By chapter seven Soundtracks is discussing the advent of world music in lieu of globalization. What the authors are getting at is the dualistic nature of music, and specifically world music, “perhaps better than any other style it exemplifies how music is simultaneously an agent of mobility and a cultural expression permanently connected to place.” (p. 144) The first looking glass the authors present is that of western pop performers. They have played the role of cultural gatekeeper as based on their power in the media/marketplace have determined how and to what degree the western markets have been exposed to the world of music. An excellent example to be paralleled here is Paul Simon’s Graceland. The authors also touch upon Simon. Simon had the power and authenticity to extract whatever facets of South African musical trends he wished, as he orchestrated the project, employing musicians in session style. This act was not off the radar of negative issues however. Critics have argued this back and forth. |Though praised by fans black and white, praised by some of the sampled musicians, Simon has been scorned by some, being marked as a cultural imperialist. (p. 148-150) World Music as a marketing category
World music is perhaps best understood on economic terms. It is a sum of what sells based on anthropologists’ notion of the other, or what is exotic. “Its definition depends on the social, political and demographic position of certain minority groups in a particular country.” (p. 153) Can country music therefore be classified as world music if it, for example, comes out of Mongolia? Do we assume it is a mere interpolation of a western world style?
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