Comments on: Preemptive ABA 2009 Nominations

By: GrandPiano

GrandPiano — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:27:16 +0000

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By: THAT Animeblog - A Call to Arms! - your staves, raise them!

THAT Animeblog - A Call to Arms! - your staves, raise them! — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:54:45 +0000

[...] of us enjoy a bit of music, or rather, anime music. Though the fact may be apparent: the animusic community is not that large. Yet, more importantly, the animusic community is not [...]

By: lelangir

lelangir — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:08:55 +0000

@Cuchlann: refer back to this. Essentially, the subculture is not so monolithic, and is comprised of different echelons each having a different degree of awareness of the subculture itself. It's probably a lot harder for hegemony to be established within the meta echelon over the meta echelon itself (i.e. Owen over us).

By: Cuchlann

Cuchlann — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:39:24 +0000

@lelangir: Well, but remember the indie kid phenomenon (not as helpful as cup yakisoba phenomenon), wherein they’ve set up a hegemony *within* a counter-culture. Like goth kids, who base rank on plumage.

By: lelangir

lelangir — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:58:18 +0000

oh but I realized that theoryfags don’t have any hegemony on the internet. Theoryfaggery is like counter hegemony.

By: Cuchlann

Cuchlann — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:10:51 +0000

@lelangir: Hahaha. Oh dear.

I think “note” is pretty well understood, so while it’s probably possible to avoid using the word, I don’t think it’s necessary. However, even though I know already what a “measure” is, I think it would be pretty simple to avoid using it, if it were necessary. However, most papers written to people of similar writing/reading backgrounds will “define terms,” so I don’t see why you couldn’t make some short of musical-critique cheat-sheet and refer/link to it whenever you didn’t know if someone would know what you were talking about.

On the other hand, I would probably just say “the bit at the beginning/middle/end.” And, again, I *do* know what a measure is.

I was talking, I suppose, in general. I don’t really think you need to change the way you blog about music; I just don’t want people thinking that, if they can’t talk about it the way you (or another theory-educated person) can, they can’t talk about music at all. Freedom for all!

By: lelangir

lelangir — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 02:33:07 +0000

@Cuchlann: Well, I’ll reference this post.

Actually my favorite part of this piece is probably the first measure. The melody hits that lower f# to harmonize the nice emin9. It’s hard to describe the quality of minor ninth chords. They have a similar “suspended” quality like that of perfect fourths, though the only interval of a fourth is with the fifth, B. Hmmm…

Yeah, that’s me masturbating.

The subtleties of this piece blended in with the scenery too, the high parts, twinkling, a lot like stars would, in a poetic sense. The higher register sounds delicate – it’s when Taiga let’s her shield down, she cries, the viewer is treated to her memories. Ryuuji is there, ubiquitous, the dog? The piece itself is sparse, not busy, not clustered, cold, the scene was too, we suppose, as MoritaRyuuji wraps HaguTaiga in a scarf. Nor is the piece resolved. It ends in an ambiguous arpeggio of fourths and fifths, a lack of finalized thirds to accompany the hazy stars that fade in and out of sight. I guess, for Taiga, tears obstructed their light.

I’d say that’s comprehensible “for those not situated within the terrain of my hegemonic discourse markers”.

So on the one hand, I don’t wanna compromise what I want to write about for the sake of readability. I tried to translate that first paragraph in overly sarcastic laymen’s terms:

The 3rd note of measure 1 sounds coolio ’cause it sounds all floaty ‘n shit?

But even there, you need to know wtf a “note” is and wtf a “measure” is. Those are pretty irreducible terms, perhaps.

But yeah, given how rarely I talk about music, and how absurdly painful it is to transcribe sometimes, I’ll refrain from using ‘dem big mofuckken werds in an attempt to foster more musical discussion…in the act compromising myself but oh well…

By: Cuchlann

Cuchlann — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 00:53:55 +0000

@lelangir: I suppose, for purposes of this conversation — which I should have checked before now, oops — “theory” would be “formal training in proper theoretical structures, including hard-to-remember names and other hegemonical power markings.” ; ) Do I think one can talk about music without those? Yes. But you’re right, in the broadest sense theory is going to be entwined in practice — and in the praxis of *talking* about the music. But I think a lot of bloggers are being scared away from discussing music because they haven’t taken classes in music or music theory, and I don’t think that’s good for anything other than creating an elite grouping of people. It reminds me *far* too much of the other MFA students who say one can’t really criticize creative writing without being a creative writer (read: one who writes poetry, fiction, &c).

By: lelangir

lelangir — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 22:11:49 +0000

Cuchlann: …I agree on the fallacy of my logic but here, really, can you separate theory from practice?

It’s probably possible to have a music community that doesn’t know any technical aspects of music, but having a little bit of knowledge would, nevertheless, help immensely, though that’s not really the issue in the first place is it?

By: Kaioshin Sama

Kaioshin Sama — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 11:21:40 +0000

This isn’t a plug since I have no real interest in participating in these awards (sorry, not this year), but I consider myself something of a connoisseur of anime and video game music even though I will fully admit to having no real expertise in the field of music. Nevertheless as a result of my passion for anime and game music I’ve often found it fun and interesting to write in detail about various anime and game soundtracks and to try and get the word out about various composers, popular music styles and trends in anime. and albums that I am fond of, even if I can’t say I’ve met with very much success. Still, I would say the only thing that is really required to be a writer about about anime music is a genuine passion for the subject, and that I can safely say I have.

Truthfully I’m startled and overjoyed to see that there is such a demand for writers about anime music, and since it’s currently a topic that I’m interested in pursuing while I deal with writer’s block about general anime subjects I would be more than happy to take up the mantle of being the blogger to focus on writing about anime and game music if that’s something that people are looking for. Really nothing would make me happier.

Anyway, if anyone is interested in what I’ve written about anime and game music so far then by all means I invite people to check out the music category on Anime History. If there one thing I’d love it’s to spread the word about this often unnoticed aspect of anime and games that I thinks has just as much of an impact on the overall experience as visuals, story and characters.

By: Cuchlann

Cuchlann — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 09:49:53 +0000

I don’t agree that a technical background in music is necessary to write about it — I view that assertion in the same way I would view someone insisting one must have a background in linguistics to write about literature. It’s missing the forest for the trees, to use that old saw. Basically, writing about music would be like writing about anime, or literature: examining the effect it had upon you in a (more or less) thoughtful way.

Now, not having anything to *say* about music (like, uh, me), that’s entirely different. Though I do have this one random idea… Get back to you on that one.

By: lelangir

lelangir — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 02:16:26 +0000

@zzero: My assumptions are faulty because I don’t (oh jesus no pun intended) “get out enough” – out of the aniblogosphere. I like sorrow’s point though. And this is also mirrored by how the “academic” (oh shiet…) aniblogosphere community is comprised of a fistful of people – no one cares. Remember in those Beanbrew posts when someone was like “I see no musical analysis” – no one cares about musical analysis. Not that that’s intrinsically bad, but the collective desire for more substantial writing on music doesn’t exist.

@ghost: well, I if he doesn’t raep me he groped and violated the shiet out of me? In any case I learned A LOT from that discussion.

By: zzeroparticle

zzeroparticle — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:46:39 +0000

I’m not sure I really buy that argument though. There are plenty of similarities between anime fans and gamers, and yet, if you look at the game music community, it’s a lot more organized, highly profiled, and widespread than anime music, and it’s been this way since the late 90s. The assumptions I’m making here is that the music backgrounds between anime fans and gamers are similar, so one cannot account for the disparity simply through the background knowledge alone. My speculation is twofold: a general lack of passion amongst anime fans with regards to the music and that the gamer population is simply bigger.

By: ghostlightning

ghostlightning — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:46:23 +0000

@lelangir

I actually re-read OVER 9000 again (why? i’m retarded), and at no point Cuchlann “rapes you.” This is just revisionist wish-fulfillment on your part.

@ Cuchlann

Put the guy out of his misery and do him like Krauser did the tambourine.

By: lelangir

lelangir — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:26:47 +0000

Only very few anime fans have a technical background in music, which is pretty much a must for writing about music.

Yeah (le sigh…) that’s pretty much the case.

But there was this one time where I wrote about Kaiba’s OP and got some interesting comments…

the anime music community is really localized now, ichigo forums, gendou, anime ost, etc. not many blogs yet, and this is where we really need a music-type OH blog to pull everyone together.