It’s not being used differently. Joni is quite literally describing the band she’s seeing as having qualities she would associate with black people. Definitely not a great lyric
just joking, but it’s helpful to keep in mind how language was used in that time period. while, it’s definitely not a great lyric, the word was seen as “polite” as opposed to the word “colored”. but it was written during a time of transition for the word and it soon became favorable/polite to use “black” or “african american”. it’s similar to the term “transsexual” can be considered a harmful word to some in the us trans community, but historically, and in the uk, it was considered the most polite term. so watching documentaries like “paris is burning” can be jarring when the term is used so openly when listening with modern us sensibilities.
It’s not being used differently. Joni is quite literally describing the band she’s seeing as having qualities she would associate with black people. Definitely not a great lyric