How music dies (or lives) : field recording and the battle for democracy in the arts

All recordings document life, arising from a specific time and place. And if that place is artificial, the results will be as well. Culled from a lifetime of learning through failure and designed to provoke thought and inspiration for artists in every medium, 'How Music Dies (or Lives)' is a virtual how-to manual for those on a quest for authenticity in an age of airbrushed and Auto-Tuned so-called “artists.” Author and multiple Grammy-nominated producer Ian Brennan chronicles his own journeys to find new and ancient sounds, textured voices, and nonmalleable songs. With photos from his journeys throughout the book, he presents readers with an intricate look at our technological society. This guide serves those who ask themselves, “What's wrong with our culture?” Along with possible answers are lessons in using the microphone as a telescope, hearing the earth as an echo, and appreciating the value of democratizing voices. IAN BRENNAN, a Grammy-winning record producer (Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Tinariwen), travels the globe in search of music, often entering war-torn areas. Since 1993, he has presented lectures internationally — more than one hundred times a year — on the topic of violence prevention, and he is the author of four books. A native of San Francisco, Brennan is currently based in northern Italy. Preface. Proximity Bias And The Irrationality Of Fear -- Introduction. Learning Through Failure -- The Value Of Democratizing Voices. We Aren't The World : All Music Is Local Music ; The Fixation To Fixate ; Message Monopolization ; Field Recording Chronicle: Malawi ; The Real King(s) Of Rock 'n' Roll ; Field Recording Chronicle: Malawi ; Unlabelling Labels ; Field Recording Chronicle: Rwanda ; Regressive Superlatives : The G-word ... And Other Demons ; Field Recording Chronicle: Zomba Prison ; Winning Hearts, Not Breaking Backs : All We Are Saying Is Give Art A Chance --^ A Call For A Return To Naturalism : The Need For Randomness. Building An Arc ; Everything, Including The Kitchen Sink ; The Primordial Social Work : Why Music Heals ; Field Recording Chronicle: Vietnam ; Consumerism Masquerading As Creativity ; Field Recording Chronicle: Palestine ; Parallel Rituals : The Insularity Of Technological Advances ; Sound Before Volume ; Field Recording Chronicle: South Sudan ; Recording As A Leap Of Faith -- How To Get There : Some Possible Roads Home. Surrendering To Sound ; Voices Within The Voice ; Using The Microphone As A Telescope ; Field Recording Chronicle: Juba Orphanage ; Acoustic Illumination ; What's Left? ; Element(s) Of Surprise ; Field Recording Chronicle: Taranta ; Cooked By Culture : Ever Beware The Experts ; What Can't Be Owned? --^ Products Of Our Environment. Making Sense Of The First Sense ; S-urr-ounded : The Inescapable Symphonies Of Our Everyday Life ; Field Recording Chronicle: Cambodia ; Disposable Music ; Inter-specific Artistry : I Am Not An Animal! ; Aural Culture : Music Not As Math, But Individuation ; Moving Targets : There Is No There There ; Do You Hear What I Hear? ; Playing For Keeps : There Is No Rehearsal ; Field Recording Chronicle: Acholi Machon ; The Ricochet Of Influence -- Backin' Up For Some Backstory. Transparency : Letting Your Real Roots Show ; Drawing Random Inspiration From The Inspired : Liberating Influence From The Ghetto Of Sanctioned Outlets ; Who's The Boss? ; The Road From No-name-ville ; Premature And Promiscuous Championing ; Pain Dues, Dude ; Amateur Hour : Real Musicians Have Day Jobs ; Bittersweet Dreams --^ Beware The Traps. Living In The Moment, But Keeping An Eye On The Horizon ; Sonic Prisons : Getting Off The Grid ; Personalities Displacing Spirituality ; Field Recording Chronicle: Transylvania ; Self-sabotage And The Unconscious : Subjectivity's Quicksand ; The School Of Soft Knocks ; Hearing Lost ; Free Samples? -- Welcoming Magic : Heeding Wanderlust's Call. Following Existing Currents ; Put Up, Don't Shut Up ; Beneath The Words ; Breaking Patterns : Creating Creativity ; It's All In The Details ; Connectivity Through Sonics ; Say It Loud, Say It Proud ; Castaway ; If You're Not Having Fun, You're Not Fooling Anyone ; Home Base -- How Not To Memorialize Music. A Few Don't Champions From My Past ; Some Notes From The Do Files -- Enlisting Limitations As Expressive Partners. Trained By Fire, On The Chopping Block ; What Do You Know? ; Imperfect Pitch : There Are No Mistakes ; Gauging The Atmosphere --^ Racing Racism. Free For All? ; Same Old, Same Old : Colonialism's Leftovers ; You Call That Equality? Distracted By The Decoys ; Stangered : Disproportionate Estimations (on The Outside, Looking Out) ; Single Origin Fairy Tales ; Disgraceful By Association ; Outlaw Camouflage : Slumming In The Underground ; Are You Seriously Serious!? ; Music Cannot Be Possessed, But It Can Possess ; False Friends : Raw Does Not Always Equal Real ; Thinly Veiled Bigotry (the Patrimony Dies Hard) -- The Battle For Democracy In The Arts. How Music Dies ; Cheapshot ; A World Of Superstars, Minus An Audience ; The Myth Of Purity ; In Their Owned Words ; Wire-monkey Music ; Organically Grown : Truth In Advertising ; Every Man For Himself? ; Too Much Like, Not Enough Love ; The Talking Dead : Rest In Pieces ; Oversharing --^ How Music Dies : And Its Wake. If You Can't Beat 'em, Get Them To Join You ; Now You Don't See It (and Now You Still Don't) ; Image Cannibalism : The Media As A Gigantic Mirror Of Infatuation ; Manufactured Competition : Don't Believe The Hype ; Sin-ergy ; Don't Believe Half Of What You See ; Fabricated Identity : Bands As Brands ; Sub-merged Substitutions ; The Superscar System ; Standardized Forms, Fear Of The Random : Living In Boxes, Atop Grids -- Odds And Endings : They Couldn't Keep Doing It Without All Of The Little People. Souls Sold For Convenience ; Corruption And Arrested Growth ; Who Are You Calling Crazy? : The Romanticization Of Mental Illness ; Records Don't Kill People, People Kill People ; Open Season ; Conditional Love ; The Collective Jukebox Is Stuck : One World, One Store ; Forever Is A Very, Very Long Time ; Guilty As Charged -- Conclusion. The Earth Is An Echo -- Epilogue. Open Ears, Open Mind -- Overview. Ian Brennan ; Photos By Marilena Delli ; Foreword By Corin Tucker. Includes Index. All recordings document life, arising from a specific time and place, and if that place is artificial, the results will be as well. Culled from a lifetime of learning through failure and designed to provoke thought and inspiration for artists in every medium, How Music Dies (or Lives) is a virtual how-to manual for those on a quest for authenticity in an age of airbrushed and Auto-Tuned so-called “artists.” Author and Grammy-winning producer Ian Brennan chronicles his own journeys to find new and ancient sounds, textured voices, and nonmalleable songs, and he presents readers with an intricate look at our technological society. His concise prose covers topics such as: •The damages of colonization in generalizing distinctive variations •The need for imperfection •The gaps between manufacturing and invention •The saturation of music in everyday life This guide serves those who ask themselves, “What’s wrong with our culture?” Along with possible answers are lessons in using the microphone as a telescope, hearing the earth as an echo, and appreciating the value of democratizing voices. Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, publishes a broad range of books on the visual and performing arts, with emphasis on the business of art. Our titles cover subjects such as graphic design, theater, branding, fine art, photography, interior design, writing, acting, film, how to start careers, business and legal forms, business practices, and more. While we don't aspire to publish a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are deeply committed to quality books that help creative professionals succeed and thrive. We often publish in areas overlooked by other publishers and welcome the author whose expertise can help our audience of readers. All recordings document life, arising from a specific time and place, and if that place is artificial, the results will be as well. Culled from a lifetime of learning through failure and designed to provoke thought and inspiration for artists in every medium, How Music Dies (or Lives) is a virtual how-to manual for those on a quest for authenticity in an age of airbrushed and Auto-Tuned so-called #x93;artists." Author and Grammy-winning producer Ian Brennan chronicles his own journeys to find new and ancient sounds, textured voices, and nonmalleable songs, and he presents readers with an intricate. Read more... Abstract: All recordings document life, arising from a specific time and place, and if that place is artificial, the results will be as well. Culled from a lifetime of learning through failure and designed to provoke thought and inspiration for artists in every medium, How Music Dies (or Lives) is a virtual how-to manual for those on a quest for authenticity in an age of airbrushed and Auto-Tuned so-called #x93;artists." Author and Grammy-winning producer Ian Brennan chronicles his own journeys to find new and ancient sounds, textured voices, and nonmalleable songs, and he presents readers with an intricate "Brennan chronicles his own journeys to find new and ancient sounds, textured voices, and nonmalleable songs, and he presents readers with an intricate look at our technological society ... This guide serves those who ask themselves, 'What's wrong with our culture?' Along with possible answers are lessons in using the microphone as a telescope, hearing the earth as an echo, and appreciating the value of democratizing voices"--Page 4 of cover