[microsound] 99 cent culture

[Fastus <iobrien@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm preparing a sound installation proposal for a local contemporary 
arts center concerning the phenomenon of the 99 cent store. I guess a 
typical approach would be to round up a number of 99c items, sample them 
being struck, hit, crushed etc and then reconstituting those sounds into 
a composition. 

But I'm hoping that doing a little thinking out loud might elicit some 
comments and ideas that might help forge a more interesting or informed 
approach- and that this subject might be of interest to the list as a 
sequel to a topic discussed earlier:. about how can music, particularly 
instrumental music without narrative lyrics etc,  can express political 
ideas.

First personal response about the topic: the idea of the 99c store 
evokes the culture of  "cheap", the sense of getting a bargain and 
beating the system while denying the possible cost in human exploitation 
(almost all of the non-food items come from China.)  Childhood memories: 
the fun of dropping into the local Woolworth and being able to buy 
something, even with your measly allowance. It's now the gloomy Zinn 
read, Amy Goodman fed, politically aware adult that now sees the menace 
of Walmart (the race to the bottom), a giant trade deficit, the relative 
decline of an American manufacturing giant made rich by two world wars. 
Hmmmm, is this about politics or about age/aging?  

What does 99c mean - cost of a song on iTunes, a DVDs of movies now in 
the common domain, a slice of pizza for a hungry and broke student - 
it's almost free. Capitalist context - cheap is demeaning, sign of low 
value -discontinued items no longer of interest etc. Socialist/communist 
context inexpensive is almost free - good things: free health care, 
libraries, education, music - low cost = maximum accessibility, public 
good etc. .

What about the inherent distortion of the project - using 99c items, 
processed by thousands of dollars of software and hardware.?

Any thoughts....?

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: microsound-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
For additional commands, e-mail: microsound-help@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
website: http://www.microsound.org