[FA Worldmusic] Language!

[Dmitri Vietze]

I think stories and context are important. But I am not sure language 
translation alone is going to solve our problems. Does a world music CD with 
lyric translations interest a mainstream music fan or hipster music fan more 
than a world music CD without lyric translation? Would "typical North 
American hip hop fans" show up to an X Plastaz (Tanzanian/Maasai hip hop 
band) concert and read LCD/LED screens? (Hear 
http://www.rockpaperscissors.biz/ram/Geo_Cheza%20(Kid%20Sundance%20Remix).ram.) I 
agree that understanding the stories and words helps... but N. Americans are 
not going to sing along, for the most part. The barrier, I think, is much 
bigger than language. A movement that gets a mass American audience to give 
a damn about what is going on outside of our borders would be far more 
effective. The original music technology of the human mind would be far more 
effective than any computer software in engaging people in the planet's 
music as a whole. The wireless is built in from birth. The question is how 
to flip the switch. Make global curiosity cool for many different 
sub-populations of North America.

Much respect,

===> Dmitri!
music at rockpaperscissors.biz




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Singerman" <robert.s at french-music.org>
To: <fa-worldmusic at folk.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 4:02 PM
Subject: [FA Worldmusic] Language!


>I still can9t understand how in all this discussion language has not been
> mentioned. I9ve been at many SXSW9s, Midems, etc over the years, working
> with world and pop artists and currently 3represent2 in the broadest sense
> of the word, artists speaking many, many languages. Look at film/tv, 
> what9s
> the difference? Subtitles and Dubbing! Why does film, as Bill says make
> music mainstream and vice-versa, it9s because anglophones can understand 
> the
> story, as Dmitri sells his artists with their own stories. But each song 
> is
> a story! Of course in world music we generally have no conscious idea of 
> the
> story, unless we are multi-lingual. We will soon see the changing of this
> incredible challenge to world communication which creates many of our
> problems worldwide and this will have been lead for years by film, tv and
> finally music!  Why is Hollyweird and AmeriKa so powerful, partially due 
> to
> language and the money to market (subtitle, dub) films and tv shows and
> music to seep into brains worldwide.
>
> As far as SXSW is concerned, the venue selection this year was not right,
> Marco, as I walked in with one of the most important journalists mentioned
> previously and the place did smell terribly of cat piss, he lasted a few
> songs less than me and Eliza Carthy was great. It is a good idea to bring
> all artists to SXSW and the other conferences for all reasons discussed 
> and
> I praise Marco and Tracy9s work and risk taking, please continue - but ...
>
> I9m promising all of you, as the language problem is solved, if not by
> Voxonic, Yabla and/or Gracenote, AMG/lyricfinder with metatag data, then 
> by
> others, in the coming two-three years, so called world music will be
> mainstream music and pop, international music will cross borders and many 
> at
> Joe9s Pub and Carnegie Hall will be singing in French, Italian, Russian,
> Chinese, even if they don9t speak the language, as they will understand 
> the
> lyrics! Like Opera! Like Suzanne Vega in Paris! Like the Beatles, all over
> the world...Live it could be simple l.e.d. Machines and if anywhere, next
> year at SXSW, or this year at Womex, these machines, new media techniques,
> should be used, at least for the chorus9. Imagine. Universal language, 
> space
> is the place, 1 world under a groove...understanding each other finally,
> even if we don9t like what our favorite world/international/English 
> language
> music artists are singing, at least we9ll know! Manu Chao would (and will)
> be huge and a critical voice in the US, finally!
>
> I know I9ve been screaming about this for a while now, but seems like 
> barely
> anyone9s listening and it9s so obviously the main issue keeping world 
> music
> world music and the biggest challenge to import/export marketing. Except -
> as Sam the Sham told me at SXSW, (his new album has many beautiful Spanish
> songs), for instrumental music. I agree with Mel, World Music M.ASS! We 
> need
> to communicate better to break barriers, that9s all.
>
> If we take away the lyrics and only have the melodies, rhythms, colors,
> dances and vibe, how much can you truly communicate on a conscious level?
> Fela understood this. If the revolution is in a 3foreign2 language, which
> trees (and radio, tvs) in a forest or at least our forest get it?
>
> Peace, Robert
> European Music Office
> French Music Export Office
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