Marshall Critical Review (Set 2, #4)

"We Use So Many Snares" delves into some of the details of and controversies within the production of reggaeton, as well as giving a brief history of the genre and how some of the basic musical figures allude to its origins. "La Musica Negra (Hispana?)" gets into some of the specifics of the origin debate, which is at times tough for an outsider to follow (especially with down links/videos), but seems to suggest that reggaeton is a creation of multiple cultures (which may or may not get along). "Reggaeton’s Contempo Indexical Lexica" picks out a few specific examples that demonstrate a shift in sampling/influence away from "la musica negra" and towards "reggaeton latino." "The Webnography of Reggaeton Faultlines" uses a selection of internet forum posts to showcase the mostly racial dividing lines and differing opinions as to who "owns" the genre.

Discussion Question: How do the origins and division lines in reggaeton compare and contrast to those in hip hop? Do these divisions and disputes provide a narrative for the genre that makes it more exciting and appealing?

Fieldnotes 2: Youtube Live Videos

Vanna (wiki) (myspace)

"Heavens to Betsy" at MassArt in Boston, MA, 03/29/06

-Much emphasis on "hardcore," band headbanging intensely at the beginning

-Crowd more tame at first - possibly because of lack of stage divide

-Clear use of "the breakdown," (1:52) an essential element of post-hardcore

-Then a guy comes in and tackles lead singer - demonstration of local band/fan equality?

-Drummer is black, playing what might be percieved as "white music"

"I am the Wind, You are the Feather" at International Community Church in Allston, MA 09/29/06

-Dedicated fanbase audibly singing all the lyrics

-Pushing against stage with raised hands

-Shows how small local venues like churches provide a place to play and build a fanbase

-Ample guitar flailing by performers, stage diving by audience

-Clothing - tshirts, hoodies, jeans

"A Dead Language for a Dying Lady" at House of Rock in Corpus Christi, TX 09/01/07

-Sound features heavily distorted guitars - rhythm playing low chords and lead playing high riffs
-Seems to show they have excited fans in Texas, which contrasts with...

"Country Boys... Goddamn" at Ridglea Theatre in Ft. Worth, Texas, 03/17/07
-Crowd seems unenthused and unfamiliar with the band

Quinsigamond Village Community Center in Worcester, MA 05/10/08

-Able to draw a pretty large crowd to a home show

-Large mosh pit in the audience (1:04), with fans doing spinning kicks and the like

-Band splits up vocal duties, one singer and one screamer, a common aesthetic of the genre

Four Year Strong (wiki) (myspace)

"Bada Bing Wit' A Pipe" at Water Street Music Hall in Rochester, NY

-As wikipedia description would suggest, band has a much poppier sound, more sung vocals (less screamed), less emphasis on low rhythmn guitar

-Incorporates a synth, arguably making it more poppy, arguably contributing to the concept of post-hardcore bringing outside elements into hardcore spaces.

At Catalyst in Santa Cruz, CA circa 09/14/08

-Band's style of dancing is different than Vanna - more jumping up and down in the punk style, still some mild headbanging, less guitar flailing.

-Still splits up vocal duties between a singer and a screamer similar to Vanna

At Chain Reaction in Anaheim, CA 10/13/07

-From what we can see of audience seems primarily teenage white male

-Can see a typical crowd move demonstrated a few times - at a point of sonic change, fan will use the shoulders of people in front of him to help push himself higher (though not to the point of crowd surfing), something I have also seen at Recieving End of Sirens shows (another post-hardcore band from MA)

Back (pt. 1) Critical Review (Set 2, #3)

After an amazingly vague first section packed with loads of pretentious academic jargon-spouting, this article moves on to establish that exclusive, racist policies of white leisure activities created non-exclusive, but autonomous black leisure circles.  At last, in the third section, the author kindly lets us know what type of music he is talking about (reggae/dub/dancehall), and explains some key terms, operational principles, and values of the scene.  He then explores the difference in lyrical styles ("slackness" vs. "culture lyrics"), addresses their non-exclusive nature despite black origins, and emphasizes the mixing of pleasure and politics within the genre.  Finally, he discusses the proactive role of female performers in the scene, stressing the point that they "chat" from their own perspectives, rather than simply react to what male performers are doing.

Discussion Question:  Where do you think this scene ranks in comparison to others in terms of female participation?  What do you make of the lack of emphasis on females as selectors/operators/co-owners of sound systems?

Walser Critical Review (Set 2 #2)

The introduction of Wasler's book spends a lot of time developing an analogy between metal and classical music (at some points valid, at others it is stretching) and explaining the content of each chapter, but it provides a great deal of reflexivity.  One of the ideas that appealed to me was the approach of music as an activity ("musicking") rather than a product.

In the first chapter, he examines the origins of the term "heavy metal" and how that term was used and interpreted differently by different groups for different purposes.  He then examines the history of metal, splitting it into sections by time periods and explaining the transformations that occurred between them, using a more liberal definition of metal then Weinstein, while still acknowledging the subdivisions.  Finally, he gets into a more hands-on ethnographic approach to dispell some misconceptions about racism in metal and fans' reasons for listening to metal, being very explicit about his methods and reliability.  He saves the fireworks for the final section, in which he tears apart a laundry lists of other studies on metal, detailing the faults with each.

The strengths of this reading were that the beginning provided a great example of effective reflexivity, and the end was helpful in bringing up errors/faulty approaches in other ethnographic readings.  However, I don't feel that this selection offered much on its own, perhaps a different chapter might bring more to the table.

Also, it should be noted that Steve Harris is the BASSIST for Iron Maiden, not the guitarist.  Given that only 3 of the 6 members in the band are not guitarists, I would hope that someone writing an entire book on heavy metal might be able to keep that one straight.

Discussion Question:  This article concludes that the metal audience consists of a mix of middle- and working-class people.  I can't think of an article we have read that has mentioned any kind of upper-class audience.  Why do you think this is?  Do upper class people not listen to music?  Do they all listen to classical, opera, etc.?  Is it too small a group of people to be relevant to study?  Are academics glossing over the upper-class or are they looking at it and finding nothing relevant?