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Music occupies a central role in the Black radical tradition. It is often understood as a mode of radical rebellion, sonic insurgency, and fugitive possibility. In Black music and sound we can listen to the competing rhythms and tempos of a Black world outside the strictures of white supremacist narratives. What is often glossed over in these conversations, however, is how Black music plays an explicitly ecological role. This article thinks about how Black sound is instrumental in refiguring what Brent Hayes Edwards calls the "historical transcript," while also gesturing toward how Black sound seeks out a worlding between human and nonhuman entities through an endless capacity for reconfiguration and reorganization. Arguing that Black music is both historical archive and futural conjecture, this article examines a series of records that materialize worlds outside the locked grooves of anti-Black violence and environmental destruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How snowboarding intersects with race in a Canadian mountain resort is explored in this research note. Snowboarding is now globalised but emerged in the USA in the 1960s as an alternative lifestyle sport. Race was embedded in its birth as then, as now, snowboarding is dominated by privileged White participants who are mostly male. The White dominance is masked as whiteness is invisibilized by claims of being neutral or colour-blind. Yet, a Black presence surrounds snowboarding. The second theme examines snowboarding's commodification of Black aesthetics. It uses Black music and urban fashion to enhance and market its supposedly radical or coolness credentials to its suburban White audience. The mining of Black aesthetics is unacknowledged and thus whitewashes the economic exploitation of Black culture. Migrant workers are the backbone of snow resorts, and the third theme examines this use of transnational labour. It probes why Australians are the visible workers on the snow-kissed slopes and front desks, while Jamaicans are the invisible labour in catering and housekeeping. The use of migrant labour is racialised and further reifies the whiteness of snowboarding. Black snowboarders, riding the snowy slopes for leisure, expose and disrupt the politics of race and place in snowboarding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shana L. Redmond's presidential address at the American Studies Association's conference in New Orleans in 2022, titled "The Dark Prelude," explored the soundtracks and listening practices preceding historical instances of anti-Black police violence. Redmond's talk, accompanied by a pop-music mixtape, proposed experimental listening-with as a method to emphasize the vitality of Black living. The text of Redmond's talk was published in American Quarterly, with responses from Erica R. Edwards and Kimberly Juanita Brown highlighting the collaborative listening and scholarly engagement in Redmond's work. Redmond's scholarship, including works like "Anthem: The Sound of Solidarity in the African Diaspora" and "Everything Man: The Form and Function of Paul Robeson," has had a significant impact on popular music studies. [Extracted from the article]

The editorial from the Journal of Popular Music Studies bids farewell to the outgoing co-editors, Elliott and Kaleb, and welcomes the new leadership of Alisha Lola Jones and Benjamin Tausig. The editorial also pays tribute to scholars Charles Hiroshi Garrett and Christine Capetola, who passed away, and highlights various scholarly articles featured in the final issue of volume 36. The issue covers diverse topics such as the categorization of Afrobeats, Bruce Springsteen's reinterpretation of Sister Rosetta Tharpe's music, the racialization of musical instruments, and the exploration of trans expression in Arca's music. The editorial concludes with reviews of books that delve into the journeys of individual musicians, experimentation in writing, protest music in non-Anglophone music scenes, and the impact of earworms on contemporary listening habits. [Extracted from the article]

The article provides a comprehensive overview of special journal issues in various music-related fields. It highlights specific issues such as a symposium on Guthrie Ramsey's work in Black music, choreographic interpretations of Bach's music, and explorations of music in silent films. The text also covers topics like global music history course design, sonic waste in anthropology, and the intersection of gender and popular music knowledge. Each issue includes curated articles, reviews, and insights from guest editors, offering a diverse range of perspectives and scholarly contributions in the field of music studies. [Extracted from the article]

We discuss the concept of love presented in a set of songs composed by Brazilian samba singer Dona Ivone Lara about romantic and sexual relationships. Popular music is a pervasive kind of media, reflecting ideas, values, power relations, practices, prejudices and privileges. Black music in the diaspora has been a counter-hegemonic space of knowledge production which provides insight into cultural, social, economic and political matters. To analyze the songs, we created a methodology which intersects themes and categories, reflecting upon the complexity of Black women's experiences depicted in Lara's intellectual production. Adopting an intersectional approach, we concluded that the combined oppressions of gender, race, age and class in Brazil have an important influence in the melancholic aspect of banzo in her songs. The results also show that love, for Lara, is not a fixed or permanent feeling, but a cycle, renewed and reinvented in practice and in constant motion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black Music Aesthetics (BMA), guided by conceptual approaches grounded in African belief systems, are found in the structure and performance practices of Black musics. Music education in American society leans strongly toward Western European aesthetics, which includes: the centrality of rhythm, pitch, and harmony to musical understanding; a reliance on written notation for preserving and sharing musical ideas; and a primary focus on sounds. While Black music and musicality can be explored using Western European aesthetics, they cannot be thoroughly explored in this way. In this series of articles, I draw on the work of ethnomusicologists to define BMA and provide concrete examples for incorporating them in general music. The first article in this series provides a historical foundation and definition for BMA and offers examples of how it can be centered in the study of Black musics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper illuminates The Minneapolis Sound's emergence from the urban soundscapes of late 20th century Minneapolis. Turning to the 1960s and 1970s, I trace the genre's geohistorical emergence to a Black diasporic community who found within marginality the possibilities to spatialise an experimental world across the urban margins. Disclosing how this experimental world was upheld by improvisatory musical ensembles and their dynamic reaffirmations of a Black sense of place, the paper reveals how The Minneapolis Sound was insurgently pioneered as a Black sonic counter culture amidst unequivocal oppression. I then temporally propel the paper into the 1980s and 1990s and explore how the artist Prince and band The Time radically re‐imagined the city's anti‐Black spatial histories towards more just ends. This elucidates how, after emerging from the spatiality of the racialised metropolis, The Minneapolis Sound provided a speculative avenue of decolonial poetics through which alternative Black futures were made imaginable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand how Black undergraduate music education students make meaning of their lived experiences in predominantly White schools of music (PWSOM). The study was guided by the overall research questions: (1) What makes the lived experience of Black undergraduate music education students unique? and (2) What meaning(s) and understanding(s) do Black undergraduate music education students ascribe to their experiences in PWSOM? Data were collected primarily through open-ended interviews with nine Black undergraduate music education students in PWSOM in the United States. Data analysis revealed seven emergent themes, including (a) navigating the negative perceptions of White people; (b) making White people comfortable; (c) working harder to prove myself; (d) "Do I belong here?"; (e) a climate of racial and cultural insensitivity; (f) distrust of White faculty; and (g) sacrifice and survival. Findings were interpreted using Du Bois's theory of double consciousness and van Manen's four existentials of lived experience. Interpretation revealed the essence of the phenomenon to be living a dissonant existence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document examines the concept of liturgy in a divided world and the role it plays in either perpetuating or bridging divisions. It presents two case studies to illustrate how worship can be used to break barriers and promote unity. The first case study explores the cross-cultural influence of Black music on American popular music, while the second case study focuses on the works of Donald Lawrence, who merges gospel and music theater to create cross-cultural experiences. The document emphasizes the importance of critically examining liturgies and using transcultural elements to foster justice and unity in a divided world. [Extracted from the article]

Nas últimas décadas, a utilização das mídias por igrejas evangélicas brasileiras se intensificou com a disseminação das redes sociais na internet. Viu-se também uma ampliação do mercado de bens culturais religiosos, sobretudo na área da música. Se essas múltiplas mediações comunicacionais servem aos propósitos religiosos, políticos e econômicos das igrejas, a consolidação desses mercados também apresenta desafios às autoridades dessas instituições, ao dar visibilidade a uma multiplicidade de agentes e discursos que fogem ao seu controle. Neste artigo, a partir do estudo de redes sociais de lideranças religiosas e de artistas da música gospel, discutiremos de que forma questões raciais circulam no mundo religioso evangélico a partir de suas margens. A pesquisa que deu origem a este artigo se baseia no estudo das carreiras de artistas gospel e suas atividades nas redes sociais e permite observar que as questões raciais têm adentrado as igrejas evangélicas não a partir da ação exclusiva de lideranças, mas de suas margens sem, no entanto, provocar mudanças estruturais.

The Dent Medal, established in honor of Edward J. Dent, is awarded annually by the Royal Musical Association to individuals who have made significant contributions to musicology. The 2022 recipient is Mark Burford, recognized for his research on Brahms and Black popular music studies. The 2023 recipient is Catherine A. Bradley, known for her work on medieval motets and her contributions to music scholarship. [Extracted from the article]

This article examines the issue of racism and white indifference in the field of music theory. It discusses the lack of representation and inclusion of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in scholarly publications, which perpetuates white supremacy and limits the diversity of perspectives in the music academy. The concept of tonality is explored as a representation of whiteness and white supremacy, with the suggestion that it should be reevaluated due to its historical and racial implications. The article also introduces the Russian term "lād" as an alternative to tonality, which is used more inclusively in Russian music theory. The author argues for a reimagining of music theory that is inclusive and respectful of all musical peoples, and highlights the challenges faced by BIPOC scholars in the field. [Extracted from the article]

This article is a memorial tribute to Mary J. Reichling, a Black music educator who passed away in 2023. Mary was born in Detroit in 1941 and overcame gender stereotypes to pursue a career in music education. She had a deep understanding of both the musical and social needs of her students and was highly respected by her colleagues and students. Mary's research focused on the philosophy of music education, particularly the work of Suzanne K. Langer. She was actively involved in professional organizations and received recognition for her contributions to the field. Mary continued to mentor and support young musicians even during her illness. The article concludes with a heartfelt note from Mary expressing her gratitude for her life and her hope to have made a meaningful contribution to music and music education. [Extracted from the article]

The book review discusses "Destined to Fail": Carl Seashore's World of Eugenics, Psychology, Education, and Music by Julia Eklund Koza. The reviewer examines the history of eugenics and its impact on music education, particularly through the use of Seashore tests of musical ability. The book criticizes the narrow definition of musical ability based on Western classical traditions and calls for a more inclusive approach to music education. The University of Michigan Press has published a book titled "Education, and Music" by Koza, which explores the challenges and failures of the education system and may be of interest to researchers in the field. [Extracted from the article]

This article discusses a recent publication in feminist music studies that explores the neglected aspects of 'electrosexual' music in the field of electronic music. The book examines themes such as the 'feminised' voice and sexual climax, and addresses exclusionary boundaries in electronic music based on race, gender, and prestige. It also explores the intersectionality of race in electrosexual music and discusses resistance and alternative expressions in Black popular electronic music. While the article acknowledges the book's ethical commitments, it suggests that certain identities and expressions remain unaddressed. The text offers a critical analysis of the book's content and structure, noting its exploration of the influence of academia on research and the rejection of that paradigm. It suggests that the book covers a wide range of topics but may lack emphasis on music analysis and interpretative reading. The article also discusses the role of music theory in feminist, queer, and trans music studies and suggests a broadened definition of music theory. Overall, the book provokes questions and contributes to the field of gender and sexuality studies in music. [Extracted from the article]

"Voice Machines: The Castrato, the Cat Piano, and Other Strange Sounds" by Bonnie Gordon explores the historical and technological aspects of voices, particularly focusing on the castrato singers of 16th and 17th century Italy. The book examines how the castrato voice was created through surgical procedures, vocal training, and musical instruments, and how it challenged notions of the human body and what it means to be human. Gordon also discusses the use of contemporary AI technology to separate John Lennon's voice from background noise in a recording. The book offers a sound-centered historiography and engages with posthumanist discourse, providing a critical evaluation of castrato voices and their cultural significance. [Extracted from the article]

Porter Roberts, an entertainment columnist for the Pittsburgh Courier in the late 1930s, critiqued the financial exploitation of Black musicians like Louis Armstrong and racial biases in the entertainment industry. He advocated for economic separatism, urging Black artists to support their own community rather than cater to white audiences. Roberts's work sparked debates within Black communities about fostering individual success while striving for equitable structures in a white-dominated industry. His columns reflected a broader shift at the Pittsburgh Courier towards aggressive pro-Black political advocacy and popular culture coverage, leading to increased popularity and influence for the paper. [Extracted from the article]

Twelve-year-old Annette Swinson burst onto New York's Black music scene in 1953. A darling of the local Black press, Swinson worked as a solo singer throughout her adolescence before replacing Arlene Smith as lead singer of the Chantels. During her career, Swinson's girlhood evoked connotations of malleability and naïvete' that were attractive to music industry men searching for salable sounds. Swinson exploited these assumptions using her extraordinary ability to transform her vocal timbre, but this strategy also complicated the record of her career. This article examines journalistic coverage of Swinson's career alongside her recorded performances to consider the possibilities afforded by her vocal shapeshifting. Beginning with Swinson's early period as a child singer, this article argues that Swinson's legibility as a child highlights the impact of legal minority as a status that denies Black girls' capacity for rational consent, prevents them from representing their own work, and leaves them vulnerable to abuse. This article also analyzes Swinson's recorded voice to demonstrate that girls like Swinson used unstable vocal identity as a choreographic technique to work around their legal disempowerment and gain access to professional opportunities. Ultimately, this article suggests that listening to vocal timbre in this way presents a method by which scholars might recognize Black girls' agency within archival silences and obfuscations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the origins and evolution of hip hop, highlighting DJ Kool Herc's pivotal role in its emergence at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, New York in 1973. Topics discussed include the debate over hip hop's starting point, the influence of artists like The Sugarhill Gang and The Last Poets, and the cultural significance of hip hop as a form of intellectual and ideological production.

This article offers a description and critical reflection upon two recent exhibits on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC): Spirit in the Dark: Religion in Black Music, Activism, and Popular Culture and Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures. The article explores the interplay of mutually reinforcing themes of faith, freedom, and futurity that emerge when examining the exhibits together. This article also demonstrates the public significance of the curation of religion and culture in museums and other cultural spaces beyond the academy and religious institutions. It further shows how religion becomes a site of critical meditation upon and creative manifestation or materialization of Black futures. As such, this article contributes to more expansive discourses on the interplay between Black studies and the study of religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genre of country music rose to prominence and notoriety during the golden age of radio in the early 1900s due to the reach of AM radio and the popularity of Nashville, Tennessee's WSM radio show the Grand Ole Opry. Broadcast from the historic Ryman Auditorium, the early pioneers of the genre included artists Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe, and Uncle Dave Macon. Among the mostly white early Opry stars, harmonica wizard DeFord Bailey, a black man from a farming family in Smith County, Tennessee, was one of the fan favorites and draws of the traveling show associated with the popular radio program. Until recent years, very few black artists like Bailey have risen to prominence in the country market; however, black music was, and still is, a major influence in the overall genre. In addition to Bailey's early contributions, the roots of country music stemmed from many different musical styles, including blues, jazz, gospel, western, folk, and hillbilly music. As the genre grew and progressed to the current era, it has continued to be influenced by various music styles while maintaining its distinct description as country music. Explored in this paper are the diverse influences on the genre from its birth to the current era, making it arguably one of the most diverse genres of music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]