Edgar Sampson “Stompin at the Savoy” : As this song begins and it’s refined yet slightly playful
tune fades in, I am mentally transported back to an earlier time… To be specific the summer
following high school graduation, a time in which I clocked many hours wandering and
conquering the virtual world of Fallout: New Vegas. This is the 4th (more like 3.5th) installment
of RPG video game in which the player completes quests across an expansive and dangerous
radioactive wasteland. Though this landscape is hellish a delightful in-game feature offers a
respite and sense of serenity.. the personal radio gauntlet/mini computer. This gadget allows the
player to tune in to the only functioning radio station which plays an eclectic mix of swing, jazz,
folk, and blues music. I’m not 100% sure if this piece is on the radio but it immediately evokes
similar feelings for me. The melody and instrumentation, equal parts smooth and animated, lull
me into a sense of optimism. I think the historical association of swing music with high energy is
what causes this effect.
“Steel Guitar Rag” Leon McAuliffe: Love the energy of this piece and love the energy of the
performance! I frequently associate the sound of a steel guitar with beach rock, but it’s
interesting to hear it in such a pronounced way outside of that genre. Like beach rock, this song
feels carefree but also moves with a sense of urgency. I think that as the case with all “period”
music, this song evokes a strong sense of nostalgia and general content. This no novel thought,
but I feel that as we progress further from a period of time, the ability to romanticize it grows
easier. In terms of music, definitively old and provincial songs like this, summons images of
peaceful and uncomplicated times.
Golden Gate Gospel Train: 30 seconds after starting to listen to this record on my computer, I
promptly pulled out my phone to search and save this song on Spotify. These singers have such a
full and powerful register. Their voices (and the song) all seem to be in a flat key which creates
the effect of the industrial sound palette of a train. I am not typically the biggest fan of a Capella
music (not since the trauma of Glee :’( ) but the ambient and accurate nature of the scatting
makes this song far more than tolerable. My favorite sound is either the “waaAAAHHHH” that
represents the train horn, or the underlying “CHUggachuggaCHUggachugga…”, the turning
wheels of the train.
Mambo: The Afro-Cuban Dance Craze (10.10): While I enjoy this historic sounding
investigative report, I was not in the least bit surprised that popular dance, race, and crime were
conflated so quickly. The correlation is warranted as an explaining factor, but I would just point
out that this publication is “showing its age”. Furthermore, one especially jarring comparison
made was the difference in weights between immigrants and “slummers” and middle-class
citizens. Regardless, the piece creates a romantic image of the Mambo’s origin. Marginalized
immigrants finding and creating a space and community for themselves. That section in
particular conjures images of more strongly Latin themed West Side Story. Tensions of a violent
or sexual nature are assuaged in the frenetic routines of mambo.
Interview with Johnny Shines (10/6): The aspect of this interview which most stands out to me is
the characterization of the juke joints. These spaces of music and community which are
popularized by rural black folk, are associated (for a good reason) with crime and violence. As I
have said before, this is interests me because through tracing the roots of musical evolution we
can understand their modern perception as well. It is just weird that different genres of music
(jazz/blues vs country blues) have different connections to crime simply because of their race.
And as Johnny Shines describes how Robert Johnson’s womanizing led to his downfall, the
number of musical figures who have shared a similar fate is equal in the white and black
communities. This is just to say that as with any arena in life, color so pervasively taints how we
associate and remember our musical figures.
Savoy Dancer (10/1): The tone of this article is more like a journal/ reflective memoir. The
enthusiasm and energy that the dancers have to participate in this sphere of culture and to learn
new dances is infectious. Their optimism jumps off the page and makes me, and any other reader
just as eager to strap on our dancing shoes and try some shin kicking of our own. I find that his
description of the dance moves is just as captivating as the actual videos of the talented high
steppers. I think that just as with any other dance craze, this technique lends itself so well to the
energies of young people who are looking for a means of activity, community and self
expression.