DENNIS JOSEPH WEEKLY: Music in Da Da Land Part II

I am grateful for the emails sent to me by those who want to say something about something because they read something  about something but do not want to say something openly.  I noted one which asks that I write more  about politics because that is what the people want to read and  music is boring and most people do not understand it.  Hello?  To me our politics is repetitive and encourages just a jangle of emotions from we the people that serves the interest of a few clever people.  if I am expected to spend time writing about silly things like the latest controversy over what UWP leader Edison James said 13 years ago, “Have no fear your government is in charge,” and to support  who thought that this was  such an awful thing to say, then in the words of a popular TV personality, “I have a bridge I can sell you.”

I will write about things political never doubt that but always knowing that politics is the artificial belief of “I” and of insatiable egos, while music is the spirit of “WE” and harmony and interdependency.

Politics is the art of staying in power by promising and even appearing  to control the people’s pain; music is the art of relieving pain by invigorating the inner better self and stimulating the senses.

In the work that I do I recently received a request to voice over a tenuous  script and the clients were specific about how it should sound.  The words explicitly were, “It must sound like the voice of God.” In good humour I recorded the sound of thunder, mixed that with some sounds of Hurricane David  documented when it came to visit its terrible destruction in August 33 years ago  and emailed the mix  to them.  Their response was nearly immediate, “Something is wrong with your recording, it’s just a whole lot of noise check your equipment or use our system.” I was tempted to answer, “You got what you asked for”, but I needed the work and my Granny told me once “Discretion is the better part of valour”.

Their sophisticated top class studio system was more than 600 miles away but in modern technology that is not a problem, ‘atall, atall’. All I needed was a Neumann mike and an isolation sound proof facility and any studio anywhere is available to me. You can record on a machine thousands of miles away and take instructions from the client just 100 miles away through the headphones all at the same time in real time with astonishing results.  This is the technology of now and which gives musicians from small island states a remarkable way out of the corner in which they were once  trapped.

In the days of the Gaylords Power Union (GPU) it took me months to raise money for cutting our first album. The idea that a Waitikubuli  group could actually come up with an album was greeted with a skepticism  and even derision that would shock today as we are now familiar with local albums; a whole lot of them.   But the government of Edward Leblanc believed that there was a distinctive place for musicians in the scheme of things and responded to our desperate request with actual cash from a special fund set up by him to aid the musicians of this land move forward.

Otherwise the GPU might have had to pull up brakes and fold tents and “Lovely Dominica” may have never been recorded.   Other groups like the Sifluer Montagne benefitted from that fund and the vision of Leblanc.

When Tarina wowed the TV audiences around the region with her performances on a Digicel competition she was greeted on her return home with shouts of acclamation and jubilation, our people bawled ecstatically, the radio was alive with her praises, politicians waded in to gain political points and under all this my quiet voice went to high places and suggested, “Give her a scholarship to study music and voice.  Talent scouts usually check those places”  Nobody even bleeped on me.  For her like so many others it is, “Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be.”   The administration rightly boasts of the number of scholarships that it distributes each year but for the music, “No scholarship for dat.”

The private sector is unable or unwilling to invest large sums of money into the promotion of artistes, but if we believe in the future of our youth it is we the people who must step forward through the government we placed in charge of our affairs. At this time when our airways are bombarded with complaints about crime and violence among youth and how sex, drugs, and alcohol have invaded our schools and the behavior of our students who now have developed an arrogant attitude to parents, teachers, elders et on, is it not time to take a keen interest in what motivates them, like music eh?  All of this was loaded into the paper presented to the minister who promised immediate action and then was transferred before he could deliver-12 months later.

The new minister after a while was also enthusiastic and so again I presented the document which outlined a way forward for our music and that minister also promised swift action but then she was dropped from the election candidate roll-15 months later.  In short nothing happened.  I have often asked why  is it that music and cultural activity  usually is placed in the hands of a government minister that, “they just have to give something,” and who  as such feels little urge to do anything about anything.

So what did I write in that document presented to the minister?  Stay tuned.

The journey continues and ends with Part 3 next week.

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11 Comments

  1. cadencelypso
    August 3, 2012

    dennis i thank you for this info concerning our dear mr le blanc.i wish the present politicians woulld take into consideration the massive musical talents in DA which gets very little help from our leaders.at the time when cadence lypso was at it’s peak they did not follow the trend of things.ot ti yo pou ba nou foss la.

  2. ROSEAU VALLEY
    August 2, 2012

    Keep writing! Write about anything inspiring. Write something thought provoking. Please, just write so we can read.

    Let me touch on a statement made in your opening paragraph. Our politics is not simply repetitive. There are those among us who have removed the civility in our politics and turned it into something dishonorable, disrespectful, deceitful, devoid of truth and intellectually dishonest. Therefore, it is worthy to write a thought to debunk the senseless sensationalism of jingles and misfired clippings with a clear intention to cause political harm

    It is worth spending time writing about the lies, spins, disrespectful and dishonest utterance of a pair of senior attorneys-at-law who occupy the studios of Kairi FM on Tuesdays and Saturdays. You have to write about a senior police inspector who made a failed attempt to use the exemplary statesman-like language of Mr. Edison James to confused and abuse the unsophisticated minds of their followers that Mr. James’ statement somehow could be compared with the low class, sewer language of a sitting Prime Minister. It is simply shameful that people who are supposed to be intelligent would conduct themselves with such malicious intent and insincerity.

    Mr. James made a confident (not arrogant) statement in the course of informing the nation that we should have no fear because our government is in charge. To date, I do not understand why LEN&AS would use this clip of Mr. James to ridicule him. The only thing I understand is that the attempt to discredit Mr. James has failed and may have backfired as people can now make a clear comparison and many have come to their independent conclusion that we are talking about a poisonous substance like gramoxone of the PM vs freshly squeezed orange juice offered by Mr. James.

    Mr. James was very articulate, professional, inspiring, stimulating, respectful and confident. He sounded like the 1960’s President Kennedy of the US who inspired confidence in a nation that they could make it to the moon if only they could believe and the only thing that they had to fear is fear itself. He bold professed-have no fear, your government (not I) is in charge. The clipping echoed political and constitutional truths. That Mr. James and his government were elected in accordance with the constitution and the provisions of our election laws (imagine saying this in 2009). He proclaimed the essence of our democracy in advising with poise, assertiveness and a sense of self-assurance as expected of a leader that now is his time and another person will have his time on stage in another time. He wasn’t speaking like a dictator. He inspired us to be bold and strong as a people who had placed their trust in their government. Everything about Mr. James’ statement was commendable, including the tone, contents and context.

    Now, compare this, if you may with the gutter-like, nauseating, vulgar, un-statesmanlike, repulsive, war-like and uncultured remarks of a gentleman who was not elected to parliament in accordance with the constitution and the laws governing the election of members of Parliament. I must be something that LEN&AS eat in KairiFM studios or something that Inspector Mills was served that cause them to make the now backfiring comparison with the un-statesmanlike and immature rants of the PM
    – “No law, no constitution can prevent me.”
    – -Go to Hell, Go to Hell..It is not of your damn business”
    – “Dominica is too free” and
    – “We will march them up”.

    It takes a pathologically dishonest brain to bend and manipulate the meaning of something so positive to give the impression to others that it is actually bad. This reminds us of the 2000 elections campaign against the UWP, when the same individuals successfully used manufactured lies to convinced the masses that Edison and Timothy were corrupt

    So Dennis, please write on anything, use your stage that DNO has provided to write something inspiring. Who doesn’t like it could go to hell-according to the PM

    • Peeping Tom
      August 3, 2012

      ROSEAU VALLEY, i welcome Mr. Joseph writing about politics because the more he does, the more he exposes himself and others, and the easier he makes it for the DLP. So, do not encourage what you lack the capacity to control…. the consequences of Mr. Joseph’s rants.

      Now, as for you and the idiocy that you published above, you confirm, ROSEAU VALLEY, a rather schizophrenic character of your logic…you blow hot now and then cool and then cold and then hot and then….you disintegrate. Did you for example, refer to Hon James as «articulate, professional, inspiring, stimulating, respectful and confident?» Are you not aware of the bugging fiasco, the judge who dismissed a case that Hon. James was instrumental in bringing against Hon. Skerrit as a «fishing expedition?» Have you never heard your Hon. James using the political platform to refer to Hon. Shillingford and others? Have you never heard Hon. James stretch the truth in public?

      Here is a piece of advice to you, ROSEAU VALLEY, you occasionally appear level-headed, tonight you are all over the place. So, lay off whatever it is that you have been consuming. As for your utterly ridiculous comments about «no Constitution», only fools repeat this, ROSEAU VALLEY. No one, but those who have twisted it and tried to make mileage out of it actually believe it. Yet, you accuse others of «misfired clippings with a clear intention to cause political harm.» Oh you have some guts, brodda! The nerve of you.

      Come again, ROSEAU VALLEY. Your disconnected ramblings here tonight have confirmed your position among them. (Well, i knew that you could not keep up with that farcical objective stunt that you were playing!!) BTW, of what clipping do you speak?

      Oh my, ROSEAU VALLEY, you must have been high on something nasty! Confused does not even begin to describe the foolishness that you posted here tonight.

  3. Tribal Voice
    August 2, 2012

    Dennis Joseph has eraned the right to speak of what he has done…what he has created and what he can do in music…I wish Dennis good luck in his submission of projects to Ministers, because I’m not sure at what point that perseverance becomes simply waste of time!
    I challenge any objective and educated (PhD included) who supports government to intelligently deny:
    1. The government confuses “culture” and “cultural industry”.
    2. The government is convinced that cultures is limited to traditional song and dance
    3. Creativity is misunderstood by every single minister…the only property they know is “real estate”.
    4.Zero dollars in the budget for the development and export of “creative matter”…they simply do not understand…ask them?
    5. The government is sadly lacking in “register” so is unable to tell what is good from what is bad in terms of music…so “jump and wave” which in fact should be for carnival is the standard best in their untrained minds.
    6. Their musical knowledge at its highest is Reggae and often from illeterate artists…
    7.We have a claim to fame through “Creole music”, thus the world festival…have of them do not understand the best of Dominica’s Creole music…they are limited!
    I could go on and on…

  4. Lover of Good Prose
    August 2, 2012

    I remember a time when when PJ was Premier and later going on to become Prime Minister, a number of songs were banned from airing on DBS Radio. I remember a time when personalities such as Chubby, a musical and cultural icon with more than fifty decades years of entertaining us in music could not hear some of his songs on DBS Radio. At carnival times many a calypso was never played on the airwaves of DBS Radio. Speak to Ophelia about her famous “Aye Dominique” about what happened when it was released. Remember the song “Daniel” that was banned form DBS Radio when Papa Dee was removed from the radio station?. Those were the days when the “man with the Master Plan” controlled all communications (audio and visual) on all of Dominica’s broadcast spectrum.

    I agree that people can and do change. But they must first accept that they were wrong when they acted in a particular way in order to point fingers today. But we are in a different age. With more than one radio station, where any and anything goes up to the point of calling the PM a LIAR without blinking an eye. That is todays Dominica.

    I however like the writings. The use of the pen to bring life to words is a skill I would like to have. I note too that throughout these writings, any references to anything that is wrong or ugly in Dominica start and end with the government of PM Skerrit. Every body else involved in the politics of DA, other than the members of the government of PM Skerrit and his party supporters etc are as clean as a whistle, never do anything wrong. So when examples of wrong doings in Dominican life are erquired (required) to illustrate a point in these beautiful writings, it starts and end with Mr. Skerrit. To me that takes away from what is otherwise great talent and skill in expressing oneself. But I will keep reading irrespective.

    • Peeping Tom
      August 3, 2012

      Lover of Good Prose: «I note too that throughout these writings, any references to anything that is wrong or ugly in Dominica start and end with the government of PM Skerrit. Every body else involved in the politics of DA, other than the members of the government of PM Skerrit and his party supporters etc are as clean as a whistle, never do anything wrong.»

      You are very observant. However, can you expect otherwise? What else can possibly come from person whose sole raison d’être is the vilification and destruction of one man? Expect nothing else but an orgasmic obsession with that individual. So, whether we speak of tea cups or rose buds, that one man (irrespective of Mr. Joseph’s opening lines above) will always remain the target.

      Or, Lover of Good Prose, you probably just do not know Mr. Joseph’s history of behind the scenes activism in Dominica. Oh, do not be fooled by the glamorous prose!!

      • ROSEAU VALLEY
        August 3, 2012

        Peeping Tom, Nice to know that you are still peeping around on DNO. I was about to publish your deaf announcement as a member of the People’s Virtual Parliament on DNO leaving to mourn “Truth” and your spin brother Prof. Wikileaks. So glad that you are still with us! We missed you.

        First of all, I am pretty sure that both Dennis and “Lover of Good Prose” are capable of defending themselves against your characteristic smooth but vicious attack. However, as a fellow member of the PVP of DNO, I wish to offer my views.

        As you would appreciate, when appraising a project or proposal, you take into account what is presented- the facts- not what you may know personally about the author or presenter of the proposal or project. You evaluate based on pre-determined criteria. To do otherwise and inject your personal feelings and opinion would be unprofessional, unfair and wrong.

        Similarly, when a judge or members of a tribunal are considering a matter before them, they must focus on the facts, evidence and appropriate rules of law in arriving at a sound conclusion free of extraneous circumstances or other biases, hearsay or other forms of inadmissible evidence. To take into account extraneous factors would distort the truth and cause the decision to be challenged and possibly thrown out as a bad judgment.

        Why I am saying this. Well, first of all, I think you are wrong in implying that Mr. Joseph is anti-government and expressly stating, No. you are once again demonstrating your blind and unshakeable support to your government in this bias criticism of Dennis’ commentary.

        It is unfair, I think, to request the readers of DNO to take in account what you have described as That is absolutely unnecessary and uncalled for. In fact, it should be should be rejected, while I respect your right to think it and express it.

        In order to be objective when reading a commentary, we must take as it is presented and judge it based on what we read, lest we become blinded by superfluous, irrelevant, partisan nonsense. Let the people who do not know the garbage of which you may be referring read and understand the issues being discussed free of the poison of your partisan politics. Let us continue to enjoy our glamorous prose. We are not being fooled as much as the supporters of your Party are being drowned through the propaganda on the Next Level programme by LEN &AS. Yu see, that is why I would rather write under the name Roseau Valley and not “Mr. Call-in-the-Tyre or Mr. Thomas Benjamin because you and others will say……minister non that writing like that! He is so and so and did so and so—I doh reading that! Thumbs down!

        Hey Peeping, We are still Pals. Love you always my brother. Keep Peeping. Say hello to your brother Prof. Wikileaks. Your friend Truth must be happy today that you are back. Have a great weekend.

  5. Me Again
    August 2, 2012

    I think Mr Joseph ha played a great part in Dominica’s musical and cultural development. His unconquerable voice ruled the airwaves through radio and ads for some years, though I feel it wasn’t enough. I hope someone finds the opportunity to recognize what he has done, and still continues to do. Continue to strive for what is right and just Mr J. I wish I could hear your voice on radio again.

  6. speaking logic
    August 2, 2012

    you are right Dennis….

  7. Doc.Love
    August 2, 2012

    I am sure experience has taught you that,regardless to the many advices or documents presented to that Skerrit Labor Government,if their is “nothing in it” for the Government, dont expect any cooperation.Leblanc was a man of or for the people and when we talk of a man with vision,we are not talking of Skerrit.I wish you would once again present the Documents to those jokers and hope for the best.

    • Peeping Tom
      August 2, 2012

      There is a certain arrogance that unfortunately accompanies thsoe who seem to believe that they know how to do better.

      First, Doc. Love, why would you insult person simply because they do not agree with your point of view, your «document», your idea of progress?

      Second, any government is bombarded with multiple proposals and plans. Some on paper, some via DNOS’ blogs, some in fancy folders. Why the arrogance in believing that the one you, or Mr. Joseph, may have submitted is the best available for the island at this point in its development?

      Third, are you aware that the State pays an army of public officers, many who are trained in their fieled («experts», if i may borrow the term) to design and implement the «best solutions» based on all available information regarding the island’s development? Any other ideas coming from you, Mr. Joseph, or Jack and Jill must compete. In fact, you will easily get through the doorway, for an audience, but your idea is going to be in line; unless it is so brilliant in design and relevance (priority).

      Additionally, would you (or Mr. Joseph) agree that proposals to government from non «government» personnel are probably less-informed than those emanating from within the administration? Persons who work in certain government positions have a macro view that you and i do not and indeed, cannot, possibly have. So, do not insult them as «jokers» or persons who lack vision because you, or anyone else, have been unable to cogently argue your case. And, certainly do not assume that your idea must be taken on board because it is your idea and you spent donkey years thinking of it and you are convinced that it is the best thing for us. News flash, as fancy as it may be, it may not be the best thing for Dominica at this time. (Note i keep stressing the temporal context of proposals?)

      Instead,i suggest that if it is such a fancy idea, why not put your money where your mouth is. Organize a group and advance the idea as best as you can. Mr. Arthie Martin has this vision for water export and he now has a partnership with some foreigners. You, Mr. Joseph, or John Brown could do likewise.

      In the meanwhile, let us move away from the «dey doh-accept-my-idea-and-so-i-vex-wif-dem» syndrome. It only benefits the enemies of the State.

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