Abstract
This special issue brings together six research articles on popular music in around four Asian countries, with particular reference to the cultural study of popular music. While doing so, we present views on both change and continuity for the simple reason that what we may see as change may be seen as continuity by others. Hence, the very exercise of studying a phenomenon from the cultural perspective presents problems (Meer 1975) that can be understood better when parameters of these concepts as issues are brought to the fore and studied.
In his article on the Vedic connection of popular song, Subroto Roy focuses on some linguistic, material and musicological engagements and rationally draws clearly identifiable parameters that indicate continuity of an ancient culture through some of the popular musics of the world, especially Asia.
In her article, titled ‘The Burden of Song: Vedic Metal in Singapore’, Eugene Dairianathan draws on the study of a troupe named Rudra who call their creation ‘Vedic Metal’ because they use English and Sanskrit text in their songs. The author examines the encounter of musical and linguistic discourses in the light of Gayatri Chakravorty-Spivak’s ‘burden’ of teaching English because she considers language not only a ‘cultural marker’ but also a ‘socially constituted demarcation within communities of practice’ (Chakravorty-Spivak 1993).
Anuradha Bhattacharjee and Shadab Alam, in their article ‘The Origin and Journey of Qawwali: From Sacred Ritual to Entertainment?’, analyze cultural evolution and the process of localization. However, giving specific instances, they also point out that while embracing the Sufi thought, cultures across Asia have retained their local flavour either by holding on to their musical instruments, folk and classical forms or other cultural norms. In India, the ragas were used to attract people to Sufi lyrics.
Again, Diane Hughes and Sarah Keith deal with song in their article, titled ‘Creating Space for Where Ancestors Once Walked: The Singer–Songwriter as Cultural Identity’, with the focus on two female songwriters, Ado Kaliting Pacidal and Ilid Kaolo, of Taiwanese aboriginal Amis heritage. The authors explore the new music they produce as cases of singer–songwriters in Taiwan. They point to the complex relationship of production of this fusion and its cultural significance.
Julijana Zhabeva Papazova’s ‘The Analysis of the Album Tin Drum by Japan and its Intercultural and Musical Meaning’ deals with issues of influence from Asia on the work and identity of the British band Japan and puts it into the context of active days of 1977–1982. Again, using the case study method, she looks at visual images with songs and music that bring in a host of cultural and environmental concerns when engaged with popular music.
Stephane Dorin’s ‘Songs of Life in Calcutta: Protest and Social Commentary in Contemporary Bengali Popular Music’ is about acculturation of the genres of jazz, rock and pop music of a region of South Asia in the context of globalization. The author examines the change in the music scene in the cultural area of Kolkata in this context and the political and social dimensions of this change in different stages starting from the 1960s onwards.