Week 13: Le Jazz: Jazz and French Cultural Identity.

Jordan, F. Matthew. 2010. Le Jazz: Jazz and French Cultural Identity. US; Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press.

本書介紹的翻譯：

在本書裡，Jordan用文本分析、批判理論、和文化歷史來說明爵士樂如何從原本作為一個外來的文化新物，首先受到法國傳統主義者抗拒，到逐漸轉變為這個國家的身份認同的一部份。[怎麼argue它變成這個國家身份認同的一部份？] Jordan參考了媒體的評論、二十世紀初的法國文學來檢視當時法國對爵士樂的接受狀況：從起初大眾對步態舞(cakewalk)的瘋狂、此音樂對二戰過後文化療癒的重要性，到它至今在法國民族誌和文化混雜性所佔有的特殊地位。[要怎麼argue爵士樂佔有特殊地位？此所指的爵士樂是特定哪種樣貌的爵士樂？]

一反將焦點擺在歷史上法國人對爵士樂慶祝式的接受表現，Jordan聚焦於法國公民接受爵士樂的程度並沒有他們對1930年代湧入的自由人文主義及世界主義一般殷勤熱烈，主張有些聽眾及評論都覺察到爵士樂對法國傳統文化有所威脅，而一直要到法國人將自我身份認同“現代化“了以後，爵士樂才開始與“法國性“的概念相容。[法國人怎麼樣將自我身份認同“現代化“？怎麼樣叫做身份認同被“現代化“了？]

當流行文化藝術與表現被激烈辯論的同時，便能激盪出足以建構生氣盎然之文化身份認同的強大力量，Jordan的作品說明了這一個現象，並將此視為法國人戰後如何檢視與解讀自己的關鍵。

這本書爵士樂文化論述的深度研究，對法國流行樂有原創性的貢獻。

Week14: End of presentation

呼...有點累,這篇寫中文好了.疲憊.今天是五月二十五日,這個數字大概是這個月以來我最懼怕的一個日期吧,那時剛寫完論綱,內心還是很沈重.口考結束只有形式上的解脫,心裡很空,回家聽錄音,全部沒錄到,沒電了...憑記憶趕緊寫下口委給我的問題和建議,邊寫邊想學姊跟我說的意見,心煩是否需要搬家,一弄完一心只想把成發吹好,把出國的事情辦好,明明知道漏洞百出,卻又感到非常無力,時間有限,家裡又正好出事...整個身心頭腦都沒有空間與心力,回想當時看了這麼多有用的沒用的paper,看進去,腦袋抽屜標貼都還沒貼,根本不知到底看進去的東西要存哪邊...跟我要做的事情關連在哪,很亂很亂,只要想到論文,就全身焦慮, 內心非常害怕,質疑自己能不能順利畢業？為什麼我說我想這樣寫、那樣寫,就是都不對,都不行,都只是憑我的直覺,沒有討論價值.

Guck說音樂分析故事說的好最讚,當然哪! 這樣才吸引人,但分析的人就是覺得他有意思才會想要去分析它不是嗎？不然就是某個歌手你本來很討厭他所以你想知道他到底為啥會紅成這樣,研究了以後是否改觀當然又是另一回事.但我很慶幸我改觀了,原來人的腦袋可以開發,可是一但開發似乎就不可逆了.當我來到這兒,我就不可能回到當初還沒經歷過這段經歷的自己,"你現在知道了,那你就有責任了"老實說我不完全同意這句話,因為這責任是它自己自動加上來的,你無法除去或取消.(無知是福.是嗎？然而回頭看過去的無知真的是讓現在的自己覺得驚嚇.)

Abbate的說法不禁讓人想問,...ㄟ...學術似乎不是為了你個人的Taste而存在,你寫paper當然要看目前甚麼東西正在被討論,人家問了什麼問題,妳如果不是要回答的話,妳的研究是要問大家什麼問題？可是...有的東西很popular,popular到可以為了一個郵戳或一頁目錄花費一個暑假去遙遠的歐陸待在圖書館裡尋寶.對有些人來說這是他們的信念、生活的樂趣..(?)我則完全無法體會,但我現在懂去尊重每種人幹這行所持不同的purposes.即便是以前或今後的自己仍可能會改變.

絲竹空、阮黎、秋吉、跟迪格藍的共通點？亞洲.有點誇張,我一個碩論怎麼可能做亞洲呢？光題目Title心裡就覺得自己怎會如此過度的...audacious？

總之我很清楚自己是在很不清楚自己的論文到底要幹嘛的情況之下出了國，然後出了國又遇上了別的課題，心情實在盪到谷底,為什麼出國時滿懷期待又青春洋溢,然而卻一直撞牆,一事無成,什麼也做不好,讀了台大音研所快三年,卻...唉.不該這麼怨歎,碩班生活除了學校,其實我也做了一些別的事情,上天很公平.英國的學費真的貴得荒謬,真不敢相信我竟然來了.最近對一些之前懼怕的東西不再怕了,因為我放棄了一些不必要的執著,到底什麼事情需要這麼care?包容那些不好的,接受就是了,沒有什麼好反駁的,看清楚便可.

上個月有本新書出版,還真是燒燙燙,立刻推薦圖書館購買,希望回去以後就能借到,不過想看這本書已經不是出於它可能跟論文有關了.難以想像為什麼自己會變成現在這樣？

Week11: SUJO at bridge bar!

I've known SUJO (Southampton University Jazz Orchestra) for a while, but never had a chance to see them practicing or performing. One day when I finished practising and was about to go home, I passed by the classroom at the ground floor of the management building. I saw a big band rehearsing, and among them I noticed several undergrads I've met at the soul cellar before. I knew it wasn't good to peek what other's doing, but I stood outside of that classroom watching them rehearsing for 5 minutes. I noticed that there were only two trumpets in the session, so I thought: "If only I could play with them..."

The next day after the Rock History class, I bumped into Jai at the corridor, who was the trumpet player I saw at soul cellar gig with Owen two months ago, and he happened to be one of the two trumpeters from that big band I saw. He saw me carrying my horn, asked: "you practising?" "yeah." "Mind if I join you and see what you got?" "definitely not." Then he grabbed his horn and walked me to the practicing room. I told him I saw them rehearsing yesterday, and asked whether there's any chance for me to join them. "Do you improvise? Which key you play?" He sat down in front of a piano, started playing blues. "Do you know any tunes? How about Blue Monk?" He said while he continued playing, that he was the principal of the 'SUJO 2,' who takes care of the audition for new band members. So we worked on several tunes and finally he said he'll text me the details for rehearsal. I was very happy and excited, this was how I got in and started playing in SUJO2. 

The first rehearsal, I arrived with only two options: either playing the1st or 4th trumpet, because the 2nd and 3rd were already taken (Jai plays the 2nd, as I supposed.) Albeit knowing that I am very lousy at hitting the high notes, I still picked the 1st chair, imagining that there would be probably no other chances for me playing as the 1st trumpet in other occasions. Anyway, this will be a good opportunity to train myself as a lead. However, I didn't manage doing it well, because I couldn't force my embouchrure to do things it couldn't do, it turned out that, I played the lead trumpet with one octave register lower. However, I decided not to feel shameful this time, for I am trying my best here and it should be left with no regret. 

Jai invited me to their gig, the guerilla jazz band at the bridge bar last week, yet for some reason I was late and missed theirs. It's a shame... but fortunately, when I arrived the 2nd set was just about to start, and it happened to be the SUJO!! Luckily I brought my camera that day, so I am now having the chance sharing the clip I took there:  (uploaded with the band director's permission)

Groovy (funky) tune, I like it!!

Week 8: Reading Adorno

This is a belated post for the very end of my Easter break, when I started reading Adorno's articles. The Adorno INT group could be the most challenging thing here for me. In this unit, every participant got to choose a long article according to their own preference for a presentation. I chose "On Jazz" (1936), and "Farewell to Jazz" (1932) from the Leppert fat book. To be honest, before I really got into the reading itself, I was really excited about it, and thought it would be fun, because I love jazz, and I was always fascinated by "Adorno." I was curious about how Adorno would criticize jazz as I've already 'heard' about how mean he gets on jazz. Considering the activity would definitely be a lot more enjoyable than reading "Kitsch," I started my journey. However, it turned out: I was wrong. I must admit that not until seeking the secondary sources did I had better understanding about Adorno's view, and not until I met Tom for help did I get (even several points from the secondary source) it right. I've always had  this weird assertion that it is some sort of 'cheating' reading other's understanding about 'authentic' classic piece like Adorno's, (wondering how I got this conception?) and feel very frustrated that I couldn't grab the point after reading the whole paragraphs again and again, slowly, with every word looked up from my dictionary.

I have a friend who studies sociology. She told me that, when they are approaching unfamiliar 'big names' (and especially those difficult ones) such as Bhabha, Bourdieu, their instructors encouraged them approaching it firstly through the secondary sources rather than original classics, because that's the most efficient way for students to have at least a picture or some directions to look for while reading the originals. Her sharing gave me nerve and confidence to stop struggling, and decide trying to read carefully on how other people write about the originals. I selected "Why did Adorno Hate Jazz?" written by Robert Witkin as my understanding tool to approach Adorno's writing on jazz. I tried to make sure I understand it first before I proceeded carrying on the originals. It was helpful indeed.

I jotted down some notes, questions, and thoughts while reading, and would like to share them as my reading diaries:

Why did Adorno “Hate” Jazz? (1/7)

Why did Adorno “Hate” Jazz? (2/7)

Why did Adorno “Hate” Jazz? (3/7)

Why did Adorno “Hate” Jazz? (4/7)

Why did Adorno “Hate” Jazz? (5/7)

Why did Adorno “Hate” Jazz? (6/7) (recommended)

Why did Adorno “Hate” Jazz? (7/7) (recommended)

It was my presentation today. I would say, I wasn't quite satisfied with the delivery, mainly because of the ways I phrased my points and the proficiency problem. However, I felt very rewarding that whenever Tom breaks in, he helped me clarify some ambiguous part and the points I missed, for example, the concept of 'collective' based on political situation could have bad connotation rather than merely implying  'progressive' in general sense. Also, we accidentally found that Parker and Dizzy's "Ko-Ko" recording from 1945 was an exemplary tune showing how refrain has its collective power, that when the real tune 'cherokee' came in, Parker, as individual with an 'Adornian hearing,' stopped the take in case of being violating the copyright. I wouldn't think of Parker as having an 'Adornian hearing' (as Tom would put it,) yet I did find it interesting that how one can relate and conceive this as individual making personal choices in resisting the power of its 'social constraints.' (Though pityingly not of an aesthetic but economic one?)   

Anyway, this post is just for sharing some reflection about today's presentation. Unfortunately we didn't get enough time to discuss the question I prepared to stimulate discussion for other Adornites, yet I really think Witkin's alternative perspective worth discussing! 

Week 12: Nguyên Lê/Saiyuki Live & interview

Week10: Dinner at GeeSoo's & The Tree Was Falling!

Dinner at the Gee-Soo's! 

I had a wonderful weekend! One of the PHD student in composition, Gee-Soo, invited me and Nacho having dinner at her house. Gee-Soo is from Korea. She prepared some Korean cuisine for us: Kimchi, Korean pancake (?) and a special kind of salted leaves that you can roll rice to eat with, tasted delicious! She used a traditional Korean China pot to cook rice, but for me it looked more like an antique, very beautiful. Gee-Soo said that nowadays there aren't many people using it for rice cooking because it requires no electricity, instead, it needs proper heat and pressure. I guess all one might need is just some experience to do it well (and right species of rice of course :p) because I think the rice cooked tasted really good, saturated with water and elasticity! 

A Sibelius user might find the stickers helpful! Gee-Soo said she got it from e-bay!




The tree's falling!


Sunday morning when I was riding the bike heading to the Uni as usual, something blocked my way... It was a tree lying before me (I guess it was blown down by the bloody wind the night before because it I didn't see the fallen tree Saturday night!) At first I thought I was on the wrong way... I happened to carry the camera with me so I took a few, for me this is an odd scene that barely happened in Taiwan, I mean, we hardly have a forest like the common, let along seeing a tree fallen?? very special!!  

But then the next day when I rode to the school through the same path, I saw that tree blocking the way disappeared, some workers came to fix the route and cut down the tree. I was impressed by the efficiency how thing was managed!