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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Production Of Popular Music As A Confidence Game: The Case Of The Chicago Blues, David Grazian
The Production Of Popular Music As A Confidence Game: The Case Of The Chicago Blues, David Grazian
David Grazian
In this article I argue that the production of live music shares many formal properties with that of confidence games: specifically, (1) a set of structural relationships in which operators, ropers, insiders, shills and marks are enmeshed, (2) the deployment of carefully planned strategies of deception, and (3) a pattern of success owed in part to the moral and financial motivations of insiders, the willingness of the state to assist in the enterprise, and the desire among victims to be swayed by the production. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in some of Chicago’s most popular blues clubs, I examine these …
Opportunities For Ethnography In The Sociology Of Music, David Grazian
Opportunities For Ethnography In The Sociology Of Music, David Grazian
David Grazian
Since the 1920s the sociological study of music has greatly benefited from the contributions made by researchers who use ethnographic methods in their work, and in this article I review some of this noteworthy scholarship. I argue that the last 10 years have seen a flourishing of ethnography on the relationships between music and, respectively, gender, place, and globalization. I conclude by identifying three topics that could benefit from further ethnographic study: the use of popular music in the marketing of urban areas; the production process within the culture industries; and the consumption of music in real time and space.