Re: [microsound] context / was: white geeks on jazz

[Kurt Ralske <kranning@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>>> laptop + jazz is not a bad comparison in some ways. but maybe problematic,
>>> in that (for me) jazz is so thoroughly rooted in the experience of being
>>> Black in America, and it may be a mistake to think of the music apart from
>>> that.
> 
> I think you are missing the point here...the comparison of laptop music was
> made to jazz in order to define its 'use-value' as improvisational listening
> music...this issue doesn't really confine itself within racial barriers...?

wasn't addressing race, was addressing lack of context.

it's just that, statements like "laptop is the new folk" or "laptop is the
new jazz" sound exciting, but don't ultimately reveal very much about
laptop, or about folk, or about jazz. the comparison works only if you
ignore the historical, political and geographic context of each music.

someone who was touchy might say, defining jazz by its 'use-value as
improvisational listening music' is a de-contextualization that comes close
to trivializing the struggles of its creators.

for example, if you remove context, Billie Holliday "Lover Man" and "Strange
Fruit" have the same 'use-value': they're both pleasant slow minor-key
ballads. but if you are aware of the context, you see the first is a cry of
love and the second a cry of political outrage + anger.

the reason i feel this issue is important is: de-contextualization is a key
component of the political rhetoric used to justify some evil actions that
my country (usa) is undertaking. eg., "iraq should want a democracy just
like the usa" implies that "we cut to the heart of the matter when we forget
about history + concentrate on similarities". i feel just the opposite, we
come closer to truth by focusing on history and difference.