Punk Music-Culture

A music-culture that I'm often exposed to is punk. The punk scene is heavily do-it-yourself. They do not rely on bigger labels, productions, sponsors. As I understand, in the 1980's people needed to find a way to show their disdain towards the corporations, establishments, government. The sounds of bands like Sex Pistols and Ramones were born: loud, noisy, care-free. This evolved and became more and more socio-political. Some punk communities resemble the ethics and beliefs of anarchism. In my first-hand experiences in the scene, I can say that punks lean far left in their political beliefs. The people can be really intimidating and difficult to approach because they can be pretty vulgar. At first it was really uncomfortable being surrounded with people like them. The smoking, drinking, the loud conversations with countless putangina in between and in exchange. Nonetheless I love the loud music played at the venues. And I love how different the individuals were and how knowledgeable they were about socio-political issues. Some musicians I met put more importance on the fun than on singing the right notes, be it for themselves or other musicians. When it comes to clothes, I always wondered why almost everyone wore black head to toe. I don't know if it's a wagon kind of thing more than a preference, but I think it's the latter and it's influenced by the artists they love. Maybe because black is just so uncomplicated and unobtrusive as well. When they produce, record, distribute their works, it is mostly done on their own and through independent labels. One philosophy within the culture that resonates to me is the straight edge movement, named after the song "Straight Edge" (1981) of Minor Threat. I've only ever met one and through him I found out about it. Adherents refrain from smoking, drugs, alcohol, and are more keen to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet. Interestingly enough, alongside the straight-edge movement is its counter-movement bent-edge. When it comes to music, it is typically loud and power chords. Another thing I love is the mosh and the moshing, where people slam and push against each other. I've seen women participate but my small built has me watching only from the sides. When anyone falls down, the rest will help the person get up. I also associate with the punk culture having fervent beliefs on gender equality, freedom, and human and animal rights. There is a lot of value as well in doing one's own thing and not being tied to conventions or on how things are said to be done. For me punk is a lot about the attitude: believing and standing for some things, the DIY ethos, doing and making things with what you have and in spite of not knowing how.

AKB48

AKB48 is a Japanese idol group. Wikipedia defines this as "a term typically used to refer to young manufactured stars/starlets marketed to be admired for their cuteness. Idols are intended to be role models. They are supposed to maintain a good public image and be good examples for young people." AKB48 is named after Akihabara, a district in Tokyo that is the hub of idol activity, that's said to be worth $IB a year. Yasushi Akimoto created the group, along with several other idol groups in the past. He maintains a view that AKB48 is different from other groups because as he said, "AKB48 girls are unfinished. They are still not very good at singing or dancing, are unpolished and can watch them progress."

The Japanese idol industry is something that's been bugging me some time. I feel like this is the biggest factor for the inequality between Japanese men and women and the prevalent questionable ethics and norms that surround it/this music-culture. This and their other videos makes me wonder what female viewers feel. Do they want to dress up like them? Wear their hair and makeup like them? Focus on their appearances? It also makes me wonder if the music is not at all that important compared to the visual appeal that seems to go for kawaii and sexy. The target audience is males and it is true that they have a huge male following. It's impossible for me not to think that this isn't selling to some males at all. I have nothing much to say about the music other than I'm not a fan. I feel like female idol groups in general cultivate fantasies that normalize self-objectification, by putting importance on being eye-candy with clothes and dance moves (not necessarily only with AKB48 and this video). There was a video on AKB48's YouTube channel that appeared 2013. One of the members shaved her head as an act of apology for spending the night with her boyfriend. Members aren't allowed to be in relationships because it affects the market. Shohei Sakakura wrote "AKB 48 and the Black Companies", which mentions the fact that the creator of AKB48 hires and fires girls in bulk with matching hourly wages. Both of these means so apparently that idols are mistreated and exploited.

The Music Industry in the Country

Task: Describe the current music industry in the country from your perspective as a music student using these terms explored (mainstream, subculture, counterculture, music scenes, capitalism, grassroot, high-brow culture, social class, underground).

First, I try to search about the terms:

• subculture - generally able to exist within mainstream culture 
• counterculture - against mainstream culture 
• mainstream culture - dominant trend in opinion, regarded as conventional and normal
• music scene - any music community 
• capitalism - an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state
• grassroots - people regarded as the main body of an organization's membership. Something grassroots is at the most basic level of something, down there in the dirt with the roots of an idea or activity
• highbrow - anything highbrow is usually intellectual in nature, and people who appreciate such things are also called highbrows. Highbrows usually have money and are sometimes considered snobby or hoity-toity. The opposite of highbrow is lowbrow, which refers to vulgar and less sophisticated culture and people. 
• underground (music) - underground music comprises musical genres beyond mainstream culture. any song that is not being legally commercialized is considered underground

HMMM assuming that what is meant by "music industry" is the biggest music industry catering to popular demands or interests of the many, then I think that the music industry today is full of "indie music". Indie as in the sound of indie, and not exactly the culture of indie (indie = independent, in my understanding). But I will say that these indie artists did start out independently. They worked their way up and managed to attract a big audience without any big names or labels supporting them or giving them spotlights. In this regard, I think of them as being previously grassroots. Being strong and flourishing as they are, the bigger labels then brought them under their [capitalist, greedy] umbrella, along with the big audience that the artists already had, so that these labels can make money. I think lots of artists put a lot of value in exposure and fan size, so I guess it is difficult to turn the big labels down. 

Art World: Tugtugang Musika Asyatika (TUGMA)

All people whose activities are involved in producing "art" make up the art world. I guess the easiest art world to write about would be a small one, so I will write about my department organization: Tugtugang Musika Asyatika (TUGMA).

Our organization meets every weekday 5:30pm - 8pm. Every day is a different ensemble. Mondays: Chinese Sizhu, Tuesdays: Philippine Kulintangan, Wednesdays: Javanese Gamelan, Thursdays: Japanese Koto, and Fridays: Korean Samulnori. Each ensemble has their own leader (usually higher year level and knowledgeable and skillful of the instrument/s). The leaders would submit to the president the objective and results for/of the day's meeting. Attendance is important and absences without prior notice typically earns criticism and looked at as disrespectful of other people's time and efforts.

When a concert is approaching, the schedule changes and the organization devotes meeting time to prepare for the concert. I'll talk a little bit about a TUGMA X. It was a concert to celebrate the 10th year anniversary of the organization. The whole concert was funded by the organization's treasury and sponsors. The members were the ones who vigorously wrote and sent letters to several possible sponsors. Members also wrote new music for the concert. Another concert was the one held at UP Los Banos. A nice feature of the stage design were cloud cut-outs of styrofoam, cut and painted by the members.

Aside from officers (president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, PRO), the organization has five committees, each with a committee head.
1) Production Committee
2) Internals Committee
3) Externals Committee
4) Finance Committee
5) Education and Research Committee
The existence of committees encourages certain members to document, make videos, record, research, and handle issues among the members and other groups.

I consider TUGMA as an art world for all these things.