Re: Jewish and Gypsy doinas

[Solidarity Foundation <svzandt...>]

Very well said, Josh, it perfectly spells out what I was hinting at.

Itsik-Leyb

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while the motivation
for them was to affirm and defend their ethnic identity first against
communist ideology and then against western commercialism I have learned
that the latter itself propogates its own ideologies by increasingly
excluding  traditional music from its midst. No, it's not a communist
policy but the process is exactly the same! The east block levelling of
specific ethnic identity was achieved by means of mixing together,
modernizing and re-unifying its diverse expressions into a hyper-culture
(sound familiar Eretz Yisroel?) which could be presented on a platter as
high national culture. In the west THE SAME process has happened in
world music - not from a political ideology but rather from an
industrial one. But the same mix and modernize process is there, only we
call it world music. Ethnic specificity went out the window. It's simply
not hip right now. The idea of developing music within a given set of
culturally determined parameters is no longer even perceived as a
possibility, if make our judgements based on media time, and the
techniques for doing so have wilted through lack of watering. Or rather,
they have been replaced by an industrial imperative which allows
cross-fertilization with other cultures, but not fertilization of its
own (hows that for flowery language?). After having said all this, don't
get me wrong. I'm not in the least against the
mainstream of whats happening in world Music, but do want to make a case
for equal air time.

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