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----------------Dear Southern-Music Listers, Whew! I finally subscribed to this list yesterday and just found my way to the homepage this morning, early, whereupon I read the thread on "What Makes Southern music 'Southern'." That was a lot to take in in one sitting, but between the adrenaline it generated and the caffeine from my coffee, I'm ready for the day. Thanks to all of you who've commented. (And kudos to Michael Bertrand and the editors for getting the list off the ground.) As I read your comments about criteria for authenticity, I kept thinking about how cultural geographers "map" culture and sociologists like John Shelton Reed have attempted to determine where southern culture is strongest. (My understanding of this is surely elementary, so please feel free to enlighten me.) The methodology apparently (and very simply stated) is to ask sample populations whether they identify themselves as southern. The results then are mapped. Where higher percentages of the population respond positively, southern culture is likely strongest: these are the "geographical centers" of the culture. (You can then study the characteristics of those populations, or their folkways, to understand what they *mean* by being "southern.") The further away from these centers, the weaker the southern identity, until one reaches areas where few if any persons identify themselves as such. Of course, one will find pockets of southern culture in other places (Bakersfield, CA, for example). Similarly, one likely will find pockets of non-Southern cultures in the South, especially in urban areas. I also was struck positively by Sam Lorber's statement, "Authenticity is a spiritual agreement among all the parties involved . .. ." I don't know if I agree with the "spiritual" part, but I certainly understand the sense of shared opinions, experiences, aesthetics, etc. If you're part of a culture--if you're in agreement with it--you have a sense of what's authentic and what isn't. With those two things in mind, I kept wondering about the efficacy of using a similar (i.e., cultural geographical) method to address the issue of authenticity in music. That method would allow musicians who were not from the South, but had adopted southern ways, to identify themselves (at least musically) as southern. That might allow one to account for the "southernness" of non-southern artists such as The Band or CCR, for example. I'm guessing that others of you know much more about adopted cultures (white northern urbanites identifying strongly with southern rural blacks and playing Delta Blues, for example) than I, so I'd be interested in your insights. Finally, I recently came across a popular review (from a Seattle perspective) of James Gregory's new book, "The Southern Diaspora: How the Great Migrations of Black and White Southerners Transformed America" (University of North Carolina Press, 446 pp., $19.95). It looks like a fascinating read. Here's a link: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2002784558_migration06.html. Regards to all, Stephen Shearon McLean School of Music Middle Tennessee State University
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