Once again, you can respond in any substantive and non-qualitative fashion you wish to the piece.
You might want to consider thinking about what work Lethem had to put into the piece: what difficulties did you sense he faced in the pre-writing process? Who do you think are some of the people he talked to and why?
Remember to write a minimum of 250 words to receive credit and to respond to one of your peers' posts as well.
In case you lost the link, here it is again:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/being-james-brown-rolling-stones-2006-cover-story-20101224
As soon as I started reading the article one thing that stuck out to me was that he always wanted a statue yet when he got one he requested it not to be on a pedestal. James Brown wanted the statue to characterize him as "Man of people," which is interesting to me because he still wanted to be admired at the same time as being just like everyone else. It seems as if he wanted to seem like a man who was down to earth and a normal person but deep down he just wanted to be admired and remembered. I say this because throughout the article it talks about how James Brown would always be late and keep people waiting, also it mentioned how he was not the nicest person to his own band. I feel like he acted this way in order to feel superior to others and those around him. This going back to the statue, I feel as if it was always his goal and dream to be a statue just to feel this superiority all the time. The author does good job of providing details for his audience, like when it talked about the James Brown shows I felt like I was actually there and it gave me a better understanding of James Brown, all while making the piece more entertaining. Personally I have never listened to James Brown but this article helped give me a clearer understanding about his attitude and his passion for music and what he does.
ReplyDeleteI too felt the same way about James Brown. He seems to be very entitled towards everyone and everything in his life. His statue may not have a pedestal, but I think that's because he himself seems to already be living on that pedestal.
DeleteI also see sense of superiority Brown exhibits. The way he treats other people, from his band members to the people he is performing in front. I think his desire for a statue is like you said, Brown's need to feel like he is better than everybody else.
Delete-Kasey Mentzer
I agree with what Alyssa said. This article wasn't just about his life and career. Instead, it went into detail about how himself as a person. It explains how he treated others, and how he presented himself both on an off the stage.
Delete-Victoria Dumornay
The background given as to what James Brown was like as a person put into perspective the importance of the statue to him. He wanted a statue to be remembered, for people to look at his statue as they walk by and talk about him. Brown seemed to be a very egocentric individual, acting as though everybody was below him. The way he treated the other band members as depicted in the article, gives a prime example of how he thought about himself to be better than those around him. Also, the way he would make crowds wait, to not be on time for his own shows provides another example of his superior mentality. His desire for a statue of himself stems from his need to be better than others. Brown claims to be a man of the people but not everybody has a statue of themselves built. As stated before, he wants to be remembered. I think his desire to be one not a pedestal and grinning, very odd for a statue, comes from his need to feel like he did something important. I think he wants to be remembered throughout history for doing something, a large bronze statue people walk by is a good way to have people talk about you for years to come. I thought the information given on what one of James Brown's shows looked like, the waiting, helps reaffirm the importance of what a statue of himself would mean to Brown. Also, the information on how he treated his band members, being late to recording sessions, making them lay down tracks without him, do a lot of the work without Brown helps put into perspective how Brown thought of himself in comparison to others. From the article, it seems like Brown thought himself to be higher or superior to everyone.
ReplyDelete-Kasey Mentzer
I think it was interesting how the author of the piece allowed his readers to question the reputation of James Brown. I agree with you on that everything Brown did, was for Brown. Lethem successfully shines light on the truth of the Godfather of Soul.
Delete-Courtney Swarthout
I think the statue bit was really interesting as well. His mindset seemed very superior and he placed himself above others, showing the egocentric side of him. He was and will always be important to people but his relevancy has dipped as has his reputation.
Delete-Ryan Telford
This piece is a good example of a feature, which was done on James Brown, and the people who worked alongside the Godfather of Soul. When working on this piece, Lethem had to put himself into the moment. Instead of watching from the outside, he became a part of what was happening, made apparent through his interactions with Brown and the band. In the pre-writing process, some difficulties I sensed he faced were being in the presence of such a great man almost seen as a god by many people, and not knowing what to expect. Was the statue going to be enough to predict what type of man the artist was? His feature on the band brings to life the usual occurrences for a day of someone who works with James Brown. I think some of the people Lethem talked to in order to compose this piece were members of the band, people in the city of Augusta, Georgia, some fans of James Brown, and Howard, the man who operates the control panels in the recording studio. I think these people were used to gain insight on James Brown because their emotions and dialogue are woven into the text. Instead of just studying the bronze statue of the man, these people were able to shine light on who James Brown really was as a person. Maybe he wasn’t as great as he was made out to be. This piece brought to light just how egocentric and narcissistic James Brown truly was.
ReplyDelete-Courtney Swarthout
I agree that by putting himself into the situations that James Brown lives in, the author was able to add a deeper element to the story. This made it much more interesting to read.
DeleteMadison Neylan
Jackson. Lennon. John. Presley. Brown. These are some of the most recognizable music icons in history. I’ve don’t listen to James Brown’s music religiously but I have come across some videos of him performing on YouTube and it’s clear why he’s among these legends. The first thing that hit me was the energy and charisma he brings to the stage. While reading this profile, these traits carried over to his off stage persona. The author did an amazing job of describing what being in the room with him like. There are some people who walk into a room and the atmosphere completely changes, Brown is one of them. Talking about the successes Brown has had over his career bring his character up to god like status. It sounded as if the author was idolizing him. Suddenly, the tone switches completely. They bring him up and strip him down to his true self in the span of a couple sentences. It didn’t feel as if the author was stating fact after fact about him, but instead feels like a living expression of what Brown was like. Learning about his rise from rags to his superstar life as a rockstar on top of the world told a great story. In addition, they placed an emphasis on the band in the studio with him, which sets the scene really well inside the studio. Any music enthusiast enjoys seeing their favourite artist in the studio recording the music and I could picture them in the studio, with the same energy he had on stage in a completely different setting.
ReplyDelete-Ryan Telford
One of the main things that sort of confused me was the Jonathan Lethem’s contradicting words on James brown. Much of the passage seemed to promote good things such as his achievements and how people responded to him. But aswell seemed to undermine them in some ways such as when he states how the James brown statue is, “anything, really, but a statue”. It seemed to me as if Jonathan Lethem even saw him as a troublemaker as he seemed to bring up the statue as a representation of how he is, “Kinetic; an idea; a problem; a concept; a method.” Even when he promotes the reaction of the crowd towards James Brown he shows a good supporting by the people. He describes the crowds as roaring and makes the rest of the band seem as nothing much or more than support for the great James Brown himself. He even describes that much of the crowd cheers at the sight of James brown dancing, then conflicts it by saying, “ these days, it is mostly a little.” Much of the time I feel as if he is not accepting of James Brown decisions as well. This can be seen not only from the history of James brown run from police and his imminent capture and imprisonment for multiple years but he would bring up words such as unfortunate and helpless. Lastly, Jonathan Lethem disappointed me in this article as he seems to be contradictory to his own interpretation of James Brown.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with this. I got this underlying sense of distaste throughout the entire passage and that really confused me because there were also this spots of promotion and amusement. It is very contradictory, I never thought of that word but it describes it perfectly.
DeleteThe author could have chosen to do this because maybe that is how Brown felt too. From this feature, Brown seems to be a humble boy and he didn't plan on having
Deletea statue of himself erected and he doesn't appreciate that he is the only one getting the fanfare when, without his band, he wouldn't be anything. James Brown cared about his band members and he wanted to make sure they were treated fairly.
Kyle Post
It's interesting that you mentioned that since I didn't notice this perspective at first. But now I totally thought Lethem was trying to be neutral but ended up being contradictory.
DeleteI immediately got this feeling of distaste from the author that I was not able to shake the entire time I was reading this. It may have been because that's really how the people close to James Brown felt or it could have been a personal bias of the author's based on his experience with James Brown. It is obvious that he got to meet and talk with James, but it feels to me that most of his information came from the band or recording staff. He talks a lot about the different people involved and the little things they say, mostly negative.
ReplyDeleteI didn't actually enjoy this piece. It was a very detailed profile on James Brown, but I honestly thought it sounded like he was trying to hard. Despite being able to understand it, I was still put off by the unnecessary wording he used. I liked the structure, just not how it was told. This story/article made me realize how much power these profiles or features can have on what is thought about these people or things by the reader. The author can choose to include what they want, and also not include things and that can really sway the way that someone thinks. Either for the good or the bad. This article was interesting because I got an overall feeling of distaste but little hints of amusement and pleasure through out.
There is no doubt that he put a lot of work into this profile. It’s long, detailed, very interestingly structured, and I’m glad ours don’t have to be near as long.
I agree, Jamin. I thought it was definitely too lengthy. The detail was good but it got to a point that it was too much. I also agree with how much of an effect a profile or feature can have on a reader since it is from the author's perspective.
DeleteI also stuggled to finish the piece because of it's length. You are absolutely right about how much power the author has when writing a piece, but I did like what he portrayed Brown as.
DeleteAs the author was writing this piece, he really writes from the perspective of an audience member at his concert. He speaks about how it feels physically be in the audience of one of James Brown's concerts and describes the feelings you would experience. He gets into such specific detail of emotions and feelings. He definitely got in touch with very important people including his band members and manager to truly get key features and details of his life. He specifically describes the scene that they are in while he interviews Brown's band members and manager. He goes to the recording studio to interview all of these people, and probably had to pull some strings to be able to get into contact with all of them. He explains how they start off the day without James Brown in the studio and they begin a track. I think the interview flowed naturally, and the author probably abandoned his pre-written questions and just let Brown speak. I think that by interviewing his band members and manager who spend most of their days with Brown, he was able to get the inside scoop. He got the details from the people that were closest to him and who know him best. He ends his writing by describing Brown's concert. I think this piece was a perfect example of a profile because of all of the information he was able to gather by interviewing so many people. The piece was interesting at some points, but as I read I thought it got kind of lengthy and it was hard to finish. I feel like he got into so much detail about his life that it was overdone. I was able to get an idea of what the structure of the profile or feature should be like, but thought it was too long.
ReplyDeleteI agree and think the author does a great job of viewing James Brown from different perspectives. It's a pretty good profile but seems to contradict itself it times.
Delete-Deontre Youmans
I completely agree that the author wrote this profile on James Brown from the point of view of an audience member. He does a really good job of enrapturing how it would really feel to be at one of Browns shows.
DeleteIt should be very obvious to most readers that the author spent a lot of time on this piece. This author goes beyond just saying "James Brown did this", instead he writes from the perspective of someone who was there. This is written from a third person point of view and the reader feels like they are in the moment with James Brown. It takes a lot of skill and time to turn a series of interviews into a cohesive narrative. Now personally, I have heard some of his songs, but I never knew who was signing that song. After I read the feature, I went online and looked up some of his works and heard some I instantly recognized. One anecdote from this feature that I found quite ironic was when Brown was in the recording studio and he said he wanted a cheap microphone to record on instead of the expensive ones the studio had. As a chorus student, this made me laugh because all throughout my music education, the teachers were raising money to purchase higher quality microphones. Furthermore, I appreciate how the author tries to paint Brown as an artist who like to keep things simple and hasn’t let fame go to his head. Brown was made famous by using sub-standard equipment and he plans to stay famous by using the same techniques he used to get famous. The final sentence of his feature pretty much sums up Brown’s life, he feels good. This is also Brown’s most popular song and the author uses it to leave his reader with a closing idea that all people should strive to find a level of happiness that Brown found.
ReplyDeleteKyle Post
It’s one thing to listen to an artist and form your own opinion about who they are as a person. But it is a completely different experience when you actually get insight into who they are from a first person account of both that person and those who are close to them. Jonathan Lethem’s vibrant descriptions of his time with the James Brown Show really aloud me as a reader to get a sense of who Brown was as not only a musician but as a person. His words aloud me to put myself into his position. Lethem really delved right into Brown’s world and enveloped himself into Brown’s life. It is a very rare experience for someone to experience what Lethem experienced; he went in as a reporter and in doing so had to set aside his passions and love for James Brown the Performer to be able to look at James Brown the Person. He had to be open minded to any possibility of what was to come. I think the most difficult thing Lethem faced going into this was his need to show the side of the James Brown Show that the world doesn’t see: the band behind the closed doors. When at a concert you only see what the musicians want you to see; no one ever really knows the hard work and effort that is put into keeping up such an iconic image as the James Brown Show. The anecdotes of his “escapes” with the band members had a special touch because it showed that even though Brown was sometimes seen as an entitled egomaniac by the band, they still stayed true to him and saw him for what he was: charismatic, loveable, and free. I think that by not just providing the reader with information about James Brown the Man, but immersing the reader into the world he was living and providing more than just his own input, he aloud the reader to gain a full 360 perspective of the real James Brown Show.
ReplyDeleteThis piece about James Brown required the author to witness Brown’s music production process, witness a concert, and talk to the band members, managers, and even the sculptor. He had to make connections with all of these people in order to get the full truth. He had to keep himself in the moment and not focus on what his expectations of Brown would be. Then once Lethem had gotten all the information he needed he had to find a way to convey the truth, not making him seem too awful or perfect. This must have been very difficult, but the final product shows that Brown is someone who can change a rooms atmosphere just by walking into it. Lethem’s thoughts about Brown are almost contradicting from time to time. For most of the article Brown is depicted as a self-centered and conceded. Brown seems to have the attitude that everyone is beneath him. He treated all of his bandmates very badly and acted as if they had no talent. The band was often at the recording studio way before Brown arrived and he left the audience waiting many times. Yet he wants to be seen as a “Man of people”. He wants to be held on a pedestal but to the public he tells them he wants to be seen as a normal person. I think by writing this article with the full truth of an inside man we can see through Brown’s allusion of wanting to be seen as an equal. Lethem shows us Brown’s true nature of always acting superior.
ReplyDelete-Isabel Tomsich
I completely agree with you. I think that even though James wants to be seen as a man of the people, he makes it clear through his actions that he is not and that he feels superior to most.
DeleteThis piece was clearly a profile on James Brown. However, the author went deeper than just writing about his life and everything that he has done in the music industry. In the beginning of the article, he begins to tell the story of James Brown’s life through the eyes of the statue created of him in Augusta. This is a very unique way to ease into the story and it added an interesting element to the story. The author dives deep into Brown’s life and witnesses almost every aspect of his life in music. He attends a recording session, a concert, and talks to many of the people that are closest to him today. He spent a lot of time gaining perspectives from different people that are involved in James Brown’s life and I think that this helps add to the depth of the piece. At certain points, there are contradicting views on him and his music so I think that it is more interesting to see a variety of opinions instead of just listing different people who praise him and compliment his music. Some of the people that he interviewed included Brown’s manager and his band members, as well as the sculptor that created his statue. This adds another element to the profile and gives a look into more of his personal life instead of what the fans see on the outside and at his concerts. Overall, I think that the author did a good job of diving deep into Brown’s life and giving a substantial profile that really described who he is and what his music does.
ReplyDeleteMadison Neylan
I agree completely, the author contradicted himself many times throughout the work. In addition to that, the length of the article really put me off, as I found it very hard to finish. As a whole, the piece was very descriptive and shined light upon many ambiguities of James Brown personal life.
DeleteI like that in the writing there were other individuals involved with responding to thoughts about James Brown, but I wish it was more one on one with the narrator. Personally, as a reader, I dislike reading opinions about people. I wish it was more of an interview than a story told throughout other people's eyes.
DeleteThis very detailed and insightful piece on James Brown helped me understand the man behind the music and vocals. This piece wasn't simply an expository writing on his music career, but an in depth analysis of the man that was James Brown. Through the meticulous analysis of James brown, and the many aspects of his life, The author of this work, Jonathan Lethem, was able to convey his time as a musician and as a person behind the music. It opened my eyes up to the fact that behind James Brown, there were many sublayers to his personality, and his personal life as a whole. The author also tells the story of James Brown from a different perspective, an audience member. Lethem uses so much imagery in the piece so that he can convey the feelings of exhilaration and awe that concertgoers feel when they see James Brown on stage. He write about all the emotions felt in that moment, from watching James Brown and his band walk up on stage, to the crowds of people chanting his name.While he depicts these scenes of excitement and anticipation, he also talks about the work and the emotions that occur behind the scenes. He depicts the work behind the scenes that James Brown and the crew undertake to please the masses. Even though the author praises Brown throughout most of the piece, he undermines his achievements numerous times throughout the work. The most striking to me being when Lethem states that the statue commemorating James Brown is “anything, really, but a statue.” The article as a whole felt extremely lengthy and at times felt like a critique on his life rather than an autobiographical account.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this article is an accurate representation of what a feature should look like. Instead of just writing about what everyone thinks James Brown is and his reputation, the writer chose to strip him down to his true self. Through out the first part of the article, it seemed as if the writer was idolizing Brown and all the fame that surrounds him. As it continues, the tone changes significantly and James Brown, also known as the “Grandfather of Soul,” is stripped of all of his titles and fame and looked at by the writer as just a man. This article is written in a way that shows the writer really took his time and put a lot of effort and thought into it. He wrote it in the perspective of and audience member or someone who was there to witness an event which makes it seem more personal or first hand than if he had just written it as an informative article. I also feel like the background that was given showed that Brown had a sense of entitlement about him. James made it a point to have his statue be on the ground and not on a pedestal. This was to characterize himself as a “Man of the People” but in reality, I don’t believe he is a man of the people. This is embodied through the way he treats those around him, including his audience members and even his own bandmates. The lack of a pedestal was symbolic for who he wishes he could be (a man of the people) when in reality, his actions show that he is egotistical and selfish towards those around him.
ReplyDeleteAs I scrolled through this article, I noticed that James Brown was always grinning. Throughout this article, Brown is described to be a man “who refused to do other than grin.” Even in the bronzed statue of himself, he chose to smile because he simply couldn’t keep a narrow, straight face. He was a “man of the people” and to him, this smile showed his success. It presented his achievements and accomplishments during his career. His own style, genre of music ,and the way he acted influenced many other artists. James Brown held himself to a very high standard. He stated that he very much so wanted to be remembered. As far as the writing goes, I didn't necessarily enjoy it. Yes, the writer is involved in the writing as far as quotes go and his background, but he doesn’t get to respond much during the writing. I wish, with such a long article as it is, would be able to respond back to the writer. I wish the writer would’ve asked questions where James Brown could’ve responded thoroughly. I feel that James is talked up and also talked down in this article. For example, the author talks about how he was rude and short to his audience by making him wait during concerts, but I truly think he wanted to build the anticipation up for his concert. These thoughts were never mentioned because James Brown was never asked them. Overall, I wish Brown’s thoughts were more involved in the writing.
ReplyDeleteThis article “Being James Brown: Rolling Stone’s 2006 Story”, is about the highlights of funk musical icon, James Brown, and how much he made an impact on the music world. One thing I liked about the article is how casual the language and writing style was. The author used very simple words when describing his own opinion. When he talked about his personal experiences, he wrote as if he was talking casually to another person. However, when describing how he saw James Brown, he used very complex vocabulary. In one paragraph, he used many creative words, such as, “showbiz”, “undulating-insinuating (underneath)”, and “shimmery-peppery (over-the-top)”. Also, he used a mixture of both simple and complex sentence structures. For example, at the end of the article, he used a simple yet famous James Brown line as a regular statement. The line was “I feel good.” One complex sentence that really stood out in my eyes was the sentence about when “[t]he James Brown Band takes the form, onstage.” I believe that it really makes the Rolling Stones article more and more powerful and intriguing to read. Another thing that I noticed about the article was how it wasn’t really a “biography” about James Brown. Instead, it was about how he affected the world, before and after his career. For example, the author talks about how when James Brown walks into a room, the mood completely changes for the better. He explains how “a recording studio ends up becoming a stage” when Brown begins to perform.
ReplyDelete-Victoria Dumornay
This article was interesting because of how it was written. I have read a multitude of biographies and memoirs but this one was just different. It was almost watching a documentary instead of reading one because of how detailed it was. At some points, it felt as if I was there and James Brown was still arguing about his style of Jazz was different and better than Grover Washington’s smooth jazz. Another component that I liked about this feature was how there were dialogue, even though it was a feature, the little bits of dialogue every now and then ready added to the piece.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I especially like how Lethem added a preface to Brown’s life at the beginning. He talked about how Brown was never to enter Augusta again but as the feature progressed, we learn that Brown now has a statue there. This show of growth is also a nice touch.
I think the only thing about the feature that I didn’t really quite enjoy was how lengthy it was, at some points I felt as if he circled around a topic a few times for the word count. Getting through this article was definitely a large task, with this article printed out, it ended up being 30 pages until I put two on a page and printed on the other side. Other than that, it was an excellent piece and the style of writing is something I will definitely keep in mind when I will be writing my own.