Entertainment

The disaster in New Orleans brought a sobering reminder of the city's cultural importance

10:25 AM CST on Wednesday, December 21, 2005

By THOR CHRISTENSEN / The Dallas Morning News

The year in music started with a boo, as Dallas-raised lip-syncer Ashlee Simpson got roundly heckled during her Jan. 4 "performance" at the Orange Bowl. Things could only get better – and they did, at least for Burleson's Kelly Clarkson, whose Breakaway emerged as one of the year's biggest CDs with 4 million sales (and counting). But thankfully, TV-spawned Texas pop divas were just a tiny slice of the year in music: Compelling music came from all points of the globe, from Kanye West's chart-topping Late Registration and Ali Farka Touré's In the Heart of the Moon to U2's stunning "Vertigo" world tour.

Disaster in New Orleans brought a sobering reminder of the city's cultural importance

It's a small consolation at best. But one upside to Hurricane Katrina was the mass appreciation for New Orleans music that it triggered.

Before the storm, the Big Easy's main reputation was as a den of decadence – the ultimate place to eat, drink and party till you puke.

But as the disaster unfolded and the media tried to explain what made the city so unique, the music took center stage. Suddenly, New Orleans was being revered as the birthplace of jazz and a cradle of funk, soul and rock. Overnight, Professor Longhair and Sidney Bechet went from obscure dead musicians to musical giants worthy of discussion on national TV.

Everywhere you turned, people were interviewing or talking about New Orleans musicians, from the Nevilles and the Marsalises to lesser-known R&B pioneers including Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas and Dave Bartholomew. Ninth Ward evacuee Fats Domino, a name half-forgotten for decades, was being celebrated as a prime architect of rock 'n' roll.

Superstars such as U2, Dave Matthews and Paul Simon lined up to perform benefits. And a flurry of tribute CDs popped up in record stores with new songs about the Crescent City alongside old classics such as "Mardi Gras in New Orleans" and "When the Saints Go Marching In."

Amid the outpouring there was also confusion and anger. Chicago rapper Kanye West appeared on NBC's Concert for Hurricane Relief to say the post-storm response proved "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

Cyril Neville wore a shirt that said "Ethnic Cleansing in New Orleans" when he played The Big Apple to the Big Easy concert in New York: "Everybody knows that if those people's complexions were different, the reaction would have been different," he told The Dallas Morning News.

And nobody seemed to know when – or if – the music scene would bounce back. Even as officials announced the return of the huge, tourist-driven Jazzfest next spring, New Orleans musicians worried about the future.

"I'm more afraid about all the little clubs where the local musicians play," bassist Robert Mercurio of Galactic told The News. "If the little clubs are gone, or if they take years to be rebuilt, the community will never be the same."

Mr. Neville agreed. "The essence of New Orleans is the Mardi Gras Indians, the second-line clubs, the social and pleasure clubs in the 'hoods where the tourists don't go," he said in October in Austin, where he moved after the storm.

"But the city doesn't care about that – they're only interested in tourism and rebuilding the city in this 'crime-free, drug-free' image the mayor keeps talking about on TV, which means no black people."

It'll be years before anyone can truly gauge the health of music in New Orleans. But if nothing else, the storm reminded us exactly how important its musical legacy is.

Ravi and Anoushka Shankar
Sept. 18 at McFarlin Auditorium

Still dazzling at 85, Mr. Shankar locked horns with his 21-year-old daughter in the ultimate knock-down drag-out family sitar duel.

U2
Oct. 29 at American Airlines Center

Less a rock concert than a socio-political opera, it was an evening of Bono at his most theatrical.

Bruce Springsteen
April 28 at Nokia Theatre

He bypassed "Thunder Road" and other hits for a route that was more challenging and, ultimately, more satisfying.

My Morning Jacket
Nov. 18 at Gypsy Tea Room

The Allman Brothers by way of Led Zeppelin. Flying hair and soaring riffs galore.

Black-Eyed Peas
Nov. 11 at Reunion Arena

Silly but lovable, the gymnastic Peas stole the show from headliner Gwen Stefani.

Green Day
Aug. 20 at American Airlines Center

A punk-rock lesson in how to play arenas without losing your soul – or your goofball sense of humor.

Jill Scott
Feb. 22 at Nokia Theatre

Part neo-soul singer, part daytime-TV talk-show host, she was funny, witty and full of wisdom.

Bloc Party
June 9 at Gypsy Tea Room

Zillions of new bands pay homage to new wave, but Bloc Party stood apart by using the genre as a springboard into its own helter-skelter style.

System of a Down
April 29 at the Granada Theater

At 60 minutes, the show ended way too soon. But what the Armenian-American rockers lacked in stamina, they made up for in fury.

Slobberbone
Jan. 1 at the Barley House

In the wee hours of New Year's Day, the late Denton band snarled through "Living After Midnight" and bid farewell to Dallas in brilliant, shambolic fashion. R.I.P.

Sufjan Stevens
Illinois (Asthmatic Kitty)

Too bad there isn't a Grammy category for best orchestral folk-art-rock concept album about a U.S. state, with choir.

White Stripes
Get Behind Me Satan (V2)

Alternating between electric guitar and marimba, Jack White invents a new genre: Caribbean garage rock.

Kanye West
Late Registration (Roc-a-fella)

Still arrogant but more socially aware than before, the rapper improves upon The College Dropout with help from crafty rock producer Jon Brion.

Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane
At Carnegie Hall (Blue Note)

This newly-unearthed 1957 concert captures the night when bebop turned into free-bop.

The Decemberists
Picaresque (Kill Rock Stars)

If Herman Melville wrote rock songs, they might sound like Colin Meloy's tragic-yet-hummable tales.

Spoon
Gimme Fiction (Merge)

Austin singer-guitarist Britt Daniel tones down his faux Brit accent and finds his inner funk star.

Caitlin Cary & Thad Cockrell
Begonias (Yep Roc)

Ms. Cary (ex-Whiskeytown) and Mr. Cockrell (an ex-seminary student) imagine a world where Gram Parson harmonizes with Tammy Wynette.

Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté
In the Heart of the Moon (Nonesuch)

A hypnotic Mali summit, with guitar ace Mr. Toure emerging from retirement to jam with Mr. Diabate, master of the harp-like kora.

Solomon Burke
Make Do With What You Got (Shout Factory)

The self-dubbed "King of Rock & Soul" breathes new life into old tunes by Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and Van Morrison.

Beck
Guero (Interscope)

Produced by the Dust Brothers (of Odelay fame), Guero tells the story of how Beck got his groove back.

E-mail tchristensen@dallasnews.com

1. "We Belong Together," Mariah Carey

2. "Hollaback Girl," Gwen Stefani

3. "Let Me Love You," Mario

4. "Since U Been Gone," Kelly Clarkson

5. "1, 2 Step," Ciara (feat. Missy Elliott)

6. "Gold Digger," Kanye West (feat. Jamie Foxx)

7. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," Green Day

8. "Candy Shop," 50 Cent (feat. Olivia)

9. "Don't Cha," Pussycat Dolls (feat. Busta Rhymes)

10. "Behind These Hazel Eyes," Kelly Clarkson

1. "Don't Cha (R. Rosario/Kaskade/DJ Dan mixes)," The Pussycat Dolls (feat. Busta Rhymes)

2. "Say Hello," Deep Dish

3. "We Belong Together (P. Rauhofer/Atlantic Soul mixes)," Mariah Carey

4. "Lose My Breath (P. Rauhofer/P. Johnson/M. Joshua mixes)," Destiny's Child

5. "Most Precious Love," Blaze Presents U.D.A.U.F.L. (feat. Barbara Tucker)

6. "Avalon," Julie

7. "Accept Me," Vernessa Mitchell

8. "Krafty (DJ Dan/E. Kupper/Morel mixes)," New Order

9. "What You Waiting For?," Gwen Stefani

10. "Silence 2004," Delerium (feat. Sarah McLachlan)

1. The Massacre, 50 Cent

2. Encore, Eminem

3. American Idiot, Green Day

4. The Emancipation of Mimi, Mariah Carey

5. Breakaway, Kelly Clarkson

6. Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Gwen Stefani

7. Destiny Fulfilled, Destiny's Child

8. How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2

9. Greatest Hits, Shania Twain

10. Feels Like Today, Rascal Flatts

1. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," Green Day

2. "Remedy," Seether

3. "Happy?," Mudvayne

4. "Best of You," Foo Fighters

5. "The Hand That Feeds," Nine Inch Nails

6. "Right Here," Staind

7. "Burning Bright," Shinedown

8. "Home," Three Days Grace

9. "B.Y.O.B.," System of a Down

10. "Be Yourself," Audioslave

1. "Best of You," Foo Fighters

2. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," Green Day

3. "The Hand That Feeds," Nine Inch Nails

4. "Feel Good Inc," Gorillaz

5. "Beverly Hills," Weezer

6. "Mr. Brightside," The Killers

7. "Holiday," Green Day

8. "Right Here," Staind

9. "Remedy," Seether

10. "B.Y.O.B.," System of a Down

SOURCE: Billboard