Fieldnotes 1: Interview with Liam McGranahan

Below are the results of my interview with Liam McGranahan, super TA/mashup specialist.  As you might notice, the responses are not direct quotations, but more accurately notes based on his responses.

Q:  What is the main focus of your work?

A: How mashups are made, who makes them, where they are made, where they are played.  The mashup community, where they meet, why they are in it.  Similarities and differences of online communities.  Physical vs. virtual mashup community.

 

Q:  Which genres are typically pulled together in mashups?

A:  The range is broad, but it usually includes popular music (rap/rock/pop…) regardless of age of the song, as long as it was popular in most cases.  Most popular music has a similar structure so it is easiest to see popular music mashed up against popular music.  Jazz is rarely included for this reason.  Basically whatever makes people dance.  Due to the long time it takes to create mashups, creators generally like the genres they put in their songs.

 

Q:  Do you find mashup fans tend to align most with rap, rock or pop?

A:  None of the three really.  Fans typically share an appreciation for listening to everything.  Diversity is represented.  Some like rock or rap first, then enjoy mashups.  Sometimes mashups expose listeners to new music, but it is generally popular music so the chances are that they've heard it before.

Q:  Is their a unique mashup culture or -like the music- does it bring cultures together?

A:  There's definitely a group that make and listen to mashups, but the identity associated with mashups is much less definitive.  One can't spot a mashup fan solely using visual cues.

Q:  How would you characterize the typical mashup listener?  Are they disenfranchised?

A:  They aren't alienated.  They have a real appreciation for popular music.  "Don't like pop, won't like mashups," but still there is an attitude that, "I can make pop music better or more interesting."  "Diehard fans of a band will hate mashups with that band."  Mashups definitely aren't for purists.

Q:  Does the Grey Album by DJ Dangermouse attract Beatles fans, Jay-Z fans, or a totally different group?

A:  The album garnered lots of media attention, and the most exposure for any mashup, got big.  Jay-Z gave the unofficial "Ok," but the Beatles' record company issued a cease and desist order.  Hard to say who the fans of this album are.

Other information gained from the interview:

Contemporary mashups have been around since '01 or '02.  Mashup style isn't distinctive musically.  Mashups are fad-proof because they can change with trends.  Due to copyright issues, mashups can't be sold and that is keeping them out of the mainstream, but also not giving fans a chance to tire of them.  Grandmaster Flash and Blondie had one of the first mashups.  Jay-Z and Linkin Park's Numb/Encore directly influenced mashups and was "an official mashup."  Club nights like Bootie play exclusively mashups.  The listener age range is from late teens to late twenties for the most part.  Internet and computer familiarity is key to becoming a fan.

Fieldnotes 2/23

Due to a change in plans, my first fieldnotes (as well as those of my partner Sean Kane)  will be available one day later than the original deadline.  All comments will be appreciated, thank you for your patience.

Critical Review 4: Cohen 1997

In her work from 1997, Sara Cohen elucidates the sources and implications of gender inequality in music by focusing on rock music in England.  Early on she explains that rock is male-dominated because it is set up to be (from clubs being in places a woman would not feel comfortable going at night, to a schedule that isn't complimentary to childcare).  Still, women's exclusion isn't solely unintentional; from a man's perspective in a band, women can pull group members with whom they are involved out of the natural flow of creativity and get them to take interest in issues outside of the band.  In conclusion, Cohen points to social practice and ideology as the impacts of our definition of what is male or female, which goes on to define what roles members of each gender can serve in music.

Discussion Question:  Cohen includes a quote from Frith and McRobbie: "Some feminists have argued that rock is now essentially a male form of expression, that for women to make non-sexist music, it is necessary to use sounds, structures and styles that cannot be heard as rock."  Is this true, or do we unfairly shy away from calling rock by women "rock?"

Critical Review 3: Maira 1999

Delving into the subculture claimed by second-generation Indian Americans, Sunaina Maira explains the reasoning behind music that combines what is considered traditionally Indian, and that which is unmistakably American.  Dichotomous music (and clothing) signifies an appreciation for parts of the past culture with the claim of a new (borrowed) one to differentiate themselves.  Schisms seem to be a theme in this subculture.  For example, there is a fine line for girls between being trashy (too American) or reserved (too traditional) and between being too preppy or too hood.

Discussion Question:  Maira refers to the early Birmingham theorist notions that "youth cultures attempt to symbolically resolve tensions between larger group group cultures to which they belong and their own generational concerns." Is this true for this particular subculture? Other subcultures?

Critical Review 2: Slobin 1994

Mark Slobin begins his discussion of music and diaspora by outlining the ways music can contribute to the identities of individuals from a certain diaspora.  It is music, he argues, that (alongside food) is "the main means of identification of diasporic groups."  As he goes on, he explains that although music is shared by a whole diaspora, it is only influenced by a few.  Finally, he explains how stickiness can occur when diasporic lines are blurred.

Discussion Questions:  What are the key similarities and differences between diasporic groups and subcultures?  What entitles the few who can influence the music of a diaspora to do so.

Web Ethnography Project: Initial Topic Post

Sean Kane and I will collaborate on this web ethnography project with the hope of  understanding the social underpinnings of music combining two genres, which we will call "combination music."  We define combination music as crossover songs (like Run DMC and Aerosmith's "Walk This Way,") and mashups combining two styles (like Jay-Z and Linkin Park's "Numb/Encore").  Combining genres blurs the lines between them, forcing listeners to choose what components of the genre they prefer are valued most.  To cover a realistic territory, we will focus on rap/rock combinations.

In order to see the effects combination music, we will interview people who identify solely with one genre or another; diving into how the music makes them feel, and cultural ramifications of listening to it.  Questions we hope to address include:  Will listeners who at one time associated with only one genre embrace the culture of the other if they like the music?  Will enjoying combination music make listeners feel less a part of their original cultural niche?  Are there certain qualities to a song of a genre (like lyrics to rap) that are more influential to songs of that genre than other qualities (like the beat)?  Is combination music targeted at one group rather than both?

Critical Review 1: Cohen 1993

In her article Ethnography and Popular Music Studies, Sara Cohen differentiates the study of popular music from ethnography, while defining each of the terms with broad examples.  She paints popular music studies as predominantly text-based, arguing that they could benefit from incorporating ethnographic considerations like "the individual" and social relationships.  She goes on to show differences between the two by explaining how ethnographic studies include a more bottom-up, culturally-focused dive into a subject that is based on individual interviews and fieldwork. 

Discussion Question:  What impact does an ethnographer's presence in the field have on his or her subjects' representations of the reality of the scene that is being studied?