An important center of dancehall reggae performance; sound clashes are contests between rival sound systems: groups of emcees; tune selectors; and sound engineers. In World Clash 1999; held in Brooklyn; Mighty Crown; a Japanese sound system and the only non-Jamaican competitor; stunned the international dancehall community by winning the event. In 2002; the Japanese dancer Junko Kudo became the first non-Jamaican to win Jamaicarsquo;s National Dancehall Queen Contest. High-profile victories such as these affirmed and invigorated Japanrsquo;s enthusiasm for dancehall reggae. In Babylon East; the anthropologist Marvin D. Sterling traces the history of the Japanese embrace of dancehall reggae and other elements of Jamaican culture; including Rastafari; roots reggae; and dub music.Sterling provides a nuanced ethnographic analysis of the ways that many Japanese involved in reggae as musicians and dancers; and those deeply engaged with Rastafari as a spiritual practice; seek to reimagine their lives through Jamaican culture. He considers Japanese performances and representations of Jamaican culture in clubs; competitions; and festivals; on websites; and in song lyrics; music videos; reggae magazines; travel writing; and fiction. He illuminates issues of race; ethnicity; gender; sexuality; and class as he discusses topics ranging from the cultural capital that Japanese dancehall artists amass by immersing themselves in dancehall culture in Jamaica; New York; and England; to the use of Rastafari as a means of critiquing class difference; consumerism; and the colonial pasts of the West and Japan. Encompassing the reactions of Jamaicarsquo;s artists to Japanese appropriations of Jamaican culture; as well as the relative positions of Jamaica and Japan in the world economy; Babylon East is a rare ethnographic account of Afro-Asian cultural exchange and global discourses of blackness beyond the African diaspora.
#1974343 in eBooks 2010-10-19 2010-10-19File Name: B003V1WS0U
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Evoking the soundtrack of a midcentury American childhoodBy Marcia BrubeckThis elegant. beautifully written book will delight anyone interested in the history of music in the twentieth century. The story of Folkways and Moses Asch traces the rise of jazz. folk music. and a general awareness of sound as a vital part of human culture. Here are tales of Lead Belly. Woody Guthrie. Bob Dylan. Pete Seeger. and many more musicians whose names have become household words. all brought together by the inspired and idealistic but difficult Asch. Carlinrsquo;s account will resonate especially with readers like me. for whom tunes like ldquo;Good Night. Irenerdquo; and ldquo;Go Tell Aunt Rhodyrdquo; were part of the soundtrack of childhood. Once again in my minds eye I see my father. balding in his thirties. his Martin guitar across his knees. serenading me with songs of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Folkways: the Un-label LabelBy Allen JonesThe Folkways story is a fascinating history of the label that approached recording and issuing records based solely on the uniqueness of the music itself. The Harry Smith Anthology alone would elevate the Folkways brand. but there was so much more. Insider recollections on how some of the iconic recordings were made (eg. Lightnin Hopkins 1959 record) are priceless.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A Key Part of the Folk RevivalBy NRLIts almost a simplification to say that Folkways Records was a key part of the folk revival. The label. founded by Moses Asch. was documenting national and world folk music. jazz and a small bit of experimental classical music before the revival began. and since it was sold to the Smithsonian Institution well after the revival ended. Folkways was and is a treasure house of music by Pete. Mike and Peggy Seeger (and their family). Ewan MacColl. Doc Watson. Jean Ritchie. Leadbelly and Big Bill Broonzy among many others. and it has also purchased and kept in print other small labels. most significantly the series Richard Dyer Bennet made of his own work.Richard Carlins book is a coffee-table overview of this rich legacy. Its very readable. and the coffee table format works because Folkways was also known for its album cover art. often done by well known artists such as Ben Shahn. Many of these covers are reproduced in this book. though I think in too small size. Id love to see a volume of full-page reproductions of Folkways albums. That said. this book is an excellent tribute to an important artistic resource; it will be a good introduction for novices and an enjoyable romp through memories for those who already know and love the label.
