Tuesday, March 01, 2005
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aveckarril at 3/01/2005 12:34:00 PM | |

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wonder how it will look now.
aveckarril at 3/01/2005 12:31:00 PM | |

Friday, June 04, 2004

top 5 theme songs for the australian federal election

Labor
5. Moving On Up - M People
4. Get This Party Started - Pink
3. 500 miles - The Proclaimers
2. The Only Way Is Up - Yazz and the Plastic Population
1. Hero (holding out for a hero) - Bonnie Tyler

Coalition
5. All Around The World (in honour of Trish Draper) - Lisa Stansfield
4. Road To Nowhere - Talking Heads
3. I Wanna Be A Cowboy - Boys Don't Cry (Bush & Howard duet)
2. We're All Bound for Moo Moo Land - Tammy Wynette and the KLF
1. If You Tolerate This, Your Children Will Be Next - Manic Street Preachers

aveckarril at 6/04/2004 10:50:00 AM | |

Thursday, June 03, 2004

two ideas, no real focus for either. maybe if i type them it will help me come up with an interesting question...

one, 1, uno:
swing music, local and global.
why is it that the popularity of swing music in Australia is not the subject of a moral panic in the same way that rap music is? the swing scene is quite vibrant in australia (particularly bris & melb), but no one worries about the happy white kiddies grooving to black swing music. but the rise of hip hop - both "american" (would you distinguish between west coast and east coast?) and the distinctly australian style that can be seen - is seen as an example of a corrupting force by a corrupt force (americanisation) that should be resisted and feared.

is it about the participants? the lyrical content? combination?
is it a race issue - swing is pretty tame now, but rap is the "new" thing that confronts people (i think one of clay's lectures talked about Cheech & Chong being shocking to people's parents in the 70s, but now it is Eminem)...

two, 2, du:
britpop and british politics - the links between some britpoppers and Blair's New Labour election in 1997. Pop was the new force of happiness that sang the joy of the death of conservatism (a Tory govt that created disenfranchised youth who turned to punk to express their alienation and anger).
need to look at the way the media treated this.
how do i do this without it turning into a semiotic analysis?

Labour attracted endorsements and a little cash from the new generation of pop stars, most notably from Oasis and their old Britpop rivals Blur. But Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis have not inerrupted their record sessions to campaign for Labour.

Blair aligned himself with all that he perceived to be new and shiny, from pop music to the bogus cult of "Cool Britannia" to European integration.

Related to the Rock the Vote campaign which increased young people's voting participation by 13%. Diff feel to the Red Wedge campaign of 1987.


aveckarril at 6/03/2004 04:18:00 PM | |

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

i started writing a post and saved it as a draft. wrote some other stuff and then came back to it and posted it.

then i couldn't see it on the blog.

jeez, talk about heart attack. i have just spent 10 minutes frantically trying to back my way through stuff to find my bit of genius i dared to commit to the ether. turns out, it took the time i wrote the first bit and posted it further down the page.

it's late and i need to go beddy byes.

jean - please don't mark my blog until friday. i've got at least one more top 5 up my sleeve and hopefully i'll think of something course-related too.
aveckarril at 6/01/2004 11:32:00 PM | |

If you haven't already (and hell, maybe I am the last of the class), check out Dave's musicandthemartini blog. Foxiest blog I have seen (not the prettiest, mind you), but very nice use of seamed stockings and b&w. Have to admit i was a bit thrown by the picture of Gandalf as i scrolled through, but hell, he's foxy too.
aveckarril at 6/01/2004 10:59:00 PM | |

remix culture...

jean's right, the Horizon0 journal is ace. Wish I didn't have an assignment to write so I could read some more of it for fun.

hmm...note to self: must make top 100 list of things to do when all assesment is complete. only 2.5 weeks to go, yay! OH MY GOD! Better focus.

So, had a look at the remix article jean pointed out to us. It gives some nice working definitions for remixing, but doesn't attempt to answer questions about remixing or sampling and intellectual property or author's rights to "purity". One editor suggested it was possible to respect copyright holders, observe copyright law, and to fairly compensate the holders of intellectual property, all while legitimately creating a vibrant alternative remix culture.

The Electronice Frontier Foundation is campaigning for a legal way for fans to use P2P programs while ensuring that artists get paid. This will help music lovers and 'garagebands' who want to remix it up (although i guess making your own mix cd is a type of remixing too - like timeshifting on a video recorder and changing the way programmers want you to view a tv show or whatever).

"EFF isn't alone in recognizing that lawsuits are not the answer. We have assembled some information on compensating artists while making P2P legal. Feel free to read it and pass it along." Thanks to eebs for linking me to this one.

Personally, I can't believe the music industry has been so slow to embrace the technology that will allow more people to get exposure to music. It's all about the tunes, man. But seriously, surely there is a way of allowing for music downloads while ensuring the people with a creative and financial stake in the production process get some money too?

I agree with Martha Ladly that remixing is a natural progression of a DIY-ethic. As she says, the power of the average home computer, the rise of file sharing networks like Gnutella and KaZaA, and the adoption of increasingly user-friendly software like Photoshop, Acid, and Protools finally make it possible for kids to teach themselves and make this stuff in their bedrooms.

According to author Pete Rojas in his excellent article for Salon.com about bootleg culture[1], Siva Vaidhyanthan - an NYU professor and author of Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How It Threatens Creativity (New York University Press, 2001) - believes that "what we're seeing is the result of a democratization of creativity, and the demystification of the process of authorship." Vaidhyanthan explains, "It's about demolishing the myth that there has to be a special class of creators, and flattening out the creative curve so we can all contribute to our creative environment."

Another article in the same edition of HorizonO ON BRICOLAGE
ASSEMBLING CULTURE WITH WHATEVER COMES TO HAND by Anne-Marie Boisvert, translated by Timothy Barnard
(obviously) talks about bricolage and appropriation of things for new purposes of a subculture. it made me think of my post modern lecturer and the idea of authorship and intent changing after it has been read. Ther is no third position from which to view a song, so every remix already exists as possibility in its original form. The original song becomes a retrospective example of its future interpretation, the remix. by this logic, even a cover that is exactly the same as an original recording is a new creative outpouring.

my god, karaoke just got a whole lot more meaningful!

so is there nothing new?
aveckarril at 6/01/2004 10:30:00 PM | |

Yet another great story from Mondo Thingo on the ABC, this time about "tweens".
Tweens - they're no longer a kid, not yet a teenager. Aged between 8 and 13, tweens are a breed of sophisticated shoppers who are ambitious and choose their role models carefully.

The article suggested that the growing consumer power this group had, particularly female tweens, was a cultural revolution - that we're allowing young women more freedom to develop their own sense of independence than we ever have before. That sense of increasing independence has had an enormous amount to do with the female role models.

"Madonna, I think, was a really revolutionary artist. She gave young girls a female to idolise. Because they weren't interested in sex, they were interested in how to grow up. Essentially, she broke ground in terms of making women role models powerful to little girls."

so music is an obvious place for role models to be sourced from. The segment goes on to talk about hard work and talent being key values to admire. But ultimately, the space or freedoms these girls are taking up is about spending and reading about stuff in magazines which posits them in a very gendered space. Just like McRobbie's early studies on women in subcultures, even the activities (like shopping) which put women in public areas are actually about private pleasures. It's no more liberating to shop for clothes "designed by" Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen than anyone else. It's still feeding into the oppressive notion that female pleasures can be gained by how you look.


aveckarril at 6/01/2004 10:16:00 PM | |

Thinking about the media representations of the relationship between pop music and Tony Blair's 1997 election campaign...

The "New Labour" of the late 90s was trying desperately to create a revolution - away from the conservative hell that spawned rebellion and class-conscious punk - and turned to pop music. Using D:Ream's "Things Can Only Get Better" for their theme song.

Did it work? yes, Blair was elected and has managed it again. Did the "third way" deliver the promised lands for en-guh-lund? another thesis...
(ps - don't you just love that a football chant was written by New Order. they are so cool).

The media was more than a bit negative about it:

Michael Peschardt, BBC journo: Music and politics really is a marriage made in hell, isn't it? The two just don't go together

It is every teenager's worst nightmare, isn't it? Seeing an older person trying to ape the antics of the young. It just doesn't work. Now, Tony Blair, perhaps in 1997, he almost got away with it. But it would absolutely not work now. And it doesn't work for any politicians, really, in the main.

why?

Barry Divola, Rolling Stone': Politicians usually stuff up pop music because, let's face it, politics isn't sexy. What they want to do is get some glitter and glam. They just don't understand how it works.

As much as I love Barry's work, i have to disagree with his basic premise. Politics is way sexy (well, maybe not British Tories - too many unsavoury photographs causing scandal). Especially intellignet politics used for social change. Love vision and passion.

So, is music and politics like a soundtrack to a movie? See the image, hear the words, and the music helps us relate to it and decide how we feel about an issue. Are people really that easily manipulated? Or is music such a powerful force?

aveckarril at 6/01/2004 09:58:00 PM | |

For anyone interested in keeping Fortitude Valley as a place for live music (cos after all, it is at the agglomeration stage of cluster development)...

Brisbane City Council are developing a MasterPlan for the area.

Unfortunately, the community forum dates were in May, but there is still an opportunity to write in to
Valley Heart Master Plan Project Team
Community and Economic Development
Brisbane City Council
GPO Box 1434
Brisbane Qld 4001

OR

Valley Music Harmony Plan Project Team
Pollution Prevention Health and Safety
Brisbane City Council
GPO Box 1434
Brisbane Qld 4001


with your feedback and comments. There is also an online discussion board. Most posts are pro-music in the Valley with a big "two to the Valley" salute to the people stupid enough to buy apartments there and then complain about the noise.

"The importance of a creative precinct has been recognised in the preamble call for submissions:
The Valley is one of Brisbane’s most popular and dynamic entertainment centres. In recent years the growing appeal of inner city living has meant some conflict between residential and entertainment land users.

"We need to balance the area’s value as an entertainment precinct with the needs of Valley residents and other commercial interests. The Council has responded to feedback from interested groups by developing the draft Valley Music Harmony Plan."

David Hinchliffe (Deputy Mayor and Councillor for the Ward that covers the Valley) is pretty in tune (pun intended) with the importance of a thriving creative community. In an introduction to the Valley Fiesta a few years ago he wrote, "The Valley is loud and proud. We like the Valley the way it is… colourful, loud, natural, real and honest, a place that welcomes everyone, except the narrow-minded...The Valley isn’t an artificial shopping mall. We have interesting people doing interesting things in interesting corners of the Valley. There’s a buzz and a sense of tolerance and acceptance here and we want to keep it that way."



aveckarril at 6/01/2004 09:30:00 PM | |

Friday, May 28, 2004

I really enjoyed the lecture on locality on Wednesday. One thing I know I do love is politics and another is anyone slightly taking the piss out of the concept of a revolution.

I didn't realise that the Springboek tour was such a big thing in Brisbane - did people still go to the games, or were there large boycotts there too?

But the link between Brisbane being politicised about race, police powers and the start of 4ZZZ radio I had no idea about (good old Gough, coming through on the licence!). I knew of them being kicked off campus, and despite Andrew saying they left under their own steam, I was always under the impression there was some heavy police intervention, thanks to the right-wing Union, in particular, the President (on a slight digression did anyone see the Secret Life of Us episode where Gaby recounted how she and her annoying husband met at uni? Their story of a student radio station being raided by cops borrowed a lot from the 4ZZZ expulsion on campus) Anyway, left executives of the Union that followed continued to call the room the radio station occupied the Triple Z room in remembrance. Virtual high five to them for buying the building and getting better reception via their own tower. God knows they've had some trouble with cops during the years...

Brisbane looks so much cooler when shot on a hand held camera, doesn't it? (love the Go-Betweens). It is the people that make it a community. I have only ever been a minor participant, but I love the stories of small bands getting together and the cross pollenation of music and artists and venues, especialy in the Valley. I have done a bit of fundraising for different causes, and there was always a collection of musos you could depend on to play and bring a fan base - know one and you could reach many. Politically aware, nice people who passionately believed in the creative spirit and putting it out there in the Brisbane scene. I am sure it's still going on, too.

I guess this is the kind of thing I was thinking about when I said I was interested in the relationship between politics and music. Not just Midnight Oil talking about the environment, or even The Whitlams celebrating Gough with their very existence (plus their song about him). But the way a community can challenge political administrations and policy decisions. The Valley noise issue is partly one of planning policy, but a co-op of fans and muso's continue to push the importance of a creative precinct. I love the Valley, I love that it's loud and diverse, and I object on a physical and intellectual level to its gentrification, conservatisation and shift towards inner-city suburbia (Freedom indeed! so all the tiny, sleek apartments can have identical sleek furniture? bah!).

i just wanted to get that off my chest.
aveckarril at 5/28/2004 05:07:00 PM | |

You know some people just get way too passionate about their music. I've heard some outrageous statements in defence of people's favourite songs and artists, and I wanted to share a few with y'all...

top 5 most ridiculous things said about pop...

5. "Avril Levigne really has a lot of interesting and meaningful things to say" - what a pity she can't spell.
4. "Oasis will be bigger than the Beatles" - interchangeable with any other ridiculous claim to being the greatest band by anyone.
3. "If you don't like Madonna's "Ray of Light", you don't like pop music!" - and presumably are not worth knowing?! what is that about?
2. "We're more popular than Jesus now" - famous quote, bit of a cop out, but I running out of entries! and judging by the amount of "Jesus is my homeboy/girl" shirts I've seen lately, I think ol' JC is making a comeback.
1. .... i'm out. i'm a fraud, i could only think of 4 (well, 3 really). anyone else got some to add??
aveckarril at 5/28/2004 04:57:00 PM | |

So I said on the "show us yer blog" comment page that I had been having a bit of an identity crisis. I think part of the trouble I am having with the second essay is that I can't define what it is I am interested in. I was going to say I am not really interested in anything, but that's not true. The problem is that am not interested *enough* in something for it to be a passion. And this seems to be a problem across my life, not just my limited musical taste.

Basically, I was so confused that when asked the relatively simple question, "What interests you?" I was lost for words.

And I have to tell you, that's pretty rare for me. I am a verbal person, I have opinions on lots of stuff and normally I don't have trouble translating these to the written word. The idea of this blog - just writing/talking and "putting stuff out there" in an informal sense to engage with others really appealed to me. But I've had trouble, and it's not just been about time or access. Like someone said on their blog, it's about what type of carol I want to represent to the class and especially to Jean (this was going to have a link back to their blog, thus proving i am engaging with what other people are writing, but stupid me forgot to write it down and now I don't have time to reread them all again finding it. pretty sure it was a chick, and she made a comment about having had a blog before. apparently, i have just confirmed my identity as a bit of an absent-minded fool!).

Turns out my whole semester has had a large focus on identity - the theory of and my own personal reality. But rather than me pouring my heart out about not knowing what I want to do/ be when I grow up, here is some of the more academic stuff about identity I have been ruminating on over the last 13 weeks…

For my Post-Modern Theory and Art I watched this excellent Woody Allen film, Zelig - about a "human chameleon" who picks up the physical and cultural cues of the people around him in order to fit in. He is such an extreme case though that he actually becomes a black man, or obese, or talks in medical jargon. Physical cues such as his weigh hairstyle and racial features help to form Zelig's many identities. My essay on it was about the discursive and performative nature of identity and the way observation (by individuals or the media) mediates identity. The film shows how identity is something you do, rather than a state of being.

Researching the ways music forms a part of identity, I came across an article in the Journal of Popular Music and Society by S. Renee Dechert, “Some Things Never Go Out of Style”. Dechert also talks about music as a social practice, a social activity that has rules and language that people can engage with. It has vast potential to create new meanings for listeners and is sometimes a bridge between different cultures and ways of life. The musician has the ability to create a self that fits the needs of a given audience. Artists' representations of self have a tremendous effect on how their work is received.

An example of this is a conversation a friend and I were having, wondering what is it about goths and The Cure? Sure, I realise that Robert Smith is a bit of a goth, but it seems to me that the Goth identity is all very serious and depressed and all that, and yet so many of the Cure's songs are the happiest, poppiest songs. We concluded that since The Cure are like a preapproved band for Goths, it's a sneaky way for them to enjoy pop music. Now, I admit to not knowing a lot about the Goth subculture, but having done a bit of quick research on a discussion board, I don't think I am overstating things too much… Friday I'm in Love and Lovecats are two of my personal favourites - they makes me want to dance with joy, especially when I am mid-crush. If they were sung by Kylie, they'd be anthems at a Pride march or by a runner up on Popstars Live they wouldn't have any streetcred and the Goths wouldn't listen to it.

A further exploration of music and identity was on Mondo Thingo(ABC tv) last night. (Gotta love it when you take a study break for some quality time with the tube and you end up getting a brainwave!). They had a piece on disguised bands that keep their identity a secret.

The piece talked about TISM (band member's names are unknown and they always perform in masks) and Kiss (who are disguised by make-up), but I was also thinking of bands like Gorillaz (cartoon caricatures appear in their clips - and each has a fictionalised biography that fans can get to know from their website - and during live performances they are only shadow projections) and artists such as Madonna, whose periodic recreations of self are actually a part of her ongoing-identity as a musician.

Obviously, wearing a mask means you can be a rock'n'roll anarchist by night and still hold down a job as an accountant by day. Anonymity ensures them total artistic freedom and means in their life "outside" of music they don't have to explain themselves. Mondo Thingo concluded that bands wear masks for one of two reasons - so that people will just listen to the music or so they won't listen to the music too carefully.

But I think it is more than that.

In the same way that the music you listen to forms part of the identity you build for yourself and project to others, notions of "popularity" of that music and how the personalities of artists are interpreted by their fans. Back to Popstars Live - there's an example of the way an artistic identity is built up with little reference to the individual performer. And it is built up in a very public way, with the media also playing a role in their representations to people through interviews, editing and photographs.

aveckarril at 5/28/2004 03:01:00 PM | |

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Because I don't sleep well, and it is too cold to get up, my mind wanders on to strange things in the wee hours of the morning…

Last year my friends and I had an ongoing competition via email on Top 5's a la the movie High Fidelity. And because there is a vague music reference, I thought I'd pop it on my blog. And maybe people would like to get involved in a little silliness.

So, I propose people add their own Top 5 list to their blogs, or comment on to this one. Choose your own topic, or use mine…

The thinking (convoluted, but carological) stemmed from the fact that I am (hopefully) 5 weeks away from graduation after a LONG time at universtiy. Over the years, I have heard a lot of funny things in tutorials and last week I heard the corker of them all.

So here are my TOP FIVE FUNNIEST COMMENTS HEARD IN TUTORIALS

5. "This is x [name witheld]. This is her first political science class. She'd like to be Prime Minister one day." (Part of one of those stupid introductory get-to-know-everyone games they make you play in the first tutorial. When asked what political party she was a member of, or even preferred, this woman said she didn't know yet, but she kind of liked the idea of being in charge.)

4. "Careful - you're waving your 'I'm under 18' flag again" (Someone finally snapped at the naïve rantings of the same girl in our politics class. Please bear in mind she had brought her boyfriend to class. This remains one of the best put-downs I've ever heard.)

3. "Oh - I think my bra's just burst open!"

2. "Please could you teach us something. Quite frankly, the lecturer is teaching us squat!" (A desperate plea for knowledge from a student close to the edge.)

1. "All my personal dilemmas involve fairies." (In a Shakespeare tutorial, Hamlet and Richard II were being discussed and people were saying they could relate to the moral dilemmas of the heroes. Someone disagreed.)


aveckarril at 5/18/2004 12:09:00 PM | |

Knowing my love of a "one-gag" concept taken to the nth degree, preference for insults reminiscent of the schoolyard and involvement in politics my friend sent me a link to this blog (i also have an ongoing romance with puns, but that's a whole other story).

it is apparently written by a chick in Tassie, who has obviously decided that the politicians we are supposed to admire as community leaders are a lot like warring schoolkids - name calling, copying, cheating and trying to stay out of trouble...
welcome to the blog of our prime minister!
aveckarril at 5/18/2004 11:29:00 AM | |

In response to Rocky's "Give me an excuse. Give me the knife" entry.


I think the weblog is a good idea - certainly I support the idea of utilising technology to link people into a free flowing discussion. But perhaps it is a little ambitious? And at this stage, it is quite time-consuming for a small 15%. Just as 10 years ago it was unreasonable for a lecturer to refuse to accept hand-written assessment (because access to computers was not provided free at uni and not everyone had a home computer/ word processor), assessment that is entirely based on internet access needs flexibility because home internet is still not universal and access to university facilities is complicated.

Part of my concern is to do with the direction this university has been heading for a number of years - "student centred learning" - which I believe is code for cutting back on face-to-face time with students to save money. It is part and parcel of a changing education discourse - phrases like "service delivery to customers" (not students) and the decline in the funding of arts/ humanities subjects in favour of more "financially appealing" courses are examples of an education system that is about making money, than providing a high quality of education in every field.

UQ is not a bad university, don't get me wrong. Many of the lecturers are internationally recognised as experts in their fields and many of the facilities are top-notch. But Federal Govt funding cuts to University and deregulation of fees that are allowed to be charged are indicative of a society that is not valuing education. That learning for learning's sake is not seen as a priority. Simply put, the fact that an educated society is more tolerant, produces a better standard of living is not being recognised, or is simply ignored in favour of presenting a façade of a balanced budget and responsible spending. In my time here, studying humanities subjects, I have noticed a big decline in contact hours, tutorial availability and class sizes.

Two excellent things about the blog assessment:
- It is an opportunity for discussion about ideas/ issues related to the course. But surely that is what tutorials are for? I know we have used the tutorial time to great effect for help on assignments, which I would not want to change, but this is more a bitch about the decline from 2 hour tutorials which would allow us more time. Given those days are gone, a blog is a good substitute. But perhaps it would be better to all be feeding off one blog? That way time could be saved from going in and out of 50 different blogs looking for something to respond to.

- This is a different mode of assessment than the normal exam or assignment. This is a way for people with different skills to do well. And I am intrigued by the possibilities of the internet for communication and discussion - certainly it is forcing me to stop just thinking about these interesting things and join in!

I know this is the first time it has been tried and I appreciate the teething problems. Maybe some people could post some other suggestions for the weighting/ mode and the next year's course will be even better.

aveckarril at 5/18/2004 11:16:00 AM | |

Wednesday, April 21, 2004

i did a search on google for "australian politics" - this was the first page that came up on the search.
aveckarril at 4/21/2004 11:49:00 AM | |

first post.

testing...
aveckarril at 4/21/2004 11:49:00 AM | |