LN6 – Pp1 – MCS – AL Jones

(Pacific musics and indigeneity)

Music of the African Diaspora – Music as an Export – Africanisms – Music of the Pacific – “They Love the
Culture”

Positionality – a way of talking about our identity in (musicological) researchers – how our
social/historical/cultural milieu shape our preferences

N.B. “preference” = “bias”?

Positionality is used to move our research towards integrity

(ALJ “Flaming” book)

Check out “Soundtrack of America” (2019) poster – guides the genealogy of popular Afr-Am music

“Before Columbus” – indicating the early Afro-indigeneous presence

Nadia Boulanger to Quincy Jones, “You cannot write music any greater than who you are.”

MCS at a PWI (predominantly white institution):

“African Diaspora” – rife with political connotations – indication the dispersion of a people through a territory
(dispersion voluntary or otherwise!)

- Where there is a global critique of music, how do we locally relate/contribute to it?

(ref. back to video shown at 12:07)

Nas – mentioned the un-credited injustice of cultural theft

“Black culture, Black music is the largest US export (and also the biggest exploit)” – It wasn’t until the 20 th
century that Africans were informed they could copyright their music

Africanisms
(ALJ’s We Will Rock You analogy)

They Love the Culture

Pacific Music

The Pacific demarcated into three regions – Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia

 “Geographies” (Negus) – territorised by water (nautical experiences)

 Understanding the dynamics and consequences of geographic distribution of recorded popular music
around the world
 How particular music and sound become associated with particular places
 Imperialism – the domination of one nation by another through military force/poli-economic control
and manipulation of cultural symbols (eg. Moana)

(ALJ) D.C. “gogo” music – described as the “pots and pans”

Understanding Musics of the Pacific: stretch our geographical understanding – identity and ethnicity –
egalitarian cooperative economic system* - function of music beyond entertainment – musical emphasis on
embodied aural poetry**
*In the west we recognise capitalism as the driving force of music/culture – in that world view music is of a
sharing system (accompanies everyday life)  are constantly musically communicating

** eg. ALJ hand games – “kinetic aurality” – like it!

Polynesian Cultural Centre (PCC) Consider Bruno Mars’ PCC earned fame and the resistance of cultural
appropriation – crediting / tracing influences (Acceptance speech for his Album of the Year)

Cultural Appropriation in the pop context (def. – the majority grp’s adoption or theft of a minority grp’s
culture, often without awareness of its original context.)

 Look at examples of appropriation areas / look at common targets

Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture (FESTPAC)