Flaskaland
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Though Your Heart Is Breaking (0n first finding Brian Wilson's "Smile" in the wasteland of 1985):
Eventually you begin to suspect that they aren't really talking about "Smile" as much as their own collections of fragmented dreams and broken ambitions. You like to think your ongoing interest is more intellectual than emotional.
You may be kidding yourself here. But fortunately you have chosen to become a journalist, a pursuit which not only gives you license to turn your fixations into assignments but also actually encourages you to do so.
¶ 8/31/2004 07:57:00 AM
Eventually you begin to suspect that they aren't really talking about "Smile" as much as their own collections of fragmented dreams and broken ambitions. You like to think your ongoing interest is more intellectual than emotional.
You may be kidding yourself here. But fortunately you have chosen to become a journalist, a pursuit which not only gives you license to turn your fixations into assignments but also actually encourages you to do so.
¶ 8/31/2004 07:57:00 AM
Monday, August 30, 2004
James Wolcott critiques the critics who are heavy into the dithery-doo. (Caution: Wear protective goggles when moving closer in to the rest of his acid-churning reaction to a mere book about Bob Dylan):
"The critic who does not make critical distinctions is no longer a critic, he is an enthusiast--hardly the worst thing in the world, since many enthusiasts have their own tough grading systems and sore spots. As any reader of Nick Hornby's novel High Fidelity knows, rock-and-roll record collectors are among the pickiest pedants around. But Ricks is an easy grader, so avidly receptive it's as if he has Mouseketeer ears. This fan doesn't differentiate between minor Dylan and major Dylan, the lightning strokes and the lazy doodles; he flosses himself up to the same level of gleeful appreciation no matter which number he is disassembling."
¶ 8/30/2004 10:01:00 PM
"The critic who does not make critical distinctions is no longer a critic, he is an enthusiast--hardly the worst thing in the world, since many enthusiasts have their own tough grading systems and sore spots. As any reader of Nick Hornby's novel High Fidelity knows, rock-and-roll record collectors are among the pickiest pedants around. But Ricks is an easy grader, so avidly receptive it's as if he has Mouseketeer ears. This fan doesn't differentiate between minor Dylan and major Dylan, the lightning strokes and the lazy doodles; he flosses himself up to the same level of gleeful appreciation no matter which number he is disassembling."
¶ 8/30/2004 10:01:00 PM
An intriguing piece by Laila Weir (SF Chronicle) on Palistinian rap.
From Will Youmans, the Iron Shiek himself: "I think [rap] appeals to them because of that ... It's a way of distinguishing yourself from what you believe is a culture that doesn't give you your rights."
¶ 8/30/2004 09:38:00 PM
From Will Youmans, the Iron Shiek himself: "I think [rap] appeals to them because of that ... It's a way of distinguishing yourself from what you believe is a culture that doesn't give you your rights."
¶ 8/30/2004 09:38:00 PM
Suspended in space at that blissful intersection, when music inspires the written word, "Writing to a reggae beat":
Channer believes that reggae lyrics offer Caribbean writers a model: "The American Motown tradition is 'oooh baby baby, you're the greatest thing and I'm going to give you this and that.'
"But the Trenchtown tradition is about the complications of love. You have these working-class black men who are welders in their day jobs who can find in themselves these tender places from which to write about women in their neighbourhood. Like when Gregory Isaacs sings, 'Although she wasn't the best girl/ She brought happiness into my world.' "
¶ 8/30/2004 09:12:00 PM
Channer believes that reggae lyrics offer Caribbean writers a model: "The American Motown tradition is 'oooh baby baby, you're the greatest thing and I'm going to give you this and that.'
"But the Trenchtown tradition is about the complications of love. You have these working-class black men who are welders in their day jobs who can find in themselves these tender places from which to write about women in their neighbourhood. Like when Gregory Isaacs sings, 'Although she wasn't the best girl/ She brought happiness into my world.' "
¶ 8/30/2004 09:12:00 PM
Saturday, August 28, 2004
Ellen Creager while on assignment for the Detroit Free Press unearths some of Detroit's overlooked gems, like the Motown Historical Museum and the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame & Museum (though even the Hard Rock Cafe's already gone missing in Motor City). See her amazing "Hidden Detroit".
¶ 8/28/2004 07:31:00 PM
¶ 8/28/2004 07:31:00 PM
Young people in Kenya are finding their voice as government censorship abates and media proliferates and diversifies. Andrew Strickler in today's Namibian on the blossom of youth as official censorship wanes, East African hip-hop, and some of the topics that now make their way into today's new music made by Kenyan youth.
¶ 8/28/2004 07:01:00 PM
¶ 8/28/2004 07:01:00 PM
Thursday, August 26, 2004
If you've coughed up your dough for a membership, the Avant Guild has a tasty interview exclusive for your eyes only:
"Breaking into Music Journalism"
(courtesy of Media Bistro)
¶ 8/26/2004 06:14:00 PM
"Breaking into Music Journalism"
(courtesy of Media Bistro)
¶ 8/26/2004 06:14:00 PM
"We are born, live and die by music. Music expresses joy, hopes, fears, and sadness and gives encouragement for people to persist."
-- Kofi Mawuli
Music still breathes life into human beings in the world. What certain styles of music mean to a music journalist in Africa.
¶ 8/26/2004 06:09:00 PM
-- Kofi Mawuli
Music still breathes life into human beings in the world. What certain styles of music mean to a music journalist in Africa.
¶ 8/26/2004 06:09:00 PM
Can't Stop, Won't Stop Dept.
Do yourself a big favor, and check out Jeff Chang's upcoming October '04 class on "So You Want to Be A Music Journalist" (courtesy of the Media Alliance)
¶ 8/26/2004 05:30:00 PM
Do yourself a big favor, and check out Jeff Chang's upcoming October '04 class on "So You Want to Be A Music Journalist" (courtesy of the Media Alliance)
¶ 8/26/2004 05:30:00 PM
Monday, August 23, 2004
Pittsburgh newspaper looks at what's become a local institution, the night club known as Moondog's. "It's not about the four walls. It's about what goes on inside of them."
¶ 8/23/2004 07:37:00 AM
¶ 8/23/2004 07:37:00 AM
Sorry, I meant to mention before I left that I was leaving. Which is a sincere if feeble sounding gesture of apology to help explain away the dearth of posts over the last month.
In catching up on my reading, Rock and Roll Report reminds me of the good old days, when radio was something more than it is most places today. To revisit that bygone era, if only vicariously, check out malcolm's freeformradio.org and freeformradio's blog. In the meantime, even if you never heard freeform radio and don't know what it might even be, you can pretend and imagine you do -- as he has great things you can wear or stick on, all developed in a Secret Mountain Laboratory. He's also promised a book on freeform radio and we will hold him to that promise.
I happen to remember underground and freeform radio. In fact, when KSAN was first broadcasting in the wee wee hours, I not only had a radio to listen to it from, but I knew someone who had a reel-to-reel tape recorder. I tried to talk him into putting a microphone in front of the radio speaker and taping every show, because I suspected we all might need it some day.
¶ 8/23/2004 07:03:00 AM
In catching up on my reading, Rock and Roll Report reminds me of the good old days, when radio was something more than it is most places today. To revisit that bygone era, if only vicariously, check out malcolm's freeformradio.org and freeformradio's blog. In the meantime, even if you never heard freeform radio and don't know what it might even be, you can pretend and imagine you do -- as he has great things you can wear or stick on, all developed in a Secret Mountain Laboratory. He's also promised a book on freeform radio and we will hold him to that promise.
I happen to remember underground and freeform radio. In fact, when KSAN was first broadcasting in the wee wee hours, I not only had a radio to listen to it from, but I knew someone who had a reel-to-reel tape recorder. I tried to talk him into putting a microphone in front of the radio speaker and taping every show, because I suspected we all might need it some day.
¶ 8/23/2004 07:03:00 AM
IASPM (International Association for the Study of Popular Music) always has a fascinating list calling for articles about music. There's an upcoming punk and hardcore anthology in the works, and a look at how humans might express themselves through music with a series dedicated to "Imagining terror locally: music in the post-9/11 world."
I was also reminded of CHAPTER&VERSE, a new web journal that explores the creative intersection between popular music and the written word - novels and short stories, plays and poetry, journalism and criticism.
If Chapter&Verse is of interest to you and you have articles - or ideas for articles - that might fit the brief, please write to Simon Warner at journal@chapterandverse.org.uk
¶ 8/23/2004 06:08:00 AM
I was also reminded of CHAPTER&VERSE, a new web journal that explores the creative intersection between popular music and the written word - novels and short stories, plays and poetry, journalism and criticism.
If Chapter&Verse is of interest to you and you have articles - or ideas for articles - that might fit the brief, please write to Simon Warner at journal@chapterandverse.org.uk
¶ 8/23/2004 06:08:00 AM
Today's online version of Charleston's Post and Courier (registration required) features an in-depth look at the online world of Queensize, a website devoted to music journalist Larry Queen's thoughts about ... music. His site originally started just as a place for him to post his interviews. Since then, Queensize has grown to mammoth proportions, likely devouring most of the creator's sleeping and waking hours, even though Queen readily admits "There's a part of me that wants to do something more sociopolitically important."
¶ 8/23/2004 05:42:00 AM
¶ 8/23/2004 05:42:00 AM
