Weinstein Critical Review (Set 2, #1)

Weinstein's investigation of the origins, practices, and values of the metal subculture, while wonderfully thorough and detailed, is unfortunately painfully long to read, even for a fan of the genre. Her insight on the origins of the metal subculture being a coherent synthesis of biker and hippie culture was interesting, as was tracing back the four core values of metal: male, youth, whiteness, blue-collarness. One of the greatest strengths of this article is the fine distinctions it makes, for example between metal audience and metal subculture, women who emulate male style and women who take on "bitch-whore" music video roles, and memorizing lyrics versus understanding the meaning of lyrics. Another strength of the article is that it takes nothing for granted, backing up statements with hard evidence, and not drawing conclusions where there is not sufficient evidence (i.e. the correlation/causation of metal, stoner culture, and bad behavior in students). Overall she paints a very detailed portrait of the metal subculture as a strong, enduring, steadfast, (in some ways, but not in others) united force, and captures a lot of its nuances.

Question: Do you think the author is to harsh with her observation that most fans don't really understand heavy metal lyrics?  Is it a different scenario than other genres?

Interview Excerpt: Stephen Aiello of Monty Are I

This is an excerpt from my 03/29/09 interview with Stephen Aiello, lead singer and guitarist from the Rhode Island-based band Monty Are I.

Me: When you guys were starting out as a local band what kind of resources were available for local bands in the area?

Stephen: Well, first and foremost, the biggest thing definitely that was different was, I think, the club scene was different, the music venue scene I should say. I think that there were more clubs, or at least the clubs we were able to play at had more clout at the time. They don't exist anymore, or maybe there were just a couple in particular. I mean, the Met Cafe was the biggest one. And that was like the biggest thing, because what was so rad about it – it was small, probably like 300 capacity, it was right in the heart of Providence, and the great thing was national acts would roll through there all the time. But you also had, you could also put on local shows there, which was rad. And I think that, aside from the Living Room, that's gone too now – that was another great outlet for bands. The thing was is that you could be a kid in high school, but just legit enough to play in a club. Those clubs offered that, which I thought was always so good, you know what I mean, because you could move up in those ranks using those clubs. That was one huge thing was always the Met Cafe, and the Living Room, and of course the old Lupo's, which is now of course the new Lupo's.

I would say the other thing too, which I guess is just the way the state is, is that it's small. And that was always a benefit for us. I guess I would call that a resource, only because word of mouth spread so much faster in a place like this than anywhere else, and it always helped us. I mean, we never looked at being from Rhode Island as a disadvantage, and I think that being so tightly knit with everybody else in terms of word of mouth, high schools, all that kind of stuff really helped us out.

Me: Any other local resources, maybe along the lines of artist promotion that were available for local bands when you guys were starting out?

Stephen: Well, I can't really speak on that, I mean honestly there was never really much for us out there. The thing that is different now that's pretty rad is the internet, in terms of promoting your band. It's changed the game a lot. When we were sort of coming up, we had the internet, kind of. But I think it's different when you're starting out and coming up being in high school when the internet was huge in terms of Myspace and promoting bands, compared to when you're in college. Because in college, we were sort of... we went to college for a couple years, and we were all sort of disjointed and in a bunch of different places, so we never had that organizational sort of internet. Myspace wasn't as big, promoting your band on the internet wasn't as big. These past couple of years, it's really been a huge thing. When we first started, that didn't exist at all. Not that that's a bad thing, it's just things were done differently back then. Which was always, like, literally us going to every single high school in Rhode Island and putting fliers on people's cars, all the senior's cars, about when we were playing the next weekend. That's how we did it, and I guess the “resource” of Rhode Island being small was great because we could travel to all those places and we could hit up like every school, which was awesome. We just had to work more sort of on foot – not complaining about that, it wasn't a bad thing, it was just a different way of doing it.

Full Interview

Performance Ethnography: Monty Are I @ Club Hell 2/27

I approached the gates of Hell and strode confidently up to its two guards, peeking into its dark interior that glowed with hints of red. Apparently I wasn't on the list, and for a minute it looked like I wasn't getting into Monty Are I's sold out homecoming show at Club Hell in Providence. The bouncers cut me some slack, and let me in for 12 bucks. I was turned away at the gates of Hell, but paid my way in.

You'll have to excuse the Hell puns, but not even the band could resist, saying during a radio interview earlier," I love that we're playing there, because when my mom asks 'Where are you playing tonight?' I get to say 'We're playing in Hell, mom!'" It had been a while since Monty Are I, from nearby Cranston, had played in Rhode Island, after recording a new album in a Hollywood studio and some label changes. [1] They were thrilled to be back; at one point the lead singer Steve said "Thank you so much for supporting us, it means a lot to us. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart. It's been a bitch being away, but it's good to be home." But was Providence as eager to have them back?

The band's time away has opened up a lot of questions, related to changes in the band’s sound, effects of being on a major label, relevancy of their style of music, interest of listeners/fans, who their fans currently are, any changes to their status as a "local band," and the effect of being away from their home state for so long. This show provided insights to some of these questions, but left others up in the air.

The venue seemed packed at a first glance, with people sitting on the railings of photographer platforms, but once I navigated to the back of the venue, there seemed to be a surprising amount of room. The capacity of Club Hell is around 200, but it seemed like the rain that day might have kept a few people at home. The venue, usually a house/techno club (except for Sunday goth nights) [2], tonight was filled with about an even mix of (almost entirely white) males and females - the males a bit older, mostly ranging from 18-25, whereas most females were around 14-18. There were a large amount of couples at the show, many lingering around the two side bars, drinking. Parents, some still with kids at their side, watched from the back. Supporting act Penrose acknowledged this fact, saying "Let's give it up for parents! If it weren't for your parents... I can't finish that because my parents are in the room." This has become rather common in the emo/post-hardcore scene, due to its young fanbase and their reliance on their parents for some combination of transportation, permission, or money.

Though "post-hardcore" may conjure vivid dress imagery, it is actually not the case. Many older fans are dressed as they would be in a normal bar or club - striped button-ups for guys and nice shirts for girls. The younger end of the crowd was split between a t-shirt and jeans whatever-I-happened-to-be-wearing look, and the slightly harder-trying tight zip-up hoodie and band t-shirt look (or lumberjack type plaid shirt). Monty Are I fell under this section of the dress code as well. In terms of guys' hairstyle, a significant portion had rather long hair, parted to one side - the "emo look." There were a few outliers with mohawks, bandannas, and baggy pants with bondage straps, but overall no one seemed to be trying too hard.

The band opened with "Anchor and Hope" off their most recent album "Wall of People" to uproarious applause. The band's sound features aggressive distorted guitars, high "emo" male vocals, some technically difficult guitar riffs, lots of dynamic changes, and occasional synth samples and horn parts, due to their origins as a ska band [3]. As was the case for most of the show, the front 5 rows were really into it, jumping, raising hands, singing along, starting the occasional small mosh pit, but people further back seemed not to be moving as much. I moved back to investigate to see that most were still interested, taking pictures, singing along, some while nursing drinks. Further back there were kids texting and to the sides older people stuck to the bar, but most of the crowd seemed engaged. The band also took this lack of movement as unusual, Steve saying at one point, "I'm not seeing enough movement, the people in the back aren't feeling it, so all you up in the front gotta help them out. The opportunity is knocking, right now." Fan response to new material was about as good as one could expect for unfamiliar songs, though the sound seems to have changed slightly, both becoming slightly more poppy and at the same time more eclectic, with one song featuring a danceable salsa intro.

Overall, the band's attitude and rapport with the audience was casual, funny, and extremely grateful. In addition to the earlier thanks of support, the band introduced "Just in Time" by saying, "We love playing this live, because we always get to play it for people that really care and connect to it.” However, the audience as a whole did not quite seem to reciprocate this affection. To be certain, there were definitely people who expressed displeasure when the band spoke about their time away (Steve: That guy just gave me the finger, that guys giving me the thumbs down...") and had heard of "Powdered Toast," the band Monty's guitarist had played in with members of Penrose at age 16. But many in attendance seemed to be casual listeners, who, despite constant urging by the band and a great performance, didn't rock out anymore than they did at the beginning. Maybe this means the band has reached a more mainstream audience who don't partake in typical show behavior, or maybe old fans have lost interest after the band's time away.

One thing is for sure, however, despite a major-label deal, time away, and another national tour coming up, the band will always be considered local, hometown favorites. It's inescapable, due to their devoted hardcore fans and even their name alone. Not only does "Are I" abbreviate their home state, "Monty" is the name Cranston High School West's band instructor. [4] The band also cares deeply about putting on a good show for their home state, Tombonist Andrew saying in an interview before the show, "We wouldn't normally practice four hours a day for a month straight, but home shows are special.” [1] The loyalty of old fans, and the commitment of casual fans will be tested with the release of their next record. Some question the music's relevancy: Adam, age 23 and an active member of the post-hardcore scene in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, opined, "It's too bad their music is three years too late." But the band's hard work and focus that went into the new record seems to be a promising investment, with Andrew saying, "We have really high hopes for this next record and taking a legitimate shot at the 'big time."

References:
[1] http://thephoenix.com/Providence/Music/77221-Interview-Monty-Are-I/
[2] http://www.venuevents.net/event/234
[3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Shift
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_(band)


(word count: 1,208)

Schloss Critical Review

Schloss explores the meanings of and reasons behind the existence of a historically consistent b-boy "canon," using a great deal of testimonials from members of the scene. That, in addition to his abundant reflexivity, are two strengths of his approach. His findings begin with musical elements required for the dance to happen and passing of knowledge from teacher to student, but then get much deeper. Having a select cannon enables b-boys and b-girls to know each song deeply, to know when to change what they are doing and know when to throw burners. Another is that by studying the songs for so much time, the body develops an automatic physical reaction, which is key to the energy and improvisation in b-boying. Additionally, having a b-boy "canon," much like a set of jazz "standards," enables participants to measure themselves on the same playing field, and compare themselves historically, both personally and with other people. Repetition of these "standards" also breeds a fluency with the language the performers are trying to speak, be it musical or physical. Finally, a spiritual respect for the original b-boys' choices, not unlike American's respect for those of founding fathers, implores b-boys and b-girls to study and dance to them.

Discussion Question: The latter part of the article focuses on DJs, whose decisions are made largely based on what the audience wants (or seems to want). Is/was that attitude/priority present elsewhere in hip hop? How do you think it influenced the genre? Is music an art, a performance, or a business? I am thinking art is creative expression (of one's emotions?), performance is a demonstration of skill (to an audience? for an audience? for the pleasure of an audience?), and business as an exchange of goods and services - are your definitions different? Apologies from taking a narrow topic and making it SO META.

Rivera Critical Review

Rivera first establishes the growth of Afrocentricity in hip hop through the 80s and 90s, and then explores the difficulties Puerto Rican-Americans (and Latin-Americans in general) had in finding a place in hip hop at this time. Her investigation revealed both top-level and grassroots discrimination and exclusion from both whites and blacks. African-Americans, having had so much taken from them, musically and otherwise, were very defensive about "their" genre. In response to "not being black enough" and not seeing enough Latinos involved in hip hop, Latinos began to do hip hop their own way, creating the distinctly Latin "freestyle" genre . But this only widened the divide between African-Americans and Latin-Americans, and when the genre was no longer commercially viable, it died out. As it did so, it discredited established Latin-American MC's, pulling them down in its wake. Overall, hip hop is tragically painted as a deck stacked heavily against Latin-Americans due to biases and discrimination from many different directions, despite a wealth of shared experiences and culture.

Discussion Question: How would you compare the perception of Latin-Americans in hip hop with those of Asian-Americans, whites, etc.? How do you think these perceptions have changed or remained the same over the years?