Re-framing Black Music

Justin Patch, Assistant Professor of Music at Vassar College, discusses how we might listen to and think about contemporary African American music from the standpoint of subjective listening and emotional need. Rather than searching for transcendent aesthetics, grand theories about “good” music, or deciding which music belongs in the canon, we should consider the lived experience of communities of color and how music meets their varied needs.

Songs like Ruth Brown’s “Lucky Lips”, Run DMC’s “My Adidas” or Slave’s “Slide” are often written off as disposable culture, but this discussion argues that what they represented to listeners was inspirational and meaningful.

This program is presented by The National Arts Club.











When: Mon., Jul. 19, 2021 at 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Where: The National Arts Club
15 Gramercy Park S.
212-475-3424
Price: Free, donation suggested
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Justin Patch, Assistant Professor of Music at Vassar College, discusses how we might listen to and think about contemporary African American music from the standpoint of subjective listening and emotional need. Rather than searching for transcendent aesthetics, grand theories about “good” music, or deciding which music belongs in the canon, we should consider the lived experience of communities of color and how music meets their varied needs.

Songs like Ruth Brown’s “Lucky Lips”, Run DMC’s “My Adidas” or Slave’s “Slide” are often written off as disposable culture, but this discussion argues that what they represented to listeners was inspirational and meaningful.

This program is presented by The National Arts Club.

Buy tickets/get more info now