Elijah Wald writes of Mexican Ballads, or corridos, in his article "Polka Contrabrandista." He explains how corridos were used as a medium to entertain and a medium to communicate with the Mexican masses. Many of these songs are politically charged, speaking of the Mexican-American drug trade and promoting a strong sense of national identity. In turn, they have come to be a very controversial form of music. Once again, a parallel can be drawn to hip-hop, but beyond that they can be compared to music like Marilyn Manson, both being cited as dangerous to the masses.
Discussion Question:
Is everything that is sympathetic with illegal activity automatically deemed morally dangerous and corrupt? If that is the case, what makes music more dangerous than movies or television, which while coming under fire for its glorification of violence and sex and other things deemed immoral, doesn't receive nearly as much criticism as music? Is there something in music that makes people more susceptible to its influence?
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Critical Review: Wald 2001
Critical Review: Flores 2000
In this article, Flores talks about the history of Boogaloo (a word that sounds just like the word Ricky Ricardo used to sing in I Love Lucy, but he was from Cuba). Boogaloo was a dance music that gained popularity in the 50's and 60's emerging from New York Blacks and Latinos. It was frowned upon by mambo artist, frustrated with what they viewed as their less-talented competition. But the lack of substance, the fun and the light-hearted music, was enough to send it packing pretty soon after it became popular and died to salsa. This music reminds me of hip hop and crunk music. Crunk music, which came from the south, was very much a party music that took over the hip hop seen in the mid-2000s, but faded eventually with the rise of Autotune and a more experimental hip-hop. Crunk was disrespected widely throughout the hip-hop community and many people, including myself were very happy to see it finally leave.
Discussion Question:
Could one say that not all overnight sensations are doomed to fail, with the example of hip-hop in the US and the world, or can only subgenres be considered for this fate?
Critical Review: Back 1996 part 2
In the second half of "Inglan, nice up!", Back focuses on the crossover effect of the 80's and 90's in London Black music. He talks about hip-hop, reggae, soul and 90's dancehall music and has an ethnographic moment in a dancefloor. He talks about how the different genre's and different races have all intermixed and lost their initial definition as you enter 90's Britain. I found this very interesting because while there are many different genres of Black music in the US, they haven't had this same effect and are still distinct from one another.
Discussion Question:
In the US, has there been more of an "intermezzo" with hip-hop and pop music than within Black genres of music?
Critical Review: Back 1996 part 1
The first half of Chapter 8 of Les Back's New Ethnicities and Urban Cultures focus on the history behind the history of reggae in London's urban community. The black clubs started out in response to racism barring black workers from going to clubs and pubs in England. In these spaces, they combined different musical styles from the African diaspora and created a style of their own. Within this genre lies the sound system or set, which serves as the medium to combining all of these influencing genres.
I wasn't too surprised with the misogyny part of the article because often in urban music lies an element of misogyny, but I was surprised with the fact that the Rastafari movement seeped into the white working class and changed what that meant for them as well.
Discussion Question: In America, the tale often goes that Blacks came to America with the music in their hearts, transformed the music to live through it as generations came and times changed and to survive through the racism and injustice suffered, whereas in this case in England, Blacks made these spaces and music in response to rejection from Whites. Is there a difference in the level of Black/African authenticity because of the initial want to assimilate into the white culture? What would or wouldn't constitute this difference?
Critical Review: McClary 1994
Critical Review: McClary 1994
In “Same as it Ever Was” McClary discusses the connection between music and the body. She discusses how music has been seen as an enabler of behavior deemed wrong and seen as sensual, rebellious or emasculate. She discusses "In the Midnight Hour" by Wilson Pickett and how this song crossed over into the "whiter" airwaves of radio and caused a dance sensation across the nation.
While reading this article, I was reminded very much of a main opposition to hip hop by some of today's "Church-like" groups: the opposition of the sensuality of the music and the dances that come with it. This is often opposed not just by white conservatives, but members of the Black Church as well.
Discussion Question:
Why is so much focus in this day and age on the sensual/sexual aspect of music by both the proponents and the opponents? Where is the focus on the rebellious aspect of music? Is there not enough music in the mainstream to warrant any sort of public outcry?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Critical Review: Hayes
Critical Review: Hayes 2004
Hayes’s article “Fear of (and Fascination With) a Black Planet: The Relocation of Rap by White Non-Urban Youth” focuses on white suburbia’s fascination with hip hop. He used 2003 Scottsville, Ontario as his subject and found that the fans wanted to be “gangsta” but when put in an atmosphere similar to that portrayed in the songs, the romanticism of the hip hop world they thought they knew vanished. Hayes's article focused on the disconnect between hip-hop-obsessed white suburbia and the reality of the hip hop scene outside of their safe ground of suburbia.
I constantly find myself at odds with how I feel about this topic. While I have found many white people who are fans of hip hop minus the romanticism of gangsta life in suburbia, there are so many who are ignorant to their own play into the stereotypes placed upon urban life and those who wish to imitate it.
Discussion Question:
Is it possible for white fans of hip hop to be as authentic as fans of color? Will society ever let white fans to be considered legit? Or will they always be considered "whiggers"?
Critical Review: Cohen 1997
Critical Review: Cohen 1997
In the article, "Men Making a Scene," Cohen writes about the predominately male rock music scene in Liverpool. She writes about how the scene is predominately male because of the exclusion of women from the basic elements of learning music in their youth to their attendance at different concerts and venues. Cohen doesn’t believe that the rock music naturally male but a product of the pre-existing male dominated culture. She believes the Liverpool rock scene to be “shaped or constrained by conventions of behaviour and thought within the general ‘rock world’, but also by local conventions.” The result is men making a scene.
Discussion Question:
If the pre-existing social conditions and conventions didn’t exist, would punk exist? Even further, would punk be considered punk without the male dominance?
fieldnotes 2
Fieldnotes: (693 words)
05/23/2009
The Bear Necessities Commencement Concert
05:00 pm
As a member of the Brown’sTones (my acappella group) and I race to see the Bear Necessities Commencement concert, I can’t help but wonder: what songs will they sing? What traditions do they have for their last concert? Will someone cry? How late are we?
We arrive 15 minutes late but they haven’t even started yet. We take a seat towards the middle and I look around and see some people I know and some older people who I am assuming are family. Alum, Jed Resnick, comes down and introduces the Bears and they do their usual run down the aisles to the stage. They clump into their arch, the pitch pipe blows they start singing their Stevie Wonder Medley.
Federico Rodriguez ’09 and his falsetto come out front and center singing Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours). I know and love this song because it’s on their new album and I listen to it constantly. Next up to sing the second solo, My Cherie Amore is Ellis Rochelson ’09. I’ve worked with him before and know his voice well, but there’s a little more heart this time, probably because it’s the last time, for a long time if at all, that he will be singing this song. Matt Bauman ‘10 takes over with Superstition and gets crowd up with a more up-tempo song. Then a face that I know well but haven’t seen singing with the Bears all year, Brandon Chinn ’09, takes over the solo that belonged to an ’08 alum, and sings For Once In My Life. I’ve always heard about how it was so weird this year to see the Bears without him, and now I understand why. He seemed to fit right in, even though he had sung with them all year. Fed comes back with his soaring falsetto to round out the song and they reintroduce themselves as they always do.
Alex Werth ’09 then starts the perc (percussion/beat boxing) for their signature song Zoot Suit Riot. Fed is the soloist and it’s a favorite among regular Bear Necessities audience members. During the breakdown, there’s the usual call and response routine, but Fed prolongs the breakdown and states, “I don’t want to leave the Bears.” I feel a pang of realization. He wont be back next year to sing this song. After the song concludes, they then have a member of the Bears, Michael Warton ’12, come up and say a few words about Fed and present him with a teddy bear made at the Build-A-Bear factory personalized just for him. I realize then that this is their tradition. And it fits perfectly.
As the concert continues, each senior gets a bear and sings a solo. But there is one special moment that occurs that touches the hearts of everyone in the audience and takes my fandom for the Bears to an entirely new level. Matt Bauman tells the audience about how when on tour, the Bears stayed at senior Pete Cipparone’s house and found out that his father was a huge a cappella fan. They also found up that his favorite song was Brandy. The Bears did the song in the past and it was on their last CD so they pull their resources together and learned the song for his dad. But an added bonus was that they had both Pete and his dad solo the song during the concert. My fellow Brown’sTone then said after the performance, “That was so cute. I think they’re my favorite now.”
They closed out the concert with their alumni song Streets of Philadelphia. The alums and current members hit the stage in two rows, with the seniors in front holding each other and swaying from side to side. It was so beautiful and heartfelt with loads of added riffs and high notes that may have been off-key for half a second, but showed the pain of leaving, along with the joy of singing with their brothers just one more time.
As we left, me and my Brown’sTone buddy gushed over the concert and then remembered our own and how we too soon had to say goodbye to our seniors.
fieldnotes 1
Fieldnotes: (784 words)
05/23/2009
The Jabberwocks Alumni Arch Sing
12:00am
Wayland Arch
Nearing the end of Campus Dance, a few friends and I decide to go see some of our friends and tons of old Jabberwocks in their alumni arch sing for their 60th reunion. We rush over to Wayland arch at about fifteen until midnight and I see a friend who was a member of Harmonic Motion another Brown University a cappella group. She says she is about to have an arch sing with her group at the same time and I am a little puzzled. But I go over to see some of my friends just outside the arch and about 3 of them are Jabberwocks. Brian Cross ’12 offers to show me a warmup that they do that consists of approximately 3-4 parts with a cord found in most songs. Two other Brown’sTones are with me, fresh off of our own alumni sing so we are pretty game for it. We start to sing with them and more Jabberwocks, old and new, join in. We sing everything from the Police to Rihanna to Alicia Keys. But then we hear a lot of ruckus and singing coming from the arch.
We go over and see Harmonic Motion trying to have an arch sing while being heckled by a few Jabberwocks. After about five minutes of trying to sing without being screamed and booed at, HarMo gives up and leaves. A few of my friends come over saying, “They may be good, but they are some assholes.” I can’t help but agree.
The Jabberwocks applaud as HarMo exits and they begin their arch sing and the numbers are enormous. They have probably over 50 people clearly making them more of a men’s choir than a cappella group but it’s no matter. They start off with their signature song, “Me and the Boys” and plenty of alums are after the solos. It looks like the most fun ever pretty much and I’m pumped to see this. Erik Abi-Khattar ’10, the new Musical Director is shouting out and conducting keeping this sing together. Plenty of the Jabberwocks, new and old, are drunk and drinking as they sing making it even more of an event. They move on to a song I’m not familiar with but the campus celebrity Andy Suzuki ’09 is singing the solo so everyone’s happy. He’s taken the year off of Jabberwocks to pursue music full time, but he’s a staple to the group and everyone is happy to see him with the Wocks again. I must admit, it’s the first time I’ve been impressed with his voice since I first heard him sing in the beginning of the year. They then move on to their version of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back”. The alums are not familiar with the new choreography and look a little thrown off but they sing along with it anyway.
After another song that everyone knows, the alums start calling out the name of a song they want to sing. They start screaming out “LET’S SING OLD JOE!” All of the younger Jabbs are screaming “No!” and trying to find another song to sing but the alumni are pretty persistent. My friend and Jabberwock Malcolm Shanks ’11 comes up to me after its apparent they are going to sing this Old Joe song and says, “Now I want you to listen very closely to this song, it is racist as hell and I will not be singing it.” So as they start singing it, I realize it’s an old minstrel song. A lot of the newer members aren’t singing, Malcolm is pretty tight-lipped as he promised and Brian Cross just looks terrified, not sure whether to sing or not. One thing I see that surprises me is my friend, who for his sake I will not name, who is a person of color, part African-American, singing right along with the alums as if the song isn’t racist at all. Part of me wants to run up to him and slap him across the face, grab him by his collar and take him back to his dorm, but then another part wants to continue to videotape the event, so that I could show him later on.
After they conclude the minstrelsy, they start up singing their alumni song, the Jabberwocky and a current Wock comes up to recite the poem. They then conclude the arch sing and I’m left wondering whether or not I should have enjoyed that or not. There were an equal amount of pluses and minuses. I kept thinking about that as I went back to Campus Dance. The heckling, the racism and the arrogance butted heads with the fun, the talent, and the performance.
Friday, May 8, 2009
boppin' to the top: brown university and the collegiate a cappella scene"
I walk up Brown street and from a block away, I can hear rumblings in Wayland arch. As I turn the corner, I can see a mass of people, most of whom I recognize from A Cappella groups or the Theatre scene, jumping up and down to keep warm, chatting to each other, and calling out to others across the way. Suddenly, they erupt into clapping and screaming, and I turn my head to see the object of their affection. It is the Bear Necessities, Brown’s all-male, all-suspendered A Cappella group who, on this day, don bathrobes and towels instead of their usual garb. The squeals of girls pervade the night as the group begins to sing. With a loud, percussive sound, they repeat the syllable “ber ner ner” as the different vocal parts layer to mimic the instrumental sections of a well known pop song, “Saturday Night’s Alright." The performers smile at each other across their arc formation, bopping up and down to the beat. The acoustics of the archway amplify their voices, creating surround-sound without a single microphone. This is Brown a cappella.
Though A Cappella means “in the style of the chapel,” in Italian, collegiate A Cappella has come a long way from the classical choir performances of early days. It has developed a specific style that shows up in live performance and musical sound. Because a cappella groups come in all-male, all-female, and coed varieties, gender stereotyping is common, even among insiders to the scene. At Brown, the Intergalactic Community of A Cappella fosters interaction between groups, making the University one of the most cohesive a cappella units in the country. Collegiate a cappella started first on Brown's campus with the Jabberwocks in 1949. Since then, the cappella community has expanded to 14+ groups with practically every style. Looking from the outside in, one would say our a cappella community is fairly unique and has plenty of different characters to keep the story of Brown a cappella interesting. We decided to do intensive research on the a cappella scene at Brown University because it is something we are all passionate about. We are all members of a cappella groups (though we made it a point not to focus on researching our own group for objectivity's sake). Although this "insider-status" may have helped us gain information about the scene or cause us to have certain opinions about it, we tried to stay as open minded as possible when conducting interviews, fieldwork, and observing performances. This is what we found!
Blend:Musicality and Personality
As it stands, Brown University is home to 14 a cappella groups. Because there are so many, each has had to find and occupy its own niche. Every group has carved out its place in the landscape of Brown’s music scene by acquiring an inclination towards a certain genre. For example the Ursa Minors are more girlie, up-tempo, poppy songs; the Bear Necessities are more pop rock with lots of volume; and the Higher Keys are jazz/pop. The common poppy beats of a cappella result in the familiar “bop”, for as McClary argued music’s power lies in its ability to influence the body (McClary 1994: 36). Each different genre has its own set of musical priorities whether it is energy, projection, flexibility, etc., but the highest priority no matter the genre is blend. By definition a cappella is solely voices, which is a blessing and a curse: a blessing in that the human voice can blend wonderfully under the right conditions, but a curse because it is difficult to maintain those conditions. All voices must acquire the same or nearly the same timbre in order to harmonize well. Edwin Liemohn describes the struggle to maintain similar timbres well in his article in the Music Educator’s Journal:
Since each voice has its own characteristic overtone pattern, which determines its quality, the problem of securing good intonation and blend will be reduced if voices can be quite similar in quality, thereby eliminating pitch conflicts in the overtones produced by the various voices. (Liemohn 1958: 50)
So, in effect, each a cappella group is made up of similar voices, so as to maintain a good blend.
A prime example is the Bear Necessities, an all-male group who have quite a distinctive sound.
Each member possesses a musical-theater-type sound: belting, projecting, richly colored. It is a soloist’s voice, which would usually be a problem for subtle task of blending. However, since each voice has the same “musical theater” timbre, blending is possible. Just as each group has its own sound, it has a personality as well. In both Sami’s and Brady’s interviews, the interviewees talk about the perceived characters of different groups. “Angie” described the Chattertocks as “hipster” and Dom categorized the Jabberwocks as very “bro”.
<---Hipster girl 
Bro
Whether the group agrees or not, it is how they are seen by the rest of the community. It can be a self-fulfilling prophecy: a group is noted for being of a certain temperament which draws people of that temperament to it. Nonetheless, with members of similar disposition a group can act as a more cohesive unit, learning how each other interacts and, most importantly, sings.
Leonard van Camp puts it best when he says, “It is a matter more of feeling than hearing.” (Van Camp 1965: 237). Knowing how your fellow group members acts and reacts is more important than having a good ear. Developing this sense of togetherness is what many in the community regard as the most important aspect of a cappella. From the exact moment of a new member’s being “sung in”, he is considered one of the family, lavished with hugs and congratulations. Yet, he is, in most regards, a complete stranger; no one in the group knows much, if anything, about him except what they learn at call backs. Going on tour, then, serves as a way for new members to be absorbed into the group (see Sami’s interview with Dom for his thoughts on tour). Tour usually involves a week of travelling with one’s a cappella group, singing together and living together. Through this experience, the members form bonds with each other that may not have arisen organically because of the differences of social lives between them. Cohen argues that music is “a human activity involving social relationships, identities, and collective practices” (Cohen 1993: 127), and in the context of intra-group relations a cappella is most definitely an enabler of all that is listed.
On the other hand, when seen from an inter-group perspective, a cappella falls flat. Most people that we talked to saw no tangible increase in mingling with other groups. There was some hanging out between members of groups, but that was mainly because they shared a commonality, like being in a musical together or something along those lines. The only time when two entire groups would interact would be if they sang together in a double concert or arch sing
Some may read the lack of interaction as a bit of animosity. With so many groups, one would suspect there would be competition. We received two different answers on this question of hostility. Julian Cihi (Bear Necessities) said that in his experience there is no rivalry between groups, but “Angie” (Ursa Minors) stated that between all-girl groups there is a level of cattiness. Be that as it may, I think that as a whole, Brown’s a cappella community is fairly drama free and that the deficiency of intermingling among groups simply comes down to the groups’ personalities: some don’t blend.
Performance:Snickers and Squeals
When Susan McClary describes “the music itself” as “socially mediated patterns of kinetic energy, being in time, emotions, desire, pleasure and much more” (McClary 1994: 33), she eliminates the possibility of discussing music ethnographically without examining the performative aspects and audience responses to that music. The reaction to a genre of music is what allows that genre to exist as a subculture. Without performances and a fanbase to watch them, music would neither exist nor have the impact it has on society today.
While we were doing our research on a cappella, therefore, we made sure to ask questions about performance and fans to the members of the groups we interviewed, and to observe on our own the performances to witness firsthand what they meant.
There are a couple of things that seem to be keystones of a cappella performance. The first is an arc formation, as can be seen in this video. (N.B.: an arc is more like a "Half Circle” of Life). We noticed this at every a cappella performance we attended, as did Joshua Duchan in his ethnographic study of three a cappella groups from different Massachusetts Universities. When we asked our informants why groups preferred an arc formation, they all cited its acoustic value (it allows the performers to hear each other), and the ability of everyone in the arc to see each other and communicate with their eyes. Many often cited the increased connection and focus between group members that occurs during performance, as well as the boost in energy a live audience provides. Duchan also noticed, much as we did, that “many groups use choreography as well as spontaneous finger snapping or bobbing to the beat,” even “lower[ing] themselves physically during quiet musical passages...[to] coordinate the song’s dynamics and perform them more dramatically” (Duchan 2007: 205). This movement is often referred to affectionately as the “a cappella Bop” by scene insiders.
There’s definitely a difference between performing off-campus and on for a cappella groups. At a formal concert, “a group typically sings most or all of its repertory for the semester, usually between eight and sixteen songs” (Duchan 2007: 197). These big concerts are often rewarding because the audience has come specifically to see the group perform, whereas they may not have at the more casual social functions or paying “gigs” at which groups often perform. As Duchan notes, certain conventions of performance are common to all a cappella groups: these include “venues, the use of guest groups, social aspects of concert programming [and] stage formations” (Duchan 2007: 201). Many of the group members we interviewed at Brown, however, liked “Arch-Sings” the best because of their informal nature and reactive audiences. As Titon expressed in his article about Ethnomusicology, “the performance, audiences and performance times can be used to construct a set of expectation about music in the community, [with] some kinds of music...appropriate to several locations, times and audiences” (Titon 2002: 105). This seems to be the case with A Cappella. Brown groups have cited performances at such diverse locations as hospitals, the salvation army, house parties, and a pier in San Francisco. A Cappella seems to be a culture that is acceptable at many occasions and to many people
With this in mind, we decided to do a little research on the fanbase of Brown A Cappella. When asked who they believed their main fanbase to be, most of the performers we interviewed mentioned Musical Theatre people, their friends, and other A Cappella singers. With the extensive promotion that many groups do for their shows with Facebook events, table slips, and postering, one would think that A Cappella performances would attract a wider fanbase.
The limited fanbase seems to make sense, however, when considering Slobin’s definition of an affinity group (of which an a cappella Group is an example) as a “charmed circle of like-minded music-makers drawn magnetically to a certain genre that creates strong expressive bonding” (Slobin 1993: 98). A cappella people (many of whom participate in Musical Theatre) tend to like A Cappella music and have friends in other groups, and they are therefore more inclined to go to concerts. As we learned from interviews, however, many a cappella members also go to other groups’ concerts to analyze their performances for comparative and educational means. No matter what their reasons though, an a cappella audience is an interactive one. We heard woots and cheers, especially following an impressive vocal display or a particularly funny dance move. Occasionally, audience members will “[call] out the names of friends among the performers,” making many a cappella performances personal experiences (Duchan 2007: 201).
One of the more interesting aspects of fandom that we discovered through interviews and observation is that girls are more consistent fans of a cappella than boys. Girls simply seem to be more supportive of the scene. “If you like a cappella, and you’re not in a group, and you’re a guy,” a male member of the Higher Keys revealed, “you’re probably gay.” Although it seems like a harsh critique, we did witness severe stereotyping of people within the a cappella scene, even at a liberal institution such as Brown. Perhaps this is the reason why male groups seem to get more attention on campus (see next section!).
A Cappella Community:Intergalatic Interactions
The a cappella community on Brown's campus reaches far and wide and overlaps with many other activities but still manages to keep its own element of character. One member of the community says that Brown has a "very warm community...everyone knows each other." However there is a general consensus that the community as a whole isn't really integrated, but there is a desire for more integration between the groups. One member believes "it would relax the competition." Recently two groups on campus, The Higher Keys, a jazz/pop co-ed group, and The Bear Necessities, an all-male, all-suspendered group, did a flip flop arch sing in which soloists were swapped between groups as they perform and one member wished for that to happen more frequently: "What we did with the Bears, the flip flop arch sing, we should do that more often."
Professional a cappella competitions are one way of getting more a cappella groups to perform together. Started in 1995 by Deke Sharon of the Tufts Beezlebubs and Adam Farb of Brown’s Brown Derbies, the Best of Collegiate A Cappella (BOCA), a compilation of the year’s best collegiate a cappella recordings of the year (Duchan 2007:6). Sharon views it as an effective and efficient way of introducing a cappella to newcomers stating, “I started BOCA because I love collegiate a cappella and I wanted to share it with people…having one album where you can end up getting 15 great tracks is the most effective way.” (Slutsky 2005: 20). The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), also started by the pair, are ways that a cappella groups can strengthen their music and performance, receive recognition for their work, hear other groups and learn from their techniques as well as compete for the top spot in a cappella.
One may think that because there is a surplus of groups on Brown’s campus that there must be competition for the top spot on campus between the groups, but the general opinion on that is mixed. One member of an all-male group feels like it existed once upon a time but says, “I feel like it exists less now, because we get along with so many people.” Competition for members during auditions is present, but competition over all is more unspoken. On the other hand, several members found that the personalities and reputations of the groups are so different, that there really can’t be any competition. However, members of coed groups feel that there is more competition between the single sex groups as to “which one’s… better,” as one member put it.
The overall gender dynamic of the Brown a cappella community is contrasting with the overall gender dynamic of the university. While many view Brown as progressive and feel that the female voice is present, in the intergalactic a cappella community at Brown, there is a general consensus that the all-male groups rule the scene. One member of an all-male group even went so far as to say, “no one cares about the all female groups,” but quickly recanted and masked it as a joke. However, his statement speaks to the notion that girls a cappella isn’t as appreciated and valued as all male a cappella. A member of a coed group says that common stereotypes are, “the sound isn’t as full [with girls a cappella]…the arrangements aren’t interesting.” Another member pointed out that girl (in addition to coed) groups have to work really hard on blending, whereas with guy groups, “it comes easy.” All of this isn’t to say that all male groups don’t get their share of flak from others in the a cappella community. Most male groups are seen as being very fraternal to the point of being “bro-ish” as one member put it.
Other members saw that the most common stereotype was that the all male groups were “all arrogant and all good,” or “cooler, more popular…even if their musical arrangement[s] aren’t as advanced.” A member of an all male a cappella group recalled back when he was a freshmen that the different all male groups had different personalities: “…musically, I always thought the Bears were the best…reputation wise, the Jabberwocks were the coolest group and the Derbies have fun.” There are many different opinions of coed groups’ stereotypes and all are very contrasting. One member found that “there’s more love. Or at least they show the love,” while another says that, “it’s almost too tough to get things done because of battles between male and female. No common wavelength.”
Conclusions
Much like any subculture, A Cappella has a style all its own in aspects of performance and musicality, and attracts a particular fanbase. Interactions between members of different groups and individuals within one group make A Cappella a true "scene" at Brown. Issues of gender stereotyping may affect these interactions, but they do not stop members of A Cappella groups from supporting each other. A Cappella may just be a style of Music, but at Brown it can also be considered a way of life. It brings people together under a common interest, much like any other subculture does. It can foster a sense of belonging and at a school as large as Brown, can create bonds between individuals that grow into everlasting friendships.
Word Count: 2748
Works Cited:
-Cohen, Sara. "Ethnography and Popular Music Studies." Popular Music, Vol. 12, No. 2 (May, 1993), pp. 123-138
-Duchan, Joshua S. Collegiate A Cappella: Emulation and Origniality. Diss. University of Michigan, 2007. Proquest Digital Dissertations. Proquest.
-Duchan, Joshua S (2007). “Powerful Voices: Performance and Interaction in Contemporary Collegiate A Cappella.” Michigan: University of Michigan, 1-346.
-Liemohn, Edwin. "Intonation and Blend in the A Cappella Choir". Music Educators Journal Jun.-Jul., 1958: 50-51.
-McClary, Susan (1994). “Same as It Ever Was: Youth Culture and Music.” Andrew Ross and
Tricia Rose, eds. Micropone Friends: Youth and Youth Culture. London: Routledge, 29-40.
-Slobin, Mark (1993). Subcultural Sounds: Micromusics of the West. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 98.
-Slutsky, Corey Brian Music Without Instruments. Diss. University of Southern California, 2005. Proquest Digital Dissertations. Proquest.
-Titon, Jeff (2002). Worlds of Music. New York: Schirmer, 464-474.
-Van Camp, Leonard. "The Formation of A Cappella Choirs at Northwestern University, St. Olaf College, and Westminster Choir College". Journal of Research in Music Education Winter 1965: 227-238.
The Group
Ethnographic Moment: Sami
A Cappella Community: Chantel
Intra-Group Relations: Brady
Performance: Sami
Conclusion: All
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
An Interview with Julian Cihi of the Bear Necessities
Chantel: Okay, um, first with the a cappella community, how often do you interact with other groups?
Julian: Other groups?
Chantel: Mhmm like your group as a whole.
Julian: Um not very often.
Chantel: okay
Julian: wait group hanging out with another group or individually?
Chantel: Either/or
Julian: Either or… um…not often, but I do know that for example the bears and the derbies um are having a joint grilling and chilling (or something like that) concert soon, in about a week or so um you know it happens but not very often. I mean, sometimes we have joint arch sings, I mean, but are you, is this like outside of you know concerts and a cappella?
Chantel: Yea sure
Julian: then uh, No it doesn’t happen very often.
Chantel: okay um, why not, do you think?
Julian: Why not? I don’t know that’s a good question. I feel like we used to but then again, maybe it’s just because I’m like a senior now, but like a cappella is not as um sort of new, like novel um and exciting as it was when I was a freshmen. So maybe its like um I don’t like if I were to hang out with a cappella people it would just be like because I am friends with them you know not because they’re in another cappella group kind of deal. Um, I don’t know, I feel like a cappella kind of goes down on your priority list as you get older and so for everyone, for most people, and so its I mean naturally as you get older its like you hang out, I mean a cappella just becomes not as im..portant. (chuckles) Again, this is my opinion so yeah.
Chantel: okay so um do you think that Brown a cappella is special in anyway and if so why?
Julian: well, it does have the most a cappella groups per capita as we all know, I think its great, I think its real special, I mean I did say its not that important anymore but you know I just went on tour with the Bears ad it was the best spring break ever. And so um I really think that the brown groups are very very good and very strong, all male, all female, coed, pirate, whistling, all those funky groups I mean I cant really think of any other place that does pirate a cappella-
Chantel: Yea, I don’t think there is—
Julian: I think, I don’t know why a cappella is so huge here, I think its great its really great and I think its great how people come up with crazier ideas about themes for groups, I think its pretty cool
Chantel: Cool. Um, is there any competition between groups?
Julian: Um, competition? Well I remember back when I was a freshmen, it was like whose the best all male group? Um and you know different groups have different reputations but I always, musically, I always thought the Bears were the best so I wanted to be in that group and you know reputation wise the Jabberwocks were the coolest group and the derbies have fun, and no cares about the all female groups, no I’m just kidding. I'm sure some people may feel competition, but I don’t feel like that exists. I feel like it exists less now, because we get along with so many people like we, I think most of the a cappella groups get along really well now.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Schloss; B-Boy Culture
Schloss's article on B-Boy culture is one is told from Joseph Schloss, who has been involved in participant observation of the culture by learning how to b-boy as well as being involved with the hip hop culture in general since 1987. Schloss's article also focuses on the aspects of b-boy culture, such as: the deejay and its role in b-boying; the b-boy musical elements of popular b-boy songs and elements common in those songs; the b-boy canon, classic b-boy songs that Schloss views as a canon on material; and the dancing itself. The article as a whole shows another aspect of hip-hop culture that is not nearly as scholarly extensive as the purely musical and lyrical aspects of hip hop.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Metamorphoses: From an Ethnographer’s Perspective
Chantel Whittle
03/16/09
MUSC0062: Musical Youth Cultures
Word Count: Essay: 1153
Assignment: 1261
Metamorphoses: From an Ethnographer’s Perspective
Production Workshop’s second slot show, Metamorphoses, directed by Mark Brown II was performed March 6-9th in the [pw] downspace located in Brown University’s T. F. Green Hall. Brown’s interpretation of Mary Zimmerman’s play of the myths of Ovid had elements of both modern and classic origins but what really stands out is the choice of song. The interpretation truly becomes Brown’s own when the soundtrack is taken in consideration with the text. The music inspires the movement, which moves the piece far away from Zimmerman’s original production.
Zimmerman’s original piece was presented in a very mythic fashion; however, Brown’s interpretation was a combination of both the modern world and the classic world that the tales originated. He continued to do the piece justice, but also added a new, captivating element of theatre. The idea of a soundtrack with pieces that don’t fit the play on the surface is later proven to be essential to the performance.
As I sat in the audience at 11:59 on Saturday March 7th, I realized that I had no idea what I was in for. The lights dimmed and a projection of space shown in the corner of the ceiling. The music that comes over the loudspeaker is Jethro’s “Reasons for Waiting.” At first I was a bit startled at the fact that this play was going to have a soundtrack at all, but after a few minutes it became clear that this music was essential to the show. Brown made it so that the music and the actions were connected, and at times, comical – such as during the vignette of King Midas, the song “Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems” by Puff Daddy and Notorious B.I.G. At other times the music is moving and can inspire tears in conjunction with the story being told – such as during the second to last vignette, the story of Eros and Psyche, is accompanied by the song “Kissing You” by Des’ree. I find my heartstring being tugged on with the presence of the song as well as the beautiful modern dance accompanying the music. But then there are the instances where one can just wonder why was included at all within the context of the show. At one point in the show, cast member Lauren Neal, takes on the character of an old woman and tap dances to “Diva” by Beyoncé in between vignettes. There is both confusion and amusement brewing within me as Neal taps away. I find it very funny and full of talent when Neal taps to a song with the least likely appeal for tap dancing. The truth of the matter is, no one really, except for Brown, knows why he did that. Maybe he felt that Beyoncé needed a reprise; maybe he wanted a tap dance number. Either way, he went out of his way to ensure that the “Diva” song by Beyoncé would not be forgotten. The end of the show left me with a catharsis because of the fact that the last song was a gospel song, “Now Let the Weeping Cease” from the Gospel at Colonus Soundtrack, and is spiritually moving within itself. I also discovered that the diversity of the soundtrack to the show had been greatly influenced by the diversity of the director and is very unique to this particular point in the show.
One reason the music is unique to this interpretation of the show is because the music is very unique to the director. He states in his Director’s Notes that much of his influence for directing Metamorphoses comes from his background, stating, “While directing this show I realized increasingly that my position in relation to the black community, the Puerto Rican community, the queer community, the Southern Baptist Church, and others inform my way of directing this show.” With this vast span of backgrounds and influences, it is understandable how the soundtrack to the show and general directions of the show could be so contrasting. His life experiences have made this show much more different than the show that was directed by Zimmerman. She doesn’t have those influences to pull from and also she doesn’t have his taste in music. His taste in music clearly is influenced by Brown’s background, but it is also influenced by the activities he takes part in. as a participant in the Southern Baptist church faith, he is influenced by gospel music. As a black, queer male, he is influenced by Beyoncé. As a singer, he is influenced many standards that are popular among singers and in popular music.
His influences and background make the song choice seem almost predictable if not logical, but then the question remains, why Metamorphoses? This anthology of Greek myths hardly sounds relatable to Brown and his background or relatable to much of the music within the soundtrack of his production. However the goal and purpose of Brown’s production was to bring people back to what theatre was in the past. He states in his director’s notes, “Will it give the audience the chance to take a step back from a world of isolation and, dare I say it – ‘Postmodernism,’ to enjoy the theatre? Yes. Will it remind us of the magic of theatre and myth? Yes. And quite frankly, that is enough for me.” The music was essential but was not the main point or part of the production. It was simply complimentary. It was used as away to both pull the audience in as well as make it relatable to modern times. The music allowed the beauty and context of many of the vignettes to be realized by the audience. In addition, the music also granted Brown more creative and personal direction with the show. Without “Kissing You” by Des’ree playing softly in the background while the myth of Eros and Psyche (the story of Love) was performed onstage, the moment would have been sweet, but not nearly as beautiful and heart wrenching as it was with the music. Des’ree’s tone and the familiarity and relation of this song to the 1996 movie Romeo + Juliet – an updated version of the ultimate love story starring Leonardo DiCaprio – fills my mind with the idea of true love. Without “Mo ‘Money, Mo’ Problems blasting from the speakers as the tale of King Midas was being told, the audience would have received the tale in an entirely different fashion. The presence of hip-hop in a Greek tragedy is jarring as it is, but it adds an unfounded likeability that makes me grieve with his as he turns accidently his daughter into gold.
Production Workshop’s second slot show, Metamorphoses directed by Mark Brown II, shows how influential music is to something that may be entirely unrelated. I would not normally think that Biggie Smalls and Puff Daddy or Beyoncé would work well with Greek myths, but it goes to show how music so unexpected can fit so well when put into context.
