when female nudity and sexist tropes do NOT coincide…

rarely does it become apparent that things are more complicated than “naked female body” = sexism, but it should be quite recognizable when you see it [text under “later edit”] just like it is obvious when it’s the common variety of misogynist imagery; it has to do with the way the gaze is engaged, with context and attitude and agency and message and history:

So I finally got around to seeing the much-discussed music video for Erykah Badu’s single “Window Seat,” from her new album New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh), which came out yesterday. In it, she is featured walking around a Dallas street, stripping before a gaggle of pedestrians before being shot. The video concludes with the word “GROUPTHINK” oozing in blue letters from her head and a spoken outro. I’ve since seen it several times and can now trail behind the tweets. If you haven’t seen it already, you can check it out here.

First off, I’ll come out and say that I like this music video. I’ve liked the song since I heard Badu perform it with longtime collaborators The Roots on Jimmy Fallon a few weeks back. I’m also really glad people are talking about it. As a long-time fan of her work, it’s about time people acknowledge that she has consistently been at the center of some of the most interesting, challenging, and readable music videos since the start of her career. “Honey” (which she co-directed) is my favorite video of the past few years — it’s overtly political, visually compelling, dense with references, takes a revisionist’s attitude toward music history, and is funny as hell. But she’s had me as a supporter since the first time I saw “On & On” back in 1997.

It’s a little disheartening that people are only now starting to talk about one of her music videos, as I think some of why Badu has been overlooked has to do with our culture’s racialized conceptions of how female musicians are supposed to comport themselves as video subjects across musical genres. White ladies like Björk or Madonna can “elevate” the medium to ”art,” but black women — usually packaged as R&B, hip hop, or pop stars — need to be commercially viable. If they’re down with glamour, spectacle, and easy objectification, so much the better.

Badu’s never played that game, and has perhaps been under the radar as a result. …

from “My thoughts on Erykah Badu’s “Window Seat”” @ Feminist Music Geek
(read the whole thing)

also read: “Freeing the Black Woman’s Body” @ The Root

and “Erykah Badu ‘Window Seat’: What Do Nude Bodies Mean?” @ Womanist Musings

Ana-Maria Avram – o compozitoare

Ana-Maria AvramAna-Maria Avram n.1961 la Bucuresti este o compozitoare de muzica clasica contemporana, parte din curentul spectral. Am decis sa postez aceasta scurta prezentare fiindca de multe ori nu stim ce si cine ne incojoara.

Un ghid despre muzica lui Ana-Maria Avram si Iancu Dumitrescu (alt compozitor care se incadreaza in acelasi curent) / Ana-Maria Avram pe wikipedia / un site intreg despre Ana-Maria Avram (inclusiv un interviu in franceza)

Compozitia “Endless Burning Fire” (live, Londra, 2008) poate fi descarcata aici de la revista The Wire.

din descrierea Festivalului SĂPTĂMÂNA INTERNAŢIONALĂ A MUZICII NOI din 2004

Compozitoare, pianistă, dirijoare. Creatia sa cuprinde peste 70 de opusuri simfonice, camerale si muzică asistată, de ordinator. Lucrŕrile sale sunt prezentate în premieră în Bucuresti, NewYork, Boston, Sandford, Viena (Wien Modern 1992 – 1994), Paris (Radio France, Theatre de la Ville), Londra (Royal Festival Hall ), Nancy, Alicante, Baden-Baden, Darmstadt, Basel, Moscova, Belgrad etc, în interpretarea unor ansambluri celebre: “Solistii Orchestrei Nationale a Frantei” (Paris), Kronos Quartet (San Francisco), 20 Jahrhundert Ensemble (Viena), Filarmonica “George Enescu”, Orchestra Nationala Radio, Orchestra de Camera Radio, Ars Nova, Hyperion. In 1995, opera radiofonică ‘On the Abolition of the Soul’ pe texte de Emil Cioran, comandă, Radio France, este editată, în “Antologia Prix Italia 1949 – 1995”, dublu CD Radio France. Muzica sa este editată, de ARTGallery, Radio France (Paris), ReR Megacorp (Londra), MusicWorks (Toronto), Banannafish ( Los Angeles), Electrecord (Bucresti) si Edition Modern (Londra – Paris). In 1992, apartia volumului “Roumanie, terre du neuvičme ciel” un amplu interviu cu muzicologul francez Harry Halbreich. Contributii muzicologice importante: ‘Ana Maria Avram and Iancu Dumitrescu’ – Musicworks Nr 71, ‘Being composer’ – MusicWorks nr.76 (2000); ‘Ana-Maria Avram: an adventure in experimental music’, Banannafish, Los Angeles nr.15 (2001). In 1994 i se decerneaza Marele premiu al Academiei Române. Este membru al SACEM- Paris, UCMR- Bucuresti, Membru al Ansamblului Hyperion, pe care îl dirijează, împreună, cu Iancu Dumitrescu.
Lux Animae

“Lux Animae” pentru ansamblu şi sunete asistate de ordinator, în primă audiţie absolută, a fost compus în 2004, pentru Ansamblul HYPERION.

GRITtv: Kathleen Hanna: Three-Dimensional Role Model


Kathleen Hanna came into a music scene in the 90s that was angry, violent, and full of men. She and her bandmates in Bikini Kill, along with the rest of the riot grrrl movement, pushed back against that culture and helped usher in a new “wave” of feminism. After Bikini Kill, Hanna went on to make feminist dance music with Le Tigre and has kept pushing boundaries ever since. Recently, she donated her zine archive to NYU’s Fales Library as part of its new Riot Grrrl collection. She joins Laura (GRITtv) in studio to talk feminism, rock’n’roll, and why she’s hopeful for the future.

And for those who want to find out more about what Kathleen Hanna is up to, her blog is here!!!

nu vad, nu aud, nu vorbesc…

chiar n-am vrut sa zic nimic de asta pentru ca nu cred ca showbiz-ul (si tot ce tine de el) e mult mai mult decit un… show (si pentru ca in showbiz oricum se aplica alte reguli decit in societatea mai larga). dar din moment ce 100% din comentariile romanesti – de la editoriale la aflari in treburi pe bloguri la discutii aprinse intre tineri si batrini pe strada – par sa fie pro-huiduiala si anti-toleranta (si pentru ca pina si anosta revista felicia – “pentru sufletul tau” – ma informeaza intr-un numar cu madonna pe coperta ca “indiferent cat de tare ar canta Europa ‘aria tolerantei'” nu poti sa fii prea tolerant – si, deh, iti vine sa actionezi “instinctiv” – cu… lenesii si libertinii; unde bineinteles limbajul “codat” indica exact la cine se refera, echivalind nonsalant niste cusururi cu o etnie, asa cum fac si celelalte discursuri larg-apreciate de acest tip – caci evident problema cu care ne streseaza unii si altii este intoleranta ridicata la… lene si nesimtire si alte cusururi care in niciun caz nu se regasesc la populatia majoritara in romania!), simt ca e datoria mea macar sa mentionez incidentul.

intr-o tara in care presedintele foloseste apelative ca “tiganca imputita” si nu scandalizeaza mai pe niciun roman, in care opinia despre romi e asa cum o stim, in care toata lumea pretinde ca realitatea e alta si tine foarte mult la a nu sesiza si problematiza aceasta amagire, nu cred ca surprinde pe nimeni reactia publicului roman la mesajul pro-toleranta lansat de madonna la concert. poate singura surprinsa de-acolo a fost madonna (oricum, se pare ca nu are de gind sa mai faca alte declaratii). ce-i interesant e ce “acoperiri” inedite reuseste sa gaseasca lumea pentru a nu-si problematiza propria ura (de ex., “madonna are o voce slaba, aia din ultimele rinduri nici nu auzeau, si in plus cum sa vorbesti de lucruri pe care nu le stii la primul tau concert intr-o tara, a vazut ea vreun tigan?!” – pe-asta am auzit-o de la un liceean plin de importanta care striga sa auda tot metroul).

sau, la fel de interesant, prin editoriale mai gasesti justificari gen “multi cred ca madonna n-ar avea calitatea morala sa dea astfel de lectii” (aka “nu trebuie sa ascultam vreun mesaj de-al ei pentru ca e numai o tirfa”): am folosi orice “argument” de-o intoleranta pe cit de ironica pe atit de neconstientizata, numai sa putem ramine inca putin cu capul in nisip! pe scurt, “Ce treaba are ea sa ne spuna noua asa ceva?” – intr-adevar: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil… cea mai buna abordare, cu care sintem atit de obisnuiti!

apoi, sa nu uitam ca madonna a spus “… because we don’t believe in discrimination against anyone. We believe in freedom and equal rights for everyone. Gypsies, homosexuals, people who are different…” – iarasi, nesurprinzator ca a fost huiduita pentru asta in romania, desi se presupune ca macar parte din fanii care au platit atitia bani sa fie la concertul ei mai auzisera de ea si istoria ei artistica (ce poate fi mai ironic?! dar din nou ne lovim de ideea ca daca tu ignori ceva, inseamna ca nici nu exista si poti trai “in pace” atita timp cit nimeni nu te forteaza sa nu ignori).

nu dau link-uri la reactii specifice, pentru ca sint prea multe si toate sint la fel, dar am vazut si altceva… pe un blog misto din Grecia (This is Not My Country): “Roma and Madonna”.