WELCOME TO MY BLOG.
It is about African music and I hope that appeals to you.let's be real tho if you're reading this you're probably in the class too
So introductions aside.
I had a preliminary research project proposal due on Tuesday which I didn't do due to extreme levels of I forgot to, so here's a makeup proposal that's serve as my
The thing that's stuck out the most to me about the African music we've studied so far is that it is inexorably linked to America. It occurred to me relatively shortly after that that that was because I'm studying it...in America.
So I thought - if all the music that comes to America's attention is already tainted by the consumerist pandering it takes to get America's attention, then if I want to get at the heart of what African music is about...
Which I do.
...then I need to get at the music that America hasn't gotten its grubby little hands on.
Which leads me to my proposal.
I'm going to research the African underground. Every artist, in every country, in every genre that the Internet has access to. And when I'm done, I'm going to depict it as a landscape however I think will represent it best. So.
Firstly, I appreciate the levity of your blog. Such internet. Much amaze. Wow.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, and more academically, I'm a little concerned about the breadth of your decision to research "every artist, in every country, in every genre that the Internet has to access." I understand the desire to educate yourself about the current state of African underground music, but I would suggest doing broader research in your own time and, for the purposes of this course and the limited window of this semester, narrowing your research to 1 or 2 countries or subcategories of the African underground music scene. There are 54 (or 56, depending on who tells you) nations in Africa, each with its own music culture and history. Focusing on 1 or 2 of these countries might help you understand the historical and cultural need for the formation of certain underground music scenes.
Furthermore, I would urge you to consider a couple things about the music industry, cultural production, and the broad topic of globalization. At this point, can any form of cultural production be untouched by larger cultural producers? What do you define as authenticity in the context of the extreme globalization that the internet provides? For that matter, what is authenticity and does it even matter? How can you possibly claim to be researching music that has not been influenced or touched by non-African culture when you, a United States university student, are accessing it easily for your research in a class taught and attended by almost exclusively non-African individuals?
Though I appreciate your ambition, you might learn more by studying less.
Hi Hollis,
ReplyDeleteI was also very amused by your blog (and the images of course). While I think the approach you are taking is great because it seeks to break away from the "mainstream", I think it is extremely broad in its aims and should be more focused as a topic. Perhaps it would be interesting to compare and contrast African music that has reached America with the African underground music scene. That way you may be able to see if America is only importing music that fits a certain model or a certain bias and how it differs from music within the underground. I think it will serve you best to really narrow down your choice of genres, artists, and countries so that you will be able to really focus on those certain things you choose, instead of vaguely mentioning a broad range of different topics that you could only speak about briefly.
-Chelsie