From: owner-god-shiva-digest@smoe.org (god-shiva-digest) To: god-shiva-digest@smoe.org Subject: god-shiva-digest V2 #63 Reply-To: god-shiva@smoe.org Sender: owner-god-shiva-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-god-shiva-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk god-shiva-digest Tuesday, August 31 1999 Volume 02 : Number 063 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Keeping the faith -- an article on Me'Shell and Spirituality [Patrick Sau] Re: god-shiva-digest V2 #62 [Snow2iger@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 12:04:57 -0400 From: Patrick Saunders Subject: Keeping the faith -- an article on Me'Shell and Spirituality http://www.washblade.com/point/990827a.htm Keeping the faith Musician Meshell Ndegéocello keeps her sexuality up front without carrying a banner by Lawrence Ferber At first glance, Meshell Ndegéocello’s latest album Bitter seems to contain a litany of religious tracks, with titles like "Adam," "Eve," and "Grace." But a careful listen will unearth an altogether different set of themes and meanings. For example, says Ndegéocello, the song "Faithful" isn’t really about a belief or trust in God. "Some people you go out with want to be monogamous," explains Ndegéocello of her ode to fidelity. "Others want an open relationship. You question that — it’s something I think we all question in a relationship." The instrumental pair "Adam" and "Eve" isn’t about the Garden of Eden, either. "I use ‘Adam’ and ‘Eve’ as attributes that live in both male and female," says Ndegéocello, "as an example of bringing those two together." Still, the musician admits it’s probably not a coincidence that religious undertones pervade her work. Her tendency to examine the places where sexuality and race intersect with faith has informed her music since her 1993 debut Plantation Lullabies. On 1996’s Peace Beyond Passion, the award-winning single "Leviticus: Faggot" made waves with its visceral, challenging look at a staunchly traditional Christian family and the Gay son it wishes to "save": "Go to church, boy. / Faggot, you’re just a prisoner of your own perverted world. / Before long he was crowned Queen for all the world to see, bloody body face down. / The wages of sin are surely death, that’s what mama used to say, / So there was no sympathy." These themes are still present on the new album. "With Bitter I was kind of hoping that I steered away from anything religious and dealt more with the personal struggles we all go through, most importantly love," says Ndegéocello. "But coming from a traditional Christian household, I guess it just permeates my psyche." Aside from the religious-tinged tracks, album highlights include "Beautiful" and "Full of Me." "I was involved with somebody and I really had a strong connection and feeling for her," explains Ndegéocello of the latter track’s meaning, "and they just were wishy-washy and really kind of left me hanging. That’s where that came out of. Fancying someone who doesn’t feel the same way about you." The openly bisexual Ndegéocello admits that her romantic fancies — both male and female — are the seedlings behind many of her compositions. However, she feels the lover’s specific gender doesn’t matter when it comes to how the songs should be interpreted by others. "I know any song can mean anything to anybody," she says. "That’s the beauty of music. If you perceive it to be about the woman you love in your life, great. ‘Beautiful’ — you can sing it to no matter what sex. Of course there are songs I definitely wrote to my lover, and then there are songs about relationships I’ve had with men. I write what I feel and they come out how they do." Happily, Ndgeocello reports that her openly bisexual status has never been a source of professional friction. Her record label, Maverick, has been pressing for a change in musical direction — "If I could make a Britney Spears record, they’d be really happy," she jokes — but has not pressured her to tone down her sexuality. "I’m bisexual," she says. "I don’t hide it, but I’m also very relaxed about it, I don’t think I have to carry a banner. It’s part of who I am, but not all of who I am, and I wish more people would concentrate on the fact I play several instruments, write all my songs, and on my musicianship. I think culturally it’s just more exciting and accessible to talk about my sexuality — sex sells. So my sexuality is up front, at the forefront sometimes, yet I don’t like that. It gets boring sometimes." Ndegéocello would rather talk about music — and not just her own. She has collaborated with many of her musical idols in recent years, citing gigs with Vanessa Williams and Chaka Khan as some of her favorites. "She’s just incredible, the ultimate vocalist," gushes Ndegéocello of Khan, "someone I was a huge fan of. And finally getting to meet someone you idolize! She was just great to work with, an incredible vocalist." Not all her collaborations have been pleasant — she cites Babyface as a "conservative" and "Wonder bread" musician, saying, "I played with him on a gig and he’s just really conservative and bourgeois. I think he’s just phobic, period, of just anything" — but stresses that she’s "pretty easy to work with." She also looks to a wide range of artists as potential partners. "If Trent Reznor came, that would be great. Or Garth Brooks — I’m a huge fan," she says. In between those extremes of goth rock and country come other people she’d like to work with, from Dave Matthews to Tracy Chapman, from Rickie Lee Jones to Skin. "Bon Jovi may be a little out but otherwise, it’s all fine." Ndegéocello doesn’t shun dropping names of such artists as David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto in assessing Bitter’s mellow, earthy sound. Indeed, Ndegéocello’s fans may be surprised by the new album’s unexpectedly somber, quiet, and downbeat tempo, particularly when the new album is compared to her soulfully groovy debut. "That’s just what I was feeling," she says, assuring listeners that her sound could change anytime. "I let the universe guide me, and that’s the direction it goes. I just don’t want to do the same thing all the time — you have to grow." Just don’t expect Ndegéocello to produce that "Britney Spears" album anytime soon. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 17:44:46 EDT From: Snow2iger@aol.com Subject: Re: god-shiva-digest V2 #62 In a message dated 8/30/99 4:18:25 AM Pacific Daylight Time, owner-god-shiva-digest@smoe.org writes: << Has anyone noticed that most of the songs are written in minor keys? This is why it is so soulful and emotional. I have listened to Bitter repeatedly and have come to realize that the album is like one big story with many flavors like Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On". It flows just like Bitter in the sense that they seem like one song or story with different ups and downs. In my experience, with these kinds of albums I don't naturally distinguish between songs; it's the whole enchalada I'm hearing and feeling. >> That's the great thing about album artists such as Me'Shell. It's not just a collection of songs with a couple of highlights. There's a theme to the whole piece. ------------------------------ End of god-shiva-digest V2 #63 ******************************