Contra-Dancing

         When I have my cowboy boots on, you know I am ready to dance the night away. I was extremely thrilled to attend contra-dancing last night for many reasons. I have attended multiple country concerts, and at every one I am the girl obnoxiously dancing with her date in the aisle to the music. I have attended clubs back home where everyone is dancing, but there was always that sense of competition to be the better one. At the clubs we would circle up around two people and even have a "dance off" comparing the two. In contra-dancing, there was no dance off, no pressure to be the better of the group, and no awkward stares. Contra-dancing brought our whole class in one space with about 20 strangers, with everyone contributing. There was a sense of social inclusiveness as soon as we stepped into the gym, the veterans reached out and offered all of us the opportunity to understand the dance before it even got started, everyone was expected to participate. Even once everyone partnered up, the caller went through each move of the dance multiple times before the music makers actually performed the piece. Once the music started playing and after about the third pass down the line, I began to get the hang of it and I truly started to get that sense of temporary transcendence and communitas. It was a moment in time when everyone there could strip of our differences and share the experience together, everyone was contributing at an equal level. Not one person got frustrated or grew inpatient with me when I did a move wrong, in fact, once I got a move down I would receive immediate feedback from my partner making me feel confident about what I had just done. Then, to keep things exciting, my partner would even begin to turn me between transitions of a new move or step.

       I would without question come back to this event another night. Honestly, it would be one of the most fun dates a guy could ask me to attend with him. Although when dancing, one does not dance only with her partner, but in each dance you eventually come back to your original partner which would make the night fun in its own way. Just attending with a group of friends would as well be just as fun. I enjoyed every minute on the floor, no matter how bad my feet hurt. This morning, I can promise you, my aching feet were well worth it. I would love to share this experience with more people, the value of everyone coming together is so strong, bringing new comers would extend this value other places within the community.

     There are many benefits to participatory music making like contra-dancing. In participatory music, there exists no distinction between artist and audience, just a strong emphasis on social bonding and contribution. During contra-dancing, I never felt a different degree of participation, everyone's participation was valued equally. In fact, the events quality was judged only on the level of participation. Participatory social action brings a community of people together that value each other, it promotes local action as well as learning and thinking. Through direct participation, people develop a deeper appreciation and sense of engagement for new habits of thought. After attending something like this, this new appreciation gets passed down to others who will acknowledge this sense of social action as well. People start to feel a connection and imagining the possible, that is when action begins.

What the #*@% is Punk?

     Before this documentary, I use to view punk as loud ruckus performed by angry people. I never considered the DIY concept or even began to acknowledge something other than music could be considered punk. Punk is quite literally an attempt to step outside of the system, it is an independent idea or thought where one saw a problem so they created a solution. The solution could range from anything from music to building a school for children in need of an education. Punk is counter-cultural with lifestyles in opposition to those who established that culture. With its confrontational action, punk music is typically loud, fast, obnoxious, and not to mention the people's choice of fashion is ever so "unique." In this movie, it documented the lives of punk artists in Brazil, Indonesia, and Canada, and what it is like to live as a punk and DIY artist in these reimagined communities.

     Indonesia and Brazil were the primary focused on countries in this documentary. Before this, I never realized how both were third world countries or how much each struggled with oppression. Henrike talks of the children being subjected into being drug dealers in Brazil, and how much of a daily battle that is on the kids. He discusses the hate and abuse that goes on in the homes of some of these children with almost no emotion, as if it is a common occurrence. That itself made me realize just how brutal life can be growing up out there, and Henrike's selfless attitude to reach out to those kids moved me.

     The stories of the life in Indonesia were as well heartbreaking. I had originally known Indonesia was a country of poverty but never acknowledged the never ending battle they had with their government. As explained by Jerinx in the interview, they are stuck between two different worlds, trying to be more western or being more of tradition. The people themselves are confused with who they are as a country. Dolly works at a Nike factory and alludes to the abuse he receives from his boss and how he travels four hours on a bus daily to get to work, only to be paid about $2.65 an hour. In America, with the labor laws we possess, it is hard for one to imagine the brutal work that goes into those factories and getting such little pay out of it. Let alone, it is hard to imagine that job is Dolly's only option. Both countries possess qualities of oppression, poverty, and lack opportunity and watching these men fight it out and find a "remedy to their sickness" through punk is awe-inspiring.

     At first, finding ways I could relate to these artists seemed almost impossible. I do not live in poverty and I never have considered myself punk in anyway. Though, in watching this film I did realize I shared some common ground with the artist in some way. When Henrike discusses how he was born and raised Catholic and how Christianity was a huge influence on his life, I can relate. He goes on to discuss how he does not consider himself a huge religion buff, but he has a tattoo of the Virgin Mary on his arm and continues with saying he "thanked God his kids are ok." To me, this just exemplifies how uncomfortable he is with discussing his religion, which I am the opposite. But I get a hint that he is more religious than he thinks, he just has an issue with the extremists and the hypocrites, which I do as well. Religion is a touchy topic in both Indonesia and Brazil, especially if you are a punk rocker, because typically society shuns you. I believe Henrike and Jerinx do not feel like religions are being used properly in society, and to an extent I think we can all agree with that.

    After watching this, I grew to better understand the influence our culture has on these countries. In the video it was discussed how people of these countries are trying to westernize themselves to be more like us. But also, in better understanding, I realize what I do has an effect on the global community as a whole. In retrospect to the Nike factory workers story, we as Americans can hold an effect on their situation. Yes, if we stop buying from Nike, people like Dolly might lose their jobs and only way of income. If we acknowledged the situation and became aware the consequences then DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT, we might be able to come up with a better solution. It is true, refusing to purchase Nike might make workers in Indonesia lose their only job, but it also might force the country to create their own companies to thrive off of, or better yet, start enforcing labor laws. In hand though, America will just transfer their factory to a different country without labor laws, because that is the "easy way out." Basically, everything  is a chain reaction in this global community that we all share. Everything we do can effect someone else and what we purchase benefits where we purchase. We have to grow aware of these concepts and work to better not just us, but our neighboring countries as well.

Bloomington Farmers' Market

 

 

     The Bloomington Farmers' Market is an open aired setting where people of all ages come to purchase locally grown produce, a variety of baked goods and handcrafted items, as well as listen to music. The environment of this venue is far different than that of the typical super market. The inviting atmosphere is intriguing to say the least. As one approaches a stand filled to the brim with veggies and fruits, he is welcomed by the farmer himself. The beautiful part of purchasing this locally grown produce is being able to ask the vender any questions one has about his product. That fact, itself, does not stand true when it comes to shopping at a Krogers or Walmart.

   Walking through the grounds of Showers Common, one cannot deny the beauty of the liveliness the Farmers' Market has to offer. I, for one, truly was able to appreciate nature's bounty as I walked through and by different venders of all types. One goes through aisles and is instantly comforted by the welcoming smile on each vender's face. Consumers walk through crowds of people carrying bags of produce while holding hands of small children. They walk past couples and families standing and indulging themselves with the music featured in that area while munching on pastries.

   To the side of the baked goods area, pointed out on the map above, there were political and community involvement tables. Some ranged from sign ups to volunteer, to promoting their party of choice. This area lacked the excitement found at other locations around the market. It seemed most consumers flocked towards the music and food. It almost seemed as if the music and food existed as a setting where the community could all unite as one. People are able to put their political and personal views aside for the day and partake in the beauty of live music and appreciation for the people who grow the food we all eat, whether we are white, black, Asian, Hispanic, or Indian.

    Musicians varied from larger groups to a one man band. Majority of the groups consisted of two people, though. There were African Tribal drums being played, "Can't You See" by The Marshall Tucker Band being covered by a man on an acoustic guitar, a bluegrass group performing in the middle of it all, a young group of two teenage boys playing, and there was even a man playing the ukulele who had a parrot with him. This vast variety of genres being played invited cultures of all types to come and listen, or even participate. Watching the African tribal drums play, you start to see the participatory aspect of little kids joining in on the dancing and playing, with some moms even following in as well.

     Though not all shoppers are participating in music making or dancing, the market itself definitely holds the participatory aspect similar to that of the participatory aspects of music. Here, consumers and producers come to be of benefit to each other and work together. Producers want to please their shoppers with fresh products, original pieces of art, or tasty treats. Consumers purchase faithfully from these venders, trusting in the making of their product there existed hard work and effort to keep it nutritious. Every one participates in some way, whether it be by purchasing a bag of peaches, selling one's product of hard work, or just tipping a performer two bucks. The social structure of everyone's acts benefiting the event as a whole, and the experiences being shared with one another while doing this makes the Farmers' Market a participatory event.

    

So Much More to Music

The Four Fields of Making Music and Habits of the Self

Participatory Performance:

 



          This clip of contra-dancing is an example of "the doing" in participatory music. There are no distinctions between the artists and the audience. As one watches, he can tell there is a strong emphasis on social bonding here. This dance involves the whole audience and everyone is expected to perform and join in. Basically, there are no wall flowers in this act. Participatory music values the degree of participation. There exists no competition in this type of music making. As one watches they can maybe even start to see the "Flow" state taking place in the performers as they move with the music and their partners.

Presentational Performance:

         
         This is a clip of Little Feat performing the song Spanish Moon live. In this live footage, we can see that in the time this was recorded, real music was taking place. Real instruments, real singing. It is also noticeable that there is one group of people providing music for another group of people, we can see the obvious difference between the artist and audience. Although there is some audience dancing taking place, that is simply a reaction of their sustained interest in the show. For the audience, music is for listening. They are not held obligated to participate in dancing or clapping, etc. and nor are the artists held responsible for audience participation. This performance has been rehearsed multiple times for this sole reason to please the crowd. In this type of music making, the artist must keep a variation and sustain listeners interest. Their performances combine an extraordinary vocal virtuosity with a great sense of presentation.

High Fidelity Performance:

     
         Easton Corbin's "All Over the Road" is one example of most all the recorded pieces we have on our iPods of high fidelity music making. This piece, for example, could be preformed live. A band could be assembled that would be capable of playing and singing this song. When we hear this song, it resembles what Easton actually does in a live performance. We discovered though, the actual recording through definition is not music, when actually, the real music is what it was as it was getting recorded. The sounds in these types of recordings also have to make up for the lack of visuals through variation to keep the listener engaged. High Fidelity music making is the recording of any piece of music, it is only a representation of his live music. High fidelity recordings' values are placed on a commodified object, the artists goal is to make money.

Studio-Audio Art Performance:

          Although this song could get me pretty amped up, Pursuit Of Happiness (Steve Aoki Dance Remix) is a prime example of studio-audio art. Studio-audio art cannot not be preformed live. There are no instruments to be played, it is solely all computer generated, minus Kid Cudi's voice. This type of music making is abstract sonic art, the producers have maximum control of the finalized product. Studio-audio art is free from the idea of authenticity as well. Artists of this music making can sell their tracks but they have very little human interaction, hence, it is all computer generated. When Steve Aoki even puts this on for a crowd it is a recording of Kid Cudi, Kid Cudi is not even there. Therefore, it is solely manipulated recordings being played through very, very loud speakers. 

Emotion & Meaning in Music

A Call for Help           

         
          Music has its way of throwing your emotions around when you hear a particular song. One can go from feeling carefree and just driving down the highway- hand out the window, then, that song comes on the radio. The indices of the song suddenly remind her of a past situation, and before she knows it, she is rolling up the window while simultaneously swallowing her tears. For me, there are two songs that do just that. The songs "How to Save a Life" and "Fix You" by The Fray and Coldplay are indexical pieces of music in reminding me of a friend and our story.

             My best friend went into a rapid depression. Her family and friends both avoided her. She just went through an abusive relationship with her now ex-boyfriend, and she also stood on horrible terms with her father due to problems one never wants to hear about. Day in and day out she would text me about her problems of the day and her lack of enthusiasm for life. I never knew if she went through all that she said she did, solely because she slowly started becoming a compulsive liar to me. She knew where I stood on her drug use and she knew her stories made me upset so she would stop telling me the truth. No one person will ever understand the pain I went through on a daily worrying about her health and safety.

 

           The problem was, she never straight up told me she wanted to physically hurt herself. She mentioned once or twice she considered becoming suicidal, but could never bring herself to do it. She emphasized on how she could never physically hurt herself. With that being said, I was too scared to go to an adult, never actually knowing how serious the situation was or was not. Of course, there was still that constant worry. I felt my words of advice lacked any meaning to her, she became so hard headed that everything I said got shot down. I became repetitive with my words; one can only tell a person to stay strong with her faith so many times. I still did not give up. I fought for her as much as she let me. Nothing in this world held the power to stop me from bringing her back.

         Eventually we slowly stopped talking. I do not know how or when that happened, but we just went a month or so without a word. I remember trying to contact her; I called her phone multiple times and got no response. I contacted her mother and she gave me a vague reply that my best friend was doing just fine. Of course it worried me, but I held no choice but to stop trying to get ahold of her.

        One day, I received a text from her while out with my friends. It existed as a long explanation of where she had been and what she was up to. She explained how she got help; she informed me she started seeing a psychiatrist and going to family counseling. She felt happier than ever and on the road back to her normal self. These words existed at the end of her text, “You are the reason I am here today. You saved my life.”

       With that story being told, one can understand the emotional meaning those songs hold to me. The songs, existing as signs, then turn into the object, which would be me recalling a moment in my life when I was in constant worry for someone I cared for deeply. Acting as an interpretant, hearing those pieces of music instantly effect me in a tear-jerking way, no matter my current mood. The story of my friendship with her reminds me how people never know when others are hanging onto the words being said to them with all their might; one never knows others might truly depend on that person to get them through to the next day. Life is simply fragile.

 

My Songprint

Greetings, my name is Joan Schopmeyer . I was born and raised in the southern tip of Indiana known as Evansville. I grew up in a Catholic family which included Sunday morning church every week and private schooling my entire life... well, until now. I am the third of four children, and the second to attend IU. When we were younger we had Friday night pizza and music sessions in the basement, which basically consisted of my father blaring his music of choice on the stereo system and the kids dancing along. My dad has been an influence on my music selection as well as the passion I possess for music in general.  After the awkward middle school "punk/hip-hop/I don't know who I am" stage, my music interest started reflecting my dad's more and more as the years went by. My passion grew as I did, and I started attending any and every concert in town and out of town. Through the years concert going was always something my family enjoyed doing and as I became more independent I started attending concerts more frequently with my own group of friends. I am known for my crazy obsession with bugging security after concerts until I meet the artist, get an autograph or set list, or most recently, a piece of their equipment. With this passion for performance and respect for the subject, I long to have a carrier promoting music in some way.

Michael McDonald- Blink of an Eye

Michael McDonald in this song quite literally talks about the fact that time flies by in the blink of an eye. Recently graduating and leaving the comfort of my home of nineteen years, I am starting to realize how quickly time does go by. One can be warned that life is short and to be prepared for 20 years to go by in the blink of an eye, but how can one actually prepare for that? In this song it is quoted:

Sometimes you look so far, there's only so much time
Only so many of us are gonna get there
Here and now is all we really have
But if we can make it count, we got no reason to worry

These lines express the importance of living life to the fullest and making each second count. Why dread the end when that is completely out of our control? "There's a time to be born and a time to cross over." To me, making life worth living is important in gaining respect in society and it is crucial in understanding what living is really for. 

Bonnie Raitt- I Will Not Be Broken

These lyrics stand as a symbol for strength and independence to some. Throughout life I have been pushed around by many and I have been told who I am by others. Through these lyrics it is expressed how one should not let another define them. There is an importance in knowing who you are and what you stand for, and no other person can tell you different. I am aware I will encounter instances in life where one might think he or she can break me or pull me around, but growing up my parents emphasized on the critical value of being one's own self. Bonnie quotes, "I will not be someone other than who I am. I will fight to make my stand ,'cause what is livin' if I can't live free? What is freedom if I can't be me?" Life is not about letting others define who you are, life is about discovering who you are in your own ways and taking a stand in what you believe. Letting someone break you gets you no where. Having the strength and confidence to stand up for yourself gets you anywhere. 

Stevie Wonder- Higher Ground

The world never stops turning, people come and people go, fate will always take its course. I have learned in life to long for the top, to fight for your goals. You cannot sleep through life and expect success to come your way. No matter how many times you fail, you have to brush the dirt off and get up to try again. There are points in life, I have discovered, where you might receive a second shot at something. If you receive the opportunity to try again, never take the opportunity for granted. Each day is a new day, a fresh start in becoming the person you are intended to be. There comes a point in life when one might realize he has not been living the way he should, and the realization of that forces him to have this desire to live a better life than he was. I believe everyday you should long to reach a higher ground than where you stood the day before. 

Josh Thompson- Comin' Around

I was raised on rock and roll, steal guitar, and a little bit of funk. Ever since I was young I was consumed in some genre of music. Growing up, I but-heads with my parents more often than none, and in middle school I was hard headed and found it necessary to make a point I was not at all a resemblance of my father. Every time my father would try to intervene when I was playing my music in the car, I would react by rolling my eyes and adding a harsh comment about his music. In this song though, it explains how his father's music was like "nails on a chalkboard" but he is now coming around to the realization that he actually enjoys his dads stuff and he is more like his father than he thought. He mentions multiple times in the song how he is turning into someone he never thought he would be. Growing up, I went to church every Sunday and when I was young I never appreciated the gospel or what the preacher was saying. Honestly, I was just looking forward to the fried chicken or tacos we would be having after. Recently though, I have developed an attachment to my faith and where I come from that I never thought I would have. I am seeing things from a point of view I have never had before and this song is the perfect index to my growing up and maturing into who I am today. As Josh says though, "I'm still a little more lost than I am found, but I'm comin' around."

Fleetwood Mac- Landslide

"This is for you, Daddy."

Ever since I have heard this live version of the song, it has instantly reminded me of, you guessed it, my dad. As much as I told myself growing up that I was nothing like my dad, I now am beginning to see more resemblances of him in me than I would have ever imagined. I never really became conscious of the fact that I relied on my parents for so much, or better yet, how much of an impact on my life they have been.

  

Well, I've been afraid of changing
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Children get older I'm getting older too

This song commonly provides indices to the public of moments where one is growing up and realizing life is so much more diverse than what they thought it out to be. Growing up is an overwhelming feeling, and you start to realize you are drowning in a world that is constantly changing, for better or for worse. Stevie Nicks also vocalizes, "Oh if you climb a mountain and you turn around, if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills, well the landslide will bring you down." That verse itself is hard to comprehend and different people understand it different ways solely based on their experience in life. For me, the lyrics symbolize leaving a lasting impression and that life is fragile. It is about grasping on to the fact that life is more than who we are. Your quest is not for you, you have a bigger purpose in life, basically, you can choose to be a taker, or you can choose to be a giver.