web materials for zoo field work

Bali Mynah



jordan and the zoo noises



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Critical Review 5 - Meintjes

Meintjes writes a paper illustrating the point that the political and musical aspects of Paul Simon’s Graceland are ultimately inseparable. Simon’s belief of politics not governing how he should play or write his music is brought up first. The ambiguity of politics of the album and the minimal reference to South Africa in the lyrics/liner notes supports this belief. The fact that Graceland was such a success led to Meintjes noting that it was not a musical anomaly, instead it was part of a 1980s world beat trend along with other artists, and that it succeeded as an album because of the skill of artists, production, and highly valued genres. Meintjes also focused on the importance of how collaboration was noted and detailed, leading to a discussion on whether or not it was true collaboration in all cases.

The world tours done after the album were more outwardly political, in that in the concert held in Zimbabwe no money left the country, and that they toured in cities with black and economically poor audiences. Also, the inclusion of two exiled South Africans was viewed by Meintjes as maybe an attempt to validate the political correctness of the project, and an attempt to dispel criticism of Simon as a musical colonizer. Though Simon did effectively work as a type of colonizer, his music is an integration of music like any other new genre of music, combining African musical styles and making them more accessible with English speaking listeners. Is it right that Simon is viewed as an exploiter? Is it right to enjoy sounds without knowing their history, as most listeners of Graceland do?