Festival-Ethnologie

Wer hat sich das nicht schon auf einem Festival gefragt: warum hält der Idiot neben mir die ganze Zeit einen aufblasbaren Flamingo in die Höhe?
Einfacher Antwort:
"Im Netz nennt man sie „Festival-Totems“. Ein guter Name. Denn als Totem bezeichnete der Ethnologie Claude Lévi-Strauss das Symbol einer Gruppe – und tatsächlich sind die meist mit viel Zeit und Mühe gestalteten Festival-Maskottchen längst zu Gruppenabzeichen geworden, die sagen: „Unter diesem Objekt sind wir als Clan vereint.“ Wie eine Art Wappentier bekommen die Totems von ihren Jüngern einen Namen und eine Persönlichkeit zugedacht. Und wachen als Schutzgeister über die Freunde, die unter freiem Himmel feiern."

Macht Sinn.

Lasst es aber nicht Manowar wissen.

Das jährliche Update: "Wissenschaftler haben herausgefunden, das Metal echt nicht schlimm ist"

Experimental research indicates that listening to extreme metal may represent a healthy way of processing anger. Leah Sharman and Genevieve A. Dingle’s findings indicate that extreme metal music did not make angry participants angrier; rather, it appeared to match their physiological arousal and result in an increase in positive emotions.

Article

aaaahhhhja.....

Noch besser hier:

"Head-banging tunes can have same effect as a warm hug"

Neue Ausgabe von Walsers "Runnign with the Devil"

Robert Walsers "Klassiker" Running with the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music, von 1993 liegt dieser Tage in einer neune Ausgabe vor.
Nicht eben "historisch-kritische Ausgabe, annotiert und durchgesehen von Dr. h.c. Kilmister" aber:

"The updated edition of Running with the Devil includes a new foreword by Harris M. Berger, which contextualizes the work twenty years after the book was first released. There is also a new afterword by the author, Robert Walser. These new materials touch on the spread of metal across the globe; sub genres of metal; elements of metal music used in pop, rap, and children's music; and the expansion of scholarship within the field of ethnomusicology. "

CfP Legion of Steel

Festival und Konferenz in einem? Bittesehr...


"The the call for papers for the Bay area on October 22,23 & 24th is now available.

Bands:

Fang (Oakland)

Kyoktys (Calgary, AB)

Necrot (Oakland)

Stone Vengeance (San Francisco)

VX36 (Northern California)

Vulgar Trade (San Francisco)

Warscythe (Bay Area)

Paper topics:

    Mediated Metal/Mass Media’s Effect on Metal

    Metal Iconography

    Sex, Art & Metal

    Women in Metal

    Horror & Heavy Metal

    Religion and Metal

    Metal Research Methodology

    Radicalizing, Politicizing Metal

    New Metal Theory

Abstracts of 250-300 words and/or inquiries regarding proposal submission may be sent to Dr. Sara Sutler-Cohen by August 31, 2015.  Electronic submissions only. 

Conference Registration Deadline:  October 1, 2015

Hard Wired

Reminder: Das Hard Wired-Symposium findet dieses Wochenende in Zürich statt. Programm  hier

Metal Music Studies

Eine enue Ausgabe der Metal Music Studies ist erschienen. Sieht gut aus...

HipHop&Metal - verborgene Hochkulturen

Mal wieder Zeit zum Radiohören: am 27.03.2015, um 20:10 Uhr auf Deutschlandfunk ein Feature von Jörg Scheller:  Hip-Hop und Heavy Metal Die verborgenen Hochkulturen

Hard Wired V

Hard Wired V wirft seien Schatten voraus: am 8. und 9. Mai 2015 in Zürich zum Thema "Lernort Moshpit: Heavy Metal und Bildung"
Sobald ich ein Programm verlinken kann, mehr infos...

Rock Fossils

Das ist die Ausstellung, auf die ich mein Leben lang gewartet habe. Endlich werden die Schnittstellen von Archäologie und Stromgitarre hinreichend gewürdigt - also sowas wie ernsthafte [sic!] Medienarchäologie.
Alleine schon die Webseite ist ein Traum...

GfPM - CfP

...war draussen - hats aber wegen technsicher Probleme nicht auf den Blog geschafft. Sorry.
Daher schon mal als Veransdtaltungsankündigung: Aneignungsformen populärer Musik.
25. Arbeitstagung der Gesellschaft für Popularmusikforschung e.V., 20.–22. November 2015 am Institut für Musik und ihre Vermittlung der Technischen Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig

Läuft wieder

Sorry, der Blog war einige Zeit wegen technischer Warteungsarbeiten etwas "statisch" jetzt läufta abba widda.

CfP The Electric Guitar in Popular Culture

Friday March 27 and Saturday March 28, 2015
Bowling Green State University,  Bowling Green, Ohio, USA

The Electric Guitar in Popular Culture aims to examine the roles of the electric guitar in cultures throughout the world. It is intended to serve as a space for academics, professionals, hobbyists and fans to engage in dialogue about topics related to the electric guitar and its cultural influence. We seek to explore the answers to many questions, including but not limited to:

• How has the electric guitar altered music and the lives of musicians throughout its history?
• How has the electric guitar impacted local music scenes in northwest Ohio and those throughout the world?
• Have changing representations of the guitar in popular culture impacted aspiring musicians?
• How have advances in technology impacted the production of electric guitars for both producers and consumers?
• How have various cultures and perspectives surrounding the electric guitar shifted over time?

 Possible individual themes that may be addressed include, but are not limited to: 

• Representations in Popular Culture
• Globalization of the Electric Guitar
• Current Trends & Artists
• Ohio Guitar Shows
• Guitar Collecting
• Album Artwork
• Guitar Magazines & Publications
• Guitar Manufacturing
• The Guitar and Education
• Race/Ethnicity and the Electric Guitar
• Gender/Sexuality and the Guitar   
• Fender vs. Gibson
• Guitar As Icon
• The Guitar in Video Games and Toys
• Genres & Associated Artists

We welcome individual proposals or pre-formed panels that address any or all of these questions and themes. As the conference seeks to provide a multitude of perspectives, academic presentations and those from outside the academy are welcome.

Please send a 300 word abstract describing your individual presentation to electricguitar2015@gmail.com with “The Electric Guitar in Popular Culture” in the subject line. (Panel, roundtable, performance, and artistic display proposals should include a 300 proposal for each individual and a 500 word proposal explaining the group presentation.) Submissions should be sent in a document attachment with the following information:

Author’s name/Title
Institutional Affiliation (if applicable)
Email address
Presentation Title and Abstract

Deadline for Submissions is Sunday, December 21, 2014.

Metal Music Studies

Die erste Ausgabe der Metal Music Studies (Intellect) ist erschienen - und kann gratis komplett gelesen werden... schniecke

CfP Hard Wired. Arbeitsgespräche zur Heavy Metal-Forschung V

LärmLern-ort Moshpit. Heavy Metal und Bildung

Zentrum für Religion, Wirtschaft und Politik
Universität Zürich, Schweiz
Fr. 8.– Sa. 9. Mai 2015
Organisation: Florian Heesch, Universität Siegen
Anna-Katharina Höpflinger, Zentrum für Religion, Wirtschaft und Politik

Einsendeschluss: 31. Dezember 2014

Musik gilt als bedeutendes Bildungsgut. Sie wird in allen allgemeinbildenden Schulen und an Musikschulen unterrichtet; oft wird musikalische Bildung staatlich gefördert. Doch welche Rolle spielt Heavy Metal in einem Bildungskontext?
Im Zug einer Erweiterung schulischer und akademischer Lehr- und Lerninhalte steht Heavy Metal als musikalischer bzw. kultureller Bildungsgegenstand zur Verfügung. Kulturelle Bildung umfasst in einem weiten Sinn aber auch informelle Bildungsprozesse, die innerhalb von diversen Kulturformen stattfinden.
Heavy Metal als Teil von Kultur impliziert deshalb immer schon Bildung, und zwar auf
unterschiedlichen Ebenen: Zunächst gehört Wissen über die spezifische Kultur zur Fanidentität; wer eine solche erwerben und Teil der Fangemeinschaft werden möchten, muss entsprechendes Wissen erwerben. Die Frage stellt sich, wie solche Aneignungsprozesse allgemein und in verschiedenen Subgenres des Heavy Metal funktionieren? Wie lernen Fans die Konventionen der Heavy Metal-Subgenres? Was erlernen sie wodurch? Welche Wissensinhalte werden in welchen Subgenres besonders betont? Welche werden marginalisiert?
Zweitens verfügen MusikerInnen häufig über virtuose musikalische Fertigkeiten, aber auch über ein umfassendes kulturelles Wissen. Dies spiegelt sich z.B. in Expertenfragen in Magazinen (Hörtests etc.). Außerdem stellen sich Fragen nach einer Professionalisierung innerhalb des Heavy Metal. Seit Kurzem lässt sich eine Tendenz zur Institutionalisierung von Heavy Metal-Bildung in speziellen Studiengängen (Niederlande, England) sowie zur gezielten Förderung von Nachwuchsbands (z.B. durch die Wacken Foundation) beobachten. Doch wie ist diese Entwicklung zu deuten? Eignet sich der „rebellische“ Heavy Metal überhaupt als anerkanntes Bildungsgut oder steht er in Gefahr, durch Institutionalisierung und Professionalisierung zu konventionalisieren und zu verbürgerlichen?
Drittens stellt sich die Frage nach der Rolle von Heavy Metal in der Musikbildung der staatlichen Schulen. Welche musikpolitischen Vorstellungen sind mit Heavy Metal verbunden? Welche Arten der Integration dieses, bzw. Abgrenzungen gegen dieses Musikgenre sind zu beobachten? Ist Heavy Metal in staatlichen Schulen als Bildungsgegenstand anerkannt oder wird er marginalisiert?
Viertens wird auch die Universität als Bildungsinstitution sowie die Wissenschaft als Bildungsprogramm im Zentrum stehen. Hier stellen sich selbstreflexive Fragen nach den Auswirkungen der Erforschung von Heavy Metal. Was bedeutet es, wenn Heavy Metal an Universitäten und Hochschulen studiert wird? Wie prägen Forschungen über Heavy Metal die Musik und die Szene?
Neben der Darlegung von Bildungsprozessen rund um Heavy Metal soll in der Tagung auch explizit das (selbst)reflexive Nachdenken über Chancen und Herausforderungen spezifischer Blickwinkel gefördert werden.

Wir freuen uns auf Einsendung von Abstracts zu diesem Themenbereich mit max. 500
Worten Länge bis Ende Dezember 2014, inkl. Kurzbiographie des/der Vortragenden an
Florian Heesch und Anna-Katharina Höpflinger:
florian.heesch@musik.uni-siegen.de
a.hoepflinger@access.uzh.ch

Hessian Studies

"If you like the music, you’re a metalhead. You like to buy certain things and listen to them.
If you like the ideas behind the music — the lifestyle, the worldview, the imagery and most importantly, the spirit — you need to use a word that means you are more than a consumer of metal music. You’re a Hessian. Derived from California slang from the time when Slayer were starting out, this term refers to the mercenaries who fought for both sides during the Revolutionary War — from Hesse, in Germany, they had long hair and fought like demons."

Damit wäre also eine neue definitorische Volte in den metal studies geschlagen. Das Programm der zu obigem Prolegomena gehörigen Hessian Studies ist schon lange online - genau genommen seit 1994!  Zeit also in einem historiographischen turn dieses Manifest noch einmal genau druchzusehen und der aktuellen Institutionalisierung der metal studies kritisch gegenüber zu stellen...

Auszug:

"What is Hessian Studies?
Hessian Studies is the academic study of Hessians, Bangers, Metallians, Metalheads, death rockers, and other adherents to the genres of metal and grindcore. The Hessian Studies Department believes that any truly diverse multicultural population will contain representatives of this world-wide underground culture, with its rich and spanning historical and social contributions.
What are the aims of the Hessian Studies Department?
The Hessian Studies Department seeks to establish a presence of Hessians on campus and in campus events, as well as to create a comfortable environment at The College that suits the specific needs of Hessians at a small liberal-arts college. To this end, we have presented a List of Demands to the Administration:

1. That there be Hessians hired to faculty and staff positions, and that all hair length rules and any form of drug policy regarding Hessians hired be abrogated, as Hessians have a religious need for some currently-regulated substances.
2. That there be a Hessian Studies Center, complete with both audio and textual libraries and lounge area, for the study and advancement of Hessians.
3. That the community radio station play more music favorable to the tastes of Hessians during prime-time shows.
4. That the inscription at the gate of the college be changed to either “Fuckin’ Groovin'” or “You Suffer (But Why?)”.
5. That discrimination against Hessians as a group of drug-addicted, drunken, long-haired incompetent losers destined for parole at best be eradicated from campus literature and mindset.
6. That there be Hessian cultural events on campus, including concerts by noted Hessian bands and festivals related to various organic products enjoyed by Hessians.
7. That the Hessian Studies Center be funded to provide late-night pizza and beer snack breaks.
8. That Hessians be given equal time to speak at multicultural events, and the right to develop their own curriculum of Hessian Studies Courses."

CfP: Tribe & Rite: A Heavy Metal Student Conference

Heavy Metal UVic presents “Tribe & Rite: A Heavy Metal Student Conference,” to be held at the University of Victoria on November 8th to 9th. Metal culture celebrates the wild, the grotesque, and the forbidden, and it is our hope that this conference will allow for such celebration to take place – with a little bit of headbanging to match! Join us at the University of Victoria for a weekend of engaging ideas and crushing heavy metal!

“The South of Heaven Symposium was a fantastic gathering of metal fans and scholars. It’s living proof that metal music has become one of the richest sources of pop culture debate and discussion in recent years. It was a pleasure to be a part of the event \m/” – Sam Dunn

Possible Topics:
The makings and markers of a metalhead | Metal as genre, subculture, counterculture, or tribe | Rites and rituals of regional/historical metal movements | The transformation of metal by academia and vice versa | Generational differences in metal | The influence of metal on other cultural movements (e.g. punk, hippy), and vice versa | Comparison of metal with other cultural movements | Comparison of subcultures within metal (e.g. the radical politics of crust, the Satanism, neo-paganism, and occultism of black metal) | The future and fate of metal | Inclusive and exclusive behavior among metalheads| The relationship between metal music and memorabilia

Metal culture celebrates the wild, the grotesque, and the forbidden. We invite papers on these themes from across the humanities, social sciences, fine arts, and related disciplines. Papers can draw on lyrics, musical technique, aesthetics (music, fashion, album art), innovations in metal, regional and historical metal movements, and more.

Please send proposals to: metalcon@uvic.ca in Word format by 10/3/14

Include author name(s), department and institution, email address, title of presentation, and an abstract of 50-100 words.

The pleasures and politics of heavy metal cooking

..ist ein Thema, dem die aktuelle Ausgabe des International Journal of Community Music einen Artikel widmet. Der Rest ist aber nicht minder brisant und cutting edge...

CfP Heavy Metal at the Movies

Seminar Proposal for Popular Culture Association annual meeting, 1-4 April 2015, New Orleans

Heavy Metal studies has seen a surge over the past years and is increasingly branching out into various interdisciplinary sub-fields. So far, little research has been done on how heavy metal culture relates to cinema. For this seminar at PCA, papers are sought that address, amongst others, the following issues:
* how heavy metal is (ab)used in feature films
* how documentary films create, expand, and discuss a sense of group identity
* how cinematic traditions are used in heavy metal culture.
Papers on individual films, metal (sub)genres or individual bands are all welcome, as are more theoretical musings on the interrelationship between cinema and metal.

Please send 300-word abstracts by 15 October 2014 to Gerd.Bayer@fau.de

Gründungstreffen der European Education Alliance for Music and Sound in Media (EEAMS)

Ein Gründungstreffen der European Education Alliance for Music and Sound in Media (EEAMS) bei der SoundTrack_Cologne ist von Yati Durant (University of Edinburgh) und Vasco Hexel (Royal College of Music, London) avisiert worden.
Ich zitiere:

"Yati Durant and I are pleased to have the opportunity to expand this new-formulation of the previous 'University Meeting Group' at SoundTrack_Cologne into a broad new initiative with enormous potential. The European Education Alliance for Music and Sound in Media (EEAMS) aims to grow a broad international network of higher education institutions that train students in the areas of filmmaking, sound design and media music composition. The Alliance welcomes educators, students and industry professionals of related areas and seeks to forge an inclusive framework to support collaborative links and to bridge inter-disciplinary boundaries. The first of recurring bi-annual meetings, chaired by Yati and me, will take place during Soundtrack_Cologne 11, on Thursday 20 November 2014 from 12 noon at the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung Köln. More details to follow.
By this email, we reach out to you, current and prospective members, to gather information and suggestions for the launch meeting. Please take a moment to consider the attached document, which sets out indicative aims, objectives and deliverables of EEAMS. These are not set in stone: We welcome your thoughts and comments on the usefulness of the ideas set out therein. We also welcome additional thoughts and suggestions for an inaugural meeting agenda. This email is being sent to 150+ recipients, but please forward this message to colleagues in your institution, to students and industry professionals in your local network. We look forward to meeting colleagues at the launch meeting in November but expressly hope you can also bring along student representatives of your respective programme.
Although EEAMS is initially focussing on Europe, we also reach out to our colleagues in the United States (NYU, USC and others). We welcome your input and value your feedback.
Please write to us at hexel@soundtrackcologne.de and/or durant@soundtrackcologne.de – we will keep you posted about comments and suggests received.
Please also consider joining our Facebook Group, which will provide an active forum: https://www.facebook.com/groups/224397084437088/266635883546541/?notif_t=like
We look forward to hearing from you and hopefully see you in November!
Best wishes
Dr Vasco Hexel, Masters Programme in Composition for Screen, Royal College of Music, London
Yati Durant Lecturer of Music, Sound and Moving Image at the Reid School of Music, University of Edinburgh

CfP: Folk-Metal - Critical Essays on Identity, Myth and Culture

Essays are invited for a forthcoming edited collection, Folk-Metal: Critical Essays on Identity, Myth and Culture. Folk-metal and its sub-genres and related categories such as “Pagan-metal”, “Viking-metal”, “Celtic-metal” and “Medieval-metal”, is a style of music that developed in Europe during the 1990s, fusing traditional or folk music with heavy metal music forms. In this musical style, traditional musical instruments are employed as well as lyrical references to folklore, mythology and traditional culture. Material allusions to these themes are also made in album artwork and performers’ dress styles. This genre has a particular aesthetic and rootedness in the cultures of Europe and is intertwined with these cultures in regard to symbols, religion, history, heritage, ethnicity and cultural traditions.
Bands categorised as folk-metal include: Skyclad (England), Cruachan (Ireland), Finntroll (Finland), Skyforger (Latvia), Amon Amarth (Sweden), Amorphis (Finland), Falkenbach (Germany), Waylander (Ireland), Svartsot (Denmark), Metsatöll (Estonia), Empyrium (Germany), Mägo de Oz (Spain), Silent Stream of Godless Elegy (Czech Republic), Korpiklaani (Finland), Mael Mórdha (Ireland), Alkonost (Russia), Balkandji (Bulgaria), Dalriada (Hungary), Lumsk (Norway), Týr (Faroe Islands), Ensiferum (Finland), Celtachor (Ireland), Eluveitie (Switzerland), Elvenking (Italy), Primordial (Ireland).
This interdisciplinary anthology proposes to explore the folk-metal genre as a cultural form in itself, by examining the relationship between the music, national identity and cultural traditions. Contributions are invited from scholars in the disciplines of folkloristics, ethnomusicology, music, cultural studies and related fields.
Suggested themes:
    Folklore, song lyrics, and cultural identity
    Neo-pagan worldview of the bands
    History of the genre, participants and events
    Indigenous religion and mythology
    Political and/or nationalistic agendas
    The concept of homeland
    The representation of deities and mythological beings in songs
    Heroic elements
    Fantasy literature
    Nature, landscape and sacred sites
The above-listed themes are intended to be indicative rather than limiting. The analysis can focus on one or more bands and/or one or more country or region.
Essays must be written in English and be between 4,000-7,000 words. Authors are requested to send a 300-word abstract of their proposed essay, along with a short biography (50-100 words) to the editor, Dr Jenny Butler at j.butler@ucc.ie and cc. to butler.Jennifer@gmail.com by November 10, 2014. The deadline for final essays accepted for inclusion is June 1, 2015.