Mike Torres is a Microsoft employee (on the Microsoft “Places” team) who has given up on Napster’s music rental service. When you make your DRM (digital rights management) so unmanageable that the legitimate purchaser has to be connected to the Internet to verify legitimate ownership and still can’t listen to the music, it’s time to switch. Mike did – back to buying used CDs.
Global Pop, Local Language.
I came across this book in my search for a dissertation topic, and have not been disappointed. It examines how global performers deal with the issue of language and dialect choice. I was most intrigued by “Anthony McCann”‘s article on the heirarchy of tradition in Irish- and English-language song in Ireland, and am considering a similar approach to the analysis of language choice in Hawai’i’s musical traditions. Global Pop, Local Language also includes an interesting article by C. K. Szego on Hawaiian language performances at Kamehameha School. I highly recommend the book.
Radio na Gaeltachta.
I frequently tune into Radio na Gaeltachta, the Irish language radio station, from my office. As we’re 10 hours behind them, I catch their late-PM and early-AM programming, which is quite eclectic. Today I’ve heard an interesting mix of traditional Irish, including sean-nos, as well as classical, flamenco, latin, as well as other world music forms, but the DJ speaks in Irish. There was one solo guitar piece in there that was very similar to our own ki ho’alu (slack key guitar) traditional, but the DJ never mentioned the artist or song title, or if she did, I simply didn’t…
160 years after famine, Ireland has too many spuds.
I remember that during our trip to Ireland we got spuds with every dish, including lasagna at the kitchen next to Oideas Gael. My wife ordered salmon at a restaurant in Co. Sligo. She got a decent slab of salmon – surrounded by four huge boiled potatoes. I think she barely finished one of them.
Next Royal Hawaiian Band leader must speak Hawaiian?
Former bandmaster Aaron Mahi testified in favor of a bill which would require future bandmasters of the Royal Hawaiian Band be able to speak Hawaiian. I’d like to see it go further – all future members of the band should be required to speak the language or must commit to learning it. At the very least the ability to speak Hawaiian should be a “desirable qualification” for any potential future employee of the band.
Were there Celts, and is there such a thing as ‘Celtic guitar’?
About a month ago I joined a listserve where members discuss Irish traditional music. While the exact definition of that is obviously debatable, as is the definition of Hawaiian music, the discussion on the list has been fairly genial. One member posted a request for suggestions on educational materials for learning Celtic guitar accompaniment. He got a few nice suggestions, and then this… Excuse me while I throw up. There is no such thing as Celtic guitar accompaniment. There is no such thing as Celtic guitar. And there is no such thing as Celtic music. In fact, I can think…
Cheaper iPod Mini.
The iPod mini has finally reached the pricepoint that I’ve been waiting for. I sense one appearing in my mailbox shortly.
High Tech Hawai’i Appearance In Real Video.
Our ITS division is on the ball – my appearance with Bob Stauffer on David Lassner’s “High Tech Hawai’i” TV program is online and streaming already.
Churchill Attacks Essay’s Critics
[From the Honolulu Star-Bulletin ]. I was on the UH-Manoa campus during the time leading up to Ward Churchill’s lecture, but did not attend. The area around the hall where he spoke was a zoo, and all of the local network affiliates had their reporters and vans there three hours before he spoke. I was told that the theater where the event was held could hold about 1/3 of those that showed up, and that there there was about an equal number of Churchill supporters and detractors in the audience. Here is the Honolulu Advertiser’s coverage of the event.
The Sprawl of Y’all.
An interesting article from the Times-Argus site discusses the increasing use of “y’all” beyond the south. Is the South rising again, is it the use of “y’all” in hip-hop, or is the term filling a linguistic hole that isn’t easily filled by standard English? Read on. I’ve caught myself using it a few times, mostly with humerous intent. Scott uses it all of the time, most interestingly after “aloha”.