
hacking to death the guy who said something I don?t
like!?~

I can?t tell you how many times some hothead has taken
a couple lines out of context on purpose to suggest
that ~Coolguy~ posts were intentionally designed to
start trouble~. It just happened with the ~Convention~
thread. Talk about ~Projection~. People were just
stating their opinions, and others were slandering
them and accusing them of secret agendas- or worse.

Seriously now. The ~Rift~ is not so much between
~Cops~ and ~Coolguys~ [though I know where I stand
:->] but, rather, between those who see their mission
as promoting Harmonica to it?s, oh-so- subjective
~rightful place~ in the musical museum, and those of
us who jus? ~LOVE the Bluesharp~ [I?m open to a better
way of framing this!]. This, in itself is a noble
dilemma and a not so big problem. But it makes for
polarized fights [~Yer with us or against us~] and
thinking. It leads to heated discussions about proper
site reading, music theory and approach. One guy, who
was always my favorite, was run off the list for
constantly trying to come up with a system of notation
that applied to ALL diatonic keys. He was accused of
being anti-intellectual and anti learning and, worse
[ooooh!] ~non progressive~. It was SUCH a very fun
project- but it was shouted down by the ~Cops~, who
saw it as a threat to their quest to keeping harmonica
playing classy [and ~discouraged proper musical
notation~]. 

Yes. It?s tempting to think it Bluesharp vs Chromatic,
or ~Guys-with-a-lotta-soul~ vs
~Guys-who-can?t-syncopate-and-lose-the-beat-with-out-a-metronome~.
It?s tempting to think it?s The Harmonicats vs Kim
Wilson. But it ain?t.

The ~Tone~ thread went the same way. Of feverish
interest to Blues players, it is slightly un-nerving
to the ~other side~ [whatever that may be, a vague
blend of ~Cops~ and guys who hope that one day the
harmonic will take it?s rightful place next to the
oboe]. It would be, to their ears, like talking about
~bending~ on Piano-L. These guys don?t bend.

I do not doubt that I will be asked to post no more on
this subject- as I am every time I reply to the ~Cops~
[Yet it?s ok for Cops to talk about  my Momma at
length?]. But this IS a pivotal issue. Some harmonica
players think Stevie Wonder and  Toots are all the
harmonica players they?d ever need at a convention.
Others would rather watch re-runs of Lawrence Welk, in
slow-motion- with their mother-in-law. 

Think of my 4X a year rants an editorial in your
digest that you don?t agree with. Delete it. For me,
Harp-l is the best place to discuss such ideas. I
started a list once for strictly diatonic players and
it quickly became a place to light candles and
genuflect over Jason, Clapton, Butterfield and BB
King. Harp-l, for all it?s problems, has some
incredibly good minds. If anyone was going to capture
the essence of what ~Crunch~, ~Tone~, ~Blues~, or
~Great Bluesharp~ is- it?s Harp-l. And naturally, when
folks say all that stuff is dumb, and classical
accordion isn?t- well, you?re going to get some
hardcore Blueharpers saying, ~Go learn to bend~. But
I?m willing to share.

Print this, and I promise to shut up for a while. But
I REALLY love my Bluesharp and I WON?T be shouted
down. If you guys want to ban me for posting this
opinion, fine, but let this be my swan song. Don?t
censor the letter. There?s nothing in it but the
truth.


And Merry freaking CHRISTMAS. May True Joy find you. I
love many of you,
[I just never got along with Cops. Sue me]
Robb


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