Sep 21, 2007
Soukous de Mort
What would it be like to groove at the apocalypse? I always imagined it would be like this:
Three and a half minutes is hardly enough to appreciate Franco's"Attention na SIDA" (lyrics in translation"). The sixteen minute epic alternates versus in French and Lingala, the former being a PSA about AIDS and a call to action to citizens, politicians and professionals to solve the epidemic. So different from the American popular songs that elicited understanding on the part of sufferers, Franco gave urgency to the cause.
It's been twenty years since"Attention na SIDA" was released, eighteen since Franco himself"was rumored to have died of AIDS." The big man of Soukous defined the sound of Mobutu's Zaire. His appetites ran large, and he was known for his womanizing. However, the Lingala lyrics (see Barrett Watten's analysis)take a critical stance to the naive nationalism and chauvinism of the past, filled with regret for betraying family and country for contracting and spreading the disease. Franco's penance belonged to those who could understand this national language of Zaire.
The Lingala lyrics were, unfortunately, beyond the understanding of friends who were involved in spreading information about AIDS in the late '80s and early '90s. It was the call to action, written in French, that touched them. Evoking citizenship to contain the spread of disease, Franco's lyrics appeared to offer a different vision of sexual identity in a democratic society. After all,"AIDS ravages all levels of society," and no one was safe or innocent.
In the intellectual sense, the song gave cause to believe that the histories of sexuality being written were not sufficient. Rumors of the"death of man" were greatly exaggerated; the reality o death by AIDS was frightening. AIDS reminded society of its physicality and corporeality. Decades of mastering sexuality were in question.
This all looks like a hiccup, a momentary reaction that has been replaced by cautious confidence as HIV drugs have become more successful. AIDS/HIV sits further back in the consciousness of students. I'm not sure anymore that the disease will affect how the history of sexuality will be written.
Three and a half minutes is hardly enough to appreciate Franco's"Attention na SIDA" (lyrics in translation"). The sixteen minute epic alternates versus in French and Lingala, the former being a PSA about AIDS and a call to action to citizens, politicians and professionals to solve the epidemic. So different from the American popular songs that elicited understanding on the part of sufferers, Franco gave urgency to the cause.
It's been twenty years since"Attention na SIDA" was released, eighteen since Franco himself"was rumored to have died of AIDS." The big man of Soukous defined the sound of Mobutu's Zaire. His appetites ran large, and he was known for his womanizing. However, the Lingala lyrics (see Barrett Watten's analysis)take a critical stance to the naive nationalism and chauvinism of the past, filled with regret for betraying family and country for contracting and spreading the disease. Franco's penance belonged to those who could understand this national language of Zaire.
The Lingala lyrics were, unfortunately, beyond the understanding of friends who were involved in spreading information about AIDS in the late '80s and early '90s. It was the call to action, written in French, that touched them. Evoking citizenship to contain the spread of disease, Franco's lyrics appeared to offer a different vision of sexual identity in a democratic society. After all,"AIDS ravages all levels of society," and no one was safe or innocent.
In the intellectual sense, the song gave cause to believe that the histories of sexuality being written were not sufficient. Rumors of the"death of man" were greatly exaggerated; the reality o death by AIDS was frightening. AIDS reminded society of its physicality and corporeality. Decades of mastering sexuality were in question.
This all looks like a hiccup, a momentary reaction that has been replaced by cautious confidence as HIV drugs have become more successful. AIDS/HIV sits further back in the consciousness of students. I'm not sure anymore that the disease will affect how the history of sexuality will be written.