Listening closely

Sometimes my writing takes me away from the music for a while. Recently I've been doing a lot of non-dissertation work, and listening to the music required by that has crowded Karen Zoid out of my life soundtrack just a little. Today, this week, and until the end of this year, though, I'm back in Karen's space, and it feels like coming home. I've been listening for themes across groups of songs this week, comparing her writing on motherhood, and her writing on politics, and on race.... There are lots of possible groups. I was flicking through videos of her, looking for a different one, when the one below came up, and I was compelled to stop for a bit. You know how some songs feel like they were written just for you? This one hadn't been one of those for me, until I really listened to it today.


I think it may be because I was listening to and studying a different song with my class today, and so my ears were tuned to a particular interplay of rising melodic figures. Karen once asked me what music inspired me, and I always felt like I fluffed the answer by saying that it was her music. Of course it's her music. I'm writing a whole dissertation on her music. But it's also this. And it's something about the experience of performing this, and singing it with my students, and watching them as they talk about musical holiness, and then watching them as they understand how the composer did that, and how they can do that. That is what inspires me. And that type of music-making experience is why listening to Karen, and listening to the people who adore her, inspires me.

pwning the US Olympic Committee

I followed FIFA's heavy-handed tactics with possible trademark infringers in 2010 with great interest, not least because I really enjoyed the responses of some of South Africa's more playful advertisers.
So when the crafting community I am a member of, Ravelry, was hit in a similarly heavy-handed fashion today by the US Olympic Committee, I was fascinated by the response. I am not participating in the Ravelympics because I prefer to keep my crafting stress-free, but I was nonetheless annoyed by the condescending tone of the letter, which seemed to miss the point that the Ravelympics are really something of a celebratory tribute to the Olympics, and suggested instead that handiwork is less dignified than sporting endeavor. Yeah. You can see where this is going.
So I was quite delighted this evening to see not one but two apologies from Olympic Committee Spokesman Patrick Sandusky. Sometimes reason does prevail.

Waka Waka - Golden Sounds Feat Shakira

Waka Waka - Golden Sounds Feat Shakira by Dj Coumarène Still working on the Vuvuzela article, but I came across this mash-up that brings together the Golden Sounds original with Shakira's more recent version of Zangalewa, now knows as Waka Waka.

Vuvuzela Harmonics

I'm busy finishing up the follow-up article to my Soccer and Society World Cup article, and came across this gem on Wikipedia. Yes, it is possible to produce overtones on a vuvuzela, apparently.

25 years since Graceland

This Google News article reminded me how when I first came to New York Paul Simon's Graceland album gave me a sort of sonic anchor to South Africa. Ironically I hadn't listened to it that much in South Africa, but I had grown up with Paul Simon's music in my ears, and this album, at least in part because of its significance in my field, helped me feel grounded when I was getting to know this huge new city. It really worked for me to listen to music that was simultaneously from New York and South Africa. I listen to the album less often now, not least because of all the Karen Zoid I continually have in my ears, but when I do hear a little Graceland it gives me a particular somatic memory of travel, newness, learning, and the earlier days of this blog.

Marching to Pretoria and some afrikaans song archives

I was just searching for some information on the South African song "Marching to Pretoria", and found this database of Afrikaans folk songs with really excellent midi files. I haven't yet checked, but I think they're all from the FAK Sangbundel.
Also, I found it through this discussion board, with a fascinating conversation on "Marching to Pretoria". Thanks to "Q" for the link.
Another poster, "Flatint" posted a transposition of the lyrics of a song that sounds different but has a similar title, "Marching on Pretoria", and searching for that lead me to this poster's database of rare South African recordings. This is quite an amazing archive, and represents an incredible collection.

Why Fifa's ban of the Iranian soccer team is anti-feminist

I haven't blogged in ages, because I had a bit of a computer crash in March, and have been struggling to catch up ever since. But I finally seem to be back on track.
So first post now that I'm back is this analysis on Fifa's decision to ban the Iranian women's national soccer team from competing because their uniforms include hijabs and full-body tracksuits. As the author pointed out, Sep Blatter, who enacted this ban, recently suggested that the solution to promoting women's soccer would be having the players wear tight hot pants rather than the conventional shorts. Not giving them more air-time, better promotions deals and increased visibility. Hot pants. I think the solution would be replacing the idiot president of Fifa, but what do I know.
I believe fervently that modesty legislation or even just recommendations construct women as victims and men as perpetrators, and thus perpetuate sexual violence and discrimination. But when I was in high school, having to wear a skirt that left a good amount of my leg exposed, and was capable of blowing or flipping up an inopportune moment was a real source of anxiety to me, and a hindrance to free movement. Under some circumstances, choosing to cover up our bodies is as much a matter of comfort and practicality as choosing to uncover them at other times, and attempting to legislate uncovering when their really is no justifiable practical reason, like this, is sexual harassment.