by Griffin Blum
It has become an unfortunate habit of today to see things like music, as they currently are, not considering the journey to how it developed. It’s so important to educate less experienced people to gain perspective on the values a genre or group originated with and developed. A prime example is how country music has come to encompass American values of hard work and family. “Country music’s origins are far from white, and the perceived whiteness of American country music was a deliberate construction by the recording industry during the Jim Crow era.”(Hurtado, 2019) This narrative of writing, or rewriting what is unknown or falsely believed, permeates the punk genre as well. When Mia Zapata was raped and murdered, it was important for the public to be informed regarding her influence, and the influence of many other punk and rock hybrids had on the city of Seattle. As technology advanced, it allowed the impact of these musicians to move from physical posters and newsletters to online where their record is forever available. They also made a mix CD about Home Alive that spread like wildfire. “The CD almost acted like the internet in an artistic way that really could touch people. That’s how people found out more about Home Alive and what they were doing, as the CD could be purchased globally. (Dawes, 2013) Now that technology allows it, information is more readily available than ever, and it’s so incredibly important that history be recorded while it’s still remembered, so future generations can gain the same perspective on how music history has developed.
Works Cited
Dawes, Laina. “Finally, Filmmakers Tell the Forgotten History of Seattle DIY Self-Defense Group Home Alive.” Bitch Media, 5 Dec. 2013, http://www.bitchmedia.org/post/finally-filmmakers-tell-the-forgotten-history-of-seattle-diy-self-defense-group-home-alive
Hurtado, Ludwig. “Country Music Is Also Mexican Music.” The Nation, 4 Jan. 2019, http://www.thenation.com/article/country-mexico-ice-nationalism/
DJ Selections:
For my media choices, I selected “No Es Mi Presidente” by Taina Asili and “Sigo Aqui” by El B. Both these songs are hispanic protest anthems against integration into American culture, which has historically resulted in very poor representation and eventually being forgotten. Asili’s song is a protest to flagrant statments from President Donald Trump regarding people of hispanic backgrounds, and how they demand to be recognized and not disrespected. El B’s song provides a similar sentiment as a rallying cry for resistance in times of global political chaos. It has been established that protest is the one of the only ways for minorities to gain a voice and rally around a cause that the dominant group continuously tries to keep down and out of sight and mind.
AFRAM337 