Talk:Asian Riff

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[edit] This article needs help

There are a number of unanswered questions that need to be addressed:

1. Who originally wrote this riff?

2. What's it's earlier use that we can find? Currently the earliest PROVEN instance are two popular songs from 1974: Kung Fu Fighting and Bad Detective. There must be earlier uses.

3. Was this motif originally used in actual Asian music, or is it strictly a product of western orientalism.

-Alecmconroy 23:07, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] For future reference

• If it's ever established that the riff is a purely western invention, the page title should probably be changed to 'Oriental Riff', on the grounds that "Orientalism can refer to the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists." But preserveing the idea that it may in fact have an Asian origin, I'll go with the less-offensive-sounding title.

• There's be speculation that the riff was from Charlie Chan film, so... I emailed some of the webmasters of Charlie Chan sites, but no luck. One replies:

"I have watched all the Charlie Chan films many, many times and cannot recall ever hearing 'The Asian Riff' melody in any of them...I do not think that the Chan films originated the melody.

• Amazingly, the earliest known (to us) usage of the riff is in 1974. However, many many people remember having heard it earlier. Hopefully we'll find some earlier examples later.

-Alecmconroy 22:05, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Indian" Riff?

The Asian Riff is quite old. I've heard it in several '30s cartoons. One of the linked pages states it definitely occurs in 1900-era Tin Pan Alley songs. I've been wondering myself about the stereotypical Indian Riff. You can hear an egregious example of this in Mark Lindsay's (of Paul Revere and The Raiders) hit "Indian Reservation." Anyone know? There should also be a page on that. Twalls 15:24, 29 September 2006 (UTC)