3/11/07 Entry One: Basis

In the past half year I have managed to shift my physical location drastically. I began formulating my research proposal in November in Grahamstown, South Africa. I envisioned either a return to the United States or heading to England in January to be with my fiancé Samantha who is South African and for work. My final submission was from Cape Town, South Africa.

In either case I imagined a situation where looking at the movement of sub-cultural styles into mainstream culture's incorporation would be possible. Specific case ideas I was considering were the Go Go music of DC (from the history of the genre to the appropriations of its styles in popular music) and the production Stomp (again, from the historical roots to popular theatre). In DC, field research on Go Go music would have been unsurpassed as DC is the nucleus of the Go Go scene. In England, I imagined that first world communication amenities and a positive view of a hyper-connected existence would prove more than ample in researching a cultural happening like Go Go that did not originate in England. Critically looking at Stomp in England would perhaps have proved a strong research opportunity: Stomp’s more direct lineage to English theater.

I could not return to the US because Samantha’s visa to enter the US is on a processing backlog that will take at least four or five months. I was asked to show myself in person for an interview for the job in London I applied for. This I couldn’t do. As fate has it, I find myself in Miahuatlan de Porfirio Diaz, Oaxaca, Mexico. I am working for the Universidad de la Sierra Sur.

My basis for research remains the same. I am interested in how styles in music move. The notion of origin and subsequent cultural evolution perplexes me. Musings thereupon are my starting point. I have chosen physical location of music as the first facet of my research, thus Soundtracks: Popular music, identity and place by Connell and Gibson is my initial reading.