i want to buy all six of their dvd's w/ my amazon gift certificate
but
Nat Pwe: Burma's Carnival of Spirit Soul DVD SF004
Jemaa El Fna: Morocco's Rendezvous of the Dead DVD SF005
Folk Music of the Sahara: Among the Tuareg of Libya DVD SF010
Phi Ta Khon: Ghosts of Isan DVD SF026
NIGER: Magic and Ecstasy in the Sahel DVD SF022
ISAN: Folk and Pop Music of Northeast Thailand DVD SF015
are there any that just blow and should avoided?
sublime frequencies
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user_403
yeah, thanxalot
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... rch=Search" onclick= "window.open(this.href);return false;
everything through this link looks pretty radical
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... rch=Search" onclick= "window.open(this.href);return false;
everything through this link looks pretty radical
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fearandpanic
- Posts: 2363
- Joined: Wed May 14, 2008 12:41 pm
Yeah, I tend to superficially like S.F. projects too, but also get a little squeamish about the way that they present the world. The practice of folding non-local folk repetory into SCG live performances seems a little tacky somehow, but I like the idea of direct reportage of what local performance looks like around the world.
I think the saving grace of their general approach to documenting the world is that they make a big point of pointing out that they are amateurs, and that they're not trying to point towards some comprehensive analysis of what they're doing. There's no attempt at ethnographic verite, and no essentialization of their subjects. Rather, they tend to say "hey I was in this one place and these dudes were dancing around or listening to some cool shit on the radio and I had my recorder handy and here's what I was checking out".
I think that there are definitely some big questions about local authenticities and the ethics of representation at work in the overall Sublime Frequencies project as a whole, but on the level of superficial entertainment, I think that what I've run across is pretty interesting.
I think the saving grace of their general approach to documenting the world is that they make a big point of pointing out that they are amateurs, and that they're not trying to point towards some comprehensive analysis of what they're doing. There's no attempt at ethnographic verite, and no essentialization of their subjects. Rather, they tend to say "hey I was in this one place and these dudes were dancing around or listening to some cool shit on the radio and I had my recorder handy and here's what I was checking out".
I think that there are definitely some big questions about local authenticities and the ethics of representation at work in the overall Sublime Frequencies project as a whole, but on the level of superficial entertainment, I think that what I've run across is pretty interesting.
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user_403
Travel / knowledge / balls: Lonely Planet guides are good for knowledge. As for "balls", basically stay the fuck out of the Congos, Iraq, rural Colombia, and North Korea; everywhere else is cool. Hell, I live in Beirut, and feel way safer than I did in Chicago...
The ethics of cross-cultural documentation are powerful copmplicated, and one argument boils down to the idea that people are generally sensitive about how they are represented, and might not be totally happy with having a non-local package "their country" for consumption by other non-locals. This is not to say that being a local implies ownership of what's going on in one's locale, but I think that there's a need for informed consent when you're recording specific individuals and groups, and to credit radio stations when you're recording those (neither is hard to do).
The SF catalog is an audio-picaresque, wherein a dude from the US wanders the world and packages his recorded experiences for other westerners. In and of itself, this is fine, as long as you keep in mind that it's an American project made for Americans (and their pals in Europe), and has little, if anything, to do with how people in the places the wanderer visits think about where they live and what they do.
The ethics of cross-cultural documentation are powerful copmplicated, and one argument boils down to the idea that people are generally sensitive about how they are represented, and might not be totally happy with having a non-local package "their country" for consumption by other non-locals. This is not to say that being a local implies ownership of what's going on in one's locale, but I think that there's a need for informed consent when you're recording specific individuals and groups, and to credit radio stations when you're recording those (neither is hard to do).
The SF catalog is an audio-picaresque, wherein a dude from the US wanders the world and packages his recorded experiences for other westerners. In and of itself, this is fine, as long as you keep in mind that it's an American project made for Americans (and their pals in Europe), and has little, if anything, to do with how people in the places the wanderer visits think about where they live and what they do.
i think the sublime frequencies catalogue covers as wide a range of motive as it does of music. there are some fine documentary recordings, some pretty questionable collages, and a fair spread between the two. and i have to admit, i find the deliberate scuttling of their own authenticity totally appropriate. the thing is, even the best of the western world's "field recordings" of various cultures and musics never gets further than a half-step ahead of what these guys are doing it. i think putting the music out as just music, instead of as scholarship, does a pretty good job of filling out the experience.
as for compensation for the artists, well. that's too messy a deal for me.
though in response to the original topic, i have to admit that the DVD material never really convinced me that i wanted to see it. dunno why.
m
as for compensation for the artists, well. that's too messy a deal for me.
though in response to the original topic, i have to admit that the DVD material never really convinced me that i wanted to see it. dunno why.
m
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user_548
The DVDs always struck me as something that I would have, maybe watch once and then collect a lot of dust. The CDs run the gamut from amazing to dumb but the fact that they're being put out is pretty awesome to me. I never took what they were doing as anything except a presentation of music I would never have a chance to listen to otherwise. That anyone would confuse it with a representation of the culture that it was recorded in is idiotic to me. Even more scholarly pursuits such as Nonesuch or Celestial Harmonies' Music of Islam have to be taken with a grain of salt in their representation of the culture they present.
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user_4562
choubi choubi is also nominally out of print. there are tons of copies in circulation, but i'm not sure amazon would be able to cough any up.
my favorites are probably streets of lhasa and bush taxi mali, though there's tons of wonderful mileage to be had from the folk & pop series releases too.
i'd personally stay clear of the radio things. the music is fine, for the most part, but the collage detracts to my ears. i don't get many relistens from them.
m
my favorites are probably streets of lhasa and bush taxi mali, though there's tons of wonderful mileage to be had from the folk & pop series releases too.
i'd personally stay clear of the radio things. the music is fine, for the most part, but the collage detracts to my ears. i don't get many relistens from them.
m
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user_548
Agreed except for Radio Algeria which is pretty wonderful mainly because it largely steers clear of the excessiveness of the collage that the other ones seem to revel in.mudd wrote:i'd personally stay clear of the radio things. the music is fine, for the most part, but the collage detracts to my ears. i don't get many relistens from them.
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user_4562
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bombinthebeehive
- Posts: 327
- Joined: Mon May 12, 2008 1:18 am
yeah princess nicotine is great.
Group Doueh
Brokenhearted Dragonflies
Cambodian Cassette Archives
Folk and pop sounds of the Sumatra vol 1 and 2
Those are probably my favorites
Never seen the DVDs
Most of the cds with the words "pop" in them are cool. The radio ones are usually the ones that are more "music tourism" then other. They can be kind of cool but are the weaker releases usually. There are still a handful I haven't heard yet. I wouldn't claim they are the best label for this stuff, but they have a good range and I like their focus on a lot of pop sounds comming from these places.
Will, where the fuck did you live in Chicago?
Oh and there is a North Korean one. Never heard it though[/quote]
Group Doueh
Brokenhearted Dragonflies
Cambodian Cassette Archives
Folk and pop sounds of the Sumatra vol 1 and 2
Those are probably my favorites
Never seen the DVDs
Most of the cds with the words "pop" in them are cool. The radio ones are usually the ones that are more "music tourism" then other. They can be kind of cool but are the weaker releases usually. There are still a handful I haven't heard yet. I wouldn't claim they are the best label for this stuff, but they have a good range and I like their focus on a lot of pop sounds comming from these places.
I agree with this 100%and i have to admit, i find the deliberate scuttling of their own authenticity totally appropriate. the thing is, even the best of the western world's "field recordings" of various cultures and musics never gets further than a half-step ahead of what these guys are doing it
Will, where the fuck did you live in Chicago?
Oh and there is a North Korean one. Never heard it though[/quote]