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As noted elsewhere, the standard of discussion in the Music forum seems to be a notch below what it might be. There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, intelligent and informed discussion depends on all parties having the same access to the cultural artifact under discussion—and with musical culture so fragmented and personalized, that is not always a given. The second part has a lot to do with the character of this particular board. To boil it down, Barbelith is at its best when it is analyzing something, rather than just expressing enthusiasm.
Songs That Made This Country Great is a new project that aims to apply the high standard of Barbelith discussion to an artform that most of us usually experience on a lizard-brain level. Think of it as a book club, but for songs.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Songs That Made This Country Great (STMTCG) will use free file-sharing technology to disseminate songs that we wish to discuss. To start a STMTCG thread, simply do the following:
-Go to YouSendIt.com. Follow the instructions onscreen to upload the mp3 that you want to share. Enter your own e-mail address: the system will mail you a link to the page where the file can be downloaded. That link will be good for seven days or (I think) 60 downloads, whichever comes first.
-Start a new thread. Call it “STMTCG: (song title)”. In the topic abstract, give us a quick bit of vital info about the song: the recording artist, year, composers. E.g.
STMTCG: Strange Fruit
Performed by Billie Holiday, 1939. Composed by Lewis Allan.
-Begin your initial post with a bit of context—a thumbnail sketch of the band or composer, a potted history of the song. If there are lyrics, and if you can find them, give them to us here. Give as much as you feel is necessary to get the ball rolling, but remember, this is a conversation starter, not the last word.
-Now comes the fun part. Give us a little essay, just a few paragraphs, on what the song does and the questions or issues that it raises. For “Strange Fruit,” we might ask: Is music an effective vehicle for social change? Does a performer have an obligation to give her all to the performance of a song, even at great damage to herself (Holiday famously broke down very time she sang the song)? Why is it that “Strange Fruit” seems to get revived every 15 years or so? Is there entertainment value in being made as uncomfortable as “Strange Fruit” aims to make us? Give us a little something to chew over.
WHAT KIND OF SONGS WILL RECEIVE THE “STMTCG” TREATMENT?
Ultimately, it’s a personal call. Songs with words are probably the most open to analysis—particularly narratives, manifestos, protest songs. Ambiguity is good. Can the song be taken two or more ways? We might want to hear it.
But I can see the process working with experimental, process-oriented instrumental music, too—the ideas behind (say) a John Cage piece are perhaps more interesting than the music itself.
Another idea: Post two or more versions of the same song, for a bit of compare-and-contrast action.
Dive on in, kids. Let’s see if we can make this work. |
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