Funk Babblings

I know everyone is tired of depressing hurricane talk by now, but I need to get this out before the new news cycle, dominated by the Supreme Court, forgets about New Orleans and the terrible loss of life there.

For a week now (yes, people were talking about the possibility of "Lake New Orleans" even before the hurricane hit) in the back of my mind I've been thinking about the loss of New Orleans culture. I've never been there (and now I'll never see it as it was), but I have great respect for the unique New Orleans culture, particularly the music. Even though the city will be rebuilt somehow (that location remains economically important), I fear that Jazz, Blues, and Zydeco, among other genres, will never be the same.

Most of the past week was of course dominated by horror at the aftermath of the hurricane. The people who had the means to get out did so before it hit, but those who didn't have the means were left to fend for themselves not only through the storm, but for days afterward. (It can take only a day or two to die of thirst.) I remain horrified and angry, not only at the government who ignored those stranded people for so long, but also at the media who portrayed people foraging for food, water, and other necessities of life as looters and criminals. Even the violence that occurred is unsurprising in the context -- any large group of people dying of thirst, hunger, disease and exposure will include some with short tempers who will do anything in their desperation to survive. It's just that these were the ones who started out too poor to have the means to evacuate a week ago.

Which brings me back to the culture. New Orleans culture now exists only in memory, and may never return. The survivors have been spread far and wide. Many won't come back, especially those last to be rescued from the city, who are unlikely to return after the cleanup for the same reason that they couldn't leave in the first place: they just don't have the means. Meanwhile, the better-off and those better able to evacuate are likely to be well-traveled and cosmopolitan. The local flavor comes from the people who won't or can't leave. These are the people who are likely either dead or permanently displaced now.

Goodbye to those who died in the tragedy. Good luck to the survivors. And goodbye New Orleans.


Anne Rice gives a native's perspective on these issues in an excellent essay today: What does it mean to lose New Orleans? (another link here)

"After Katrina" message board at Satchmo.com, a New Orleans/Louisiana music site.

Rolling Stone: New Orleans Artists Speak: Musicians mourn the state of their city
"And all those people that couldn't get out -- they're New Orleans."
(Some hope for rebuilding is expressed here too.)

Washington Post: Living Paycheck to Paycheck Made Leaving Impossible
AP: Katrina's Victims Poorer Than U.S. Average

Reuters: Music industry in disarray after the storm
CMT: Say a Prayer for New Orleans and Its Music
Palm Beach Post: City's long procession of music greatness will march again


Update: Listen to some of that New Orleans culture over at Live365.
Or check out On The Media and listen to the editor of the New Orleans Times-Picayune talk about getting their paper out under these conditions.
Another Update: On being poor.
And Harry Shearer's Le Show does a celebration of New Orleans for his latest show.