Date: Tue, 19 May 1998 12:58:18 +0100 (BST)
From: Caroline Osella <Caroline.Osella-AT-durham.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan



Hi all, 

Well my "shame!!" is part ironic self-commentary, acknowledging that I
visit the 'world music' section of HMV; part nod towards those who, like
the BASAS conference speaker I referred to, put the whole oevre of Khan
into 'liberal Guardian reading' territory; and perhaps most importantly,
part acknowledgement that yes, I do believe, Peter Gabriel and the whole
'world music' thing does do a dis-service. 

I know this is an old debate, but I'll chuck in my own opinion to reply to
the mail, that 'world music' is commoditising ethnicity and
homogeneising/sanitising local styles.  It's a prime example of the
fetishisation of the 'Other'. 

I also deeply resent its 'folky' image (to me, that's a middle-class
thing, but maybe I'm unfair), and the fact that some sorts of more
genuinely popular music just don't make its lists, as not being
'authentic' or whatever. (eg I love hearing Chinese [Cantonese] pop music,
slushy and torchy ballads, on community radio, but that stuff isn't
Chinese enough for WM types, and doesn't get out to wider audiences).

As an anthropologist, fighting against this sort of old-style valorisation
of the 'pure', 'folk' etc etc (see eg James Clifford's 'predicament of
culture' for the sort of arguments I'm thinking of), the project of
'world music' sets us all back about a million years. 

Meanwhile....

Another tack on the Khan and this stuff: I wondered about differentiation
within the market for 'Asian' music.  

I like Khan, but none of my mates (working class British South Asians) in
West London would touch him.  Nor do they listen to Fun-da-mental or ADF,
etc..  

Coming from White working-class British background, I meet with my mates
on a dance music ground, but we listen /dance to frankly commercial stuff.
Kamlee compilations, Satrang, you know the sort of music, and also of
course, Soul/R&B.  This is the sort of stuff that does it for us. 

I'd like to think more about who are the social groups who listen to
various genres, and how far we can identify genres / groups?

Anyone got any thoughts on these differentiations? 

cheers, 

Caroline Osella 



On Fri, 15 May 1998, evolving-AT-csi.com wrote:

> >
> > (2) I have (shame!!) a CD from the dreaded Peter Gabriel's 'realworld'
> > collection, bought in HMV world music section, sat alongside eg drummers
> > from Mali and so on.
> >
> 
> 
> Hello,
> 
> Forgive me if this is rehashing old list territory, but can I just ask - why
> is buying a Real World CD so shameful?  Do you mean that the Real world folk
> tend to homogenise and/or westernise world music??






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