Ethnomusicology

Unlimited iTunes

2008-03-19T13:57:00.000-07:00

This could be big in terms of getting people to think about music ownership in a different way. On the other hand, I doubt it will happen in the very near future.

FT.com / Companies / Media & internet - Apple mulls unlimited music bundle: "Apple mulls unlimited music bundle"

Song Popularity and Video Games

2007-11-22T18:55:00.000-08:00

Seems quite directly related to what we have been saying about connections between music and the entertainment industry.

Songs included in Guitar Hero 3 see a dramatic leap in digital sales
The actual details are a bit less convincing than I thought they might be. And there could be some discussion of what it means to license music for use in a game (or in a movie, or as a ringtone). The general population seems to emphasise more of a "rights to use in any context" idea while some musicians find it important to make sure their recordings are only associated with things they can support. After all, it would probably be frustrating for a band following a "Straight edge" hardcore punk ideal to have their music used in a commercial about a Seagram-created caffeinated liquor involving images of recreational drug use, gluttonous meat eating, and promiscuous sexuality... ;-)

Speaking of Participation

2007-11-17T13:33:00.000-08:00

An older piece about Charles Keil...

February 4, 1999-Vol30n19: Charlie Keil: he's the 'Musicking' Man: Professor's mission is fostering musical expression in youth

Open Letter to Oliver Sacks

2007-11-17T07:52:00.000-08:00

A bit of TAMILDAA going on here. But still...

Sent the following to Oliver Sacks after listening to this radio show/podcast episode: Open Source » Blog Archive » Speaking of Music Again: Oliver Sacks.

Dr. Sacks,

Listened to Christopher Lydon's Open Source show about your Musicophilia book. Was particularly interested, as an ethnomusicologist and ethnographer, in your comments on music mediation.

At 18:30, you began questioning musical universality and mention "pygmies in the rainforest" (which does sound like a composite narrative of well-known ethnographic cases). More interestingly, though, you allow for music to be mediated: "I think I took a little bit of license in that sentence of mine you read out. I think I said, I wrote something about music not needing any mediation. I think it does need mediation, everything needs mediation. But it's a very strange sort of mediation with music and it's like nothing else." (19:27-19:46)
Wanted to thank for your honesty and thoughtfulness.
Lydon didn't follow up on the mediation point. Have you written something to elaborate a bit on the mediated character of music? It might be quite useful for some of my teaching and research activities.

As an aside... You mentioned (McGill figures) Dan Levitin, Robert Zatorre, and Steven Pinker. By any chance, did (Cambridge figures) Ian Cross and Nicholas Cook make their way into your book?

Again, thank you for thoughtful and thought-provoking statements.

My mention of Ian Cross had to do with the music in evolution chapter (preprint PDF) we read in our course. We have talked repeatedly about Dan Levitin's This Is Your Brain on Music during the semester. We haven't really talked about Robert Zatorre during this semester but his name does come up fairly frequently, along with those of other music cognition in Montreal. Nicholas Cook wrote a "very short introduction" to music, the first chapter of which sounded really insightful (as read, in French translation, on another podcast).
I also wanted to mention classics in musical aesthetics (including Leonard B. Meyer, who was mentioned in Charles Keil's article on PDs and is discussed by Keil and Feld). But I found the institutional links too interesting not to use them, even half-jokingly.

The actual Open Source radio show (and podcast (MP3)) was, unsurprisingly, focused on WAM and alluded to conceptions of absolute music. Lydon has something of an "Old School" (erudite dilettante) perspective on music. He also tends to be obsessed with transcendentalism (Ralph Waldo Emerson et al.).

Interpreting Lyrics

2007-11-14T18:33:00.000-08:00

Just because it's funny:
YouTube - Crazy Indian Video... Buffalaxed!

But it can also be interpreted as a commentary on globalisation, if you squint real hard.
An interpretation of how the original Tamil lyrics got misinterpreted is available in a very thoughtful blog entry.

"Music Wants to Be Free"

2007-11-13T21:58:00.000-08:00

As in "free beer" or as in "free speech?"

An interesting blogpost about the death of the Record Industry:

demonbaby: When Pigs Fly: The Death of Oink, the Birth of Dissent, and a Brief History of Record Industry Suicide.

Linking this specific blogpost because it:

Was linked by a fellow ethnomusicologist.
Is rather current.
Contains interesting links.
Represents a rather clear position.
Mentions differences between participants in music-related industries.
Is followed by a lot of comments, many of them interesting and even insightful.
Comes from a former "industry insider."
Has "dissent" in the title.

On the other hand, this blogpost:

Is rather long-winded.
Doesn't present much that is really new.
Skips the issue of defining what music itself is (falling in the trap of equating recordings with the music).
Focuses too much on "music as a commodity."
Seems to confuse a few issues and terms (for instance "stealing" and "illegal").
Fails to define "label independance" (apart from lack of RIAA membership).
Limits itself to the "call your representative" type of action common in social politics in the United States.
Comes from a former "industry insider."

Still, it might be a fairly decent representation of the current consensus opinion against the Recording Industry. And it might be a good jumping board for discussions of changes in the way music is conceived.

Squares

2007-11-13T05:06:00.000-08:00

YouTube - Hip To Be Square - Huey Lewis & The News

Lyrics About Recording Industry

2007-11-06T11:37:00.000-08:00

Didn't know about the song before today. Strongly-worded position against some aspects of the recording industry. Should be relevant in our discussion of Attali's Noise.
NOFX - DINOSAURS WILL DIE LYRICS

Music Scholarship Roundup

2007-11-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

A few recent items of scholarly interest for the ethnographic study of music.

FolkStreams: A Singing StreamA movie about a reunion of the Landis family, which includes a number of singers. A classic for folkloristics and ethnomusicology.

Music and Language conference(July 10-13, 2008, Medford, MA)

Music and Politics journal (Open Access)

Recent publications from Université de Montréal's Laboratoire de recherche sur les musiques du monde (LRMM).

Music-related terms in the American Folklore Society'sEthnographic Thesaurus.

Noticed other interesting items, lately?

Link Roundup, October 21

2007-10-21T08:49:00.001-07:00

I keep accumulating links about music online, partly from listening to podcasts, partly from reading mailing-list messages, and partly from noticing shared items on Facebook.
Here are a few links to recent pieces I found interesting.

Snocap CEO on layoffs: 'pioneers take arrows' | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

Snocap's association with MySpace could have had a greater impact on the recording industry. It seems, though, that there's a difference between music discovery and sales of recordings.

Universal Music Takes on iTunes

Are labels really getting new ideas?

Homepage | Jam Sessions | Ubisoft

A music-playing "game" for the Nintendo DS, used in performance by Montreal's DJ Champion.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Madonna signs radical record deal

Touring is where some musicians make their money.

Free? Steal It Anyway - Forbes.com

Radiohead's initiative shows that convenience is key.

Apple, Tesco 'most to blame' for music biz crisis | The Register

The economies of the recording industry should be reassessed.

Participation/Performance Playlist

2007-10-16T04:35:00.000-07:00

Community Through Participation

2007-10-13T06:03:00.001-07:00

Pop Geek Jonathan Coulton Succeeds by Giving Music Away

one advantage of giving away your music becomes readily apparent: The fans know all the words.

Not that the principle is really new but this is a good example of something we were discussing in class recently.

Online Businesses on Music

2007-10-11T09:04:00.001-07:00

Been saving several links to share with you, having to do with music online, specifically with financial issues. My previous post should provide some context for my thinking about those issues. This post is an attempt to bring a few recent links together. Hope we can discuss some of those issues in class or in the forums for the course.

Opinion and, possibly, insight:

People and sites:

Music distribution, business models:

Of course, many other things are happening in the online world, in terms of music.

Where to Start with my Other Music Blog

2007-10-11T08:50:00.001-07:00

I set up this Ethnomusicology blog to post items relevant to the course ANTH398D Selected Topics in Anthropology: Ethnomusicology. Thought these blogging activities might complement what we do in class and through Moodle. I tend to think a lot about music while I'm browsing and blogging tends to influence my teaching, so the connection was obvious.

But there's another music-related blog to which I contribute: blog.criticalworld.net. This other blog is associated with CriticalWorld, a site dedicated to Thinking Globalisation Through Music. (Though that blog is part of CriticalWorld.net and though I have been involved with CriticalWorld for a while, my blogging activities there are completely autonomous.)

Through that other music blog, I tend to think a lot about financial issues relating to music in the context of "Digital Life." These issues have been mentioned in class so I thought I'd give something of a rundown of several of my very own blog entries about these issues. This is not meant as a shameless plug, a "vanity post" or an anthology. My hope is that looking at these entries, you might understand my approach a bit more.

For instance, I've been having fun with "business models" relating to music in a broad context:

As is probably obvious to anyone, one of the main targets for reflections about music-related businesses is the so-called "Recording Industry":

Digital Rights Management (copy-protection on commodities related to copyrighted items) is a frequently mentioned issue:

As I mentioned in class, there are things to say about ringtones:

Some of my posts tend to be playful:

And, overall, I've set up broad categories to classify posts on that blog:

Fresh for Direct reactions to news pieces and current events
Soapbox for Rants, monologues, tirades, personal reactions, advocacy
Sandbox for Playful, fun, distracting, collaborative items
Ongoing for Open discussions of items relevant to CriticalWorld
CriticalWorld for Events, activities, internal links to the CriticalWorld site and contributors

Of course, I'd appreciate your comments on any of these items and my hope is that some of them can generate discussion.

Blogging Ethnomusicologists

2007-09-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

The author of the World Music textbook that I put on reserve has a blog with notes and YouTube links
Bakan WORLD MUSIC blog
He recently posted links to YouTube videos of Balinese music, including gamelan playing. It'd be interesting to discuss some of these excerpts in class, as we spend some time to talk about ethnomusicology as a discipline.

Acoustic Analysis of Music

2007-09-11T04:37:00.000-07:00

Musical Acoustics/Physics of Music
Seeing the Sound
Praat Tutorial for Musicologists
Acoustics and Sound Technology

French Rap: A Podcast

2007-09-07T17:08:00.000-07:00

Probably the first English-speaking show about French Rap and Hip Hop.
Yo La La ! The French Rap Hip Hop podcast mp3 online radio show.
Though the podcast's host (and programmer) has obvious preferences for specific styles and genres within French Rap and Hip Hop scenes, the program showcases an interesting musical diversity.

Future of Music (Coalition and Interview)

2007-09-05T08:38:00.000-07:00

A podcast interview with a number of insightful comments about current changes in what people do with music.

Well-Rounded Radio: Episode 041: Jenny Toomey of The Future of Music Coalition

Among the issues that the coalition has focused on are music licensing, payola, low-power radio, health insurance for musicians, network neutrality, record label contracts, Internet radio licensing, and many other topics that are key to the current and future era of music-making for both independent and rising musicians.

Presentation (Week 1)

2007-09-03T21:53:00.000-07:00

Course Outline

2007-09-03T19:23:00.001-07:00

Here is the long version of the course outline (syllabus), in PDF format.
ANTH398D/2A

Music and Narrative

2007-09-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

Lots to discuss, here.

Paul Potts Biography

Sound of Her Voice

2007-09-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

Time of day calling it quits at AT&T - Los Angeles Times
Among interesting passages:

'I think that's very sad,' Daniels said. 'I was told at one time that my voice would last until well into the 21st century. Now it looks like I'm about to be laid to rest.'

Surely, there's a music-related project to be done on the sounds of those voices. Isn't this the "mashup" era?

Music's Industrries: Ringtones in 2007

2007-09-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

Some recent news about ringtones, with Apple getting into the fray.

Worldwide ringtones sales totaled $3.5 billion last year, according to London's ARC Group, a research firm that tracks the telecom industry. APPLE, LABELS PITCH 'TONES | By BRIAN GARRITY | Business News | Financial | Business and Money

If this is true and sales of audio recordings didn't jump up from last year, this would mean that sales of ringtones are equivalent to more than 10% of the sales of recordings. Not that it's necessarily good for artists but in terms of simple accounting, it shows that there is more to doing business with music than "pushing CDs on consumers."

Defining Innovation?

2007-08-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Is this a summary of what journalists think about when they search for musical diversity?
Pop looks to the past for a forward-feeling sound - CRITICS NOTEBOOK - Los Angeles Times - calendarlive.com

Freely Streaming Music

2007-08-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

Deezer and similar services could become interesting. It's a bit like other music streaming services but it allows anyone (from anywhere) to stream any music in the Deezer catalogue and blog/share it at will. Of course, there have been other services like this but none of them seemed to offer this level of freedom. As it's a French site, it has a number of tracks from France and other Francophone regions, including this track from Guinean musician Ba Cissoko.

Early Music Instruction

2007-08-19T05:38:00.001-07:00

Charlie Keil over at Born to Groove has created a community of people who are interested in music and dance in early life. Children grooving together.
The following video was posted on a short thread about children music prodigies.

Embedded Video

Blogged with Flock

Music, Gender, and Religion

2007-08-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

Noticed by a friend on Facebook.
God Hates Fags! Love Gods Way!
A list of bands and artists who are recognised as homosexuals. By Donnie Davies.
Is Donnie Davies a hoax?

X-Genre Prowess: DJ+Violin/Fiddle

2007-08-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

A violin player who can swing and a DJ who really listens.

Queb Trad

2007-08-04T06:58:00.001-07:00

Matapat is a cool band. Hung out and did an interview with them in Bloomington, IN, back in 2000. This video is probably a good summary of what the band has been doing. And it says a lot about Quebec culture.

Embedded Video

Blogged with Flock

Insight on Record Industry (spoofs)

2007-07-15T16:37:00.000-07:00

Two blog entries about the record industry written by "Fake Steve Jobs":
The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs: Rolling Stone: The record industry is dying
The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs: The music industry nobs have finally figured out what we're doing
Much to mull over, in both of these. Nothing really new, but well put and insightful. Many comments on those entries are interesting. I found myself agreeing with many points made by commentators even in the case of comments which seem to contradict one another.
One thing is for sure, the record industry cannot remain unchanged, at this point. All things considered, the record industry is a rather young one. But it's already moribund.
It will in fact be fun to see what will take the place of the record industry in the broader field of music-related businesses. Apple Inc. might play an important but so may relatively unknown entities.

Planning Playlists

2007-05-28T08:27:00.000-07:00

This link was included in a discussion of course playlists and copyright on the Society for Ethnomusicology's mailing-list.
Smithsonian Global Sound
It could provide a convenient source for playlists in anthropology of music and ethnomusicology courses.

Chicago-Mtl Connection

2007-05-22T07:36:00.000-07:00

This could be fun. A Chicago ethnomusicologist is coming to Montreal next month for Baile MTL.
wayneandwax.com � Montreal Masala

Be Heard!

2007-05-22T02:18:00.000-07:00

The Canada Council for the Arts is soliciting feedback on its strategic plan. We've talked about the Canada Council on several occasions, including during Alexandre Burton's presentation.
As many of you have a vested interest in the Canada Council's functioning, I encourage you to make your voice heard. They do seem to welcome broad feedback, even though the main consultation process seems to be through an online survey.
Strategic plan consultation - Canada Council for the Arts

Textbooks and Links

2007-04-28T16:55:00.000-07:00

Told you about this book, which is mostly geared toward "World Music Survey" courses. The author is putting online some resources to go with his book, including some links to videos on YouTube.
Bakan WORLD MUSIC blog: World music lectures with youtube links
As it turns out, many ethnomusicologists are using YouTube in their courses.

Ethnomusicology References

2007-04-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

Concordia RefShare databases
Thought they were already on the blog but here's a (openly available) RefShare database with some references to ethnomusicologically-relevant texts. There's also one with "Supplementary References" as well as other databases that I made for our course.

Recontextualising Pachelbel

2007-04-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

As a follow-up to the beatbox version, discussed in class.

Pachelbel everywhere.

Taking music in his own hands.

Going on...

Music and Globalisation: Webradio Version

2007-04-10T20:43:00.000-07:00

Turns out CriticalWorld's Webradio player has some cool music to listen to. Contrary to my playlists, these songs are specifically made available by the performing artists.

Folkways at Concordia

2007-04-10T11:06:00.000-07:00

Concordia has acquired 246 recordings from the Smithsonian Folkways collection. You can browse the list in this RefWorks RefShare library or search Clues for "smithsonian folkways."
We've talked about this collection, which was tied with Moe Asch and is now managed by Anthony Seeger at the Smithsonian Institute. As an "independent label," Folkways has had a very significant impact on the way diverse musics have been perceived in the U.S. and elsewhere.
As mentioned in class, there has been a podcast series on the Smithsonian Folkways collection.

WAM Online

2007-04-10T10:43:00.000-07:00

Concordia just got access to Alexander Street Press's Classical Music Library. We've been talking about "Western Art Music" on occasion and this database can be especially useful to those of you who are interested in this "pure" form of music.
More information about this database (including off-campus access) can be found here.

Free Show: Dakan at Balattou (April 11)

2007-04-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

The main band in which I play, Madou Diarra and Dakan, is playing tomorrow night, April 11, at Club Balattou on Saint-Laurent. Haitian singer Dre-D will play first, at 8:30 p.m. and Dakan will be the second act.
Free as in "free beer": no cover charge.
Festival International Nuits d'Afrique de Montréal - World music Musique du monde

Participating Music: Rock Band (Game)

2007-04-05T20:37:00.000-07:00

From the creators of the Guitar Hero game franchise (discussed in the course).
Guitar heroes unite; 'Rock Band' is coming | Crave : The gadget blog
The emphasis on collaboration goes well with the whole participatory culture and musicking trend that we talked about during the semester. Not sure how the game will be received but the idea of making it easy for people to play together (as opposed to playing against one another, apparently) is quite interesting.
Another thing: the video game industry is now succeeding where the recording industry is failing. Coincidence? You decide! ;-)

ANTH398Dmtg14

2007-04-04T07:36:00.001-07:00

CriticalWorld.Net

Thinking Globalisation Through Music

Blog.CriticalWorld.Net

World Music

West/Non-West

Creation of Otherness

Appropriation

"Big Wigs"

World Beat

Céline Dion as International

Music marketing

Empress of Russia

Cultural Imperialism?

Fashion Statement

Marketing

Supply and Demand

Cartel

Turkishness

Secular Islam

Internationalism

Europe

Nationalism

Migrants

Fourth-World

Non-U.S. Globalisation

Influences on U.S.

Migrants in Europe

China in Africa

Freeing Music

"Music Wants To Be Free"

Free as in "Beer"

Free as in "Speech"

Free from commodification

Free from genre labels

Free expression

Online Revolution

Napster

Podcasts

MySpace

http://www.myspace.com/karlblau

Calabash Music

AfroGenres

Afrobeat

Afrofunk

Afropop

Afrocelt

Social stratification

As class

Cosmopolitanism

Liberal elite

Migrants

Subversion

Reggae

Hip Hop

Ska to Punk

Music industry

State of the Industry

World-music market vs. world music-market

Big Four (Sony BMG, Warner Music, EMI, Universal)

Mergers and acquisitions vs. diversification

Independents

Barclay (typo)

Folkways

Les Disques Audiogram

Ringtones

Identity Symbol

Business Models

Music Sales

Merchandising

Concerts

Other Models?

Instruments

Scores

Training

Research

Sponsorship

Patronage

Rights

Larry Lessig

Creative Commons

Anthony McCann

Napster, RIAA

Playlist

World Music

Czarna Kawa	4:31	Jeszcze Raz	Balagane
Zazueira	3:40	Astrud Gilberto	When Jazz Meets Brazil
Azúca De Caña	4:24	Eva Ayllón	Afro-Peruvian Classics: The Soul of Black Peru
The arabic party	2:46	AHMED BIDER	Oiental Belly Dance 2
Axé Axé	4:04	Daniela Mercury	Sol Da Liberdade
River Song	4:57	Bebel Gilberto	Bebel Gilberto
Mas Que Nada	2:33	Astrud Gilberto	Night Trip (Compiled by Toshio

Music in the World

Dancing On The Ceiling	2:54	Lionel Richie	Encore
I Will Love Again	3:45	Lara Fabian	Lara Fabian
I Will Love Again (Ballad Reprise)	4:55	Lara Fabian	I Will Love Again

World of Music

Alby	4:20	Amr Diab and Cheb Khaled	Awedony
Salsa raï	4:09	Faudel	Samra
Bhangra Daddys	5:44	Punjabi By Nature	Here And Now (Disc 3)
Libérez-nous des libéraux	4:22	Loco Locass	Amour oral

World's Musics

Sorry Sorry (Old School Afro dub)	7:23	Femi Kuti	Hôtel Costes, Volume 2: La suite
Wombo Lombo	4:15	Angélique Kidjo	Fifa
Whirl-Y-Reel 2 (Folk Police mix)	5:28	Afro Celt Sound System	Volume 1: Sound Magic

Musicking World

Theme From Shaft (vocal)	4:38	Isaac Hayes	Shaft
Shaft	3:09	Malik Adouane	Buddha-Bar (disc 2: Party)
Goldorak	2:38	Goldorak (Japonais)	TV Shows

Opening the World of Music

The Jug of Punch	3:30	Altan	Island Angel
Stjärnan (The Star)	6:35	Frifot	Frifot
Tanto Tempo	5:44	Bebel Gilberto	Now Sound of Brazil
Sem Contencao	3:07	Bebel Gilberto	The Now Sound of Brazil
Into the Nada	4:14	Karl Blau	Beneath Waves

Quotes

Empress of Russia

The initial purpose of the meeting was to encourage the retail trade via various concerted efforts as follows.

1. It was agreed that we should create a generic name under which our type of catalogue could be labelled in order to focus attention on what we do. We discussed various names for our type of music(s) and on a show of hands 'World Music' was agreed as the 'banner' under which we would work. Other suggestions were 'World Beat', 'Hot...', 'Tropical...' and various others. It was suggested that all of the labels present would use 'World Music' on their record sleeves (to give a clear indication of the 'File Under...' destination) and also on all publicity material etc. There followed a discussion on whether or not 'World Music' should be presented as a designed logo or simply as a specific type face. Discussion followed as to the extent to which this might engender exclusivity of elitism, thereby begging the question of how any other label/organisation may be able to join the club. The discussion centred around the possible conflict between the short term commercial aim of promoting 'World Music' (sponsored, promoted, and paid for by us), and the longer term aim of establishing 'World Music' as the generic term for this kind of music as with Reggae/Soul/Disco etc. (non-exclusive and open to all). Artists designs solicited for the next meeting.

Pasted from <http://www.frootsmag.com/content/features/world_music_history/minutes/page03.html>

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,11710,1249391,00.html

Robin Denselow How easily did the phrase "world music" come about?

IA There was a vote, but the debate was not so much hey, let's get something trendy, it was to make sure that the term didn't exclude things. For instance, "worldbeat" left out anything without bass and drums. "Ethnic" was too academic.

Pasted from <http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,11710,1249391,00.html>

CG My reservation about the term "world music" has always been that all the great terms - like jazz, reggae, rock'n'roll - sound musical. They come up in songs. Nobody is ever going to have a song title with that phrase "world music" in it. If you took the word "music" away, and just called it "world", that would be better.

Pasted from <http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,11710,1249391,00.html>

Music Market

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_music_market

Nielsen SoundScan reported that the big four accounted for 81.87% of the U.S. music market in 2005:[1]

Universal Music Group (France based) — 31.71%
Sony BMG Music Entertainment, inc. (Japan/Germany based) — 25.61% (13.83% Sony, 11.78% BMG)
Warner Music Group (USA based) — 15%
EMI Group (UK based) — 9.55%
independent labels — 18.13%

Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_music_market>

According to an IFPI report published in August 2005,[3] the big four accounted for 71.7% of retail music sales:

Universal Music Group — 25.5%
Sony BMG Music Entertainment — 21.5%
EMI Group — 13.4%
Warner Music Group — 11.3%
independent labels — 28.4%

Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_music_market>

Loco Locass

http://www.locolocass.net/nouvelles/content/view/27/43/

Libérez-nous des libéraux (texte de Batlam et Biz / musique de Chafiik)

- Prêt pas prêt la charrue Charest, acharnée, charcute en charpie la charpente

De la maison qu'on a mis 40 ans à bâtir

- C'pas toi qui a milité pour Amir Khadir ? -( … )

-Maintenant la table est mise pour 4 ans à pâtir, à pâlir à vue d'œil

Ahuris à la vue d'la bande d'abrutis qui bradent à bride abattue

Qui vendent à rabais, par la bande c'qu'y a pas de prix

Une fois l'mandat fini, le pays ressemble d'un abatis

Coupe sombre, coupe à blanc, Coupe Grey

« Alouette, je te plumerai »

Pis pour couper court au courroux populaire

Patapouf étouffe la foule et légifère à tombeau ouvert

Pis tout sourire il sert la soupe populaire

( C'est ça être solidaire quand on a sacré tout à terre )

Afin de faire taire un argumentaire unique en terre d'Amérique

Mais son affaire, ça fait ben trop l'affaire des régents d'affaires

Du Canada pis du Conseil du Patronat

Bâillon pas bâillon, je raille pareil, le patron des patrons

« Ta yeule Taillon ! »

Heille si le dément démantèlement t'excite tellement

Que c'est comme de la musique à tes oreilles

Comment t'aimes le tintamarre des barbares, dans tes tympans d'avare hagard ?

Face à la menace de la braderie on brandit

Le poing de la Patrie à la face des bandits

Face à la menace de la braderie on brandit le poing ...

Libérez-nous des Libéraux !

J'te l'dis carré, catégorique

Jean Charest, Mike Harris : même combat, même charisme

Même kermesse des biens et services publics

Câlisse faut que ça finisse

La chasse aux bs pour eux c't'une business inespérée

Pis ceux qui dépérissent

Y reste plus qu'à prier Saint Jean-Baptiste

Ça vous apprendra, ma race de séparatistes

Y'a pas de place, où on peut pas faire la piasse

Contrats de performance pour la SGF, pour les CPE, ou les SDF

Un impôt sur la quête? Tiens, ça serait pas bête !

Ça dirige le Québec comme une PME

Comme un pimp ses putes, pour qu'elles alignent les P-I-P-E-S'ti !

Ça se sait ça s'connaît, la clef du succès pour le 24 Sussex

C'est d'assexuer le Québec

Quel beau sujet pour Jean-Claude Labrecque

« À Hauteur de Gnome » ( hauteur de braguette )

Sucer debout, c'est ça se tenir drette...

zzzzzzzzzzzzip : «Je suis prêt »

On est loin de « Maître chez Nous »

Maintenant comme jamais, il y a un traître chez nous

Ça s'entend quand il parle comme un derrière de boîte de céréales

Si tu penses me faire taire, tu perds ton temps j'suis intarissable

« Je vais sous ton ciel, Muse! et je suis ton féal »

Face à la menace…

Libérez-nous des Libéraux !

Pendant que le kid de Sherbrooke

Liquide au souk ce qui nous distingue

Au carnaval libéral fédéral, ça bringue dingue

« Viva Canada ! Banana republica ! »

« Mandat sur mandat, on est encore là ! »

Un parti unique, c'est un parti inique, cynique, qui nique

Tout débat démocratique

La confiance de la rue est rompue

Car la cour de l'empereur corrompu accumule les écus

Et enfin, quand il sent la fin, le monarque débarque

Mais passe le pouvoir à son homme de main

Comme un bon roi Chrétien

Mais selon moi, Martin

Tient du requin ben plus que du dauphin

L'armateur, arnaqueur, anglo, franco –on sait pus trop-

Joue sur tous les tableaux

C'est l'homme des shaloms et des salamalecs

Mais comment croyez-vous qu'il conçoive le Québec ?

Depuis 10 ans, véritable sous-marin

Soi-disant nous tend la main

Mais mate-le nous démâter

En parquant l'gros paquebot des fédéraux dans nos eaux

C'est sûr il s'insinue comme la moelle dans nos os

En somme ça me semble simple : sous les libéraux

Québec et Ottawa sont les lames d'un ciseau

L'une décrisse les racines du lys

Et l'autre s'immisce au sein de nos services

Ça fait qu'émasculé, pis enculé, le calcul est pas compliqué : on va r'culer

Devant tant d'unifoliés déployés à tous les paliers

Croyez qu'on va tous se noyer, broyés, dans la marée rouge

À moins qu'on ne bouge …

Enweille bouge!

Libérez-nous des libéraux !

Les cols bleus, les cols blancs, toutes les écoles confondues

Faut se ruer dans la rue, au printemps comme une crue

Faire éclater notre ras-le-bol, une débâcle de casseroles Trêve de paroles, faites du bruit!

Un charivari pour chavirer ce parti, comme en Argentine, en Bolivie

D'un pôle à l'autre, c'est un constat continental :

À bas le bulldozer libéral !

Libérez-nous des Libéraux !

Tamtid'lidé délibérez du libellé

Tamtid'lido libérez-nous des libéraux

Pasted from <http://www.locolocass.net/nouvelles/content/view/24/39>

Field Guides

2007-03-31T21:11:00.000-07:00

Those of you who might do ethnographic fieldwork in the future might enjoy perusing the field guides from the Vermont Folklife Center. Very valuable information, showing some of the connections between ethnographic disciplines, especially in terms of recording technologies.
The Vermont Folklife Center Archive - Field Research Guides :: Vermont Folklife Center Middlebury VT

World Change and Idealism

2007-03-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

Just when you think I've been too much of an Apple fanboy for one day...

Think Different - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.

So, the idea here: idealists may in fact be involved in this type of social change Attali and others have been talking about.
Is this what the world really needs? Are the dreamers' dreams worthier than those of the majority?

Threads

2007-03-28T12:47:00.000-07:00

Participation
Aesthetics
Identity
Representation
Status
Power
Subversion
Commodification
Value
Function
Gender

ANTH398D Meeting 13

2007-03-28T07:55:00.001-07:00

PedTech Survey

Tech and learning

Constructivism

Application

Course as a whole

Exploration

Solidifying

Engagement

Attali

Active, dynamic

French intellectual

Polymath

Globalisation

Microcredit

Playlist

Star and Campfire

Pour un instant	3:21	Harmonium	Harmonium
Un musicien parmi tant d'autres	7:01	Harmonium	Harmonium
Dixie	3:26	Harmonium	Si on avait besoin d'une 5e saison

Court to Popular

Sunjata Fasa	9:48	An Be Kelen	We Are One
Auprès de ma blonde	2:42	Aristide Bruand	À Montmartre
Le fiacre	2:43	Jean Sablon	Paris - Café Concert!
Martin de la Chasse-Galerie	3:52	La Bottine Souriante	La Mistrine

Anthems

internationale-fr	3:22
Internationale RU	3:58
I'internationale	5:12	Pete Seeger	Singalong: Live at Sanders Theatre, 1980
Internationale	3:48	Billy Bragg	The Internationale
anacreon	2:18
Oh Canada	1:34	Sarah McLachlan
CBC Hockey Night In Canada	0:33	CBC Canada Ltd.
Gens du pays	2:22	Gilles Vigneault	Chemin faisant - Cent et une chansons (disc 5)
Aux armes et Caetera	3:05	Serge Gainsbourg	Aux Armes et Caetera

Me'shell

Barry Farms	5:20	Me'Shell NdegéOcello	Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape
Poison Ivy	3:32	Me'Shell NdegéOcello	Batman & Robin
Jabril	6:06	Me'Shell NdegéOcello	Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape
The Womb	1:25	Me'Shell NdegéOcello	Peace Beyond Passion
Who Is He and What Is He to You	4:49	Me'Shell NdegéOcello	Peace Beyond Passion

Noise

Artist

Specialist

Individual

Not craftsperson or servant

Creative

Living from Art

Patronised

Court

Aristocratic

Bourgeois

Intellectual

Popular

Commodity

Object of sale

Interchangeable

Value

Symbolic

Exchange

Commercial

Political economy

Lateralisation

Capitalisms

French

American

(British?)

(German?)

(Post-National?)

Commercialism

Liberalism

Invisible hand

Resources

Values

Exchange

Economics, Sociology, (European) Anthropology

Adam Smith

Thomas Malthus

Karl Marx

Émile Durkheim

Max Weber

Theodor Adorno

Steps

Printing press

Industrialisation

Revolutions

Romanticism

Modernity

Post-Modernity

Reproduction

Rights

Blog.CriticalWorld.Net

Larry Lessig

Creative Commons

Anthony McCann

Napster, RIAA

Big Four (Sony BMG, Warner Music, EMI, Universal)

Noise and Harmony

Physics

Chaos and order

Social control

Metaphor

Pedagogical value

Used by thinkers

Actual influence

History

Music prefiguring change

Music in changing society

Directionality

French exceptionalism

French Revolution

Nationalism

Pride

Society representing itself

Threads

Sound, acoustics

Arts and Sciences

Inter-subjectivity

Dance

Social structure

Subversion

Commodification

Participation

Playing with Music

2007-03-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

Once in a while, Peter Gabriel's Real World record label holds contests for music remixes. You download sample packs and try to create an interesting remix with it. Some of these remixes are released by Real World.
To me, this is part of the whole "mashup" era for music and other creative forms. Doing something with music besides listening to you or buying it.
This time, Angélique Kidjo is among the sources for this competition.
Real World Remixed | Home

Jazz and Shallowness

2007-03-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

This is kind of sad. What could have been an interesting discussion of music and culture turned out to be shallower than a Ken Burns movie. My guess is, Lydon was taking by the flattery. And the accent.
I'll nurture my own accent but I won't lick anyone's boots.

Is Music Deviant?

2007-03-21T08:36:00.001-07:00

ANTH398D – Selected Topics in Anthropology: Ethnomusicology

Meeting 12, March 21, 2007

Deviant

Alexandre Enkerli

enkerli@gmail.com

Announcements

Two meetings left

Erin McLeod on April 4

Upcoming shows

Dakan April 11 (Balattou?)

Next week

Dense

Rewritten recently

Political economy

Commodification

Usage rights

Social change

Music People

Musicker

Musician

Artist

Marginality

Social topology (centre, margins)

Chief, priest, elite

"If we were all like you…"

La marge

Edge

Fringe

Anti-conformism

Think Different

Becker

"Culture" for sociologists

Sociological fieldwork

Vulgarity

Gender

Finance

Language

Being different

Pride

Rebellion

Wealthy families

Evaluation

Self-segregation

Squares antagonism

Ghettoisation

Jazz to commercial (Still active)

Deviance

Drugs

Sexuality

Ethnicity

Anti-racism

Spirituality and religion

Hollywood's role

Las Vegas, New Orleans, Amsterdam...

Musicians in Society

Associate with musicians

Role models

Music fans

Music and social change

Dream change

Playlist

A Love Supreme, Part I -- Acknowledgement 7:45 John Coltrane

Pour un ami condamné 4:21 Diane Dufresne Diane (disc 2: Dufresne)

J'aurais Voulu être Un Artiste 4:21 Starmania

Artistes 3:53 Claude Dubois Ma Préférence

The Unknown Pedestrian 8:35 Alexandre Burton Cache 2000 Times Play

Chiaroscuro... ou les jeux de l'ambiguité 17:47 Dhomont, Francis 1st Magisterium of the 16th International Electroacoustic Music Competition, Bourges 1988

Harlem Blues (Acapulco version) 4:47 The Branford Marsalis Quartet Mo' Better Blues (feat. Terence Blanchard)

Lemon Incest 5:15 Serge Gainsbourg De Gainsbourg à Gainsbarre (disc 2)

Dreamer 3:31 Supertramp The Very Best of Supertramp

Imagine 3:04 John Lennon Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon

It Can Happen 5:29 Yes 90125

Barry Farms 5:20 Me'Shell NdegéOcello Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape

Beatboxing Paris

2007-03-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

Anyone doubts that France can be fun?
Notice the reactions...

Concert sauvage dans le métro !
envoyé par lapapsprod

Ian Cross

2007-03-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

Sounds like an interesting character. His students are working on diverse topics relevant to anthropology generally. Many of his publications are available as preprints. And, intriguing factoid:

[he] is the only member of the Music Faculty at Cambridge (as far as he is
aware) to have rejected an offer to join the Bay City Rollers.

398mtg10heavy

2007-03-07T08:33:00.001-08:00

Next Week

Wanted Levitin

Openness to cultural

Cross

ANTH398D Meeting 8

2007-02-28T08:27:00.001-08:00

Business

Performances?
CRs
Projects

Next Week

Acoustic terminology
Notice connections
Timbre
Descriptions
Genres
Methodology
- Applied acoustics
- Culture and sound

Questions on terminology?

Themes

Lecture

Playlist

Music Concepts

Timbre
- Sound colour
- Voice quality
  - Crying voice
- Voice as instrument
- Imitation
  - Beatboxing, mouthdrumming, vocal percussion, instrument imitation
    - http://www.casa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=766&Itemid=54
Spectrum
Spectrogram

Language concepts

Sound symbolism ("gl-": glistening, glow)
Arbitrary/motivated
Convention/similarity
Iconic
Metaphorical
- Analogical
- Symbolic
Metadiscursive
- Discourse on discourse
- Applied to music?
Diphthongs
- Standard English, Mandarin...
- Appalachia
- Quebec

Boundaries speech and song

Acoustic
Codified
Universal
Localised
Sprachgesang
Rap

Voice on music

TAMILDAA
Influence semantic description on actual sound
Encoding aesthetics (boomy as undesirable)

Sensory Dimensions

Acoustics
Synesthesia
- Neurological
- Suggestion
Visual
Taste

Studio Production

Sound people
Music specialisation
DJs
Highly produced
Aesthetics
Precise acoustical models
Manu Katché and drums (Bob James and Earl Klugh) Harvey Mason Jr.
Session drummer
Studio session
Diana Ross Coming Out (Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, CHIC)

Aesthetics

Poetic function
Heightened speech
Performance theory
Cultural specificity ("relativism")
Ethnocentrism in aesthetics
American Idol
Beautiful Instrument

Classifications

Granularity
Ethnosemantics
Cognitive anthropology

Bakhtin

Polyvocality
Popularise "voice" as literary technique
Literary fields (comp. lit.)
Writing and power
Identity politics

Social concepts

Shared understanding
Shared experience
- Community of experience
- Community of practise
- Wittgenstein to Eckert
Oral Transmission

Social issues

Dispossessed
Reappropriation
sociolinguistics
- Can't stand him singing in the rain w/ can't stand the sound

Ethnography

Get into cultural sound
Performative dimension

Rest

Musical Transcription
Drama
Grandiose writing
Music writing
- Music critic
- Sounds as if Tom Jones had a kid with k.d. lang
- References
- Show-offs

Examples

A cappella
- I Feel Good 3:19 Bobby McFerrin
- Chameleon 4:52 Vox One
- Maquillages 0:50 La Bande Magnétik
- Always Coca-Cola 1:01 The Acafellas
- Lou dans l'aquarium 3:51 Maurane
- Moondance 3:04 Straight No Chaser
- Don't Stand So Close To Me 4:57 U Penn Off the Beat
- Killing Me Softly 4:41 Tufts University Amalgamates
Own on Voice
- Tiens-toé Ben, J'arrive 2:14 Diane Dufresne
- Buzz 3:16 Diane Dufresne
Country to Prod
- He Stopped Loving Her Today 3:15 George Jones
- (If You're Not in it for Love) I'm Outta Here! 4:29 Shania Twain
- High Lonesome 3:39 Jedd Hughes
- Sexuality 4:13 K.D. Lang
YouTube
Distinguish words
- Brian Wilson 4:45 Barenaked Ladies

Culture Shock?

2007-02-27T16:53:00.000-08:00

As a Montreal preparing to move to Austin, TX, I might not have so much of a culture shock, at least if Euro-American Indie American is the main issue...
Podmodernisme: Austin, PQ

Drag King at Sala Rossa (feb 17, $10)

2007-02-03T15:37:00.000-08:00

Learned about this through Gary Dickinson (who happens to be an anthropologist!).
Should be really interesting.

dragkingsmontreal : KING SIZE

*KING SIZE*: A GENDER-BENDING DRAG KING SHOW!

*King Size* perfoms at Meow Mix, February 17, 2007 at La Sala Rossa, 4848 boul. St-Laurent. 9:30 pm, $10.

Global Music Workshop

2007-02-03T05:21:00.000-08:00

GLOBAL MUSIC WORKSHOP

Are you a musician? Would you like to explore different musical styles and traditions? Join us for Global Music 2007, and learn to play and sing pieces from Arab, Turkish, and other Middle Eastern cultures. Our Artists-in-Residence are specialists in the music and instruments of this fascinating culture: the oud, the saz, the qunun, and the tabla. Learn how to express yourself in sound, and develop your skills in improvisation. Discuss what it means to be a musician in today's world, and how music can bridge cultures.

Whether you are an accomplished musician or just beginning to learn, this workshop has something for everyone!"

From a message to the mailing-list of the Society for Ethnomusicology:

Global Music Workshop 2007
July 15 – August 4, 2007 (for U.S. participants)
July 13 – August 4, 2007 (for international participants)
Invitation for Young Musicians

Schools, music teachers, orchestra directors, and parents are invited to nominate young people (ages 13-18) for a dynamic cross-cultural musical experience this summer at Legacy International's Global Youth Village.

Global Music 2007 is an innovative workshop offering young musicians the opportunity to expand their musicianship and explore cultural diversity in a summer camp setting. Students expand upon the musical skills they have developed in their home and school music programs by learning to perform the music of a different cultural tradition. Coached by expert instructors, students learn to perform repertoire from the focus culture in a stylistically appropriate manner. The workshop includes listening and discussion components designed to develop students' understanding of how people of different cultures express themselves through sound. As a result, the students gain a broader musical identity and become bolder and more imaginative musicians.

This summer's workshop will focus on musical styles of the Middle East, including Arab, Turkish and other musical traditions. It is a three week residential program. In 27 hours of workshop instruction, students will be introduced to the melodic and rhythmic modes common to these traditions. All participants will learn basic frame drum technique and a number of Middle Eastern rhythms. In addition, some students will be invited to study the oud (11-stringed fretless lute), saz (long-necked Turkish lute), qanun (78-stringed dulcimer), riqq (Arabic tambourine) or tabla (goblet-shaped drum). Strings players (violin, viola, cello, or bass) may bring their own instruments and will be instructed in specific techniques
characteristic of Middle Eastern musics.

The workshop is embedded within the Global Youth Village, a unique program in Bedford, Virginia which brings together young people from around the world to create a living, working model of the world community.
Participants in the Global Music workshop will live in cabins and enjoy their free time with 60 peers from different countries and cultures; developing friendships, discussing current events, and exploring how music can bridge cultural differences.

Instructors for Global Music are experienced performers and scholars with years of experience in the music of the Middle East. Anne Elise Thomas, Ph.D. in ethnomusicology, has performed Middle Eastern music for over ten years and recently spent two and a half years studying in Cairo, Egypt and Amman, Jordan. Michael Ellison, Ph.D. in composition, has devoted years of study to Turkish music and now teaches at the Dr. Erol Ucer Center for Advanced Studies in Music at Istanbul Technical University. Guest instructors who specialize in instrumental performance give students focused instruction on the instrument of their choice.

This program is targeted toward players of strings, percussion, piano or keyboard, and singers, with three or more years of musical experience. The cost for this full three-week experience, including room and board, workshop instruction, and other programming, is $1900 for U.S. participants and $2100 for international participants.
Some financial assistance is available. Spaces are limited
to ten students. Deadline to be considered for financial assistance is March 15, 2007.

For more information and to request an application: contact Innocentia Carr, (iacarr@legacyintl.org), or visit www.globalyouthvillage.org

Ruckus and Music Discovery

2007-02-01T12:23:00.000-08:00

Ruckus.com: Free Online Music for All College Students!
What this means is that any .edu address (but only a .edu address) can now be used to register for a free Ruckus account. (I'm a Ph.D. candidate at Indiana University so I was able to register with my IU address.) Addresses from academic institutions don't work in this system.
So, faculty and staff at U.S. universities and colleges are also able to get free accounts. And, though the service is student-oriented, it can easily be used by teachers to listen to different types of music, including music appreciated by students.
I've tried the service and it does work fairly well for the purposes of music discovery.

However, it's more crippled than most music subscription services. For instance, you can't carry your music to any other device without paying for a subscription. Even then, I think it's only for the dying breed of MPFS players, so no iPod and no Dune-rhyming media player from MS. The player application is quite clunky.
It's also inefficient as hell. From the browser, downloads are put in a queue through the player application. This queue is very slow and it's quite difficult to get a single track to download fast when you have many tracks being transfered.
Though many people dislike the iTunes application, accessing the iTunes Store through it is a breeze when compared to the process of getting tracks from Ruckus.

So, I don't like Ruckus.com and the Ruckus Player as much as I like iTunes. With plenty of memory, iTunes works quite well for me. Because it works on the same overall principle, Songbird is also a very useful tool for me, even though it's still extremely early in the development stage.
What are Ruckus's advantages over iTunes and Songbird? One is current and obvious, the other one is a mere possibility and could represent a sea change in the recording industry's approach to access control in music listening. Yes, really.
First, the obvious advantage: all-you-can-eat buffet. Ruckus is a subscription service like Napster and Rhapsody and unlike the iTunes Store, Calabash Music, or eMusic. For a variety of reasons, subscription services haven't fared really well so far. One of the main reasons is that those services restrict access to music files way too much. In this respect, Ruckus seems even worse. But another with subscription services is that they require constant payment. You stop paying, you lose access to the music files you had accumulated. Frustrating enough to make the whole system unpalatable to most.
Here, Ruckus is a bit different. Not only is the (unbelievably restrictive) basic subscription free for all owners of .edu addresses, but the "contract" is thought to run throughout the user's tenure at the academic institution. For a student, it basically means that the service is supposed to be maintained until graduation. Translation: get hooked to free access to music while you're saving money to study, start paying for access to music once you get a regular, non-student income. Sounds sneaky but Ruckus seems pretty honest about it and I can't say I find the whole thing absurd. In fact, I think it's a large part of the logic behind student discounts and other student-oriented services. Including Facebook. And even some academic programs!!
Again, obvious. And advantageous. If the goal is music discovery, it means that you can listen to all the music you want until you graduate by which time you're supposed to pay to access the music you've come to like.

The second advantage Ruckus could have is less obvious: peer sharing.
Call me naïve but I get the impression that the move to include all owners of .edu addresses may mean that it could be possible to share tracks between Ruckus accounts. If so, the service could have an interesting impact.
It could be so useful that I feel it might exist already. If so, I haven't seen it.
Because I like to compare music and food, I think of the all-you-can-eat buffet analogy with a specific implication. I know some people (especially some Protestant Anglo-Americans) may get disgusted but, "in my culture," sharing food at a buffet is perfectly normal. If my wife and I are eating at a buffet, we might try different things and share what we think the other will like. Now, when you go to a buffet with someone else, you may not share any food with someone who isn't paying. But it's usually ok to share something with anyone who is paying for the buffet. That way, less food is lost and it's easier to try most of the food available.
As most people know, much music discovery happens through recommendations. Online recommendations can work fairly well, for instance on Amazon and Netflix. But there's a huge difference between a recommendation and actually sharing something with someone else. Going back to the buffet analogy.
Case 1: A friend tried the tandoori chicken and liked it. She tells me that I really should go and get some. Once I'm done with my plate, I go get some tandoori chicken, sit down, try it, and find out I don't really like it. I've lost some time and, perhaps more importantly, some confidence in the compatibility of my friend's taste with my own taste.
Case 2: My wife gets a bite of tandoori chicken and likes it so much that she almost shoves a piece in my mouth. The power of suggestion is strong enough that I enjoy the chicken almost as much as she does. More importantly, I get to share this moment with my wife. Bonding is all about direct experience, not about delayed satisfaction.
Back to music.
Case 1: A colleague tells me that I really should check out such and such band. I put it in my queue of things to listen to, when I get the time. Once I finish what I was doing, I listen to a few seconds of a track recommended by that colleague. I can kind of hear what the colleague found interesting in the band's overall style but I'm not sure I'd want to keep it in my playlist. I wonder about reasons why this colleague felt a need to recommend that band. I become over-analytic and critical. I fail to enjoy the music.
Case 2: During a class discussion about shamanism, a student sends the class a track of a piece inspired by Siberian shamans. We get to listen to it together and comment upon it. "Skip to 2:23," the student says. Through the power of suggestion and the importance of context, we all get to share a moment of intellectual and musical stimulation. Listening to that first excerpt, a second student thinks about the perfect complement, diphonic throat singing from Southcentral Asia. We all listen to that second excerpt, thinking about connections between the two. Both students now feel validated in their approach to music, and everyone gets to think about music in a new way.

Part of the issue is the technology. If DRM-crippled files can be shared, we can better accept the need for access control but we still end up with crippled files. Obviously, non-DRM files are easy to share. But the Big Four (Universal, EMI, Sony-BMG, Warner Music) have been unwilling to release non-DRM files until very recently. It has thus created an artificial division of music based on access controls and has had a chilling effect on music innovation.
Another set of issues relates to the perception of music as a "commodity." Like LPs and CDs, music files are but a trace of a given set of music performances and/or of studio work. In my mind, music is located in the way human beings share, exchange, communicate, and think through sounds. In my humble opinion, listening to music with other people, like participating in a music session (regardless of "talent") can be much more "musical" in this sense than buying music files or even recommending a band name.

But that's just my opinion. ;-)

CFP: Perf Studies Conf (NYU, November)

2007-02-01T10:48:00.000-08:00

Performance Studies International

Study abroad at the University of Ghana - folkwaysAliveWiki

2007-02-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

Proof that ethnomusicology can get you places:
Study abroad at the University of Ghana - folkwaysAliveWiki

Quebec WAM

2007-01-29T18:02:00.000-08:00

The latest episode of Télé-Québec's Méchant Contraste!
had sections on "Classical Music" in Quebec. Very à propos, isn't it?

Many issues to talk about. Regionalism, generation gaps, defining "culture," popularity, financing, training, history, cultural policy, etc.

Digital Music Linkfest

2007-01-26T07:10:00.000-08:00

As usual, been reading several things on music in the digital era. Some of them are quite relevant to our discussions on the commodification of music (and its effects on a global stage), new business models for music, and musicking. Some links.

Record labels rethink digital rights management at Midem - International Herald Tribune

Universal exec - say goodbye to the old record co. | The Register

Indies unite to challenge Big Four digital deals | The Register

Universal music chief blasts Slashdot [printer-friendly] | The Register

Why Everyone Hates The Music Industry - E-business & Business Technology News by TechWeb

Conversation avec Jacques Attali: Ironie du virtuel

The more recent links in this list have to do with the Midem conference, which just happened in Cannes. Events like these abound but my hope is that this one marked an actual paradigm shift (in Kuhn's sense).

Biopiracy and Music

2007-01-21T18:54:00.000-08:00

Just watched an Arte documentary on Biopiracy, Globalisation, Biodiversity, Patent Law, and Neo-colonialism called «Biopiraterie: une nouvelle forme de colonisation » (showing on Télé-Québec, the most anthro-friendly tv station around here!). Lots of fascinating comments providing a balanced view of the main issues from the perspective of articulate participants from Mexico, India, and Brazil.
The exemplary case was that of an indigenous strain of yellow beans from Mexico which has been patented and the U.S., with the patent owner requesting royalties on imported Mexican beans. The consensus among (agricultural and social) scientists is that such a case demonstrate abuse of the patent system (and the so-called "Intellectual Property").

All of this made me think about appropriation, by Euro-Americans, of musics from other parts of the world. This happens especially often with musics from Africa and South America. Often the arguments are less visibly economic than with biopiracy, but the effects are quite similar.
Some people see this as "stealing" a society's products. This approach is what I tend to call the "loaf of bread theory" as advocates often talk about "intellectual property" as if it were made of physical goods, like a loaf of bread. There are clear laws against stealing so these people tend to see increased coercion through law enforcement as the main solution.
Others think that stealing isn't the issue but what is at stake is that members of a given society are prevented by outsiders from using local products in ways which can benefit their own society as well as the world as a whole. I see myself as a member of the second camp.
The parallel with music? When, say, a German "recording artist" uses a sample from an unnamed singer in a remote village in the Niger Delta on a broadly successful album without giving anything back to anyone in West Africa, global inequalities and the dominant position of the Recording Industry mean that the performances of African musicians will be perceived partly through the German musician's albums. For the village singer, it may not mean that much and it's quite possible that she may use the German recording as a marketing device to start a career as a professional musician. But for other performers of the same musical items as well as for many people linked with local musics in Africa and elsewhere, it means that they enter the game with a loaded dice that they didn't choose.
A related perspective, in a blog entry on Biopiracy and Music Piracy:

Whilst big industry is trying to fight an all out war against music piracy down to ruining individual students with well publicized court cases, big industry is opposing strenuously the declaration of the sources of genetic material.

As explained by interviewees in Biopiraterie, this isn't much of a contradiction since multi-nationals are simply being greedy as they are wont to be (as even some CEOs admit).
Strains of life forms, like musical performances, should not be confused with commodities.

User-Gen and The Law

2007-01-15T09:30:00.000-08:00

Speaking of Michael Geist, he wrote an interesting piece on what I tend to call the YouYear (the year, labeled by Business 2.0 and TIME as the year of the individual creator).
Michael Geist - The Policy Response to the User-Generated Content Boom
He emphasises the legal/policy issues, obviously, but it's also important to think about social implications of anyone being able to provide public access to their own creative content.

Canadian Consuming Music

2007-01-15T08:49:00.000-08:00

A CBC write-up on the new copyright law:
Copyright law changes could leave consumers vulnerable

Law researcher Michael Geist is probably the most vocal legal commentator of "intellectual property" in Canada.

Music and Development

2007-01-11T15:12:00.000-08:00

What do you all think about this project? Connecting music with development.
Tune Your World :: calabashmusic.com
Calabash Music is an online music store specialised in music from outside of Euro-America. Their financial model is linked with the fair trade movement.

Posting Comments

2007-01-11T15:03:00.000-08:00

Oops!
I had set this blog up so that only registered Google users could comment. Comments are now open to anyone. If there's abuse, I'll close it up but register all students in my ANTH398D class.

Improvisation Research

2006-12-22T10:10:00.000-08:00

A whole special issue of Contemporary Music Research on improvisation. Looks interesting.

Music References

2006-12-08T21:22:00.000-08:00

A quick list of some online resources on music through the University's libraries.

The Grove Music Online is a well-known general reference on music. It can be useful to look up some musical terms, get some information about genres or search for specific musicians (especially in Jazz and Classical genres)
Direct access: http://0-www.grovemusic.com.mercury.concordia.ca/index.html?authstatuscode=200

The Music Index Online is an index of music journals by author and subject. It has apparently been greatly improved last February.
Direct access: http://0-www.hppmusicindex.com.mercury.concordia.ca/brs/hpplogin.jsp
RILM stands for «Répertoire international de litérature musicale» but it's known, in English, as "Abstracts of Music Literature." It's a very extensive database for all references having to do with music, from dissertations and books to journal articles.
Direct access: http://0-search.ebscohost.com.mercury.concordia.ca/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=rih

Concordia has access to the full JSTOR III collection, which includes many full-text articles on music.
Direct access: http://0-www.jstor.org.mercury.concordia.ca/

In all cases, you can access the databases from campus or from an off-campus connection with your library login information (barcode and PIN).

Audrey Laplante is the subject librarian for music.

Brain On Music

2006-12-08T14:01:00.000-08:00

There's a nice website for Dan Levitin's book This is Your Brain on Music. The Science of a Human Obsession. I wanted to have part of this book required for the ANTH398D course but, for several reasons, I replaced it with Ian Cross's discussion of the evolutionary impact of music. Levitin's book may still be an entertaining read and his site is full of interesting bits about music from a rather broad perspective (that of both a professional musician and a psychology prof).

Music References, RefWorks

2006-12-08T13:54:00.000-08:00

Anyone in the worldGood news! The whole Concordia community now has access to the very comprehensive RILM Abstracts of Music Literature database. That database is available through both on- and off-campus connections. It contains a remarkable number of references in most fields of music study, including most articles and books written in the anthropology of music, ethnomusicology, and comparative musicology. One of the nicest things about some of the newer bibliographic resources is that they are directly integrated with the RefWorks online reference manager (think Endnote or ProCite on the Web, only better). Concordia has a site license for RefWorks which means that any member of the Concordia community can set up RefWorks accounts, add references directly from online databases, including Google Scholar (it's especially easy from campus but can be done from other connections), and share references with the outside world. I've been posting a number of ethnomusicology and anthropology of music references through that functionality. Very useful!

Placeholder

2005-10-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

Thought about creating a blog for some courses I'm teaching or will be teaching. This one will be (at least initially) for an ethnomusicology course to be taught at Concordia University (in Montreal) during Winter semester 2006.