grahamashton's posterous http://grahamashton.posterous.com Most recent posts at grahamashton's posterous posterous.com Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:19:00 -0700 Chang Reading...gangsta rap as the new "anthem" http://grahamashton.posterous.com/chang-readinggangsta-rap-as-the-new-anthem http://grahamashton.posterous.com/chang-readinggangsta-rap-as-the-new-anthem

The anthem of the oppressed African American is something that has changed and morphed and cannot be pinned to a single song or style.  The styles have varied, but the message has significance has remained the same: as described in the last week of class, music for the oppressed has served as a type of medicine for the socially, politically, and economically disenfranchised.  These people, as illustrated in the From Mambo to Hip Hop documentary as well as the Culture Assassins reading, were almost forced to develop styles of hip hop that have come to speak very powerfully.  In gangsta rap, violent raps like those of “Boys-N-The-Hood” became an “anthem for the fatherless, brotherless, state-assaulted, heavily armed West Coast urban youth.”  In its chronicle of the development of gangsta rap, the Chang reading also outlined to some extent the deindustrialization of Los Angeles.  

In the Chang reading, something that I tend to gloss over in listening to rap (which I only sometimes do) is the explicitness of the lyrics.  The dirty rhymes and X-rated lyrics that Ice Cube and Dr. Dre used were (and are) extremely popular.  This sort of outright description of violence is reminiscent of, as MANY of the trends in gangsta rap development are, the corridos of Tex-Mex music we previously discussed.  There are several similarities and differences I noticed.  As the reading mentions, the gangsta rap made the transition from swap meets to big labels, whereas corridos even to this day are primarily distributed through swap meets here in L.A.  Besides the difference of the mode of dispersal and clear stylistic differences, the most prominent similarity is the intent to disseminate the TRUTH.  As in corridos or even songs of Jenni Rivera, gangsta raps tell about the brutal reality of the “hood” and the “hardness” of the people who survive there.  It’s all about the “strength of street knowledge.”  Toddy Tee’s “Batterram” was a prime example of the brutality of police and the hardships experienced by those living in the hood.  These songs were about telling their stories, and the more explicit the more popular.  It’s about the aesthetics of excess, and and insider-outsider distinction was created and gave power to the musical genre.  “Straight Outta Compton” gave Compton-dwellers pride in being from the city and it was a sort of musical manifestation of artistic othering.  It wasn’t, as some hip-hop pioneers hoped, inclusive; but rather, it was made to distinguish those hardened gangsters as defiant and resilient in the face of a reality marred with racism.  Sometimes, there seems to be a blurry balance between the actual racial injustices that occurred/horrors rappers witnessed or took part in and what they ACTUALLy experienced.  Dre and Ice Cube weren’t described as participating in many terrible gang-related crimes or activities, but they sure sing about being “hard” and badass.  

My opinion of what I read was it seems (and all of what I’m saying might be overly generalized, but I apologize for that) that in the South Bronx social oppression forced hip hop to be birthed in abandoned spaces, and the gangsta rap in L.A. seems to have been wrought out of very dramatic sociopolitical events (Watts Riots and gang/turf wars).  The Watts Prophets and the poets seem to have been created in an abandoned political space.  I don’t know if that makes sense, and it would take a lot more reading and research to really flesh out this idea, but I feel like in terms of space, which we’ve talked about in class, gangsta rap was born not only out of the garages of people like Mixmaster spade, but also out of gang lines cut into the landscape of Los Angeles by both whites and blacks.  The fractioning of groups of blacks into gangs in conjunction with the clear lines drawn by whites to segregate blacks created both a physical line not to cross, but a space within those lines to define or even buffer those lines further through music and rap.  Almost contradictorily, these spaces that reinforced boundaries co-existed with the boundaries that helped catapult rap into the status that white kids around the country listened to in order to vicariously be part of something so stylistically unique.

One small thing I noticed: many articles emphasize the police raids and brutality, which I don’t doubt occurred...but in pretty much every case, there are lots of drugs behind the door that they raid...it’s not as if they raided necessarily without due cause.  I don’t know all the facts, but it’s just a thought and my first impression. 

Sorry all my ideas are pretty scattered! 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/1lxm34ZHCqdP grahamashton grahamashton
Thu, 14 Apr 2011 14:19:00 -0700 mambo to hip hop...dancing http://grahamashton.posterous.com/mambo-to-hip-hopdancing http://grahamashton.posterous.com/mambo-to-hip-hopdancing

The Bronx Tale was an REALLY insightful documentary.  I looked it up and apparently it was created with the goal in mind of community empowerment and through some tourism and an increased community awareness and pride, the historic landmarks of the South Bronx through this project gained funding for the neighborhood, which (though still stigmatized and run-down), is hoping for a brighter future.  Empowerment through music, eh?  How surprising a way to go about uniting people!  Sarcasm aside, what actually is surprising is how truly powerful the music was and continues to be.  Although I'm sure mambo and salsa aren't the most popular music/dance styles out on the streets of the South Bronx today, their presence back post WWII was monumental in shaping the community as well as music history.  I could talk a lot more about my interests in the Latin Tinge that affected (took over, rather) the music scene in the South Bronx, but the rise of hip hop and specifically the dancing that came with it really interested me.  

Dr. Helene Lawson of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford says in an piece I found (http://1490newsblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/book-on-why-people-dance.html) that  "the reasons people dance could be grouped into six categories: keeping fit, seeking stability, seeking a sense of community, seeking to capture life, seeking to free one’s spirit, and seeking a new identity. " The concept of seeking community, I feel I addressed in my Live Review Assignment, but freeing one's spirit is something that people don't take seriously.  People make fun of interpretive dance as something hippies and 'losers' do to express feelings (as if that's a bad thing).  In Napoleon Dynamite, the main character does this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f39-119tQZk&feature=related , one of the most famous scenes from the movie.  It's funny, but honestly, there is something to be said for the fact that mambo dancers look like they're having seizures at times, hip hop dancers took dancing to aggressive, antagonistic, borderline violent new heights.  And still today, there are millions of people who come together and bond and, yes, become one as a community over dancing.  But it's as if they're becoming one as individuals in the same cathartic act.  This may be sort of a flowery description of it, but having taken tap dance lessons for nearly 9 years, I know that separate from the emotional roller coaster of performance, the act of feeling the music, and feeling rhythm (it's not so much an act an overwhelming force) is something that I'm confident nobody can scientifically express or account for.  As the beginning of the disco reading describes, there is something about a large group of people dancing and becoming ONE that is extremely consuming.  That something differs from person to person—it can be a spiritual thing, a hormonal thing, an expressive thing, but nevertheless, it's a thing and it binds us. 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/1lxm34ZHCqdP grahamashton grahamashton
Thu, 07 Apr 2011 01:45:00 -0700 Rock 'n' Sex 'n' Teenybop 'n'...Pedophilia? http://grahamashton.posterous.com/rock-n-sex-n-teenybop-npedophilia http://grahamashton.posterous.com/rock-n-sex-n-teenybop-npedophilia

Not to say that the rest of this class has been uninteresting by any means, but this week’s class was the most entertaining yet.  Inherent in that opinion is the question regarding the allure of rock ‘n’ roll.  WHY did I find Tuesday’s lecture so engaging?  In reading Frith’s and McRobbie’s essay, I found my answer: it’s all about sex.  I will be the first to admit that I am a product of evolution.  Sex, sexy things, sexy people, sexual music, rhythms, etc. all arouse me, and I imagine they do the same to everyone else in this class.  But more than that, as I read and thought deeper, the the transformation of sexuality in music—how sexuality for men and women has differed as well as overlapped over time is an interesting subject in itself.  One of my few minor contentions I had with the essay concerned the citing of women calling in to the radio with essentially their versions of songbook entries (pg. 380).  The authors used that as an example of how overwhelmingly emotional females are with respect to music, and I would have LOVED to have seen reports of men calling in.  I feel like even a large portion of men would report similarly emotional responses to certain songs.  Anyway, overall I agreed with what they had to say.  They essentially outlined a lot of common sensical concepts regarding gender, except they tied these concepts to the respective spheres of music different genders generally associate with and draw their sexuality from (ie. women are into “teenybop” and men are typically associated with “cock-rock”).  On page 380 they state that boys can express their sexuality more directly than girls, which makes me question how dated this article is...because everything we discussed in class (especially the videos at the end with Rihanna and Katy Perry) serves as evidence to the contrary.  Having just looked it up, I can confirm my suspicion that the article is a little dated (it was published in 1990).  I’m no expert on the history of rock, but I would venture to say that Britney Spears helped break the barrier (or at least blew it further open than it already had been) for female sexual expression to be the norm.  A discussion of Britney Spears leads me to my next tangent I thought about with regards to pedophilia in pop music which I’ll talk get back to momentarily.  Girls dressing up and going to parties even here at SC and other college campuses proves my point adequately enough; they (not all, I don’t mean to sound like prudish person generalizing all girls at this school) dress in VERY provocative (some might say “slutty”) clothes and it’s absolutely the normal thing to do.  Boundaries are pushed constantly.  As if Rihanna’s “Hard” video wasn’t evidence enough for the strong presence of female sexuality burgeoning in pop culture, I took a look at her “S and M” music video, which follows a very similar, if not, more envelope-pushing scheme of sexual expression.  http://www.youclubvideo.com/video/157354/rihanna-s-and-m-lyrics-and-video . The video is almost pornographic with it’s faux-thrusting involving sexual implements and blowup dolls and (as the chorus chimes) “whips and chains” everywhere.  In a very overt gesture symbolizing her conviction regarding her sexuality, she has a man on a leash as though he were her pet.  There’s also quite a bit of irony in that the media people are tied up in tape and chains and they are being videotaped.  It’s a kinky video in a  lot of different ways, and I think it speaks volumes to the progression of female sexuality emerging as something more than even Frith and McRobbie acknowledge.  I will not deny my classmates who pointed out that the objectification of women resulting from these types of videos, although granting power, limits that power TO that sexual sphere at the same time.  However, the transition from what the authors note as the few female exceptions (evident in Janis Joplin, punk rockers, and a few other notable musicians) who flaunt their femininity and are stars because of it to the common female pop megastar today who wears practically nothing and says almost outright how she wants sex is a unique transition.  I am also not forgetting that females expressing sexual desire dates back to our earlier discussions of black women early in the 20th century, but we are limiting our discussion to rock n roll here.  Women like Katy Perry and Rihanna are those challenging the notions of “passivity” (pg 380) that Frith and McRobbie talk about.  On another note, pop and rock seem to have become pretty enmeshed in my opinion.  Scrolling down the genres column on iTunes, it seems that a lot of the “rock” bands have quite a bit of emotional content ().  The band parachute is labeled as rock, but this is clearly a very emotional song...in that sense, the term “rock” has certainly diverged from the meaning contained within the description the authors use to describe “cock-rock.”  I also wanted to touch on my agreement with comments made about pedophilia’s presence in pop music...where to begin with examples?  Possibly with Britney Spears bursting onto the scene in a school girl outfit? How about Miley Cyrus being trapped in a cage? Or Miley Cyrus on a stripper poll?  Or Miley Cyrus in general? Girls are being exploited at younger and younger ages, and although Rebecca Black, of the “hit single” “Friday”, is clearly so young, it would be unacceptably perverse to sexualize her in any way, is that maybe where we’re headed?  She does talk about partying (“partying partying YEAH!”), which shouldn’t, by most people’s standards I’m sure, be on her radar screen.  It’s creepy and disturbing to think about, but hey, sex sells, and the school-girl fantasy seems to be coming into its own.  I disagree with those who claim that certain beats and rhythms are sexual by nature (386).  I think that is just music critics imposing what we already know and associate with those beats onto the beats themselves.  I don’t think a feral human being suddenly introduced to rhythm of rock and roll would immediately equate that to something sexual, something primally sexual, that is.  But overall I agreed with the author’s overall theme that (387) music serves as a form of sexual expression.  I know I jumped a lot in this post, but there really was a LOT to touch on.  The ultimate cross-over of rock and teenybop mentality occurred to me with the example of Twilight.  Yes, I said Twilight.  My girlfriend (a Team Edward freak all the way, embarrassingly), really didn’t like the rock-sound that the band Muse was known for—the intensity, the bass, the guitar, everything about that music.  That is, she didn’t like it until their songs were used for Twilight, a series that encapsulates a lot of weird cultural phenomena I don’t know how to explain.   One such characteristic of the female obsession with the characters is the ROMANCE talked about extensively in teenybop music in the essay.  My girlfriend’s (and many others’) new obsession with certain Muse songs connects them, in my opinion, to that same mentality of romantic love that embodies teenybop idols.  This was just an interesting example of rock/teenybop cross-over aided by other media (books/movies) that I noticed....

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/1lxm34ZHCqdP grahamashton grahamashton
Thu, 31 Mar 2011 15:00:00 -0700 Conjunto! http://grahamashton.posterous.com/conjunto http://grahamashton.posterous.com/conjunto

The more in depth we read about conjunto and Texas-Mexican music, the more I have actually come to enjoy the music itself.  I NEVER would have expected myself to say that.  When Professor Kun talked about Esteban Jordan integrating multiple styles into his accordion playing, I immediately went home and listened to his stuff.  I was amazed to discover just how varied he can make a single song (I bought Vuela La Paloma on iTunes that day, it sounds like a distant cousin of the early conjunto stuff: <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PTrlVb47NrI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> )!  After reading “The Emergence of Conjunto Music” I started to think even more about the subtleties that differentiate styles of conjunto as well as those which characterize conjunto vs. orquesta musical forms.  A consistent theme tends to be that musicians find support in those demographics with which they most comfortably identify; that Narciso Martinez “came from a rural working-class background” (Pena 16) and drew so much support from the lower-class makes sense in this light.  A striking feature however, is, in fact, that the early professional conjunto pioneers and stars did not make a living with their music.  As discussed in class and in the readings, Martinez and others worked jobs such as zoo-keeper and “school janitor” (Pena 17).  Perhaps this is one of the first reasons I became so suddenly attracted to the music (I used to abhor the sound of a polka as much as most classical music that was imposed on me as a kid).  There’s an authenticity in their playing that comes from their ways of life.  Unlike Jenni Rivera who now lives in a huge mansion but still flaunts her gangster days and uses them for her success (which most other people do too), these musicians exhibited genius talent and innovation in the face of never making it big financially.  I’m not going to “hate on” those musicians who make a living (extravagant ones at that) making music because like someone brought up in class a while ago, why wouldn’t we then fault a lawyer for practicing law and making so much money? I actually think musicians deserve the high pay that they generally receive (the BIG stars) because they are able to tap in to the vulnerabilities and deep psychological processes that lead to the question: why do we love music so much?  I just think there’s something noble to the early conjunto players touring and becoming so popular without a tremendous financial reward that other musicians make.  Also interesting was the idea of what makes an instrument ‘stick to’/become identified with a genre like saxophone is to jazz.  That there were stylistic innovations (Pena 17) and integrations of other instruments and the “standard” set of instruments came to be considered an accordion, a contrabass, and a ranchera drum.  Pena mentions on page 17 as well that “commercial dissemination of conjunto music ‘froze’ conjunto into a more or less common form.”  As he later goes on to discuss, this development of a common form parallels the social divergence of working lower classes and middle-class Chicanos, the latter of whom became more Americanized after WWII and associated traditional conjunto music the trace of a socially lower past.  The key for me is that musical forms absolutely changed, as Professor Kun discussed at the beginning of Tuesday’s class.  Tradition changes to be kept alive (Kun 3/29/11), and though people criticize the commercialization for stagnating the musical form, they don’t acknowledge that the form was derived from somewhere else (the German polka!) and the idea that the stagnation spurs reinvention and further innovation.  Esteban Jordan rejuvenated conjunto by incorporating different styles into his accordion playing such as in “Midnight Blues” where you can clearly hear the transition of a Polka into a jazzy sort of style throughout the song: <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-RrbqCH7ajE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> . A sound reminiscent of the Polka (which was derived from Europe) can be heard a little bit in one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands (“Sophie Roux” by Lady Danville).  The song starts out with the 2 and 4 beats emphasized in a similar manner to that of “Midnight Blues” and the accordion, which evinces a French quality, makes the influence of other musical forms on my favorite music that much more complete to me.  <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YUxz4fSwyWc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>.  On page 24 Pena mentions the “cultural baggage” of proletarian Mexican workers keeping the Chicano middle class from upward mobility in the US.  Conjunto became associated with the lower class and that was what they were trying to escape.  On page 26 he points out that merely playing a solo accordion was considered lower class, which I find absurd.  I think it’s crazy that a single instruments can be associated with a class-standing.  Even I associate string instruments rather than strictly to the “high-brow”/”serious” (oh, Adorno...) classical realm, to their integral part in almost every pop song (especially ballads).  Finally I looked up the specific artists mentioned in the reading to gain a better idea of the differences between styles and the differences were quite clear to me.  This clip:   (conjunto y Narciso Martinez) is CLEARLY different from (Luis Arcaraz and orquesta).  I would also like to point out that another reason that conjunto music continued to be so dominant in a climate not amenable to its proliferation would be the massive amount of immigration by Mexicans into the United States.  Obviously, in addition to the factors Pena mentions in the closing of his essay, a larger pool of people who would associate with the music is going to increase the popularity of the music.  

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/1lxm34ZHCqdP grahamashton grahamashton
Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:32:00 -0700 Chalino Sanchez http://grahamashton.posterous.com/chalino-sanchez http://grahamashton.posterous.com/chalino-sanchez

I would venture to say that as I cross the intersection of Figueroa and Exposition multiple times every day to go to and from school that I hear corridos being blasted in cars every other day at least.  That accordion sound and then tuba and the horns, it’s unmistakeable.  As someone who likes mellower music, it gets on my nerves after a while.  I speak Spanish pretty well, but I have never really listened to the stories.  Upon finding out what these stories are telling, although I’m not as captivated as someone who has a very clear connection to the Rancho, I can understand how they have become so popular.  After reading “The Ballad of Chalino Sanchez,” I have new-found respect for the (what I previously thought was obnoxious) polkas that blare through the streets of downtown.  I’m taking an arts and letters class on Greek Classics and ancient Greece, and I immediately spotted commonality in the roots of the popularity of the corrido.  “Corridos were the newspaper for an illiterate people...” (12) says Quinones.  In ancient Greece the epical verse and song were very literally the vehicle of ethical instruction, cultural pride, and entertainment in the very illiterate (there was no written form of language during the time of Homer) society of Ancient Greece.  These songs transmit the news, they give the truth.  And as we discussed in class, corridos explain the pure truth.  Social injustice, prejudice, and conflicts were told in song, and that connected with people who shared those sentiments.  Another idea that I saw as familiar was Chalino’s macho exterior (“valiente”) that he put on as a showman.  Although he actually killed the  man who raped his sister Juana, he claims that he really is a “normal person.”  Having read “El Cid” in Spanish, I know how much Spanish culture prizes machismo and “el honor.”  Being manly and tough is something that is very consistent with that culture.  Another connection I made was to the phenomenon characteristic of the topics we have previously discussed in this class regarding the minority being untouchable.  Like the black rappers that talk about how awesome they are and their exploits in being a gangster, (“Got Money” by Lil Wayne is a prime example); it’s as though they feel the need to talk themselves up and people of the same racial identity feel it speaks to them and gives them pride.  The idea of people Mexican or black (or anyone for that matter) singing about them being above the law is something not new to our culture.  It seems like part of the value of Chalino’s corridos and the way he brought folky rancho songs back (another theme of bringing “retro” things back and making them popular/reinventing trends) is having something written about you—putting your TRUE story into words.  Although it makes people feel unique and special for having their story put into words, it’s also unifying in that all Mexicans take part its unique to their culture.  Blood feuding was also very common in Ancient Greece, and the lawlessness is something that if promoted as in corridos almost transcends the bonds of white oppression and aesthetically others whites in a way.  I almost think also, that people like Jenni Rivera, who sing about hard lives and drugs and stuff, are being kind of fake in that they are singing about things they no longer (and probably many famous artists never experienced) experience.  They live in mansions, and I think it almost contradicts the thirst for truth and authenticity that sparks the love of corridos in the first place.  Overall, it was a very compelling and interesting read.  I’m sad he was murdered in Sinaloa because like many other artists who died young and in their prime, we will always wonder what he could have accomplished.  

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/1lxm34ZHCqdP grahamashton grahamashton
Thu, 10 Mar 2011 15:19:00 -0800 Forgotten Influences http://grahamashton.posterous.com/forgotten-influences http://grahamashton.posterous.com/forgotten-influences

I’ll start off by saying the Cha Cha Cha reading for this Thursday, delving into the nitty-gritty of historical roots of rock & roll, was somewhat tedious until the end when I realized its significance with relation to the 1955 reading. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this class so far, history IS everything when talking about music. I guess I’ll just take it one reading at a time, giving my two-cents, and then explain how I think they are very related.

In addition to being written in a completely different style, the 1955 reading illustrated the importance of understanding historical roots to appreciate a musical style or genre. As with all musical genres discussed in this class, everything we know is built off of something else that came before it. Through the characters of Traynor and Gracie Mae, we see an attempt to bridge the gap between what white culture perceives as a white musical form and the reality that it has black origins. Traynor, who I can only guess represents a figure like Elvis Presley (going off to war, swinging his hips in provocative ways, copying black style to every detail, getting fat, etc.), is described as having a “real dark white skin” (4) which seems to not make sense. It’s only when we learn how well he mimics the black style that we realize that he’s almost like a black person trapped in a white’s body (hence the contradicting description). The piece goes on to describe how Gracie Mae’s famous song is no longer considered hers anymore to anybody, which to me, signifies the commodification of black style and its incorporation (abduction by whites) into white culture. It’s black being lost in the white, which I link to the latin-ness being lost to American culture as discussed in the Sublette reading. It’s mentioned repeatedly in “1955” that the audience doesn’t “understand” (8) the song—they go into a pop frenzy over him singing the song, but they don’t truly get its meaning, which Traynor himself seeks the entire time. “They want what you got but they don’t want you” (17) pretty much sums up the point of the piece to me. Segregation and the image associated with Gracie Mae enforces the idea that she doesn’t conform to the white’s ideal/fantasy, which is that Traynor’s song was born out of his whiteness. Whereas segregation is the cultural/societal force that ensures blackness getting lost in the sea of white, the embargo between the United States and Cuba (and their terrible relationship) has caused the influence of Afro-Latin musical styles to be both physically and metaphorically drawn out of society—the origins all but forgotten in today’s society. Traynor who has come to understand the meaning behind the song, has also come to appreciate the true performance given by Gracie Mae at the end of the reading. He gets upset at the audience for not expressing as much joy at hearing the “original” version because he has a deep respect for its roots. In a comment showing deep reverence for Traynor after his death, Gracie Mae says the women on the television “didn’t even know what they was crying for” (20), an acknowledgement that Traynor had not just come to mimic a style and genre, he had come to embody the very meaning behind the song.

Having read the Cha Cha Cha piece, numerous examples began to flood my head as I read. In outlining the rhythmic concept that is “the clave,” the author explains that it is a basic “one (two) and (three) four / (one) two three (four)”—the bolded being the emphasized/audible beats, and the parentheticals indicating left-out beats/silence. For those not musically-inclined this might seem meaningless, but when you listen to examples, it hits you like a ton of bricks how deeply the “latin tinge” has permeated pop music and our idea of rock. The first striking example that came to mind—and don’t judge, it was the first one I could think of embarrassingly enough—was Aaron Carter’s “I Want Candy” ( ). Although the beat is fast, it is as clear a demonstration of this rhythm as I could find...I highly doubt Aaron Carter—similarly to the young Traynor—knew (or knows today) how strongly influenced his smash hit was by the latin clave rhythmic “key.” Although it might take a little more effort to spot, the clave rhythm shows its face quite clearly in other realms of music including musical theater. In the hit musical “Footloose,” a town is seized by a scandalous urge to dance to rock songs and the prom scene from the movie demonstrates a couple points I’ve made so far: . The base line mainly carries the first three bolded beats of the clave rhythm, while the two claps carry the last two (the 2 and 3). The dancing as Sublette points out, is also intended to provide polyrhythmic layers to the art—which they do in that video. It’s also funny how the musical is about expressing oneself through dance and rock music and yet, none of the people probably realize where that music even came from. Billie Holiday’s speak low () also embodies the latin tinge that Jelly Roll Morton claims underlied the development of jazz. The clave rhythm, as well as a relatively straight set of rhythms is contrasted even within the song with a shuffling, swing beat of jazz. Something the author points out happens in many of Chuck Berry’s songs. The author also comments how Bo Diddly didn’t even get/know the rhythmic origins of his music, which had been clearly influenced by Latin sources. My friends and I from back home have actually tried to have conversations using a bongo drum only to communicate a story or how we’re feeling. Having done this throughout the last 5 years at least, it has seemed silly all my life, but after reading Cha Cha Cha, the origins of expression using a (originally African) drum go back a long way. The expressive nature of drums and their use in creating polyrhythms with everyone doing his/her part is something that (I agree with the author) has been lost and is taken for granted today.

After reading both pieces, I felt a sense of loss, but also a sense of recovery. The styles that have influenced rock and the genres many of us love and claim are hip have slipped away due to cultural forces. In the case of these readings, segregation and racism, as well as the American embargo of Cuban goods (which includes the cultural exchange of styles), serve as the mechanisms whereby origins are forgotten. Whites have seemed to suck up these influences and we are born and go through life not being told or taught where these “white” styles came from. You don’t have to look far to find examples in almost all contemporary music of Afro-Latin and/or Afro-American influences.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/1lxm34ZHCqdP grahamashton grahamashton
Thu, 03 Mar 2011 05:22:00 -0800 Untitled http://grahamashton.posterous.com/44773279 http://grahamashton.posterous.com/44773279

Having worked on the paper this weekend, I thought I would flesh out some ideas with respect to the readings from previous weeks that I was not able to address before.  First, however I'd like to talk about the a chapter of Beneath the Underdog in which Charles Mingus is given a lesson in Judo by his Japanese friend Noba Oke.  Charles had just been bullied and rescued by Noba, who brought him into the back room of his grocery store to teach him some self-defense moves with his brother.  A couple of crucial lines stood out to me:  "Train your eyes and reflexes to respond to the law that governs your opponent's mind and body.  Forget yourself.  Your life depends on what your enemy is doing."  (48).  This was striking for several reasons. I was thinking about writing using social and artistic othering as the crux for my argument regarding identity as a "mobile process" (Frith), and I feel like Mingus is able to define himself through music only in the context of having been forced to do so after the whites commodified previous black art forms.  It's out of necessity to invent a musical expression to maintain social distance (to stay in the margins as The Germs point out in "What We Do Is Secret")  that gives blacks aesthetic power over whites.  You must abdicate your own sense of self and surrender it to the process of self-exploration so that new avenues of expression may be experimented with.  He mentions on the next page that "the man who attacks is at a disadvantage."  This makes sense both practically as well as in the context of my argument.  It is the socially otherING people (the oppressive white people) who, upon forcing blacks to find new outlets of expression and identity, find themselves always wanting to be a part of the in-crowd.  But because they're whites, it makes it really difficult to embody a mode or 'style' that is distinctly and unmistakably black.  These things I found interesting in that chapter....

 

As for other readings, I found a similar tie in the reading by Wondrich in which he states that when "too much pop as happened" it signifies a deviation from the original intent which was spontaneous and contained "complete abandon" and reckless energy.  Also, "hot music" is synonymous with black music, which COULD NOT BE MORE TRUE!  All of the biggest dance beats, house music hits, club music is made by blacks or at the very least in what many would consider the black style.  I suppose one of my concerns now is that whites are so successfully adopting black styles and performing them alongside blacks (Drake and Eminem), I wonder where (if the cycle of othering contintues) blacks will take popular music next...?  Or is a black president a harbinger of a society where social othering is completely a thing of the past and thus artistic othering will cease to be imperative.  Will another group take its place? I don't know.  I guess this is living history and who knows where trends will take us (I hope it takes us back to a less electronic-sounding time...but that's just me).  

 

In other News, my friend goes to UCSD and he told me about this: http://www.bet.com/news/UCSDRacialIncident . Basically the N word was sent out to the whole student body and people are pissed.  I definitely see how that would be offensive, but they're saying how UCSD has a huge race problem...which I think is no more true for them as it is for SC or any other school.  It's funny how a school can be painted in such a negative light and tainted by one moron's outburst when it could have just as easily happened anywhere else (and I'm SURE racism is more rampant at other schools...).  I also think UCSD's first offense regarding a frat having a "Compton Cookout" is no more offensive than Trailer Trash themed parties I've seen at SC where people dress up like slutty hillbillies.  I know it's not really musically-related, but it's musically-related, which is something.  

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/1lxm34ZHCqdP grahamashton grahamashton
Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:04:00 -0800 Mingus: fun read! http://grahamashton.posterous.com/mingus-fun-read http://grahamashton.posterous.com/mingus-fun-read

It took me a couple passes at reading the first couple paragraphs of chapter one from Beneath the Underdog to really get what was going on.  Upon reflection, though, I made a connection almost instantly between the sounds of bebop and the way that Mingus describes himself.  I don’t know if I’m interpreting this right, but there’s multi-faceted nature to jazz and bebop in the way that several musical voices converse—each with their own contributions and tangents.  The concept of Mingus as three distinct people evokes a vision of a small jazz combo.  A “frightened animal that attacks for fear of being attacked” reminds me of a blazingly fast trumpet riff; the emotive Mingus Three conveys a complicated series of rises and falls and textures.  I don’t know if I’m reading too much into this...but musically, that’s how I associate that first seemingly significant paragraph.  The colloquial, stream-of-consciousness style Mingus employs brings the reality of racism and prejudice to life for me.  There is also a peculiar contrast between the way chapter one is written and the way chapters 2 through 5 proceed; in that the tone of the first chapter (presumably toward the end of Mingus’s life, or at least when he’s much older) is one of bitter disillusionment, frustration, and pent-up aggression.  In the ensuing chapters, the life of Mingus is portrayed innocently, yet in a sometimes cruelly realistic fashion.

With regards to the obsession with “proving you’re a man,” I feel that is a universally experienced pressure by males and I can totally relate.  Despite feminists accomplishing a lot on behalf of gender equality over the last century, the intense expectation placed on men to be as ‘macho’ as possible (though it varies by culture—for instance, having studied Spanish literature, I know Spanish culture places the virtue of Machismo on the highest of pedestals) is rampant in our culture today.  T.V. sitcoms, big, bulky movie stars saving damsels in distress, the pressure to be super fit, the stigma associated with crying...there are so many cultural elements that alienate any man with behaviors linked to being “weak.”  But in Mingus’s case, it’s out of a frustration and indignation of having been subjugated by the white man.  His resulting behavior of acting out in a way many would consider to be immoral is a manifestation of his frustration with a white-dominated society.  On page 6 he comments that “they make us famous and give us names—the King of this, the Count of that, the Duke of what!”  To me this illustrates his frustration with the commodification of black art and its mass distribution throughout white society.  He even goes so far as to say he would “dig death  more than ...facing this white world.”  That is some pretty heavy stuff, and even though he didn’t live through slavery, the segregation and horrors described in the next couple chapters alone are enough to make me understand where he’s coming from.  

Mingus’s dad keeps telling him not to get involved or mixed up with “black niggers” and that they are better than darker-skinned blacks.  He essentially tries to  instill racial prejudice in his children and draw a line between darker-skinned african americans and lighter skinned ones.  This reminded me of our class discussion about how Creoles were thought of as whites at one point in New Orleans when they were contributing to the musical scene, but were then thought of as blacks and of a lower social order.  It also brought to mind a hot topic on sports blogs several years ago whether or not Sacramento Kings basketball star Mike Bibby is black or white.  I checked out a blog on google and the first one I clicked on (http://community.sportsbubbler.com/forums/t/71201.aspx ) contained offended bloggers’ comments regarding someone even posing the question.  On one hand it just goes to show how it doesn’t matter the color of their skin, it’s simply the level of talent.  But on the other hand, it shows how obsessed people are with creating distinctions and classifying other people.  It’s mentioned in several blogs that Mike Bibby IDENTIFIES himself as black, but many people seem to classify him according to what they see.  I’m Jewish by virtue of the fact that my mom is Jewish...but I do NOT identify myself as Jewish whatsoever.  But I’ve spoken to many Jews who INSIST that I am Jewish.  I just think it’s silly for someone else to classify me as something I don’t want to be identified with...although that takes this blog down an entirely different path. I know sports isn’t really related to music, but I thought this example of racial identity appropriate to include after having read.  

Although I found a lot of what I read in the first five chapters entertaining and “bloggable” I’ll end with my most stirring musical connection I found.  On page 37 he describes Mr. Rodia’s three towers—three masts decorated by an Italian man which he would continually build and disassemble and rebuild in endless cycles of creativity.  This, to me, was a very clear allusion to the act of improvisation and jazz:  the mastery of the form (erecting three very basic pillars), the deformation of mastery (taking them down), and the reformation of form (rebuilding different styles and decorated towers).  The taking apart, additions to, subtractions from, and rebuilding of the three same structures resulted in an every changing set of structures that kept people entertained.  That’s exactly what jazz improvisation is and how it was described to us in class.  Mingus mentions how very much he “marveled at what he was doing”—intimating that the towers and methods of Mr. Rodia might have impacted his improvisations later in life musically.  In the realm of Bebop, the style was also about self-discovery and giving oneself the time to screw up a thousand times before finding something good; which is what Mr. Rodia embodied by taking years and years to work on the one project and change it to his liking.  One last tie to make would be that Mr. Rodia, upon finishing his work, gave it to a neighbor and went away somewhere unknown.  It reminded me of how many jazz musicians tinker and play a piece differently in each and every performance for years and once the piece is recorded (the buildings are “finished”) he/she abandons the piece altogether and moves on to something else, just as Mr. Rodia did.  

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/1lxm34ZHCqdP grahamashton grahamashton
Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:44:00 -0800 Week 6-Jazz and its Ties to Today http://grahamashton.posterous.com/week-6-jazz-and-its-ties-to-today http://grahamashton.posterous.com/week-6-jazz-and-its-ties-to-today

I suppose these blogs are forcing me to read about the past with the intention of being able to draw connections between the old and new. But after reading “Beyond New Orleans” this week, I apologize if any of the connections I make seem forced or nonexistent; it’s just my interpretation. I am not very familiar with many of the jazz artists or songs mentioned throughout the reading (nor do I have to the time to look up and listen discerningly to many of them), so I don’t think the reading lent itself to my posing opposition to what Szwed was saying; but rather, I could highlight some contemporary examples of what he discussed. With regards to page 117 where he describes using different, complicated/unexpected rhythms to almost jar the listener, I feel as though many pop artists today are afraid to venture outside the box rhythmically (aka to depart from the typical 4/4 or 3/4 time signatures, or even vary it up a little bit). The most prominent examples I can think of are Maroon 5’s “Wake Up Call” from It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, which, at the very beginning of the song introduces a pulsing beat which gives the listener a false sense of the down-beat, so when the song finally starts a couple bars in the down-beat is in a place that no one expects. I am inadequately expressing this tricky musical feat in words, but the title “Wake Up Call” is surely apt, as the tempo isn’t what you expect right from the start. Also, Dave Matthews Band, as I will discuss in a different light later, does a phenomenal job of switching up complicated time signatures and rhythms (backed by the most distinguished and talented drummer in the world; also, to show how varied rhythmic features can be successful, DMB happens to be one of the highest grossing touring bands out there). I would cite specific examples (“Satellite,” “You and Me,” and many others), but there really are too many to cite. Their variation is—in my opinion—what makes them so great. Perhaps their success mirrors the success of early jazz artists that pioneered rhythmic features that seemed alien to popular music mentioned in the reading. When the text noted the use of the saxophone to be a “comedy” instrument, I was incredibly surprised; as I associate saxophone with ska music and most prominently with jazz. Then, Szwed points out, Coleman Hawkins transformed the sax’s image into one of distinction in the jazz community. This brings to light several current examples in my mind, one of which being the use of auto-tune. Other than the musical innovation of the Beatles (they widely acknowledged as pioneers in instrumental experimentation in the modern pop era), I am straining to think of many examples today in which totally new instruments are used that completely take over the pop landscape. I mean, Bollywood certainly has permeated pop music to some extent offering Indian influences that have definitely taken hold in our music culture ( ). Autotuning, however, originated as a way to (simply put) fix bad notes. It transformed the decent singer into someone with impeccable pitch. Now, however, it’s become the mechanism whereby terrible singers are transformed into pitch-perfect robots. The technology, though not technically a musical instrument, is a device that is used in virtually every pop song on the radio. Whether or not that is a good thing and its implications for musicianship in our present music culture are not what I will talk about here...though its omnipresence does make one reassess what musicianship is. On a similar note, techno used to be this sort of fringe musical outlet that seemed sort of weird and underground. But now the techno beat has permeated every part of pop music. The focus of pop music has shifted a great deal toward club and house music. Britney Spears’s new single “Hold It Against Me” is a great example of a departure from her older (believe it or not more musical) stuff. The techno beat has gone mainstream, people, and I personally hope it ends soon. Where techno came from, I don’t know, but it’s even entered the rap sphere. Whereas at its inception, rap was more about the poetic lyrics and simple beat to accompany it, the techno/club beat (almost every rap song that gets churned out, pretty much, minus Eminem) and the electronic influence has taken over the art form. Black Eyed Peas used to produce more lyrically driven songs, whereas as (“The Time”) now they are an electro-techno-club hit machine. On the other hand, songs like “Coming Home” by P Diddy incorporate more traditional musical elements such as orchestral strings and piano...very much an aberration from the normal tehcno-consumed beats. Other than such rare examples, today’s most popular music is rife with technology and styles that were considered fringe 10-15 years ago. In the middle of page 121, Szwed talks about Bix Biederbecke as holding notes out in a certain way to call attention to the note as an artifact, which I interpret as his own way of communicating and expressing himself. This calls to mind the riffs that John Coltraine made in “My Favorite Things.” It’s like he’s going off on a tangent within the same context of a conversation. I thought Dave Matthews Band had one more tie to the reading in that on page 124 Szwed mentions how as the bands got bigger, specifically those of Red Nichols, they lost their edge and their focus. DMB, having so many musical/instrumental components, they are actually one of the “biggest” groups out there, and yet they are still incredibly popular and their music has not been hurt with the addition of a horn section...just some food for thought. Their album the Gru Grux King produced a grammy-nominated song...

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/1lxm34ZHCqdP grahamashton grahamashton
Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:21:00 -0800 Untitled http://grahamashton.posterous.com/42647373 http://grahamashton.posterous.com/42647373

Throughout high school I was very involved with musical theater.  Shows I performed in included Meet Me in St. Louis, Oklahoma, Urinetown, West Side Story, Beauty and the Beast, and Fiddler on the Roof.  It’s interesting how one of my favorites of the bunch (Oklahoma!) was co-written by Richard Rodgers, a name mentioned in the Star and Waterman book as being one of the most popular songwriters of the 1920s and 1930s.  When I was a mere freshman in high school learning, listening, and performing those songs, although the experience was very fun and I enjoyed doing it, the songs seemed incredibly dated and old-fashioned and, well, let’s just say not many (or any) of us appreciated them as good songs.  What’s striking to me is how songs like those WERE the hits in those days! I know we haven’t really delved into the genre of musical theater in class (but I have a hunch that’s where we’re heading), but it’s amazing when I personally consider what those songs must have been to their contemporary audiences: they were the new pop hits!  

 

Another completely separate idea that has sort of been nagging me since the beginning of this class has been the following:  I know we’re studying American popular culture and music, but sometimes it can be easy for me to feel like America is being picked on and I’d like to take a paragraph to just acknowledge that other countries do parodies, other countries make fun of other races, and although America makes fun of races, America itself gets made fun of as well.  My first (and absolute favorite) example is Flight of the Conchords, a comedy folk parody duo hailing from New Zealand, who since   their 2 season stint on HBO, have risen to tremendous popularity.  Jemaine and Bret make fun of virtually every typically-considered “American” music genre possible.  In this clip, they portray the typical American rap music video, and everything from their lyrics to the cinematography mimic in a very caricature fashion the typical rap video: <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FArZxLj6DLk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

I could honestly talk for pages about the various styles of music they make fun of, but I think that clip speaks for itself.  And what I think is great about it is how damn popular that show has become (it was for a while an “underground” favorite of mine...the novelty and obscurity has since been wiped out as they’ve grown in popularity...something that, as discussed in class, has made me slightly sad.  I can’t help it).    The show has a very basic plot, there is little to the story, in fact the story is simply a segway between songs.

 

In listening to my favorite playlists this week, I discovered the band Hanson has a song called “The Great Divide” <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dcifAzv8-bU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

This song begins with African children chanting in their native language “I have hope” and I think it’s one of those songs that really sticks out in its message attempting to erase racial boundaries. Complete with African-like chanting and a strong beat to the song, the chorus, in which the singer concludes that he finds hope in the most unlikely of places that “we can conquer this great divide,” is a powerful one.  Like we have touched on in class, there is the occasional pop song that comes along that speaks to something much much more than Katy Perry’s fireworks...

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/1lxm34ZHCqdP grahamashton grahamashton
Thu, 03 Feb 2011 14:25:00 -0800 Blacks, whites...and asians! http://grahamashton.posterous.com/blacks-whitesand-asians http://grahamashton.posterous.com/blacks-whitesand-asians

Blacks, whites...and asians! The concept mentioned in class regarding actors who—in such a cliche manner—discuss how deep into the roles they delve actually has a psychological/scientific basis (as I’ve learned here at SC in my psyc class). At Stanford University a famous prison study was conducted by Zimbardo ( ) in which regular students were given roles of prison guards and prisoners. The findings astounded even the researchers: that the students did not just play parts; but rather they LIVED the parts. Guards treated prisoners with unexpected cruelty and the study was forced to end prematurely so as to protect the mental health of the participants (this study would be considered unethical now). With regards to the idea that “out of the counterfeiting of the black American’s identity there arises a profound doubt in the white man’s mind as to the authenticity of his own image of himself” (Ellison), in light of the Stanford prison experiment, it would be perfectly reasonable to assume that the bridge between whites and blacks is in fact being bridged through this sort of imitation. The assuming of black roles by whites does, in my opinion, blur the color boundary and psychologically speaking, the act would certainly affect how the white person perceives him/herself. Does the desire to “act white” derive from a desire to, in fact, be black? This question sort of confuses me. On one hand, the notion of social and aesthetic othering producing a black culture (taking forms in dancing, talking, sexuality, etc.) that whites so desperately want to copy/imitate makes sense to me. On the other hand, I don’t listen to a Jay Z song because I knowingly/consciously want to be black. But I guess it’s the bigger picture, isn’t it? That over the course of time, black customs and culture have drawn whites in in some particular way. The dressing up of whites to be black is very much theatrical, yet so is the entire niche of spoofs on Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. The martial arts stereotype as influenced by asian culture has very much become a similar sort of phenomenon. Kung Pow! Enter the Fist ( ) is the perfect such example of imitation of a subjugated race by white America. Asians, having been persecuted throughout American history (Chinese labor exploitation in the building of the continental railroad—something shown but not focused on in the Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles scene we viewed in class; as well as Japanese internment camps), have been socially othered to a great extent by whites. The form of aesthetic othering that has manifested itself in American pop culture is, though not as prominent as that of the African-American slave influence, certainly prevalent. Just as people have pointed out the lack of black lead actors in Hollywood (out of a dearth of parts for them to play that don’t involve them fulfilling racial stereotypes of the baffoon and so forth), asians experience what I perceive to be an even greater lack of opportunity. Iron Chef America (based off of its asian predecessor: ) as well as the popular show Wipeout (a direct copy of MXC— vs ) are perfect examples of asian influence in popular culture today, especially the cinematic realm of pop culture. That we don’t necessarily hear asian influences as much in pop music as we do black influences doesn’t diminish this fact. I don’t know if I can fully address this idea in one blog, but it’s a start!

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/1lxm34ZHCqdP grahamashton grahamashton
Thu, 27 Jan 2011 13:13:00 -0800 Week 3-identity... http://grahamashton.posterous.com/week-3-identity http://grahamashton.posterous.com/week-3-identity

I’m going to be pretty erratic in my writing here, as I have scattered thoughts on this week’s reading.  To start with the notion that music and identity are inseparable—that in the black person’s case, they were forced to produce song out of their “dislocation” from their homeland—strikes me as something very powerful.  I have for years grappled with the concept of identity outside of “I am white, I am middle class, I am young right-handed male.”  I’ve always thought that there has to be more to it than those simple classifications.  From what I’ve been able to glean, to simply identify with music (ie. understand the lyrics and say, “I’ve felt that before”) is only a harbinger of the true recognition of one’s own identity through music.  I believe I harbor a subconscious defense mechanism that in a way doesn’t allow me to read into everything too much.  My skeptical (one might say cynical) mind jumps to conclusions that the artist just wanted to make a profit and felt it customary to produce a “message” song; or that a song is...well...JUST A SONG.  Does a piece of art always have to carry with it intricate meaning and significance?  I feel I can answer this one of two ways—the obvious answers being yes and no.  I think “no” because when I sit down to write my own music, I am not thinking of anything other than what makes me feel good inside.  What chord progressions (often simple and akin to those you’d hear in The Notebook’s soundtrack) make me just ooze or sound pleasant.  I can guarantee that through the process of putting together the rhythms and syncopation I often feel good using, the African roots from which these devices originated did not cross my mind so much as once.  I write my songs to express to a select handful of people how much they mean to me.  I perform songs to vent that compassion to the world, not to mention there’s a unique high I (and I’m sure others do too) get when on stage. I don’t feel bad about not thinking about slavery.  Why should I? I hadn’t taken a class like this that really forced me to think about it.  My “yes” answer to the original question is due to the fact that the art inherently does carry with it the significance of the past.  It is a product of history as I have come to realize, and when you really think about it, it’s an incredible journey/transformation that pop music has undergone (and continues to undergo).  It is funny to me to think about how my music would not be without the work songs of the slaves in the field (which I thoroughly enjoy listening to by the way).  The fact that I feel the beat of a song down to my very core makes me feel connected to the past in a way I have never really considered possible to feel.  I don’t want to overdramatize my experience in the first 2.5 weeks of this class, but I definitely am opening my eyes to the truth and beauty that pop music (which, through writing and listening to it, has been the most significant intangible part of my life) is something I share with my most remote ancestors.  We all share this experience, and that to me is pretty remarkable.  

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/1lxm34ZHCqdP grahamashton grahamashton
Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:47:00 -0800 Untitled http://grahamashton.posterous.com/40389884 http://grahamashton.posterous.com/40389884

I'm sort of sad that my first blog entry is going to be somewhat negative, as I disagreed with almost all 43 paragraphs of what Theodor Adorno discussed in the reading "On Popular Music."  In this piece I see a gross oversimplification of a genre of music, as well as numerous errors in classification.  His breakdown of music into two spheres right off the bat irks me as I disagree with both his labeling of "serious" music with the word "serious" as well as his overly simplistic juxtaposition of that sphere with "pop" music.  I grew up listening to "serious" music—as my dad, aunt, and uncle were prodigal classical pianists in their youths—and I think that Mr. Adorno fails to recognize in popular music many of the same facets of which he seems so pretentiously fond in classical music.  So I will just list my grievances in a not-as-scholarly fashion.

To begin, he mentions that in a scherzo there is a "conversation" between instruments, and I believe duets in popular music evoke similar duality in thematic content.

His prevailing argument seems to be that, in contrast to "serious" music, pop musical "details" do not matter, as they are too standardized.  Any detail is simply a blip on the auditory radar of a listener because they are in a state of "inattention and distraction" when they listen to pop music.  First of all, although a more simplistic structure than say a Beethoven sonata may pervade much of popular music, I think it criminal for someone as seemingly learned as Adorno to unceremoniously cast aside pop musical details.  As we discussed in class, the vibrato and emotion carried in voices such as Billie Holiday and Ethel Waters evoke powerful sentiments and present a musical piece subject to interpretation.  He claims that any single part of a "serious" piece is essential to the understanding of the whole piece and that everything in pop music is substitutable.  That is just not true.  The substitution of any voice with that of Frank Sinatra would alter the very perception and essence of the song.  

As for the remark about Pop music listeners being "distracted" and in a state of "inattention," well, that's what this course is about: to educate our ears and critically listen.  I think, however, that he underestimates the musical inclination of the masses because our very tastes with regards to popular music involve a discriminatory ear.  We don't just like everything and every substitutable portion of a pop song.  There are favorite parts, there are favorite artists, genres, pitches, etc.  We NOTICE when an artist's sophomore album completely deviates from the trademarks that make his/her first album so endearing.  Iron and Wine's release of "The Shepard's Dog" added numerous instruments that I just didn't care for.  And I haven't even begun to mention the classical pieces my dad played for me that lulled me to sleep...and there's no greater state of inattention than being unconscious.  Don't get me wrong, some of them were beautiful pieces; I just sank into them the same way Adorno claims people sink into pop music.

Also, to say that the masses don't understand music as a language is slightly elitist.  We don't just interpret music linguistically for our "institutional wants."  We find expression in music, we find a way to relate, and we can find (or create) our own identities through music.  Pop music is absolutely capable of driving movements, empowering others, and simply declaring one's love.  All these things illustrate the communicative nature of pop music.  

Lastly, toward the end, he discusses emotional listeners as listening to sentimental music serving as a catharsis—as an opportunity for them to confess that their lives are less than ideal.  Basically, we listen to emotional music because it allows us to admit and objectively see how our lives suck.  I could not disagree more.  I listen to that kind of music because it evokes memories (The Fray's "Look After You" or Teitur Lassen's "One and Only").  I listen because it's inspiring (A Fine Frenzy's "The Beacon") I listen because I feel like their are gifted poets in the world of pop music and I want to hear what many of them have to say (Jason Reeves's "Wishing Weed").  I listen, yes Mr. Adorno, to be entertained (Maroon 5), but also because it more often than not illuminates the good in my life (The Band Perry's "If I Die Young" and Ingrid Michaelson's "Can't Help Falling In Love With You")

This is just a fraction of my response I had written because my internet crashed about 3/4 of the way through my original post.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/1lxm34ZHCqdP grahamashton grahamashton