ABRIR PORTAS E JANELAS 

“The New Europeran” é um semanário britânico lançado a 8 de Julho de 2016 em reacção ao referendo do Brexit. Dirigido aos “remainers” – os cidadãos do Reino Unido que votaram contra a saída da UE –, intitula-se, por esse motivo, "The New Pop-up Paper For The 48%". Fazendo figas para que essa percentagem possa crescer, aplica-se a divulgar traços da História e da identidade britânicas numa perspectiva de relação aberta com o exterior político e cultural. No número de 15 de Janeiro, trazia um texto de Sophia Deboick (I) sobre “1951: a year in music and the first rock‘n’roll single”. O pano de fundo é a Britânia do imediato pós-guerra, quando se celebrava o futuro – afinal, acabavam de abrir os primeiros supermercados e surgiam as "zebra crossings" (passagens de peões)!... – mas o passado estava ainda demasiado presente: o Festival of Britain, centrado na zona de Waterloo, em Londres (década e meia depois, Ray Davies recorreria à memória da visita que lá fizera com os pais para o cenário de "Waterloo Sunset"), imaginava-se moderno com um programa de Elgar, Vaughan Williams e Haendel e as tabelas de vendas eram dominadas por Frankie Laine, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett e "crooners" afins. 

O mundo novo, porém, estava a bater à porta: em Abril, seria publicado "Rocket 88", de Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats (na verdade, os Kings of Rhythm, de Ike Turner), gravado no Memphis Recording Service de Sam Phillips, que, no ano seguinte, se transformaria no quartel general da Sun Records. Uma coluna do amplificador da guitarra rasgada e atamancada com papel de embrulho numa canção que glorificava o Oldsmobile 88 enquanto infalível arma de engate (“V-8 motor and this modern design, my convertible top and the gals don't mind”) fariam de "Rocket 88" a canção mais frequentemente citada como protótipo do rock’n’roll e trampolim para a etapa seguinte que, via Beatles, Stones et alia, se desenrolaria em Inglaterra. No entanto, o título de “first rock‘n’roll single” que Deboick também lhe atribui está longe de ser unânime. A lista de candidatos – de "That’s All Right" (Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, 1946) a "Good Rockin' Tonight" (Wynonie Harris, 1948), "Guitar Boogie" (Arthur Smith, 1948), "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Louis Jordan & The Tympany Five, 1949), "Rock Awhile" (Goree Carter, 1949), "Rock This Joint" (Jimmy Preston & His Prestonians, 1949), "The Fat Man" (Fats Domino, 1950), ou "Hound Dog" (Big Mama Thorton, 1953) – é rica e extensa. Mas, seja qual for, uma coisa é certa: abrir portas e janelas refresca sempre o ar.

Happy 75th birthday, Bob! (III)

"(...) I learned lyrics and how to write them from listening to folk songs. And I played them, and I met other people that played them, back when nobody was doing it. Sang nothing but these folk songs, and they gave me the code for everything that's fair game, that everything belongs to everyone. For three or four years, all I listened to were folk standards. I went to sleep singing folk songs. I sang them everywhere, clubs, parties, bars, coffeehouses, fields, festivals. And I met other singers along the way who did the same thing and we just learned songs from each other. I could learn one song and sing it next in an hour if I'd heard it just once. (...) 

Last thing I thought of was who cared about what song I was writing. I was just writing them. I didn't think I was doing anything different. I thought I was just extending the line. Maybe a little bit unruly, but I was just elaborating on situations. Maybe hard to pin down, but so what? A lot of people are hard to pin down and you’ve just got to bear it. In a sense everything evened itself out. (...) 

Ahmet Ertegun didn't think much of my songs, but Sam Phillips did. Ahmet founded Atlantic Records. He produced some great records: Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, LaVerne Baker, just to name a few. There were some great records in there, no doubt about it. But Sam Phillips, he recorded Elvis and Jerry Lee, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. Radical artists that shook the very essence of humanity. Revolutionaries with vision and foresight. Fearless and sensitive at the same time. Revolution in style and scope. Radical to the bone. Songs that cut you to the bone. Renegades in all degrees, doing songs that would never decay, and still resound to this day. Oh, yeah, I'd rather have Sam Phillips' blessing any day (...)" (Bob Dylan, MusiCares Person of the Year 2015 award's acceptance speech)