UMM Roots Music FYS

The course is over

2007-02-19T00:00:00.000-06:00

For anyone who stumbles here for whatever reason, this blog was created to support a course, and that course is now over, so there's not likely to be much (if any) traffic here in the future.

Thanks for visiting, though, and thanks to all the students who make this work! Feel free to visit my blog, where I do post about issues musical now and then.

Blog Summary

2006-12-15T14:46:00.000-06:00

I've posted my blog summary.

Discussion summary

2006-12-12T14:05:00.000-06:00

Hey I posted a discussion summary for the 3 pm class.

Discussion Summary

2006-12-08T14:11:00.000-06:00

I have summarized some discussion.

Blog Summary

2006-12-06T23:04:00.001-06:00

Hey people I blogged about the blog site you should check it out. http://dano1421.blogspot.com/

UMM FYS Jamboree 2006 mosaic

2006-12-05T00:53:00.001-06:00

UMM FYS Jamboree 2006 mosaic, originally uploaded by Nic's events.

I've posted (uncleaned and unedited) the less-bad subset of the photos that I took at Jamboree. Feel free to wander over and have a look. I'd meant to take pictures at the radio show, and totally gapped it. Sigh.

Enjoy!

2006-12-04T17:48:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone I just finished the blog summary. I wrote about Jamboree. If you want to check it out go to http://rootsfys.blogspot.com/

Liz

Thanks for a cool radio show!

2006-12-04T01:15:00.000-06:00

I thought that both radio shows went quite well tonight - thanks to all those that came by, and especially to those that contributed/chose music and talked on-air. Huzzah!

Swing dancing at Jamboree

2006-12-03T17:00:00.001-06:00

Swing dancing at Jamboree, originally uploaded by Unhindered by Talent.

I took several photos Thursday at Jamboree but haven't had a chance to sift through them yet. I figured I'd toss this one up quick, though. Many of my shots in Louie's were pretty blurry (it's not real bright down there), and my pictures at the tables upstairs aren't super exciting (you know, people sitting at a table, etc.). I liked this one, though, 'cause it showed the band in the foreground (which was cool) and people dancing and having fun in the background.

I think the whole swing dancing thing went really well. It's a bummer more people didn't come down to join us, but that's their problem, not yours.

Looking forward to tonight's radio show!

Blues Brothers

2006-12-01T17:47:00.000-06:00

I have Rawhide on my computer for the radio show. They fixed the MP3 cord so there shouldnt be any problem playing it.

-Michael Zajicek

Songs for Sunday's radio show

2006-12-01T13:58:00.000-06:00

Remember that our radio show is Sunday from 9:30pm-Midnight. The noon section is taking second shift (from 10:45-midnight), and the 3pm section is opening (from 9:30-10:45pm).

Below are the song lists people generated. For the noon section's list it's not clear to me which songs I need to try to acquire and bring. I'll mark things I have, and things I'm pretty sure someone else has. For things in the unknown category, let me know ASAP if you need me to try to get it. Also, if there are any corrections or additions get in touch ASAP.

These are very cool lists, and I think it'll be a really excellent show!

Noon

Stuff I have

John Lee Hooker - "Boom boom"
Son House - "Death letter"
Patsy Cline - "Strange"
Washington White - "I'm in a heavenly way"
Blind Willie Johnson - "John the Revelator"
Lyle Lovett - "Church"
Robert Johnson - "I believe I'll dust my broom"

Stuff I know a student has

Richard Bona - David has this

Status unknown

Pinetop Perkins - "Big fat mama"
Johnny Cash - "Give my love to Rose"
Johnny Bush - "Long black veil"
Howlin' Wolf - "Spoonful"
Big Bill Broonzy - "Water coast blues"
Snooky Pryor - "Coal black mare"
Dropkick Murphys - "Which side are you one?"
Hank Williams - "Faded loves and winter roses"
Brook Williams - "Chasin' the groove"

3pm

Stuff I have

Muddy Waters - anything
Woody Guthrie - anything
Caballeros Del Norte - Voy a llorar
Charlie Patton - Screamin' and hollerin' the blues
Charlie Daniels - Devil went down to Georgia

Stuff I think I have to get

Chris Thomas King - Hard time killin' floor blues

Stuff I think a student (mostly Emily) has or are in the station

Outkast - Idlewild blues (Don' chu worry bout me)
Black Keys
Decemberists - Mariners revenge song
Richard Thompson (Michael will bring something)
Led Zep - Something from III
Janis Joplin - Summertime
Blues Brothers - Theme from Rawhide (who has this?)
Bele Fleck - Hoe down?
Johnny Cash - Folsom prison blues
Bob Dylan - Subterranean homesick blues
Billie Holiday/Louie Armstrong - A fine romance

Keep your thinking caps on at Jamboree tomorrow

2006-11-29T20:09:00.000-06:00

Remember that everyone should spend some time tomorrow going through Jamboree checking out everyone else's stuff. Just as you want people to come by and check out the work you've done, you need to give them the same courtesy. You might want to take some notes, as I'd like to discuss Jamboree some when we meet again next Tuesday. Questions might include:

What was the general participation like? Did people interact much? What kinds of interactions did they have? Were those interactions mostly superficial, or have some thoughtful content?
What did the whole set of booths say about human diversity (ostensibly the theme of FYS)?
What were some booths that you thought were particularly successful in raising important issues or conveying important ideas?
To what degree does Jamboree (in conjunction with the opening convocation and the common theme) succeed (or not) in generating some sort of "common experience" for first year students?
What were the strengths and weaknesses of Jamboree as social event? As a piece of academic programming?

Have fun!

Booth sign up times, etc.

2006-11-29T19:21:00.000-06:00

In case people don't remember when they've signed up to sit at the booth, I'll post what I have on the sign-up sheet:

Set-up tonight: Joe, Tyler, David
9-9:30am: Mary Beth
9:30-10: Dan, Joe
10-10:30: Jesh
10:30-11: Cassandra, Brady
11-11:30: Brandon, Ashley, Michael
11:30-noon: Kat, Liz, Michael
Noon-12:30: Adrienne (and noon section is downstairs dancing)
12:30-1pm: Jennie L., Megan (and noon section is downstairs dancing)
1-1:30: Christina, Jennifer H.
1:30-2: Machelle, Lindsey
2-2:30: Kelsey, Adam, Laura
2:30-3: Jeff, Andrew, Keli
Clean up (3 until done): Emily, Tyler, Kelly, and Andrew

Note that Mary Beth is alone at 9, and Jesh is alone at 10, so if anyone can stop by and help them/keep them company I'm sure they'd appreciate it. In particular, we have three people signed up for each of 11, 2, and 2:30, so if any of those nine people wanted to move that would be cool. (If you're planning on moving, could you post a comment on this post to that effect so we don't end up with all three people trying to move from the same slot.)

I came by this evening, and it looks like a computer, projector, and screen are set up, but there is no other evidence of any sort of set up. The posters are still in the classroom (as of 6:30pm), and I have no idea where the movie is so we can test it at the booth. I'm currently at home grabbing some food but will be coming back to burn Adrienne's spiffy lyrics snippets onto CD and move my boombox and headphones over there.

Also, if you're unsure/anxious about what you're supposed to do while you're at the booth, now's a good time to ask. Similarly, if you're in a group and have instructions you want everyone to be aware of while they're holding down the fort, now would be a good time to post that info here or write it up and leave it at the booth.

Video

2006-11-29T18:36:00.000-06:00

So... Steph has put in hours and tons of work into our video for tomorrow, so I think she deserves a round of applause. We would have very little for tomorrow without all her work, so thank you Steph!

new Posts

2006-11-28T11:37:00.000-06:00

I posted my blog summary for quite some time ago and also a post on last weekend which I spent in Georgia at a protest. check them out!

culturejammer210.blogspot.com

thanks
-Christina

Late Discussion Summary

2006-11-25T20:47:00.000-06:00

So this is a super super late class discussion summary. If you care to travel through time and remember what happened say o about a couple weeks ago you will have to check out my blog...... kelseyjowheaton10.blogspot.com
Thanks!
Kelsey jo

Tuesday Noon Section

2006-11-21T12:26:00.000-06:00

So class was a little on the small side today, and we wanted to let the rest of you know what we're think about for next week.

The band is hoping to meet next Monday in the HFA at 3:30 so that they can practice a little bit before the Jamboree. At practice they are also going to decide if they will be practicing Tuesday during class.

We're planning to meet in Louie's on Tuesday again so that we can practice swing actually with music this time. Nic-could you bring a CD player for us and I'll see if I can track down a couple of discs of swing music.

We need to get a list of songs together for the radio show. It'd be good if we can all bring at least two ideas for songs to class on Tuesday so that we can compile it into one list which should last for our entire show. Then we can get a copy of our list to the other section so that we can make sure there are no repeats during the FYS radio time.

Everyone have a marvelous break and enjoy Thanksgiving!

Discussion Summary (a little late)

2006-11-16T11:36:00.000-06:00

Just put up the Discussion Summary for 11/14/06. It's a little late, I know, I apologize. Just visit my blog >>> nievebloggin’

See you in class,

David

Blog Summery

2006-11-14T19:42:00.000-06:00

My Blog Summery is up. Go to the Little Rabbits Blog to read it.

http://thelittlezajicek.blogspot.com/

Blacks imitating whites imitating blacks imitating whites

2006-11-10T21:41:00.000-06:00

I'm reading a strange and often incoherent book by Nick Tosches called Where dead voices gather which, for all it's jumping about and disconnected tangents, has a lot of good material in it on the minstrelsy of the 1800s and early 1900s, and their connection to the music we've been studying. In and amongst all his ramblings I just got to this great quote:

As to the true origin of the cakewalk, it is believed to have begun at about the same time as minstrelsy, around 1840, with slaves parodying the formal dances of their masters. These burlesques came to be mimicked [by whites] in minstrel shows. After the Civil War, when blacks entered minstrelsy, they assumed parts in the minstrels' cakewalk. As Terry Waldo puts it in his book This Is Ragtime: "By the time the ragtime era began in 1896, the cakewalk was being performed by blacks imitating whites who were imitating blacks who were imitating whites." I'm sure the gist of this wonderful little observation can, with not much squinting, be applied to the whole of popular culture.

Ah, what wonderful stuff. It reminds me of this excellent essay, "When wrong is right", written by Ed Ward as a companion piece to the PBS documentary on John Lennon's jukebox. In it Ward argues that one of the great strengths of the Beatles' music was that they tried to copy the American R&B they loved and failed. In failing, however, they created new combinations and opened new doors:

This is what makes artists artists: they take little bits of things from here and there and put them together in unexpected combinations that seem new and original. Some of them are pretty obvious: one of Little Richard's trademarks is the "Ooooo!" he interjects into a lot of his hit songs. Richard got it from the world of gospel, where it's a standard of Alex Bradford, among others. The Beatles grabbed this little trick for themselves, and it's all over their first recordings: girls went wild when Lennon and McCartney stepped up to a single microphone, shook their mop tops, and went "Ooooo!".

Makes me want to go off and butcher a good song or two :-).

3pm line dancing moving to Thursday

2006-11-10T12:18:00.000-06:00

The 3pm line dancing folks have tried a zillion places and just haven't been able to find any space that we can dance in Tuesday. So we're exploring doing the dance filming on Thursday instead.

Is there anything else that we need/want to film that we could do Tuesday?

Thanks! - Nic

Let's listen to some old (time) religious music

2006-11-08T23:28:00.000-06:00

While we're working on our Jamboree stuff, I'd like to open up another box of roots music goodies, namely gospel/religious music. There are three major reasons for heading into this:

Most of music we've been listening to is either solo or in small groups; a lot (but not all) religious music in performed by groups, often large groups.
Religious music is wonderfully eclectic in terms of styles; the set I've picked out includes blues, country, choirs, quartets, and sermons.
(Early) religious music features a significantly higher percentage of female performers than the blues and country we've been listening to; religious music was a more socially acceptable (and safer) venue for women.

Note that religion itself is not the point of this. While it was obviously important to (many) of the people that made this music, we don't need to like or dislike, agree or disagree with the religious views, anymore than we have to agree or disagree with the views expressed in any of the other music we've listened to in order to explore and discuss it.

I've created two roughly hour long listening lists of religious music in my iTunes library, and I'd like everyone to come up to the classroom (evenings or weekends) to listen to them over the next few weeks. Let's plan on listening to the first set by next Tuesday (14 Nov), and the second by the following Tuesday (21 Nov).

The sets contain music by a lot of names that should be familiar by now (Charley Patton, Robert Johnson, Skip James, the Carter Family, Hank Williams), lots of important people that you may not be familiar with (Mahalia Jackson, Fisk Jubilee Singers, Dorothy Coates), as well as lots of really obscure people that I know little or nothing about.

This leans more to the vocal than the instrumental, and there are some amazing bits of singing (solo and group) in these sets. (I only wish I could sing like that!) There are also some remarkable sermons. African-American sermons were commonly recorded and released in the 20s and 30s, and they demonstrate some wonderful relationships between speech and music in those churches. Most of these sermon recordings are old, but there are two from the 60s from the great Long road to freedom collection. One combines a song with an excerpt from a speech by MLK (nicely illustrating the important connection between gospel music and the Civil Rights Movement), while the other is a completely creepy re-creation of a slave church service combining "Amazing grace" with a most unsettling sermon (you have been warned).

While most of the songs are old (the bulk is pre-1940), I've also included a few contemporary songs. There are three variations of "Ain't no grave", one of which is quite recent, and there's a wonderful song by Lyle Lovett that combines country song writing with gospel performance style in a great way.

As you listen to each group, pick out a song to blog about. As well as writing about your general response to and thoughts on the music, I'd like everyone to say a little about one specific song and how it relates (preferably in a substantive way) to something else we've listened to, read about, or discussed in the class.

It's great music - enjoy!

An update on the paper on the song

2006-11-08T22:23:00.000-06:00

Once upon a time there had been (in the syllabus) some noise about a biography paper, which was then turned (by an conjurer of strange skills hard to fathom) into a paper on a specific song. The people wrote blog entries (if but mostly brief ones) on what song they would like to write upon, but the promised details never seemed to materialize, remaining but a shimmering illusion on the horizon.

Or something like that.

With my father's illness and whatnot, it is now into November, Jamboree is growing nigh, and I still haven't done my part. Something needs to be done, and whatever it is needs to be reasonably fair to you folks.

So here's what I propose: The paper becomes extra credit applicable just to the performance part of the course. Now that the performances are done, I'll try to e-mail everyone a performance grade in the next few days. While there were some really wonderful performances, many (certainly many more than I expected) weren't really performances, being instead simple variants on a high school book report that didn't display much depth or growth or courage on the part of the presenter. Many of those aren't going to get great performance grades (probably C or D).

My idea, then, is for the paper to be an opportunity for everyone (but especially people who aren't happy with their performance grade) to beef it up; people who are happy with their performance grade can skip the paper and move on with other parts of their lives. For people who turn in a paper, I'll mark them on a 30 point scale, and then add those points to your performance grade (capping the sum at 100 points).

For people who wish to do a paper, you want to move past the basic details of the song you're writing about. It's good (important even) to know who wrote it and when it was recorded, etc., but that's the start and not the end. Why is the song or performance important? How does it speak to us and what does it tell us? Where does it fit in the narrative begun in our readings? Frankly, why would anyone give a damn? I'm not looking for a huge long beast, so don't just ramble on in the hopes that you stumble across something; figure out what you have to say that's important, and say it clearly and concisely. If you're struggling, run ideas past me or other folks in the class.

These won't be due until a week after Jamboree (Thursday, 7 Dec), but if you turn something in earlier I'll try to give you some early feedback on it so you have a chance to revise it if you wish.

Swing band - Do we need a new song?

2006-11-08T21:15:00.000-06:00

The noon section swing band definitely made a lot of progress on "Haunted ballroom" yesterday, but I'm wondering if we might be better off choosing a different song. The chord changes in that song are really pretty complex, and it's not obvious that we're going to get up to a speed that people are going to be able to dance to. Brandon had several big books of songs - is there something there that we might be get up to speed on faster? Anyone else have a suggestion?

discussion summary

2006-11-02T17:00:00.000-06:00

This is my discussion summary. I hope you enjoy it (that is if you actually read it..) http://greenstar419.blogspot.com/2006/11/discussion-summary.html

I've copied the music for the Noon folks

2006-11-02T14:51:00.000-06:00

I've made a bunch of copies of the song ("Haunted ballroom") that the noon group is going to try to square dance to. They're hanging on the corkboard in the classroom, ready for you to swing by (hoo, hoo, hoo) and pick one up. (Feel free to ignore this if you're in the 3pm section or otherwise don't have a clue what I'm talking about.)

Tyler posted his discussion summary

2006-11-02T09:07:00.000-06:00

Tyler posted his discussion summary and asked me to post the link for him. Go check it out: http://tylerisprobablythecoolestguyalive.blogspot.com/

2006-10-31T16:16:00.000-06:00

I posted a blog summary http://lzfys.blogspot.com/2006/10/blog-summary.html. Go read it. Or not.

Committee assignments for 3pm folks

2006-10-31T15:44:00.000-06:00

The Jamboree committee assignments for the 3pm section:
* Film Crew: Jeffrey and Steph
* Dance: Laura (convener), Steph, Michael, Megan
* Junk band: Tyler (convener), Joe, Andrew, Jeffrey, Keli, Megan
* Food: Steph (convener), Jennifer, Keli, Kelly
* Lyrics: Jennifer (convener), Kelly, Lindsey, Jessica
* Radio: Emily (convener), Michael, Lindsey, Jessica

Noon folks: Remember to bring instruments Tuesday!

2006-10-31T12:19:00.000-06:00

A reminder that the noon section is going to try out the swing dance band thing next Tuesday (7 Nov). People who are interested can also meet at TMC tomorrow (1 Nov) at 8:30pm to go to the library to look for sheet music for the band to play.

Where does Swing Dancing happen?

2006-10-30T09:42:00.000-06:00

I need to finalize the space/equipment request today, and it's not obvious to me where the noon section wants to do this Swing Dancing thing? Do you want to perform in Edson? Teach people in some other space? I doubt we could get enough space in Oyate. Louie's Lower Level (that strange space right below Oyate) would probably work, but they have a big rug there and I don't know if that would be a problem. (We could probably roll it up, but we'd have to put things back.) This needs to sent in today, so discuss and suggest in the comments to this post and I'll send something in at the last minute :-).

I'll get space in Oyate for two tables for the sections to share, and space for the 3pm section to project their movie (screen, projector, couch). Does that group want to use a computer for the projection, or a DVD player?

Thanks!

Blog Summary for 10/25

2006-10-25T00:30:00.000-05:00

I've posted the blog summary for October 25th. Have a grand day all. -Mary Beth

JWeb's blog summary

2006-10-22T00:36:00.000-05:00

JWeb posted his blog summary and asked me to post the link: http://jwebfys.blogspot.com/2006/10/blog-summary.html

Listening assignment for next week

2006-10-21T14:15:00.000-05:00

We were originally scheduled to read an article this week, but I think I'm going to have us listen to some podcasts instead. I would like everyone to listen to episodes 3, 4, and 5 of the The Folkways Collection. This is a very cool 24 episode podcast covering the strange and wonderful history of Moses Asch's great Folkways label, which was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution upon Asch's death. The Folkways label recorded and released an enormous variety of music, poetry, and spoken word material, all of which are discussed in various ways in these podcasts.

The particular episodes I want you to listen to are about Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music [Smithsonian pages about the anthology, with info on each song][Wikipedia article][AllMusic review] that Eagan talked about when he visited our classes last week. This is a truly remarkable collection, and had a profound influence on me both musically and in how I've always thought about this course. It's a sign of its importance that they devoted a full 1/8 of their podcasts to a discussion of this one release.

Each episode is just under an hour long. I'd like everyone to listen to at least the first two by Tuesday (24 Oct), and then the third by Thursday (26 Oct). For each episode, write a blog post with a specific quote or bit of music from that episode that you found important. Indicate why you think it's important and how it connects to our course. (So I'm expecting three separate posts on each of your blogs to result from this.)

This is very cool stuff - enjoy!

Blog Summary for Oct. 20th

2006-10-20T17:08:00.000-05:00

I posted my blog summary. Here is the link. http://greenstar419.blogspot.com/2006/10/blog-summary-for-oct-20th.html

They want our Jamboree plans by 30 Oct!

2006-10-19T11:32:00.000-05:00

They want us to answer the following questions by 30 Oct. That's a Monday, so we really only have three class days (today, and Tuesday and Thursday of next week) to discuss Jamboree ideas. Everyone should spend some time thinking on their blog (or in comments on this post) about what we might do. Also, please take some time to read what other people have written and respond to it.

One idea that seemed to appeal in both sections is the idea of a junk band. I can bring up the junk band instruments this week or next so we can play with that if you'd like, but there needs to be some sort of idea, plan, or leadership, or it's just a bunch of people aimlessly banging on stuff.

I'll just make stuff up for this first item, but if you folks help come up with something cool then it will probably bring more people to your booth(s).

Please give a brief overview of what your class is planning to do for the Jamboree—this is information that will be used for publicity purposes and other press-related needs for the event. This does not have to be longer than a paragraph.

They say "Check one" here, but we can mix certain things. We can, for example, perform in Edson, and still have a table in Oyate with other materials.

3. Do you want to be featured in: Oyate Hall _____ Louie’s Lower Level_____ Edson Auditorium_______
Hallway in Student Center_________or Outside**_________? (Check one)

I've had groups do the basic "Two tables against the wall" approach, and I've had groups take a big space for projectors, screens, couches, and cardboard boxcars.

4. If you are working in Oyate, approximately how much space in feets do you think you will need (think table lengths, one rectangular table is 6/8 feet, round tables are 5/6 feet)? Do you need space on the edges or in the center? Describe how you will use the space.

Some groups have repeated their performances and some haven't.

5. If you are planning a performance, how long will it be and will it be repeated? Be as specific as possible. (Please be aware that other groups will want to use the auditorium, scheduling will be done to maximize everyone’s access of the space during typical high traffic times. Do not request specific time periods yet.)

This is really important - there's no guarantee that we can get things late, so we need to be thinking seriously about this early. This includes things like projectors, VCR/DVD players, and screens.

6. Equipment requests: Please check the following items that you will need to complete your project. Fill in the number of if you need more than one of these items. You MUST be specific, as this is our only chance to submit a complete group request—we will not be able to do any last minute searches for anything forgotten. If you have especially hard-to-find items, you may be asked to find this on your own.
Please, be very thorough.

•Tables______ How many:_____ •Chairs_____ How many:______

•Computer_____ How many:_______ Mac_____ or PC______

•Other items accessible via UMM:
<br>•Other material requests:

Put on your thinking caps and get creative!

A few thoughts on the class performances so far

2006-10-19T11:30:00.000-05:00

I'd like to make some comments about some of the very impressive performances that people have shared in the class so far. While there has been some unevenness, a number of performances were really top notch and I definitely want to thank everyone for their hard work. I realize that it can be a bit nerve wracking to get up in front of a bunch of people you only met a month or two ago and perform/speak on a subject that is also new to you.

Some highlights (for me):

Machelle's song and info on hobo life. I loved the song, and that she took the time to find it, make up music for it, and have the courage to sing it. The background info and the bits from her grandfather's memoirs were really informative and gave me a much better sense of what that life was like. I didn't know much about the hobo life beforehand, and I learned a lot of great stuff here.
The two food events were good (and tasty!). Both groups provided some cool and useful background information, but in both cases the connections between the food and the music were perhaps a little more tenuous than optimal.
Joe's connections from Africa through blues to rap was really cool. My main recommendation here would be to have the courage of your convictions. I think Joe had a great idea and pulled together some excellent evidence, but hedged a lot in his presentation when I think he could have been firmer. The kazoo performance was very cool, but he again he lost his nerve and stopped when (I think) he should have kept rocking! I also thought that he could have done more (gone longer) with the idea of doing beats over Muddy Waters - it was a cool idea and had a lot of potential, but he cut it off almost immediately so we never got a feel for what he was doing. I forgot to ask what he learned from working up that kazoo part. Joe?
Megan's "Wade in the water" and (especially) the discussion that followed. It would have been cool to have sung some of the verses that were more specifically coding messages, however.
Tyler's performance of the Skip James tune. It was neat seeing/hearing about him learning some new guitar styles and learning some things about tunings and styles.

One general comment I'd make is that there is a certain leaning towards things that resemble book reports more than performances, and I'm really much more interested in performance. One way to think about it is whether you'd ever do that for people outside of the course. You're almost certainly not going to read a report outside of class, but you might perform a song or read a poem. One thing I'm trying to get at here is a sense of the way that the people we're listening to/reading about approached the music as performers and not just consumers. They certainly didn't write book reports about the music - they sang it; we should try to do the same.

Keep up the good work!

Discussion summary for Oct. 10-13

2006-10-12T21:34:00.000-05:00

Well we haven't really been having long class discussions in class this week and last due to performances and a trip to the library... so I just thought I could replay the performances we've had these past few weeks.
I think all of our performances have been really interesting and diversified. I learned something new with each one so they definately haven't been boring! I really liked watching sign language being performed and it made me want to learn it. The food that has been served in three of the performances (including my own) has been really good, and much appreciated since I rarely eat before class! I think all of the performances have really touched base on our roots music class with what this class is all about. I especially enjoyed today's performances as well. I didn't realize that the 'cotton-eyed-joe' song was actually really old. The only version I've ever heard is that techno one they played at middle school dances! And I really liked hearing about the meaning of what the lyrics stood for, because I've never really thought about what they meant. It kind of makes me think of other music I listen to now and look for other meanings that I may have never thought of. And Dan's trumpet playing was amazing! I really liked having the live music in class today. The banjo was also amazing! There's just something about hearing music live and seeing it being created that makes it all that much better! I definately plan on takin' a trip to Richfield to check out that store, maybe pick up a banjo... maybe!
Overall I think that our performances have been really different but tie into Roots Music really well. That just goes to show how one era of music can come from so many different backgrounds with so many spin offs!

Dates for the rest of the Open Mic Nights

2006-10-11T14:35:00.000-05:00

I saw a poster today that (finally) had all the dates for the remaining Open Mic Nights. The next one is 26 Oct, followed by 30 Nov (the same day as FYS Jamboree), 25 Jan, 22 Feb, 22 Mar, and 26 Apr. All are scheduled from 9:30-11pm (although I bet some run longer than 11) in Oyate. Looking forward to seeing some of you there!

How are people using Pandora?

2006-10-10T15:08:00.000-05:00

There have been a few blog posts about Pandora (esp. early in the semester) and comments in class, but I really don't have a very good sense of how people are using it and how helpful you are (or aren't) finding it. So, how are people using Pandora? What are you finding that's useful/cool/interesting (and hopefully relevant to the course :->)? What have been the pros and cons of Pandora vs. having a fixed list to listen to using iTunes in the classroom (like we did in the first week)? Would you rather we do more fixed lists so we are all listening to the same thing, or are you finding what you want/need via Pandora?

Feel free to post comments on this article, or write about it on your blog, or bring it up in class.

Thanks!

Belated plug for Performing Arts Series

2006-10-10T12:08:00.000-05:00

I had meant to put in a plug for UMM's wonderful Performing Arts Series sometime before their first event, but that didn't happen. So I'll put in a belated plug for a really great opportunity. For a whopping $16 you can get a student season ticket for all five events, which is about the cost of a single movie and snacks out in the "real world".

Saturday they brought the National Players, who did a fine job with Shakespeare's Othello. I really liked what they did with their lighting and very simple set components that they were able to use and re-use in nifty ways. I saw several of you there, despite my lack of promotion (good!) - what did others think about the performance? Feel free to throw a comment on this post, or write about it on your blog.

The second event of this year's series is coming up a week for Saturday (the Saturday after fall break), with the Jawaahir Dance Company. They will also be doing workshops (as is true for many Performing Arts events) on Friday and Saturday, so you have a chance to meet with the performers and get involved. Our son, for example, thoroughly enjoyed the National Players' workshop on Stage Combat :-).

Again, I apologize for not being very active on-line in the last two weeks. My application for Full Professor (about 1.5 inches of paper :-( ) was due yesterday, and that really overtook way too much of my life. That's now done, however, and I can return to the much more interesting parts of the world such as this course!

Discussion Summary

2006-10-10T11:13:00.000-05:00

I just finished the discussion summary for this week. You can find it at http://rootsfys.blogspot.com/

Blog Summary

2006-10-09T22:02:00.000-05:00

I've posted my blog summary for october 3rd- october10th.
http://krivershanson.blogspot.com
-Keli

Thoughts on the library sessions

2006-10-02T19:06:00.000-05:00

In sitting through the library sessions last week I had a couple of thoughts:

There are a lot of books on music and other musical materials in our library. While most are not on roots music, I'm always pleasantly surprised by how much good roots material there is in our library. Don't overlook the library's resources when exploring this material.
Two major resources that came up at least indirectly are the Smithsonian, which collects and publishes large bodies of roots music. Probably the most useful thing is their Folkways section at http://www.folkways.si.edu which includes lots of recordings and a cool podcast. Check it out! Another major source is the Library of Congress (which sponsored tons of field recordings, including those by the Lomaxes) and has an enormous collection of great music that's directly relevant to the course. The main link is http://www.loc.gov/ with the Folklife section likely to be the most useful.

I highly recommend the Smithsonian/Folkways podcast. I'm still working through it (it's 24 episodes, each of which is a full hour!), but what I have listened to has been really good. Lots of good music, as well as excellent history of the (very important) Folkways label.

Remember that we'll have a second library session on 10 October. We can guide/structure that quite a bit if we want, so let me know (for example, here in a comment) if you have particular questions/issues that you'd like to address in that session.

Discussion Summary

2006-10-02T18:20:00.000-05:00

I've posted the discussion summary for the noon class on my blog. If the link doesn't work, my blogroll name is MBK Roots. -Mary Beth
http://mbkroots.blogspot.com/

Some crazy grungy modern blues

2006-10-02T18:18:00.000-05:00

Sorry for not posting much last week. I'm knee deep in getting a bunch of stuff ready for a big deadline next Monday, and an opportunity came up at the last minute to go present science stuff at a big event in St. Paul on Saturday, and those two demands pretty much ate the week.

In and amongst all that, though, I discovered some really cool (modern) blues. I have a great collection of everything that Charley Patton ever recorded, plus an entire disc of related work by other artists, and another disc that's just interviews with other people talking about Patton's life and influence. The packaging is totally amazing, and it includes at least two or three books of information on Patton, his life and music (including transcriptions, modalities, and lyrics). Oh, yeah, I like it...

The aforementioned marvel is on Revanent Records, and I was looking at other stuff in their catalogue, and recognized several covers from Pandora. One thing led to another, and pretty soon I was buying the album Blue roots by the Bassholes (hoo-dee-hoo) from eMusic. This
is a totally noisy duo (drummer and guitar/vocals) doing a deeply grungy version of the blues. Think of those old guys from the video we watched, but young, angry, and with electricity. You listen to this stuff, and you can definitely feel (somewhere near your liver) the connections between punk and blues. "Titanic blues", for example, is yet another telling of the souls on that tragic voyage (this was a popular story in songs in the early 1900's), but with the volume knob turned up to 11 and more than a few bulls loose in the china shop. When he screams

First mate said look at this
"You see that great big iceberg?
WE AIN'T GONNA MISS!"

you know something bad is going down. And you gotta love an album with a song entitled "Bald headed woman blues"...

If you dig this sort of thing, it's absolutely great. If you don't, I'd look elsewhere :-).

Todays

2006-09-28T22:24:00.000-05:00

Tuesday we visited the wonderful Rodney A. Briggs Library and got some great tips and pointers on how to use all of the great resources that we have. My favorite item is Electronic Reserves, which is if you didnt know a way to access books and other clippings from many different library items. The really nice thing is if you have a computer and internet you can access it right from your dorm room. So with this great resource at our hands we should all be getting A's. Haha
So today in class we went over chapter two in Deep Purple. We also went over possible ideas for me to do on our music project and i wanted to say thanks for the great ideas. The discussion got pretty funny when it started to relate to babies, boogers, and killing in the book. Oh yeah almost forgot about a funny comment about muddy water and how he got his name.Then it got even more interesting jumping from murder to Davinci and then to Necrophilia. Just a reminder that some of the music performances start on Tuesday. So if you have anymore ideas for me on the project i would love to hear them. Have a good weekend.
Adam

Class Summary

2006-09-26T12:01:00.000-05:00

Hey I've Posted a blog on the class discussion from last week check them out. The link is http://dano1421.blogspot.com/

Problems accepting course blog invites

2006-09-26T10:57:00.000-05:00

Several people have had problems accepting their invitations to be posters here on the course blog. Based on a couple of examples, I'm guessing that the problem in many cases is that your e-mail client is breaking the (fairly long) URL that Google/Blogger is mailing to you.

As an example, one person passed along their invitation e-mail and it had a link that looked something like (I've changed some of the numbers):

http://beta.blogger.com/i.g?inviteID=4622562676191033393&blogID=89562679374
14
940892

Notice how the "14" and "940892" ended up on the following lines? There are part of the "blogID" field in that URL and need to be added (without any spaces) to the end of the URL for it to work. (Thus the end of the URL should be "...37414940892".) Many mail clients break up long lines, even when they're URLs, leading to links that in fact don't work (like the one above). If your mail client is doing that I would (a) fuss about it and/or change to a different client for reading your mail and (b) type in the URL by hand, putting together the broken pieces. That should work, allowing you to accept the invitation.

If you can't seem to get the darn thing to work, please swing by the office some time and we can go through it together. Thanks!

Reminder: Class tomorrow is in the library!

2006-09-25T22:34:00.000-05:00

A reminder that tomorrow's class is in the computer lab on the third floor of the library instead of our regular classroom. We will meet in the library, so head straight there. I happily see that several of you have posted a flurry of ideas on the song you might do your report on. Bring questions you have about information you might need and how you might find it -- the library staff are there to help!

Blogger Summary

2006-09-24T16:50:00.000-05:00

hey, i am giong post the wonderful summary on my blog.... come see it if u wish!!! Its pretty amazing.. no kidding.... kelseyjowheaton10.blogspot.com

Charley Patton makes an appearance at UMM's open mic night!

2006-09-22T07:02:00.000-05:00

In and amongst all the cool performances last night (and I saw quite a few of you there, which was excellent!), there was a pair of (new?) students that did a fine guitar and bass blues jam. The fact that two college students would choose that format for a public performance is a nice testament to the power of the blues as a form. As the pedantic old-fart teacher, though, my bells all started to go off when they introduced their improvisation as being based on "Spoonful" which they said was written by Cream. (Cream was a short lived but highly influential British "super-group" in the 60's which, among other things, led to Eric Clapton becoming a major international star.) of

But wait, hadn't we just listened in class to Charley Patton doing "A spoonful blues"? A relationship, perhaps? Yes, but indirectly. It turns out that Cream never claimed to write "Spoonful"; they recorded it, and definitely gave it their own twist, but gave the writing credit to Willie Dixon. Dixon was a major figure of the Chicago blues scene in the 50's and 60's, and comes up quite a bit in Palmer's Deep blues. While an accomplished singer and bassist, he's probably best known as a song writer, having penned all manner of Chicago classics, many of which went on to be major British Invasion hits. This included "Spoonful", which Dixon clearly based on Patton's much earlier version, but made major revisions to both the lyrics and the musical structure, creating a song that was arguably much more amenable to covers and jamming. Dixon's "Spoonful" was first recorded by, and become a signature song for, Howlin' Wolf, and it was that version that was heard (and covered) by numerous rock bands, particularly in the UK.

So we have an old blues from Patton being transformed into an electric blues by Dixon and Howlin' Wolf, picked up by Cream as part of the British Invasion, to be covered by a pair of UMM students at open mic night in 2006. Pretty cool, eh?

BTW, I'm definitely not trying to bash the students who played it last night. They were there to perform, not give a history lesson. They did a really nice job, and I definitely hope to hear them again.

We now have a list of recent student blog posts

2006-09-21T14:13:00.000-05:00

I was finding it pretty difficult to wade through checking all your blogs one at a time for new posts, so I figured out how to get the lists of new posts, merge them, and post them over on the left in the beige box just under the banjo picture. As people add posts to their personal blogs, their titles will automagically appear in that box, so people can more easily keep an eye on what's happening on the various blogs.

Remember that this blog exists to serve you and the class, so definitely let me know if you have problems with it, or ideas for how to make it more useful.

We can leave the classroom for your performances

2006-09-21T07:31:00.000-05:00

Many people have been posting about their performances as requested (thanks!), and it's been fun to see what sorts of ideas people have had. One question that's come up is whether we can leave the classroom for the performance, and the answer is absolutely yes. Each year we almost always make one trip to HFA to use the pianos in the practice rooms (we had a cool duet of "Frankie and Johnny" a while back, complete with plastic egg shaker percussion), and one year we went to the dance space in HFA for a solo dance performance. So be creative and think outside the box of Sci 3665!

Also, many people have talked in vague terms of how they would perform (I'll play this instrument, etc.), but very few people have said anything about what they'll perform. I realize that when faced this this assignment there's a natural tendency to focus on "What skill/instrument/etc. am I least likely to embarrass myself with", but I really want you to think seriously about a specific piece of roots music, which requires that you think of a song to perform as well.

Saturday's Concert

2006-09-20T23:32:00.000-05:00

I personally have been REALLY disappointed about the general lack of posters and "wordspreading" about the upcoming concert. If you want some more info on the artists that are coming here as part of homecoming, I've written about two of the three rap groups for a website I write for, DUnation.com.

Prof & Rahzwell (http://www.dunation.com/pages/news/profrahzwell.shtml)

Ernie Rhodes (http://www.dunation.com/pages/news/ernierhodes.shtml)

Also, a slightly older article (not written by me) about Golden:
(http://www.dunation.com/pages/news/golden.shtml)

I think the concert will be worth the 5 bucks and the walk to off-campus, but that's just me.

-Brady

Open mic Thurs; KUMM concert Sat

2006-09-19T22:39:00.000-05:00

In the shameless event plug department, we have at least two cool music events coming up in connection with homecoming. Thursday at 9pm in Oyate is the first open mic night of the year. These are buckets of fun, and it's a cool chance to see some of your very talented fellow students in action. If you'd like to perform, they'd like you to show up around 8:45pm to sign up for a slot.

Then Saturday night is the KUMM homecoming concert featuring three cool regional hip-hop acts: Ernie Rhodes, Golden, and Prof & Rahzwell. It'll be cheap and fun, so come bounce! (This is an 18+ gig.)

Also, folks should (once you've accepted your invitation to join this blog as an author) feel free to post event plugs here. Events that are related to the course are prefered to some degree, but don't worry too much about that. If we seem to get too many plugs then we can deal with it, but at the moment we don't seem to be having problems with too much traffic :-).

Taking notes in class

2006-09-19T14:09:00.000-05:00

Reading through the blog posts and thinking about a conversation I had after the noon class today, I'd like people to (re)consider whether you're taking notes in class. So far most people are clearly not doing so (they don't even have paper out), which is fine if that's what works for you. But it's also clear that, for example, the people that did take notes in anticipation of writing discussion summaries got quite a bit more detail and depth out of the discussion in part because of their notes.

I've also had conversations with a few people that haven't been speaking up much in class, and a common thread was "By the time there's some space in the conversation, I forget what I was going to say". Taking some (brief) notes on questions/comments/ideas you'd like to share can help ensure that you're ready with an idea when there is some dead space (which always happens now and then) and it tends to make you look more organized and focussed. And if you don't actually get to bring it up in class, then you can always use it as the basis for a blog post when you're next at a computer.

First blog and discussion summaries

2006-09-19T11:57:00.000-05:00

We now have all four blog/discussion summaries posted, with some perceptive observations and pointers to some of the very nice writing that you folks have been doing, so definitely go check them out!

Thanks to these four for getting us off to a good start!

Also, the question came up of how to post notices of these summaries. I'd like everyone who writes a summary to post it here, and I've sent everyone an invitation that (when you accept it) will allow you to post here. The invitation takes the form of an e-mail from Blogger/Google, so check your mail spool for that.

Reminders that the next blog summarizers (the whole list is here) are Kelsey and Adrienne, and the next discussion summarizers are Dan and Jennifer L.

Schedules for performances, blog and discussion summaries

2006-09-19T11:45:00.000-05:00

My apologies for not getting this up last week, but life interfered as it often does. The schedules for everyone's performances and when it's your turn to do blog or discussion summaries are now available on this page: http://tinyurl.com/lsprz

You should go there ASAP, look up your dates, and mark them in whatever thing you use to keep track of your calendar. I'll try to remember to announcing upcoming assignments in class, but I'm sure I'll forget now and then and you are responsible regardless.

Putting together three interacting schedules like this is complex, and the results are never perfect. Someone has to go first. Someone has to go last. There are always a few people with two of their events a week apart. Someone will no doubt need to perform on the same day as their team/band is playing in some far off distant land.

So, you're welcome to swap, but obviously both/all involved parties must agree and I must be notified so I can update the list!

Thanks!

Everybody blog about possible performance ideas

2006-09-18T09:56:00.000-05:00

Now that we've all had a little time to think about what they might do for their performance, I'd like everyone to write a post on their blog about what they might do for their performance. If you have a pretty well-formed idea, let us know what that is. If you've got several ideas and can't make up your mind, list them and see what sort of feedback you get.

As a rule the important thing is to choose to do something, and then start working on that. In retrospect it may not have been the "perfect" choice (whatever that might have been), but the act of choosing and making progress is far more important than any misguided notion of perfection.

If you're really struggling and just can't think of anything, you should get in touch ASAP so we can help get you unstuck.

Remember - this should be fun!

discussion summary

2006-09-16T12:33:00.000-05:00

http://www.culturejammer210.blogspot.com/

I posted my summary of recent discussions

-Christina

Some thoughts on our discussion of Gov. Blanco's speech

2006-09-11T21:06:00.000-05:00

First, let me say that I'm generally very pleased with the level of in-class discussion. Almost everyone has contributed in both sections, and we've gotten into some significant and interesting issues. If we keep that up, we'll be in great shape for the rest of the semester. (I am, however, less impressed with the blogging. While there have been a few people that have done some nice writing, in general there's been very little beyond the initial assignment.)

So, all that said, I keep thinking about our discussions Thursday of Gov. Blanco's speech. It was, again, a good discussion with broad participation, but the discussion in both sections ended up being (to my ears) much more about her presentation style and general choice of topic than about the actual content of her speech. We can debate all day whether she should have said more or less or whatever about Katrina, her life, blah, blah, but the fact is that she gave that speech and said those things, and our discussion (and the few blog posts on the subject) didn't really address her statements with much depth.

There were quite a few things that I thought might warrant discussion, most of which never came up. At the very beginning, for example, she said "Life is simply not fair". Is everyone comfortable/happy with that sort of blanket assertion? If so, do we just accept it, or do we work to change it? You were told to "Put yourself in a position to make a difference... No one is going to do this for you.". Do you agree with this exhortation? Why is this important (or not)? What are you doing (or not) to put yourself in such a position, and why?

Some other lines I found noteworthy:

"Don't let stereotypes shut you out of any career."
"You don't have to know everything, but you have to be willing to learn."
"Ignore the false prophets - be true to yourself."
"Stereotypes can be broken if we all work to defy expectations."
"Focus on the value of diversity."

Lastly, what did she mean by "Be open to committed living"? What does that imply for you here at UMM? For you in this class?

Thoughts?

Thanks for coming over last night

2006-09-11T20:47:00.000-05:00

I'd like to thank the 10 or so FYS students that came over for the movie night last night. It was a nice excuse to watch O brother, where art thou? again, and you folks were wonderful guests. Thanks for making the time to join us!

John Hanson (the former FYS student that came a bit late and sat towards the back) stayed for quite a while after the movie while we listened to music and chatted. One of the things we talked about was the way they set up the two gubernatorial candidates. Pappy (the incumbent) might not be the "bad guy" at the beginning, but he's hardly the "good guy" and the reform candidate comes across pretty well (esp. if you ignore the slightly disturbing bit with the midget). Yet by the end we learn that the reform candidate is clearly major creepy bad news and that Pappy, while perhaps more opportunist than idealist, is a whole row better than his opponent. (I still remember how surprised I was when I first saw it and got to the part where we discover how awful the reform candidate truly is.)

One of the things I really love about that movie is the amazing breadth of the music they've included. There are lots of movies featuring lost of blues, or country, or gospel, etc., but the Coen brothers and T-Bone Burnett pulled together a really wonderfully broad collection of great music here. Great stuff!

It's also worth pointing out that the places they mention in the movie are real, and many of those cities/towns will pass by in our readings now and then. Tommy Johnson (the name of the African-American guitarist) was a real blues guitarist who (along with people like Robert Johnson) did claim some sort of deal with the devil. And watching Pappy dancing and then leading everyone in song at the end may have seemed far-fetched, but there were in fact more than one southern governor that had a significant music career either before or after being governor.

Reminder: First readings from Deep blues

2006-09-08T14:37:00.000-05:00

A reminder that for Tuesday morning we have our first reading from Palmer's Deep blues, namely the Prologue ("It wasn't no big money, but we's doin' it") and Chapter 1 ("Beginnings").

There's a lot of great and important stuff in these two sections, so give them the time they deserve. Take some notes, blog a little about what you think are some of the most important (or confusing) points, and be prepared to discuss them in class next week. Some of the material in the Prologue is as good an argument for why I care about roots music as any I've read.

Its story...is an epic as noble and as essentially American as any in our history. It's the story of a small and deprived group of people who created, against tremendous odds, something that has enriched us all.

He also helps lay out some of the things we need to be paying attention to:

And we need to understand the people who made and listened to blues, not just as blacks or oppressed Americans or romantic archetypes or clever technicians or successful entertainers but as particular people who made particular personal and artistic choices in a particular place at a particular time.

Chapter 1 has some vital history, and nicely summarizes some of our sense of the important but complex and subtle role of Africa in all this. The idea of vocal masking and the "African fondness for muddying perfectly clean sounds" is crucial to making sense of the early recordings of people like Charley Patton and Blind Willie Johnson (not to mention the wonderful music of Jimi Hendrix).

P.S. I heard today that I will not be doing jury service next week, so I'll definitely be there Tuesday.

P.P.S. See you Sunday!

A welcoming carnival

2006-09-07T11:27:00.000-05:00

Most people have posted their responses to the Initial blog assignment, so let's take a spin through it all and see what we find! The intent here is to replicate the idea of "blog carnivals", where different people take turns generating posts that pull together some of the cool stuff that people are writing on their blogs. I'll start this week, and then you folks get to start up next week.

I would point out that almost no one has actually posted anything to their blog other than this one assigned posting (and not everyone's done that yet). (Big thanks to the few people that have made an effort and used the tools a bit!) I can assign more work if you want me too, but I'd rather leave you to find your own way. If people don't post or discuss, though, I'm happy to start handing out writing assignments instead...

Perhaps the biggest surprise for me in your initial posts was a whole raft of important questions the national anthem question raised that, honestly, I hadn't really thought of when I asked it. A lot of people were pretty stumped by the question, but those that did dig into it some raised some really interesting questions about what the role and function of an anthem is. Lots of people used the word "patriotic" in their discussion without trying to define the term or explain what it meant in the context of an anthem. Other people saw the anthem as a chance to make a point about what American was or could be; from Kat: "mine would have to be on how we, as a society, have become disillusioned by what we are, and not turning thoughts towards what we could be.". Others focused on the idea of the anthem as representing the people in some sense. Me thinks that there's much more to be said on this subject :-), maybe in class, maybe in the comments to this point, or maybe back on people's individual blogs.

I could also lay a lot about things like layout and formatting. For the moment, though, I'll simply suggest that you check out some of the other blogs and think about what you find readable and helpful...

Why did you sign up for a roots music FYS section?

Most people signed up for this section because of some general interest in
music ("I love music"). A few were quite specifically interested in roots music. Magic Flying Toad (what a great name!) had a cool story:

Hmm... at my high school senior prom they played a polka as a joke. Only two people danced to it- me and my date. Oh yeah, I'm that big of a nerd. 'Nuff said.

Several other people mentioned some sort of family connection like this from Adr:

When I was younger, my family danced to waltz and polka music at gatherings. That connection to music most likely fueled my interest in roots music, particularily bluegrass

Culture Jammer's grandpa "plays accordian and the saw"! That's rockin', and I'd love to see that going down.

Dano felt that the material was important because "I think music in America is the boiling water that helps mix our melting pot.". Setting aside for the moment the complex debates about "melting pot" versus "salad bowl", I thought this was a really cool analogy.

Perhaps my all-time favorite answer to this question was from Laura: "I've been told it was one of the least tacky FYS classes, and I really like music." I may just have to add that to the syllabus somewhere :-).

If you could take 5 pieces of music with you to a desert isle, what would they be?

Our desert island disco is definitely going to be a wonderfully odd place. Smatterings of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, Led Zepplin, Nickleback and Nickle Creek (two very different bands whose names I constantly mix up), Beatles, and Dave Matthews, plus lots of acts that were only mentioned once (or maybe twice). I was slightly surprised by the amount of "classic rock". I didn't expect that much Simon and Garfunkel, for example, and there were also (a few) more mentions of Bob Dylan than I would have expected, which was cool.

Some people listed some roots music but not much, but that's not surprising or a bad thing in any way. Several people included some music related to faith in some fashion. Classical pieces showed up quite a few times.

Most people simply listed five songs without any discussion or context, while a few of you provided some really nice insight into your choices. I am cool Dooner got into some interesting questions of whether he was just picking for himself, or saving the only pieces of (human) music that would survive (his blog also plays music at you, which was slightly surprising). Some people found it easy, but many did not. To quote I've got nothing to do today but smile: "This was difficult. I need to stop thinking about it now." :-)

What's a piece of music you associate with a parent, grandparent, or someone you know well that's at least a generation older than you.

I really enjoyed the responses to the question about music that you associate with parents or grandparents, and there were some great little stories. Adr, for example, said "My grandma used to play 'On Top of Old Smoky' on the concertina.", and Megan shared "One song that reminds me of my grandpa is Fishing in the Dark. He loved that song and whenever it would come on he would get up and dance!". Both really great images. Many people had strong associations of music with various relatives; Adam J chose a song that "really hits home now especially because my dad is currently in Iraq serving with the National Guard".

Keli's response was a nice example of coming to appreciate something through both exposure and other people's interest:

I was never really a fan of country music until I spent a summer with my grandmother and had no other choice but to listen to it. My grandparents' interest in country music has helped develop my newly found respect and love for it.

I would encourage everyone to be this open to new experiences (and not just in music!). Fancy Feet has a similar, but longer story - go check it out.

Sorting out music for road trips in Liz's house must be fun :-). "My dad enjoys listening [to] Led Zeppelin. My mom listens to a lot of modern Christian music."

It was interesting that Frank Sinatra came up quite a few times. Sometimes this was a concrete way, but often it seemed that Frank was standing in as sort of generic "old music guy".

If we all decided to replace the national anthem with a new song, and everyone agreed that you got to choose, what would you recommend?

It's probably a good thing you're not responsible for a new national anthem, 'cause a lot of you were pretty baffled by this ("I seriously have no idea for a replacement for the national anthem."). In fairness, though, it was a tough question (as Ashley correctly put it "Oh boy, that's kind of a loaded question!").

There were, however, several thought provoking responses, including this from Steph:

I would choose, "Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy" just because I have to choose a song, and everybody calls us western and that we are "cowboys".

I'd never really thought about using a western/cowboy song for the national anthem, but whole frontier mythos is pretty key to a lot of our national identity. Could be pretty unpopular with some segments of the population (the Native Americans come to mind), which raises the point made nicely by Laura about the difficulty of finding any song that meaningfully represents the diversity of the U.S; she dealt with this by suggesting using "themes from several different songs about, for or written by the people of our nation". Nonsensical Ramblings independently suggested John Lennon's "Imagine", which has a wonderful inclusiveness to it.

I'm not sure where to do with FYS Blog Dog's suggestion of the theme from "Team America: World Police" :-).

The only songs with multiple votes were (I think) Woody Guthrie's "This land is your land" (which has been seriously suggested as an alternative over the years, and also received the only negative vote), Radiohead's "National anthem", and "American idiot" by Green Day. The last two are obviously quite pointed statements, but what may be less clear is that Guthrie's song was intended as a pointed statement (and an angry response to "God bless America"). It's been so edited and re-/over-/mis-used that most of that edge has been completely washed out for most of us.

Several people wanted to leave the current anthem alone, including I am cool Dooner:

You can't argue with a old English bar song put together with the first verse to a peom written about the war of 1812 and not established as the National Anthem untill the early 1900's.

What kinds of music related performance stuff (if any) do you do? I interpret this pretty broadly so it can be playing one or more instruments, singing, dance, DJing (dance or radio), etc.

While many people play instruments and/or sing, there are many who don't or haven't done so in quite a while (there are lots of shower singers), and that's all cool. Keli nicely sums up all you really need for this class: "I play my radio. And I know how to work Itunes."

I liked Kat's creative take on the question:

Also, I was a painter for 13 theatre shows at anoka. that could be perceived as non musical, but once your surrounded by music for one month and at least two of those weeks are 18 hour days of painting, then everyone is singing.

We often downplay the value of informal community singing like this, but it's much closer to the kinds of experiences that people like the Carter Family grew up with than playing in a school orchestra or singing along to the radio on a road trip. As Bucky said quite nicely "I play guitar, drums, and sing. I create music. You dont need an instrument."

Another creative take was from Brady who writes "(CD reviews and features) on Minnesota music for both a website and a magazine". Cool.

Given the readings and what (little) you know about Governor Blanco, if you had a chance to ask her one question, what would it be?

There were some pretty predictable questions for Governor Blanco (lots of the "What did you learn from all this?" variety), but there were some nicely thought provoking ones in there as well. A pretty vital one (from Magic Flying Toad again) was

Why is it important to rebuild New Orleans, especially if it is only to be rebuilt in a place that is also open to future disasters? I believe that there must be good reasons, but I don't think I've really heard a definitive answer for this one.

Another that got me thinking was from The Little Rabbit:

Knowing what you know now, if you could go back in time to a month before Katrina, what would you do differently?

I thought the idea of stepping back a month and thinking about what would be different at that time was interesting.

I quite liked Nieve Bloggin's preface: "I would confess to being unfamiliar with her background...". Being honest about what you don't know is often crucial to learning new things.

Jacknife's Jottings had a question that has a lot of important issues tucked inside it: "When will New Orleans be 'New Orleans' again?". In particular, this raises what I consider the really important issue of what makes New Orleans special, and whether that being preserved in the rebuilding process.

There were lots of questions regarding the Governor's role as the first female governor of Louisiana; one I particularly liked was from Brady: "Being the first female governor of Louisiana, do you feel your approach to the office is (or should be) radically different from your predecessors?".

Some lost blogs

There are a few blogs where I don't actually know how to connect the blog to a person on my class list. If any of these blogs is yours, please get in touch to claim your blog!

Random nonsense - There's a first name on the blog, but there are at least two people that name could attach to.
Hockey44

There are probably others that I overlooked while I was trying to get through them all.

Oh, and people really like the polka dots theme...

Songs for our initial Pandora radio playlist

2006-09-06T22:02:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow in class we'll go over how to set up an account on Pandora and create "radio stations" based on a set of seed music. For our first such radio station, I would like everyone to create a station containing the following songs:

"Got my mojo working" by Muddy Waters
"Death letter blues" by Son House
"Lord, I just can't keep from crying" by Blind Willie Johnson
"Wreck of the Old 97" by Pink Anderson
"Death cell blues" by Blind Willie McTell
"Sitting on top of the world" by Mississippi Shieks
"My Oklahoma blowed away" by Pete Seeger
"Stand by me" by Sister Matthews
"Jesus is a mighty good leader" by Skip James
"Feather bed" by Memphis Jug Band
"Worried man blues" by The Original Carter Family
"Midnight special" by Leadbelly
"Parchman Farm blues" by Bukka White
"Jump the boogie" by Boozoo Chavis
"Wabash cannonball" by Roy Acuff
"A spoonful blues" by Charlie Patton
"This land is your land" by Woody Guthrie
"Oh happy day" by The Edwin Hawkins Singers
"Move on up a little higher" by Mahalia Jackson
"Cross road blues" by Robert Johnson
"Cold, cold heart" by Hank Williams
"Uncle Pen" by Bill Monroe
"Wildwood flower" by The Carter Family
"Waiting for a train" by Jimmie Rodgers

You should then listen to this station. I don't know for sure what will come up. If you keep listening, you'll get eventually get quite a few of these to come up, but there are no guarantees as to what will play and when. I would encourage at least two kinds of listening. First, do some background listening just to run through a lot of different songs and get a sense of the breadth and range of these many types of music. Second, do some more detailed listening where you really paying attention to all the songs, taking some notes, marking what you like, and writing some remarks on your blog about things that particular struck you (good, bad, confusing, amazing). And bring some of these things up in class!

I'm hopeful that this use of Pandora will be both cool and convenient. You'll have to let me know how it works for you. Thanks!

It would be good to post about Blanco on your blog

2006-09-06T09:50:00.000-05:00

I would encourage everyone to post some sort of (thoughtful) response on their blog to Blanco's presentation last night.

Note that I didn't say "I require everyone...". You are adults, and ultimately you have to make your own decisions about how to get the most of your life here at UMM. I can make suggestions, but I can't (and won't and shouldn't) follow you around making sure you do everything I suggest. I think you ought to attend events, take notes, reflect and discuss things with the people around you, and post to your blog as part of a larger discussion. What you do, however, is ultimately up to you :-).

Reminder: Blanco chats today

2006-09-06T07:41:00.000-05:00

A reminder that Governor Blanco is available to talk with FYS students (you!) today from 10-noon in the Science Atrium and 2-4pm in the LaFave house. For those who don't know where the LaFave house is (which is probably most everybody), it's the building marked 65 on the bottom left of this map. To get there go out the main entrance (4th Street), hang a left on College Avenue (the first street), and go about one block down. It's the house with all the U of M colored flags out front. (It looks just like a normal house, because that's what it was until a few years ago. Don't get confused - you are in the right place.)

I hope to see you there!

What movie would you like to watch at our house?

2006-09-03T11:28:00.000-05:00

So the movie night at our house is a week from today, and we need to start doing some planning. Questions that need answering include:

Are you planning on coming? (So we can plan appropriate amounts of pizza.)
What are your pizza preferences? Veggie? Carnivore? Can't stand olives?
What movie (related to the class in some way) would you like to watch?

As I mentioned in class, we've watched O Brother, where art thou? in the past to great success. I'm very fond of Schultze gets the blues and it fits really nicely with Governor Blanco's visit and the cajun music we've been listening to. Our son really wants to (re)watch Dave Chappelle's Block Party, which one can certainly connect to the course if one twists things a bit (I do really like the way he connects hip-hop to jazz and blues); we don't own a copy of that, though, so it we'd have to do a bit of scrambling to ensure that we have one here if that's what people want to watch. And I have a ton of documentaries on different genres of roots music, including a pretty amazing film made about music in South Africa under apartheid.

Also, feel free to throw other suggestions into the mix (our son certainly did!). I'll (mostly) let you folks decide as long as there's some connection to the course.

Also, a reminder that two cats lived here with us up until recently, so people with allergies should take appropriate steps.

Use the comments for this post to discuss away! Also, feel free to contact me directly (e.g., office or e-mail) if you don't feel like posting your preferences here.

What did folks think of today's hip-hop show?

2006-09-02T18:18:00.000-05:00

It was very cool to see several of you at today's hip-hop show (featuring Me and U Crew, Kanser, and The Crest). What did people think of the show?

People sometimes whine that there's nothing happening in Morris, but that's really just a sign that they're not paying attention. There's actually way more events going on in town that we ever have time for, and the pile of stuff organized for this weekend is a good example. (I don't know how I'm going to get any of my stuff done in and amongst all these events :->!)

But these things only happen if people show up, so I strongly encourage you to try to attend at least a few campus events a week. Feel free to use this blog (which you now have permission to post to) to plug or discuss events, especially if they're related to the course in some way. You're also encouraged to then use your personal blog to reflect on events that you've attended.

People sometimes worry that they're going to "abuse" the system in some way, but my experience is that people are too cautious rather than too aggressive. I promise I'll tell you if I think that you're overusing the blog (or hear from others that they feel that way). One way to think of it is "Does this post only really work/make sense if most of the class sees it?". If the answer to that is "Yes", then post it here. If the answer is "No", then you might want to think about posting it on your blog.

Some places to find out about events include the UMM events page (which, sadly, is ugly and awkward, but does work and contains lots of good information), the whiteboard in the Student Center by the Info Desk, and the events e-mails that they send everyone each week. Find something you like, grab a friend, and go!

I've posted my answers to the set of questions

2006-09-01T12:02:00.000-05:00

I finally finished up my (overly long) answers to the first blogging assignment and got it posted.

On a totally unrelated note, I'll plug tomorrow's hip-hop concert on the mall at 2pm. Sounds like a fun deal, and it's apparently solar-powered which is pretty amazing :-).

Please check the blogroll for your blog

2006-08-31T22:01:00.000-05:00

I've copied all the addresses of your blogs based on the comments you posted in class today. There are 31 there (including me), which makes me think that I'm one short. Copying those over was all done by hand, though, so it's certainly possible that I just missed someone by accident. Could everyone please check that their blog is on the list? If yours is missing, let me know ASAP and I'll fix it.

I just made up link names based on what I had in front of my (your screen name and your URL), and some are more probably more useful as discriminators than others (many are very similar and could easily be confused). If you'd like me to change the label of your link, just let me know, as it's a pretty trivial thing for me to fix.

While most of the info in your comments is enough for me to know who's who, there are several blogs that are currently anonymous to me. If yours is anonymous, and if you haven't sent me an e-mail with the info, please do so soon. Thanks.

Lastly, you should have gotten an e-mail informing that you've been invited to join this blog as a co-author. Clicking the link in that e-mail and logging in with your Google account e-mail and password will then complete the process of making you a co-author of this blog. All your personal blogs will remain personal, and only you can post to them. This blog, though, will be shared, with anyone able to post. My intent is that any personal writing (e.g., my answer to the meme questions) will go on individual blogs, but that material that's likely to be of general interest (upcoming events, certain assignments to be discussed next week, questions about pizza preferences) would go here. I'm hoping that this co-author invitation will be pretty straightforward, but I've not used this before so let me know if you have any difficulties or just find it strange and baffling. Thanks!

Initial blog assignment

2006-08-31T11:35:00.000-05:00

Think of this as being one of those blogging memes, where one blogger "tags" another blogger with a set of questions (sometimes profound, sometimes ridiculous), and the recipient of the tag is then expected to write a post on their own blog addressing the given questions. Thus everyone in the class (including me) is now "tagged" and should write up the answers on their own blog (which we'll set up in class today). Feel free to answer these either in a single, longer post, or a set of smaller posts. (Using smaller posts may be better strategy since you can then break the task up into more managable pieces that you can sneak in between other bits.)

So, the questions:

Why did you sign up for a roots music FYS section? (It's totally OK if the answer is something like "I didn't really want to, but everything else was full.".)
If you could take 5 pieces of music with you to a desert isle, what would they be? (The definition of "piece of music" here is always tricky. Think "song", but I'll let you get away with a more extended piece like a symphony. A 4 CD compilation of 70's punk just isn't going to count as a single piece of music, though, no matter how cool it might be.)
What's a piece of music you associate with a parent, grandparent, or someone you know well that's at least a generation older than you. (I'm particularly interested in people like grandparents that are two or more generations older than you, but I realize that not everyone is going to have an association for that.)
If we all decided to replace the national anthem with a new song, and everyone agreed that you got to choose, what would you recommend?
What kinds of music related performance stuff (if any) do you do? I interpret this pretty broadly so it can be playing one or more instruments, singing, dance, DJing (dance or radio), etc. (It's totally OK if the answer is "None".)
Given the readings and what (little) you know about Governor Blanco, if you had a chance to ask her one question, what would it be?

This is due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, 5 Sep 2006. Given the many distractions of the long weekend, I'd recommend doing it right away.

Let us know your blog address

2006-08-31T11:22:00.000-05:00

Now that everyone has their own blog, everyone should add a comment to this post with a link to their personal course blog. I'll then collect those in the blogroll over in the left bar of this course blog. Thanks!

If you've chosen to anonymize your blog, you should also send me an e-mail letting me know which blog is yours. I'll keep your secret, but I do need know so I can credit you for your many brilliant remarks :-).

You should do this today in class.

Let's all learn a song on the kazoo

2006-08-31T11:10:00.000-05:00

Yup, I'm serious :-). I'm purchased enough kazoos for everyone, and I'll pass them out in class today. For next Tuesday (5 Sep), I'd like everyone to spend a little time "learning" a song ("L'Amour Indifferent (Careless love)" by Cleoma Breaux Falcon and Joe Falcon (freely available on-line). (I've chosen this because it's not overly complex and it avoids the crazy rhythms that make a lot of the cajun stuff pretty tough to learn. You might try a few other cajun songs just to get a sense of how tricky some of them can be.)

No one is expected to be virtuoso by Tuesday, and no one will have to perform solo. The idea is to have all 15 or 17 of us kazoo along in the classroom as a mass kazoo orchestra. So go through the song a 3 or 4 or 5 times, happily kazooing along until you have the basic structure sorted out. We'll then put all that together in class and see what happens. It almost certainly won't be high art, but it ought to be a heck of a lot of fun!

Dawidoff is now in the bookstore

2006-08-31T10:59:00.000-05:00

I just wandered through the bookstore, and there are nice happy piles of Dawidoff's In the country of country ready for you to rush out and purchase. Have fun!

Opportunities to meet with Governor Blanco

2006-08-30T23:10:00.000-05:00

As part of her visit to UMM next week, Governor Blanco has agreed to arrange several times where she will be available to meet with (FYS) students, answer questions, and discuss issues. None of these times are while our class actually meets, so I can't require you to attend any of them, but I think this is a pretty excellent and rare opportunity, and as intelligent, enthusiastic (new) members of a community of ideas, I would hope you would take advantage it.

The schedule as I understand it gives you the following opportunities (and you may attend any or all):

A punch/cookies reception at 8:30pm in the Student Center just after her convocation talk on Tuesday.
From 10am-noon on Wednesday in the Science Atrium (the big open space one floor up from the bookstore).
From 2-4pm, also on Wednesday. The location for this has not yet been finalized.

If you can come to one of these, you'll probably get more out of it if you have a question or two worked out in advance. You may never get to ask it, but if there aren't many people there everyone (including you and the Governor) will appreciate a question or two to get things going. (Long awkward silences aren't lots of fun for anyone.)

I've added all these to the calendar at the bottom left, but remember that the darn times are still Pacific, so you need to add two hours :-( !

The lost year: The failure to rebuild

2006-08-30T22:04:00.000-05:00

Another UMM faculty pointed out a recent article in the New Yorker entitled "The lost year: The failure to rebuild" (available on-line here). The piece is about the complex history and politics in New Orleans, and the many problems and issues in rebuilding (or not) since hurricane Katrina, and highly topical given next week's visit by Governor Blanco. The complex racial and ethnic history of the city differ quite a lot from the history of the cajuns we've been reading, but both are indicative of the incredibly rich and varied cultural rivers that are brought together in Louisiana. The article also makes painfully clear how even terrible disasters like Katrina aren't free from politics and economics, issues of skin color and class.

And even in a piece about hurricanes, both natural and political, music plays its role:

I had glimpsed that stubborn affection in October, when the first secondline since Katrina wound its way through the debris-strewn streets of Treme. The secondline is the quintessential traffic-disrupting New Orleans art form; in this case, the Black Men of Labor, a social aid and pleasure club, marched in matching yellow print shirts, with matching hat bands and parasols, while the Hot 8 Brass Band followed behind them, blasting music into the mostly vacant neighborhood.

One thing I find odd about the article (esp. given the broad range of issues it covers) is that it says nothing about the larger questions of whether we should expect more massive storms like Katrina as a result of climate change. 'Cause if the answer is "Yes" (and I've certainly not seen a convincing argument that it's "No") then that has profound implications for these issues of rebuilding, and makes the failure of FEMA and others to objectively and scientifically identify the highest risk areas particularly troublesome. (Note that I'm not suggesting that all such high risk areas be abandoned without discussion. But certainly that data is vital if good long-term plans are going to come out of those discussions, and people should understand the implications of increased storm activity for a re-built New Orleans.)

The other thing I find troubling, and this is a complex issue we're probably going to wrestle with all semester, is the assumed relationship between hardship (in this case poverty) and cultural innovation. Much (probably most) of the music we'll listen to this semester was made by people were by no means wealthy, and in many cases extremely poor. A remarkable thing, then, is this wonderfully rich and valuable music that they brought out of that experience for all of us to share. Is hardship necessary for the creation of certain kinds of great art and innovation? Do we collectively need places like the Lower Ninth Ward to create new cultural ideas? If so, are those new ideas worth that price? Who makes those judgements? The children growing up there, or reasonably comfortable folks at a distance (like us)? How do we even begin to talk about such things in a meaningful way?

'Nuff. Feel free to discuss further in the comments section of this post.

Listen to the first listening list

2006-08-28T23:55:00.000-05:00

In class today we'll go over the whole business of coming into the classroom in the evenings and weekends to listen to music via iTunes on the computer there. Our first listening assignment is a collection of cajun and zydeco music, ranging from early recordings from the 1920's to fairly contemporary pieces.

As an assignment, write down three questions that this listening list raises for you and bring them to class Thursday, 31 Sep. These can be factual questions (if so, try to answer them as well - you can still use the question even if you find the answer) or more open ended questions that might be good discussion questions in class. Note that this works best if you can come to the classroom sometime between today's class and Thursday's class, so make sure you schedule a slot for that.

The playlist:

Amede Ardoin and Dennis McGee - "Madame Atchen"

Ardoin was a creole accordion player and McGee was a white fiddle player. Against the racial/social odds, they played together and made several recordings together in the late 1920's and 1930's. It's likely that Adroin was severely beaten (or killed - the stories differ quite a lot and the records are very spotty), perhaps for having the audacity to accept the offer white woman's handkerchief to wipe his face during a performance. This is from the excellent 4 CD collection American Roots Music, the companion set to a fine PBS series of the same name.

Cleoma Breaux and Joe Falcon - "La Vieux Soulard Et Sa Femme"

A great husband and wife team; these early recordings of theirs were extremely popular. This is from the great Anthology of American Folk Music edited by Harry Smith.

Iry LeJeune with the Oklahoma Tornadoes - "Evangeline Special"

Shows the development of the cajun style in the 40's and 50's, and it's just a ton of fun! His whoops and singing blow out the mic now and then, but we'll all cope.

Dewey Balfa, Marc Savoy, and D. L. Menard - "J'ai Passé Devant Ta Porte"

Dewey Balfa comes from a giant musical family in the cajun universe, and the Balfas were vital in the surge of national interest in cajun music and culture in the 1960's. Marc Savoy also comes from a long line of cajun musicians and is a master at both playing and building accordions. (I'd love one of his accordions, but they're a little too expensive for my wallet.) D. L. Menard is often called the Hank Williams of cajun music. The three of them recording together is just pretty darn cool.

Beausoleil - "Hey Baby, Quoi Ca Dit?"

A contemporary cajun band led by Michael Doucet. I saw these guys play at the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans back in the late 80's and people were dancing inside and all up and down the sidewalk; it was enormous fun. I love the amalgam of languages in this song, and only wish I could play accordion like this.

Michael Doucet and Cajun Brew - "Wooly bully"

There's a long tradition of cajun musicians covering popular (non-cajun) songs, and this is just another link in that chain.

Clifton Chenier (the "King of the Zydeco") - "Zydeco cha cha"

Truly one of the greats. His accordion playing, etc., really defined much of what we now call zydeco music, and it's just too much fun. I love the little crawfish bit at the end, so listen up!.

Buckwheat Zydeco - "Think It Over One More Time"

Played in Clifton's band for quite a while, and then went on to a very successful solo career. Here he combines his driving accordion with a seriously funky groove.

The Flatlanders - "Jole Blon"

This is actually a bunch of (non-cajun) guys from west Texas who were exploring "traditional" country in the late 60's/early 70's as a response to the increasingly smooth and heavily produced "Nashville sound" that dominated country music at the time. Here they're covering one of the classics of the cajun repertoire (Note their use of a saw in place of an accordion.) I've got a zillion other recordings of that song

Hello, Babylon!

2006-08-28T20:40:00.000-05:00

I just got an amazing 6 CD set of old gospel music (mostly from the 1920's and 30's, but some up to 1960) called Goodbye, Babylon on the very cool Dust-to-digital label. I ended up babbling on about it way too long on my blog, and rather than repeat all that here, I'll provide a thoroughly over the top quote and the link, and let you chase it down if you feel inclined.

There are some beloved old treasures ("Present joys", Blind Willie Johnson's devastating "Lord, I just can't keep from crying", and Carter Family gems) as well as tons of great stuff I've never heard before. One of the most impressive things about it is the sheer diversity and scope of the collection. Most collections tend to be fairly focused, but here Mahalia rubs shoulders with the Louvins (literally - one her songs immediately follows one of theirs) and the Stonemans share space with the Holy Ghost Sanctified Singers (an African-American gospel jug band!). I become incoherent in the face of all this wonderful music...

Cajun readings/listenings for the first week

2006-08-28T15:31:00.000-05:00

The bulk of the course will focus on blues and country, since these are arguably the forms of roots music that have had the broadest influence on music around the world. We will, however, explore other types of roots music (e.g., gospel), and our keynote FYS speaker (Governor Blanco of Louisiana) gives us a nice excuse to start with cajun and zydeco, two wonderful local Louisiana musics that reflect the complex and amazing history of the cajun and creole peoples of the region. (Make sure you mark 7pm, Tuesday, 5 Sept, for that talk, as attendance is required as part of the course. We'll talk more about that when classes start.)

The main purpose of this post is to share links to some useful resources. We'll have to get up and running really fast (the Governor's talk is the second week of the semester and we only meet twice a week), so hop to it!

History of the cajuns and overview of cajun/creole music:

A large and wonderful collection of (mostly) very early cajun recordings:

http://npmusic.org/artists.html

There's a ton of good stuff here, but you need to be pretty open to these scratchy old recordings. Remember that this stuff was recorded on what we would consider pretty primitive equipment, and most of these early musicians were used to performing without amplification, so they often just blow out the poor microphones. Still, there's some wonderful ballads and dance music here. Try to imagine these people sitting on a porch, or playing a party in someone's living room, then try to combine the readings and the music to create an image of who these people were.

Some names or songs to particularly check out:

"Evangeline" by Iry LeJeune
Amede Ardoin
Dennis McGee
The Falcon family
Amedee Breaux
Blind Uncle Gaspard

When we meet tomorrow I'll show you how you'll be able to come in and listen to lots of music, and we'll start with some (more) modern descendants of these musicians like Clifton Chenier. For the most part these aren't available for free, though. One pleasant exception is Buckwheat Zydeco (who played in Clifton Chenier's band for quite a while) who has several complete songs available on his website:

http://www.buckwheatzydeco.com/bwzydecomusic/bwzydecomusic.html

I especially recommend "Hot tamale baby". It's worth going back and forth between Buckwheat's more contemporary songs and the early stuff and think about how things have changed and (perhaps harder, but more important) how these things are connected (what's remained much the same).

McTell: They got me killed for forging

2006-08-26T13:00:00.000-05:00

I was listening to my American Roots Music Radio on Pandora and this smoldering couplet drifted by:

They got me killed for forging
and I can't even write my name
-- "Death cell blues" by by Blind Willie McTell

Man, there's an awful lot of history and commentary there in 13 words.

I had to rush right out and buy it, and used that as an excuse to try out emusic, which Chris Hamrin had been saying some nice things about.

Some (limited) biographical info on Gov. Blanco

2006-08-25T21:01:00.000-05:00

Our convocation speaker this year is Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, Governor of Louisiana. She was actually scheduled to come this time last year, but Hurricane Katrina rolled in and she (quite understandably) felt she needed to remain in Louisiana. Her convocation is 7pm, Tuesday, 5 September, in Edson Auditorium. Attendance is required for all FYS students.

Her life history is very interesting and quite unusual for someone at that level in any field. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years, and then a high school teacher. To quote the Governor's official bio

Governor Blanco began her career as a public servant in 1984, when she became the first woman ever elected to represent the people of Lafayette in the state Legislature. Five years later she was elected to the Public Service Commission, where she became the first woman to serve as a Commissioner and, later, as the first woman to chair the Commission (1993-94).

She then served two terms as Lieutenant Governor and was elected Governor in 2004.

The official bio doesn't say much beyond what I've said here, but it's also worth noting (especially in the context of our course topic) her cajun heritage, giving us that nice segue into some cajun music to start the course with.

For an alternative bio, check out her entry in Wikipedia. Note the announcement at the top that "The neutrality of this article is disputed." Going to the "talk page" for the entry reveals an interesting (if sometimes tedious and mudslinging) discussion that raises some important points about what it means to be neutral in this sort of writing. While that discussion isn't always at the highest level, it does provide a nice example of a careful, critical reading of a text, and spending some time reading both the entry and the discussion would be worthwhile.

Something to unpack this semester

2006-08-24T20:39:00.000-05:00

I really liked what Chancellor Johnson had to say at the welcome event today about unpacking and repacking ideas, and one thing that we'll definitely have to unpack this semester is how we think about recording production and quality. We're all surrounded by highly polished music, and anyone with a computer can generate fairly slick tunes. During the semester, however, we're going to listen to a lot of old recordings made on early recording equipment that's incredibly limited by today's standards.

The challenge, then, is to push through all the scratch, hiss, and distortion and re-imagine what it might have been like to have experienced that music live, and how the people who made it and loved it might have felt. Or, to unpack our experience of the music, try to separate at least some of the baggage and expectations we bring to it, and take it for what it is and not for what we expect it to be.

Thoughts?

Welcome to the UMM Roots Music FYS blog

2006-08-24T16:52:00.000-05:00

This is the general course blog that we'll use for the Fall, 2006, Roots Music sections of UMM's First Year Seminar (FYS) course taught by Nic McPhee.

To the new students just joining us - Welcome!

To outsiders - you're welcome to join in and participate in the discussions as long as you do so in a respectful and constructive manner. Thanks!