This episode of radio-lab continues on last week’s exploration on square dancing and it’s cultural influence and it’s history. This week they focus on country music and the surprising cultural reach it has had. They focus on the effect that country music and western music has had on the middle east, specifically Afghanistan and even more specifically the artist Ahmad Zahid. I iked the tone of this episode a lot more than the previous one. It feels more light-hearted and optimistic. Music is something that connects people all around the world and is a way that we express love, sadness, happiness, heartbreak, and everything in-between it really is a magical thing and I’m glad that they went with a happy tone to help convey that. Typically in mainstream media the middle east is painted impoverished and third-world but in this podcast they really do paint a very modern picture of Afghanistan. Right at the start o the podcast they talk about why country music is popular in the first place and the reason is that feeling of something lost. After modernization the loss of the feeling of country and a rural lifestyle where things are simpler. This really helps to show that Afghanistan was not third world and was very modern through association with the popularity of country music there. Their choice to focus in on Ahmad Zahir’s music specifically was also a really good choice in my opinion as this allows them to talk more concretely about the effects that music can have on a society. When an artist is so ubiquitous that the artist is universally loved this really does significantly impact a society. In Seattle grunge music is associated with the early 90s, music becomes a way that we distinguish time periods and movements and focusing on Ahmad Zahir pulls the focus to the cultural revolution that was about to hit Afghanistan. Another thing they do really well is pulling away from the music when they talk about the death of Ahmad Zahir, they keep the good vibes in the portion where they talk specifically about the music and the effect it had, when they move towards the political side of the discussion the tone has a notable shift and there is a musical queue that actually denotes this when they begin talking about Ahmad’s death. On a semi-related note when they talk about the connotation of western music specifically American country music and how the world perceives American culture. It used to mean progressive, happy, and culturally enlightened. It’s interesting to see how that perception has changed so drastically in recent years. When the hosts talk about the way America was back then it sounds nostalgic and it makes sense because now when you say American to the rest of the world we are associated with whatever the president has said or done. America was never perfect, in the midst of the civil rights movement the world saw us as still progressive it’s interesting to see exactly what will cause a shift in the way a country is perceived especially with the internet.
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Hello Jimmy,
This is the first podcast I have heard of demonstrating the effects of music on cultural dynamics. I find it extremely interesting, that country, of all genres, was the music of choice in an area such as Afghanistan. By looking at the different popular genres of music throughout history, we can develop a sense of the cultural values and mood of the time period. Clearly, the country music era in Afghanistan brought positive vibes to the lives of the people as demonstrated through the podcast’s narrative features. It is also interesting that you noticed the mood shift in the music era due to its leader, Ahmad Zahir’s, death. This is a narrative feature used in many different podcasts to change the mindset of the listeners but still demonstrating the lasting effect of music on the cultural revolution. The different cultural aspects of a country tend to align with the mood of the era. We can track the changes in music with the different cultural eras. I notice that the music today is actually quite variable especially in Seattle. The large cultural variation and differing interests in Seattle probably lead to the large variety of popular music in this area. I am curious about the impact, if any, the music of our generation will have on our lives. I also can connect with the idea that artists that are ubiquitously liked by the general public tend to have a longer lasting impact. Music throughout time has been proven to influence many aspects of citizens lives and tends to demonstrate common perceptions of certain time periods.
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Great analysis of the narrative features used herein the Radiolab Podcast episode Songs that Cross Borders Jimmy! It’s very interesting how you brought up how perspective, a huge theme on my second blog post featuring Serial S2E2 The Golden Chicken, of a country is perceived from the outside and how this can, in turn, influenced music.
While in the three podcasts I reviewed from Season 2 of the Serial series never explicitly mentioned the music used in the podcast (apart from that addressed in the credits) it is used heavily throughout the series. From my best understanding, other than its aesthetic pleasure the music helped prompt the mood of the listener similar to how movies use intense music during action scenes or sad music during emotional scenes. You do a great job in your analysis referring to this in terms of how country music has become significant in cultures that have moved toward more sophistication and further away from more rural communities. How country music is popular because of the history it implies and memories it brings back, sparking strong emotional connection similar to that used in movies and the serial podcasts.
Another aspect very similar to my analysis was Afghanistan. While the Season 2 Serial podcasts recount a story being told in Afghanistan and this podcast describes the cultural influences of music in Afghanistan, the Serial unavoidably mentions many aspects of the culture of Afghanistan including its music and, often misconstrued, view of the United States and its citizens.
The choice of music adds to the podcast in terms of making it more pleasurable to listen to but also making the listeners more emotionally connected to the podcast. Describing Afghanistan allowed for both your and my respective podcasts to give background about the importance of music and these stories have to the country itself.
Overall great analysis Jimmy. I look forward to reading more of your reviews!