Monday, May 4, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Critical Review #8
"Mexican Ballads in the Modern Age"
Wald
Wald's main argument in this reading is that the corrido is a way for Mexicans to keep their culture and history alive, as he said it was a way"to transmit the news and cultural information that is of interest to its audience." The story telling characteristic of a corrido is something that has not changed over time despite changes in the sounds of the music.
This reading is relevant to what we are learning in class because it analyzes a subculture, its audience, and the connection between the two. In this case, the Mexican folk genre appeals mostly to mexicans, especially through its lyrics about mexican life.
Discussion Question:
I'm just a bit curious about this, I know it's a very vague question, but what is most important in corridos, the lyrics or "the music itself?"
Wald
Wald's main argument in this reading is that the corrido is a way for Mexicans to keep their culture and history alive, as he said it was a way"to transmit the news and cultural information that is of interest to its audience." The story telling characteristic of a corrido is something that has not changed over time despite changes in the sounds of the music.
This reading is relevant to what we are learning in class because it analyzes a subculture, its audience, and the connection between the two. In this case, the Mexican folk genre appeals mostly to mexicans, especially through its lyrics about mexican life.
Discussion Question:
I'm just a bit curious about this, I know it's a very vague question, but what is most important in corridos, the lyrics or "the music itself?"
Sunday, April 12, 2009
"Cha-Cha with a Backbeat" -Flores
A main point that Flores seems to be making is the fusion of Latino music with both Afro-Cuban and African-American genres to create boogaloo is one of the most successful fusions of multiple cultures into one. This is especially done for the youth who listened to the music because the young Latinos, the Nuyoricans, would be torn between the music that their peers listened to and the music of their heritage. However, success would also seem to be a driving factor in bands creating that fusion sound.
This reading is relevant to what we are learning in class because Flores describes "the music itself" in musical terminology, referring to the back beats, the timbre, rhythm and percussions and other insturments. Flores also takes on an ethnographic point of view when he goes into the history of Latino funk to find its origins and the people and sounds that made it unique, for example Richie Ray and Eddie Palmieri.
Do you think that there is any type of music now that, "observes the [popular] dance moves closely and fits the rhythms and other musical qualities to the movements," the way that Richie Ray tried to? Why or why not?
This reading is relevant to what we are learning in class because Flores describes "the music itself" in musical terminology, referring to the back beats, the timbre, rhythm and percussions and other insturments. Flores also takes on an ethnographic point of view when he goes into the history of Latino funk to find its origins and the people and sounds that made it unique, for example Richie Ray and Eddie Palmieri.
Do you think that there is any type of music now that, "observes the [popular] dance moves closely and fits the rhythms and other musical qualities to the movements," the way that Richie Ray tried to? Why or why not?
Field notes #2
I.“BreatheHeavy. Com – The Number One Britney Spears Fansite With The Best Britney Spears News, Photos, and Media”
http://www.breatheheavy.com/exhale/viewthread.php?tid=142087
The site seems to be pretty popular. There is a list of tour dates and locations on the home page, as well as large photos that lead to the most recent news concerning Britney Spears. One of the stories I looked at was that Britney may appear in court to testify in a conservatorship-related case. I don’t know much about this topic, but one of the main arguments in the fan posts about this topic is whether or not Britney called lawyer, Jon Eardley, about the conservatorship issue.
Based on posts, there are fans of both gender, however it seems that there are more females.
It’s difficult to get an idea of their age because I am not a member of this fan site and also I don’t think age is information that people willingly give over the internet…
The fan site has data….? Amazing!
Averages:
187.51 posts per member
103,065.29 posts per forum
-119.78 replies per thread
1,532.97 posts per day
8.20 new members per day
57.31% of all members have posted.
Based on the data it seems that the fans who use this site are, for the most part, devoted fans who frequently have something to say about Britney’s current status.
II. Britney Spears Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/britneyspears
how could I possibly have forgotten about facebook as a place for Britney spears fans to gather? What a horrible ethnographer I am…
Well congratulations Britney, you have 1,159,883 fans.
Majority of her fans “look” like they are in either high school or college. They also range from different places, a few were from France, Egypt, Italy, and the U.S. There are male fans, but majority are girls. I’d predict a 1:10 boy : girl fan ratio.
The discussions did not start until November 2008. The first discussion post was made on November 7, 2008. I wonder why her face book discussions are so recent? It could be directly related to the date that her latest album, Circus, came out. Okay, Circus came out on December 2, 2008.
III. Britney Spears Myspace
http://www.myspace.com/britneyspears
a member of myspace since 10/20/2003
Uses this site to advertise her music in playlists and music videos. Also, she has chat boxes and a “b-line” so that fans can talk to her?...she also has an email list.
Fan count on myspace is 571,356 fans. I wonder if this number is lower than the Facebook number because they might have overlapped. For instance, maybe Facebook came out so that less people went on myspace and they signed up to be a Britney fan on Facebook instead.
Just like on Facebook, the myspace fan base is of both genders. However, on myspace, it looks like there is a more even ratio of girls to boys as Britney fans who make posts.
After looking through some of the posts that people have made about Britney Spears and the problems she is facing. Some people view Britney as intelligent, others don’t. Some just like the sound of her music, other just like the way she looks. Some people are just concerned about her health and her family, others think she is just doing the best with the situation she is in. I wonder what it means to truly be a fan of Britney Spears? Is it looking out for her best interest in your own opinion, or is it about just enjoying the music she produces and supporting her musical endeavors? Should fans really be that involved in an artist’s personal life?
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Back part II
Back's main point in this part of the reading is that the way Afro-Caribbean and South Asian have mixed together to crossover racial boundaries and create new sounds is something amazing. These two cultures are able to cooperate, while at the same time holding on to the things that make it different.
This reading is relevant to the class because in the second part of Back's chapter, he exercises relfexivity in his writing when he is going to Peterborough for a show and he realized how it must seem for him, a white englishman, to attend a reggae concert. Along with reflexivity being an important part of being an ethnographer and writing an ethnographic piece, Back also has many ethnographic moments that he describes throughout the reading.
In the readings about heavy metal, growing out your hair was seen as a sign of loyalty to your band, your youth culture. This is similar to the way that youth involved with the reggae scene grow their hair into dreads. Are there any other similarities of the ideals or characteristics between reggae and metal?
This reading is relevant to the class because in the second part of Back's chapter, he exercises relfexivity in his writing when he is going to Peterborough for a show and he realized how it must seem for him, a white englishman, to attend a reggae concert. Along with reflexivity being an important part of being an ethnographer and writing an ethnographic piece, Back also has many ethnographic moments that he describes throughout the reading.
In the readings about heavy metal, growing out your hair was seen as a sign of loyalty to your band, your youth culture. This is similar to the way that youth involved with the reggae scene grow their hair into dreads. Are there any other similarities of the ideals or characteristics between reggae and metal?
Saturday, April 4, 2009
"New Ethnicities and Urban Culture" - Back
Back's main point throughout this chapter is that the black working-class youth culture of Britain has evolved in many different ways since the post-war times. Back uses the term "cultural rhizomes" to refer to times when the culture reaches a point where it changes to form two different subcultures, and sometimes even mixes with completely different youth cultures to create completely new ones.
This reading is relevant to the class because of the examples of ethnographic field work that Back uses. A perfect example would be when Back attended a performance by Michael Ranks, an MC, and transcribed the whole performance, including crowd reaction and what the MC was saying. Back then went further to analyze the performance and answer the "why" question.
discussion question: Why does it seem like music that comes out of black youth cultures, for example hip-hop and soul, are so much better at evolving and fusing with and into new and different sounds? Or, can you think of any white youth cultures that have done similar changing and experienced "cultural rhizomes"?
This reading is relevant to the class because of the examples of ethnographic field work that Back uses. A perfect example would be when Back attended a performance by Michael Ranks, an MC, and transcribed the whole performance, including crowd reaction and what the MC was saying. Back then went further to analyze the performance and answer the "why" question.
discussion question: Why does it seem like music that comes out of black youth cultures, for example hip-hop and soul, are so much better at evolving and fusing with and into new and different sounds? Or, can you think of any white youth cultures that have done similar changing and experienced "cultural rhizomes"?
Monday, March 30, 2009
Interviews
A = Allison (me)
SJ = Soo-Jean
D = Dexter
J = Jackson
A: So would you consider yourself a Britney spears fan?
SJ: YES! YES!
D: Definitely NOT!
J: No…one word answer; no.
A: what kind of people do you think are fans of Britney spears and how do you think her fan base has changed?
J: I mean look at Soo-Jean over there, fan base isn’t changing a whole lot.
A: well I mean like…we liked Britney spears when we were like pre-teen…not pre-teen
SJ: mmm…like 8.
J: and you still like Britney spears.
D: see but I think her fan base now is like catering to more people like your age…
A: do you feel like her fan base is staying the same?
J: she is a little bit like risqué dude. You know what I mean? Like some of her appeal…
SJ: but that doesn’t matter cause little kids don’t listen to the lyrics, it’s just more of the beat.
D: but they don’t listen to like electronic…
SJ: its more like when you get into the party scene…ish…or like the dances…or like middle school. I would say middle school cause you have dances…and you like hear all these things. And then obviously when you start driving cause you listen to the radio..so like definitely teens, like high school teens.
D: but not like…I don’t think she has a fan base like around 10 or 11. Cause they can’t relate to anything.
SJ: I think middle school for sure…middle schools pre-teens.
A: do you think she has changed her fan base?
SJ: no…its changed…older people like it.
D: I think people that started liking her when they were young still like her, but she’s having a hard time getting like 8 year olds and stuff….and its kinda like a reason you said before…her song lyrics now are getting a lot more political and…her challenging…“gimme” or whatever the song is…they just can’t relate to that you know?
J = (anonymous)
M = Mary Beth Lesbirel
A: Why do you think Britney spears has withstood the tests of time, even though its only like ten years…but it’s a lot in the fast paced world we live in today….? What kind of people do you think are fans of Britney spears? How does her fan base grow?
M: I guess she pulls a consistent fan base every time…I don’t know...people like me listened to her when she wasn’t that good…I mean the fact that she has evolved as an artist has helped her last over time….
J: because she continues to do what works for her, however she must have some really good people behind the scenes because they are staying with the pop trends…they are always putting out stuff that is hot and people are gonna like…from "hit me baby" to now, the sound definitely has changed…but they make sure that the stuff she comes out with is definitely gonna sell…I feel like Christina Aguilera tried to be pop but have her own sound….and Britney spears was always more popular…but Christina has a way better voice than Britney…but Britney's just an icon…whoever handles her sh*t knows their stuff…
J: twelve and thirteen year olds shouldn't necessarily be fans cause they don’t know what Britney spears is about..they are more attracted to the bad….i think the demographic has changed…
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