The Experts below are selected from a list of 360 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Smith, Leanne E - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Excerpt from Hoppin’ Possums: Steps from the Green Grass Cloggers
Marshall Digital Scholar, 2019Co-Authors: Smith, Leanne EAbstract:A group of counterculture college students formed the Green Grass Cloggers in the 1970s and incorporated percussive footwork that was a combination of steps they learned from oldtimer mentors and steps they created themselves. As they traveled on the folk festival circuit in North America in the 1970s and later internationally, they shared their innovative style through performances and workshops. As a result of those workshops, many steps that the GGCs carried on from mentors and ones that originated with early group members proliferated to new clogging teams. Yet, as steps were shared secondhand and beyond, the stories of those steps’ sources did not always follow them, and they entered the folk tradition fairly quickly. Now, despite the GGCs’ early efforts to tell the stories with the steps they taught, aspiring flatfooters and cloggers may learn footwork—like Robert Dotson’s Walking Step; Walk the Heels, Barnyard Slide, and Snake in the Grass in the style of Willard Watson; the Green Grass Cloggers’ Earl, Eddie, Jerry, and Karen’s Kick—all without knowing that they originated with identifiable sources as recently as the 1970s. Though originally formed in Eastern North Carolina, in Greenville, the traveling portion of the group moved to Asheville, NC, in the 1980s. Today, groups from both places continue to perform locally and recruit new members. At ASA 2019, I propose to show a new, Asheville-related excerpt of my in-production film collaboration Hoppin’ Possums: Steps from the Green Grass Cloggers, which aims to reconnect the steps with their stories
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Excerpts from Hoppin’ Possums: Steps from the Green Grass Cloggers
Marshall Digital Scholar, 2018Co-Authors: Smith, Leanne EAbstract:A group of counterculture college students formed the Green Grass Cloggers in the 1970s and incorporated percussive footwork that was a combination of steps they learned from oldtimer mentors and steps they created themselves. As they traveled on the folk festival circuit in North America in the 1970s and later internationally, they shared their innovative style through performances and workshops. As a result of those workshops, many of the steps that the GGCs carried on from mentors and ones that originated with early group members proliferated to new clogging teams. Yet, as the steps were shared secondhand and beyond, the stories of those steps’ sources did not always follow them, and they entered the folk tradition fairly quickly. Now, despite the GGCs’ early efforts to tell the stories with the steps they taught, aspiring flatfooters may learn the Walking Step without knowing that it came from Robert Dotson, or steps like Walk the Heels, Barnyard Slide, and Snake in the Grass without knowing Willard Watson was the source the GGCs knew. Aspiring cloggers may learn steps such as the Earl, Eddie, Jerry, and Karen’s Kick without knowing that they originated with identifiable sources as recently as the 1970s—the GGCs. At ASA 2018, I propose to show excerpts of my in-production film collaboration Hoppin’ Possums: Steps from the Green Grass Cloggers, which aims to reconnect the stories with the steps through interviews and demonstrations with GGCs who knew Robert Dotson and Willard Watson and GGCs who created their own steps
Gaalen T. Van - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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‘Give us a million dollars!’ Hip hop’s integration of commercialism and counterculturalism as a break in the structures of cultural consumption
2019Co-Authors: Gaalen T. VanAbstract:This thesis addresses a central question posed by the popularity of hip hop. Hip hop, which integrates both explicit counterculturalism and commercialism, does not fit the dominant ‘countercultural idea’ as described by cultural historian Thomas Frank. According to Frank, the ‘countercultural idea’ is the implication of a dichotomous distinction between authentic, free Countercultures and the grey, commercial mainstream. This assumption, argues Frank, has formed the foundation of cultural consumption in the second half of the 20th century. As such, a culturally dominant genre such as hip hop’s rejection of the ‘countercultural idea’ implies a break with the dominant structure of cultural consumption. To understand hip hop’s integration of commercialism and counterculturalism, this thesis explores an alternative theoretical framework based on a suggested new structure of cultural consumption, the structure of ‘omnivorous’ consumption. This structure is defined by an increasingly individual approach to culture, resulting in the demise of traditional Countercultures, as well as a more open, ‘cherrypicking’ approach to cultural consumption. This theoretical framework is applied to source material from the New York hip hop scene around 1980-1990, the period hip hop rose to mainstream popularity in the USA. This leads to several conclusions. Firstly, hip hop combined counterculturalism with commercialism early on. Whereas earlier African American genres such as jazz and rock ‘n’ roll also showcased a similar integration, and as such, a break with the ‘countercultural idea’, hip hop’s business-focused approach functioned well within the increasingly neoliberal cultural market of New York in the early 1980s, thus resulting in a large, black-owned hip hop business. Jazz and rock ‘n’ roll, on the other hand, initially showcased a similar approach but were filtered through the ‘countercultural idea’ when white record labels and artists popularized the genre. Secondly, hip hop’s success can be explained by a substantial white middle class that consumed hip hop early on without strictly adhering to hip hop culture. This suggests the rise of the ‘omnivorous’ consumer. As such, this thesis concludes that hip hop’s rise in popularity coincides with the rise of a new structure of cultural consumption that allows for its integration of counterculturalism and commercialism
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‘Give us a million dollars!’ Hip hop’s integration of commercialism and counterculturalism as a break in the structures of cultural consumption
2019Co-Authors: Gaalen T. VanAbstract:This thesis addresses a central question posed by the popularity of hip hop. Hip hop, which integrates both explicit counterculturalism and commercialism, does not fit the dominant ‘countercultural idea’ as described by cultural historian Thomas Frank. According to Frank, the ‘countercultural idea’ is the im-plication of a dichotomous distinction between authentic, free Countercultures and the grey, commercial mainstream. This assumption, argues Frank, has formed the foundation of cultural consumption in the second half of the 20th century. As such, a culturally dominant genre such as hip hop’s rejection of the ‘countercultural idea’ implies a break with the dominant structure of cultural consumption. To understand hip hop’s integration of commercialism and counterculturalism, this thesis explores an alternative theoretical framework based on a suggested new structure of cultural consumption, the structure of ‘omnivorous’ consumption. This structure is defined by an increasingly individual approach to culture, resulting in the demise of traditional Countercultures, as well as a more open, ‘cherry-picking’ approach to cultural consumption. This theoretical framework is applied to source material from the New York hip hop scene around 1980-1990, the period hip hop rose to mainstream popularity in the USA. This leads to several conclusions. Firstly, hip hop combined counterculturalism with commercialism early on. Whereas earlier African American genres such as jazz and rock ‘n’ roll also showcased a similar integration, and as such, a break with the ‘countercultural idea’, hip hop’s business-focused approach functioned well within the increasingly neoliberal cultural market of New York in the early 1980s, thus resulting in a large, black-owned hip hop business. Jazz and rock ‘n’ roll, on the other hand, initially showcased a similar approach but were filtered through the ‘countercultural idea’ when white record labels and artists popularized the genre. Secondly, hip hop’s success can be explained by a substantial white middle class that consumed hip hop early on without strictly adhering to hip hop culture. This suggests the rise of the ‘omnivorous’ consumer. As such, this thesis concludes that hip hop’s rise in popularity coincides with the rise of a new structure of cultural consumption that allows for its integration of counterculturalism and commercialism
Sheila Whiteley - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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“Tangerine Trees and Marmalade skies”: Cultural Agendas or Optimistic Escapism
Volume!, 2016Co-Authors: Sheila WhiteleyAbstract:This essay examines the lyrics from the Beatles 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and raises the question as to which it constituted optimistic escapism, or whether it gave voice to a feeling that the old ways were out, so setting the agenda for the counterculture in Britain.
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Countercultures and popular music
2014Co-Authors: Sheila Whiteley, Jedediah SklowerAbstract:Contents: Preface: dissent within dissent, Jedediah Sklower Introduction: Countercultures and popular music, Sheila Whiteley Reappraising 'counterculture', Andy Bennett. Part I Theorising Countercultures: Break on through: the counterculture and the climax of American modernism, Ryan Moore The banality of degradation: Andy Warhol, the Velvet Underground and the trash aesthetic, Simon Warner Were British subcultures the beginnings of multitude?, Charles Mueller. Part II Utopias, Dystopias and the Apocalyptic: The rock counterculture from modernist Utopianism to the development of an alternative music scene, Christophe Den Tandt 'Helter skelter' and Sixties revisionism, Gerald Carlin and Mark Jones Apocalyptic music: reflections on countercultural Christian influence, Shawn David Young Nobody's army: contradictory cultural rhetoric in Woodstock and Gimme Shelter, Gina Arnold. Part III Sonic Anarchy and Freaks: The long freak out: unfinished music and countercultural madness in avant-garde rock of the 1960s and 1970s, Jay Keister The Grateful Dead and Friedrich Nietzsche: transformation in music and consciousness, Stanley J. Spector Scream from the heart: Yoko Ono's rock and roll revolution, Shelina Brown From Countercultures to suburban cultures: Frank Zappa after 1968, Benjamin Halligan. Part IV Countercultural Scenes - Music and Place: Countercultural space does not persist: Christiania and the role of music, Thorbjorg Daphne Hall A border-crossing soundscape of pop: the auditory traces of subcultural practices in 1960s Berlin, Heiner Stahl Music and Countercultures in Italy: the Neapolitan scene, Giovanni Vacca. Bibliography Discography Filmography Index.
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Countercultures n 2 utopias dystopias anarchy
Volume!, 2012Co-Authors: Sheila WhiteleyAbstract:Our December publication of Volume !’s Countercultures issues moves from the opening discussion on Theory and Scenes that appeared in the September edition, to articles that explore Utopias, Dystopias and Experimentations. Andy Bennett’s opening article on ‘Re-appraising Counterculture’, which also appeared in the September edition and which establishes so many of the debates, is not being repeated here, but you are urged to read this if you have not already done so. My introduction picks up,...
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Countercultures music theory and scenes
Volume!, 2012Co-Authors: Sheila WhiteleyAbstract:Introduction Our first edition of Counterculture(s) and Popular Music offers readers the opportunity to explore its history and how it has been theorised. It also provides an insight into the ways in which it emerged and took shape internationally in scenes that embraced its challenge to the dominant culture. In December, our sister edition, “Utopias, Dystopias, Anarchy” explores utopias and dystopias and sonic anarchy and freaks, focussing on the ways in which the 1960s counterculture embrac...
Malfona Lina - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Lina Malfona, “Building Silicon Valley. Corporate Architecture, Information Technology and Mass Culture in the Digital Age”
2019Co-Authors: Malfona LinaAbstract:The examination of the greatest technopolis in the world is a way of exploring how an architectural as well as cultural, economic, and urban—or better, suburban—phenomenon, linked to a specific framework, has affected an international context. By studying Silicon Valley’s phases of development, from its period of militarization during the Cold War to the era of counterculture and then of cyberculture, we can reread the history of information technology’s centers of production that have contributed to broadcast the Valley’s architectural and political image. Starting from the headquarters of Varian Associates—designed by Erich Mendelsohn and erected in Stanford Industrial Park in 1951 —and moving through the campuses that consolidated the image of creativity for which Silicon Valley became well-known in the Eighties, we will be able to have a retrospective look at the physical as well as virtual organization of the first IT corporations which supported the rising of the most powerful medium, the internet. This paper’s origin point is the examination of three texts written by the historian Reyner Banham between 1980 and 1987, and in particular the essay “La fine della Silicon Valley” [The end of Silicon Valley], published only in Italian in Casabella. References to facts, considerations, and events, taken from Banham’s texts, pepper this study like a parallel story that problematizes this area, highlighting both its technological heroism and its approaching demise
Lina Malfona - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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building silicon valley corporate architecture information technology and mass culture in the digital age
Histories of Postwar Architecture, 2019Co-Authors: Lina MalfonaAbstract:The examination of the greatest technopolis in the world is a way of exploring how an architectural as well as cultural, economic, and urban—or better, suburban—phenomenon, linked to a specific framework, has affected an international context. By studying Silicon Valley’s phases of development, from its period of militarization during the Cold War to the era of counterculture and then of cyberculture, we can reread the history of information technology’s centers of production that have contributed to broadcast the Valley’s architectural and political image. Starting from the headquarters of Varian Associates—designed by Erich Mendelsohn and erected in Stanford Industrial Park in 1951 —and moving through the campuses that consolidated the image of creativity for which Silicon Valley became well-known in the Eighties, we will be able to have a retrospective look at the physical as well as virtual organization of the first IT corporations which supported the rising of the most powerful medium, the internet. This paper’s origin point is the examination of three texts written by the historian Reyner Banham between 1980 and 1987, and in particular the essay “La fine della Silicon Valley” [The end of Silicon Valley], published only in Italian in Casabella . References to facts, considerations, and events, taken from Banham’s texts, pepper this study like a parallel story that problematizes this area, highlighting both its technological heroism and its approaching demise.
