I found a very interesting article on JSTOR that grapples with the question of what is Asian American music.
It's called "Between Notes: Finding Asian America in Popular Culture" by Oliver Wang, published in American Music, Vol 19. No. 4, (2001), pp 439-465.
You can find the article on JSTOR (I've tried to copy and paste the link but failed)
The author talks about a musicologist named Joseph Lam, who says, "Asian American music is not dependent on the text (e.g., lyrics, images, even melody, timbre, rhythm) or even a tradition of musical practice. Instead, Asian American music is so designated based on the context of production (who makes the music and why? as well as reception (how is the music used, how is it understood)."
So according to him, it is the combination of production and consumption that makes music Asian.
The author comments that Lam's definition aims to "establish a point of common reference that future discussions can work from--even if it is to deconstruct Lam's own theories," as supposed to serving as the canonical definition of what Asian American music is.
This definition and the article pretty much refute the argument I made in my previous blog because I placed the emphasis on the musical text rather than the people who perform and listen to the music. So, is Yo-Yo Ma's music Asian American? I still want to say no. He is Asian American but his music does not really have any race categories because it doesn't really belong to any race.
I still have the desire to stand by what I've said, but it is interesting to read a counter argument.
I didn't post a blog last week because, well...I simply didn't know what to say. But after watching/listening to JJ Chinois, I've realized why I couldn't say much last week. Aside from Norah Jones, none of the artists mentioned last week were familiar to me, and when I did attempted to seek out Asian American musicians I found myself browsing through countless youtube videos that contained music that were, in my personal opinion, simply bad. The vast majority of these artists and their music belonged to niche markets, and perhaps that's why I didn't know any of them. And at the same time, I didn't really want to listen to them, not because they were not mainstreambutbecause there was a good reason why they couldn't achieve "crossover" success.
The word "crossover" denotes a process in which music belonging to a niche market becomes part of mainstream culture. Music critics first used this term to describe what was happening with African American music--Rhythm and Blues, which had been dismissed as "race music" for a very long time, became popular with the national audience regardless of color in the late 50s. In fact, the Billboards integrated "R&B" into the "Pop" category in 1963, when a 13 year old Motown product named Stevie Wonder reached #1 in both charts. It was an astonishing milestone for African American artists, and at the same time it was an important moment for African American music. The music dissolved the barrier between white and black audiences across the nation, and for the first time, black musicians could stand on a national TV stage performing their songs. Before then, black music only could become popular when it was covered or reinterpreted by white artists like Elvis Presley. But it is important to realize that black music like R&B became part of the mainstream in the late 50s and 60s, not because the performers were black but because their music was simply good.
I bring up this topic of "crossover" success because I think it is relevant to the Asian American musicians that we have discussed for this class. The musicians belonging to niche markets have not reached the mainstream simply because their music isn't very good and therefore not appealing to many people. I do admit I'm being very harsh, but the niche market music, separate from its performers, simply does not have the strength to compete with some of the best music that's out there in the market. Of course there are many songs that are popular within niche markets (the so called "indie" music scene) that demonstrate great musical values, but I am a firm believer in the idea that if the music is truly great, eventually it will be picked up by a much wider audience, just as R&B music became mainstream in the 60s. I don't mean to offend those who are fans of K-Pop and J-Pop, but they don't exactly have the same musical power that R&B does. Norah Jones is probably the most successful musician among the Asian American artist discussed in this blog, and for a very good reason. Her music is simply better than the others'.
But at the same time, I wonder how much emphasis should be placed on the fact that she is half Asian. She is Asian American, however, her music (in my personal opinion) has nothing to do with the fact that she is half Asian.She is a very good jazz pianist and is a wonderful blues/pop/jazz singer. Listening to her music, I can't really find elements that make her songs distinctively Asian American. What I want to say is that, music has a life of its own, separate from its performer, although it might take its origin from the artist's ethnic background. And the foremost reason why the national audience listens is that the music appeals to them, not necessarily how the performer appeals to them. Although we are at the age of youtube and visual emphasis at music concerts, I believe that music's foremost appeal is auditory. Music, by definition, is a combination of vocal and instrumental sounds that produce harmony, melody, and expressive content. If the music isn't good, I really don't care how great/interesting the performer is. (Think about how many times the so-called great musicians disappoint us with horrible new albums)
Now let's take a look at JJ Chinois. After reading Mimi Ngyen's essay, I do realize that he is a transgendered persona of a New York filmmaker and artist named Lynn Chan. But since we watched his music video I want to point out why his music doesn't appeal to me very much (and it seems like it doesn't really appeal to others either). First of all, I think JJ Chinois does a lot of things for the sake of becoming a star, not necessarily because he is so "talented," as he claims himself to be. Ngyen talks about how JJ Chinois, like Bruce Lee, attempts to create a new image of an Asian male body, but I think there is a huge difference between the two people. Bruce Lee's masculine image is a byproduct of his spectacular martial arts skills, as supposed to JJ Chinois's image that seeks to draw attention to itself so he can become a star. In other words, I don't think Bruce Lee created his image because he wanted to become a famous star, as much as he felt very passionate about martial arts, and during this pursuit of his passion he acquired the masculine image. It's the same case with true musicians: most of them simply pursue what they feel passionate about--making music--and then become nationally famous musicians. JJ Chinois, on the other hand, makes music and films because he simply wants to be famous. (If you take a look at his website, you can see how much attention he wants) In fact, his being Asian or transgender doesn't really make his music special at all. The song is only creepy and repetitive. I just don't think his music has enough appeal.
This is a very lengthy post, but I thought it was necessary to share what I think about Asian American music and address these questions:
How much emphasis should we place on the artist when we gauge the value of his/her music?
Does the fact that an Asian American performed the music render it Asian? Doesn't the reason why many Asian American musicians fail to achieve mainstream success point at the fact their music is simply not as good as what's out there in the mainstream? Should music be categorized with race? Doesn't that contradict with what Motown and R&B accomplished during the civil rights era?
As a serious musician, I can't really appreciate the Asian American music that's popular in the niche market. I'm sure there are some really good ones that I haven't been able to find yet, and maybe I should look harder to find something that appeals to me in that small market. But at the same time, do I really need to seek out specifically for Asian American musicians, when I just want to listen to some good music? I do realize that we are paying attention to race for the purpose of this class and we should do so. But at the same time paying our primary attention to the Asian American musicians, rather than the music itself, prevents us from appreciating the auditory art.
First things first, I need to get this off my chest and admit my own up to my pop culture transgression: I’m not a big music person. I love to rock out to the radio when driving my car or dance it out at a frat party, but don’t ask me for a song recommendation or to be an iPod DJ at your party. I don’t really have a group of favorite artists or favorite songs; I belong to the minority of Brown students who don’t even own an iPod. This is the reason why I love Pandora; it does all of the music selection for me.
Pandora is where my search began. I started looking for a genre of Asian American artists. I found plenty of Latin; I found Jazz and R&B; I found Rock and Country, but nothing mildly relating to Asian music artists. I scoured the classical section for some Yo-Yo Ma. I tried looking for some sort of Asian folk music with a Mandolin, but I could find nothing. Stumped, my mind fell back onto the stereotypes of Asian Americans and music and the first thing that popped into my head was a Japanese businessman singing karaoke in Tokyo. I looked a little closer at the stereotype and realized that he was singing American music in chopped English. Where has all of the Asian music gone?
My next stop was a Google search for Asian American music artists and several sites, like AArisings.com, which had a comprehensive list of every Asian American music artist. It seemed like the site was created for people just like me, people who had recently lost faith in Asian American music. I thought I would peruse this list to find out of maybe I had been listening to Asian American music all along and just hadn’t realized it. After looking through a list of 200-300 artists, the artists I had hear of were CoCo Lee, Jin, Linkin’ Park, N.E.R.D., and Yo-Yo Ma.
With strengthening Asian economies, the market for Asian American music is available, but where are the artists to meet the demand? Do all Asian American pop stars have to be like William Hung, who was as much of a joke as an American idol? I guess my laid back attitude towards music never made me realize the dearth of Asian music. Maybe I should pay more attention to what music I’m listening to. Maybe Asian Americans need to create a genre of their own to distinguish their music, a genre that hasn’t already been dominated by another ethnic group. I’m crossing my fingers that the new Playstation/Xbox hit “Rock Band” (the newest manifestation of Dance Dance Revolution) will start the ball rolling for a new breed of Asian American music artists.
In trying to complete this assignment, I came to the realization that though there are some famous Asian American figures in American music, they have, for the most part, not made their name as "Asian" music genre singers. There are musicians and singers such as Sanjaya Malakar, William Hung, Yo Yo Ma, Tila Tequila and Mike Shinoda, who we might say are the more visible faces of Asian American musicians, but they are for the most part, not famous for their "Asian" music, but rather for being musicians and singers that happen to also be Asian American. That is not to say that the music that they create is not "Asian American." Rather, it is just that it is in contrast to Hispanic and African American rhythms, which have been incorporated into the genres of rap, R&B, reggae, and other popular genres. However, the same cannot be said for Asian American musicians and Asian rhythms/melodies. It is true that Hispanic and African musical undertones have persisted in American music for far longer, partially explaining their strong influence on American music, but the surprising lack of an "Asian American" brand of music with influences of Asian rhythms/melodies begs the question, why is this so?
I think that the lack of Asian music in the mainstream follows the trend of American perceptions of Asians still as somewhat alien in American culture. Take movies for example. Many a movie can start with a rap or R&B song, and that conveys a type of American feeling to the film, but if a movie begins with an Asian melody, one is compelled to think that the film is exotic and perhaps foreign in some way. Even as an Asian American myself, I feel that way when I hear Asian melodies and rhythms, as opposed to the feeling of contemporary American which arises when I hear rhythms and sounds in rap or R&B which originated in African music. Perhaps part of the lack of use of Asian musical themes by Asian American musicians represents their aversion to seeming foreign to a mainstream audience.
To this end, I found myself looking for Asian American musicians who are not just musicians that happen to be Asian American. On the recommendation of a friend, I encountered upon Vietnamese American singer Kristine Sa (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristine_Sa). She is currently "living out of her suitcase," touring around North America performing, and she has recorded an anime remix CD in Japanese. I found her to represent the type of Asian American musician that I would like to see more of. She is distinctly American through her use of the thoroughly American journey/roadtrip, but she also incorporates Asian undertones into her music. She also writes her own songs and plays the piano as well. I feel that in her expression of herself, she creates music that is distinctly Asian and American at the same time, a type of music that I hope one day in the mainstream as the African and Hispanic undertones of rap, reggae, and the like.
Experimental pop musician Jihae (a 1.5 generation Korean-American currently living and working in Manhattan) released her debut album My Heart is an Elephant in December 2007. Though she may be relatively new to the scene, Jihae's work has garnered so much attention among the New York art crowd that the album features cameos by both filmmaker (and drummer) Michel Gondry and Lenny Kravitz. It was also produced by Patrick McCarthy, best known for his production work with REM.
Jihae's vocals are delicate and breathy but never overly sentimental (think a depressed version of Feist), and usually set up against a backdrop of low-res electronic washes, creating a sort of disillusioned, urban beauty. Every moment of the album seems devoted to artistry and experimentalism, and her website displays a fascination with the relationship between audio and video. Though her lyrics contain very few references to her ethnicity, the music creates a feeling of being lost within a dreary, industrial reality, and this effect, I think, speaks for itself.
Below is an excerpt from the documentary "Chorus," featuring Jihae. After so little mention of her heritage on the album, it's interesting to hear her talking about her mother and grandmother.
And here's another clip of Jihae performing a cover of Nina Simone's "Do I Move You."
Another one of my favorite independent Asian-American musicians is Vietnamese guitarist Carol Bui, who I first found out about after she performed in the AIR (Asians in Rock) Tour a few years ago. The girl can definitely rock out, and songs like "Hyphen-American" and "Bangkok" directly address her Vietnamese-American heritage.
Unfortunately, she still only plays small venues, and there are only a few grainy videos on YouTube. I have to admit, her music's not always as melodic as I usually like, but I think the overall effect is fantastic. Here's the title track from her 2004 album "This is How I Recover."
A few notes about Paul Kim: 1) I think it's interesting that Paul Kim uses William Hung as a source of motivation. He finds it necessary to combat the negative stereotypes that Hung created in his infamous She-Bangs auditions (see video above). 2) What's the deal with the barefoot performance? Perhaps it is telling that Kim was then immediately eliminated. Did the lack of shoes deter viewers from voting for him because it made him (and I'm being serious here) too eccentric, too different, and in other words too Asian?
Sanjaya Malakar (Season 6)
Notes: Sanjaya somehow coasted his way through a good deal of the competition despite Simon Cowell's constant berating. The reasons: fangirls who cry and VotefortheWorst.com
Jake Shimabukuro is a renowned fifth-generation Japanese American musician who has reshaped the public perception of the ukulele. Originating from Hawaii, Jake's music never remains confined to one specific musical category. He successfully plays jazz, funk, blues, classical, bluegrass, folk, flamenco and rock, all on a ukulele. As a musician, Jake serves as an iconoclast to the stereotypical Asian American image publicized in American pop culture.
Aside from several Hawaiian music awards, Jake has been an active promoter of US-Japan relations having served as an official promoter for Hawaii Tourism Japan (HTJ). He has also received an official commendation from the Japanese Foreign Minister for his grassroots work aimed at fostering ties between the American and Japanese people.
Jake has appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and has toured with famous musicians such as Diana Kroll, Fiona Apple, Bobby McFerrin, Jamie Cullum and Blues Traveler. The energetic ukulele star was also featured on Ziggy Marley's album Love is My Religion.
Here are some music clips of Jake:
"Let's Dance" (Flamenco influenced track)
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (Homage to George Harrison)
"Dragon"
You can find more of his music and clips on his personal website and YouTube.
P.S. Since Jake Shimabukuro payed respect to The Beatles with "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", here is another YouTube treat featuring perhaps a future music star.
Lyrics Born, or Tom Shimura, is a half-Japanese American, half-Italian American rapper/songwriter who was born in Tokyo. He was formerly known as “Asian Born” and is one-half of the group “Latryx” with Lateef the Truthspeaker.
Lyrics Born was raised mainly in the San Francisco Bay Area and his music career has largely been based in the area. His style is often compared to that of groups like Sugar Hill Gang, in the genre of hip hop funk. His large vocabulary and complex rhyming technique are showcased through his often controversial and globally conscious lyrics.
The piece I chose, called “The Last Trumpet” is a very politically charged song by both Lyrics Born and Lateef, pointing to the corruption in politics that often keeps the public in the dark and uses their ignorance as a means to control them. My decision to post this song is based on the commentaries of the women in Sa I Gu, who seemed disgruntled with the government’s negligence for their plight. Among the other themes include brainwashing through media, the education system, and global poverty. Although not uniquely Asian American, I felt that this song deals with the issues that many minority artists feel the need to address, and have their voices heard for.
LB: In the beginning men and women had an obligation to their children Lateef: Then there was a real and true necessity in need for building LB: There was still the discipline and will proliferate the lineage Lat: Matters of the spirit, mind, and body taken serious LB: But the way that we became what we became Somebody please explain Lat: Well we could tell you if you're curious Those that reign got the masses in chains And their minds enslaved Both: And that's the part that makes me furious
Watch out (repeated)
Both: Cos they're definitely ain’t no info readily available to the general A (?) people so let me know x2
Lat: It's easily this multimedia crews that feed you to the neediest It's the greediest trying to cheat us out of our God given right LB: To a quality education minimal opportunities available Limited occupations we are not given a choice Lat: Or given a voice within a political system pimped and gangsta'd out Wherein the people are the victim sheep being lead about LB: While the followers and the patrons of any faith outside the mainstream Are being raided, falsely painted as endangering the way things work Lat: And the way things are remain LB: I can't believe that things ain’t worse Lat: When all the wicked seeds we've sown have grown LB: And poisoned all the Earth Lat: It serves us right LB: Can't really act surprised when the harvest has no worth Lat: The curse that's lurking round the corner Both: Is the product of our work
Watch out (repeated)
Right now LB: The holy war's growing opposing forces polling of the origins Of which have been historically been ignored Right now Lat: Our foreign policy is mallets of democracy Upholding an aristocracy of secret terrorist cells Right now LB: The global poverty that we accept so commonly Turns people into property one step away from hell Right now Lat: Healthcare battles bioengineering for the worldwide scare Of the plague the we're fearing Right now LB: They got the right to put our lives under surveillance Right now Lat: They got the right to lock us up we don't obey them Right now LB: Modern education don't prepare the youth Right now Right now Both: Do what you gotta do Right now LB: There's people shooting at people that's throwing stones Right now Lat: There's a movement of people across the globe Right now Both: Right now is where we're at What goes around comes around Time for action before the last trumpet sounds
I first heard Asobi Seksu's album a year or two ago, and really liked the sound. Their music sounds sort of like a collage, with transparent layers and textures and sunny colors. However, I didn't really know much about the artist until recently, when a Wikipedia search turned up some interesting information.
"Asobi Seksu", which I've learned means "playful sex" in Japanese, is a NYC-based rock band. They've got a really innovative sound, and as an occasional fan of foreign language music, I think Asobi Seksu has a great fusion style. The band consists of Yuki Chikudate (vocals, keyboards), James Hanna (guitar, vocals)... thank you WIkipedia.
Their album Citrus is the one I listen to when it's sunny outside, and I'm cheerful. Which, in Providence, happens only occasionally (the sunny part, not the cheerful). This is one of my favorite songs of the album -- cute video, too:
I've been researching Asian American YouTube celebrities for my wiki, and so when Professor Lee asked us to post about an Asian American musician I couldn't resist posting about David Choi. Actually initially I was going to include him in my paper because my fiance is a huge fan, but I ended up deciding to just focus on the three most popular YouTube celebrities.
Anyway, David Choi is a Korean American musician currently living in California. In "real life" he is a staff producer/songwriter for Warner Chappell Music Publishing, but he regularly posts music videos on YouTube featuring him playing guitar and singing. Often they are covers of other people's songs, but there are several of his own original songs as well (they mostly fall into the pop genre).
David Choi gained notoreity in the YouTube community when he posted "YouTube (A Love Song)," a parody about how much he loves YouTube. Afterward Choi's videos became quite popular and he gained a sizeable fan base in the YouTube community (one that, just as an amusing aside, is constantly clamoring for him to smile in a video--something he has vowed never to do). He is currently YouTube's 13th most subscribed musician of all time, and what is perhaps his most popular original song "That Girl" (see video below) inspired a whole slew of covers posted in response (if you YouTube search "that girl choi cover" you'll see what I mean--there are almost 75 videos).
I'm not sure if there is anything particularly "Asian American" about David Choi's music, other than that he himself is Asian American; as I noted earlier, and as you can see for yourself, his music sounds a lot like mainstream pop. Yet, he does seem to have something of a following in the Asian American community (although I can't give any figures to support this, a large number of the people who posted covers of "That Girl" were Asian American, and most of the people I know who have heard of him are also Asian American). Moreover, he was featured in the 2007 Imprint media conference which took as its focus Asian American and urban culture (http://www.intertrend.com/imprint/imprint2007/). Personally, I'm not really sure what it means for music to be specifically "Asian American," but since David Choi is Asian American and so are many of his fans, I think he's worth discussing. Enjoy listening to "That Girl" (posted below) and let me know what you think.
