26 research outputs found
Intelligent Equalisation Principles and Techniques for Minimising Masking when Mixing the Extreme Modern Metal Genre.
No full textThe intensity, complexity and energy of performance, combined with the power and density of the tones involved are characteristics of the extreme metal genre. These characteristics present numerous problems when striving to achieve the clarity, definition and hyper-realism of performance required for this genres production. Avoiding masking in a mix is a fundamental
aspect of clarity, definition, intelligibility and perceived loudness and due to the fact that masking especially occurs in a dense mix, and is more pronounced in low frequencies, is particularly applicable to mixing the downtuned extreme metal genre. Masking in simple terms is the ability of frequencies of one sound to obscure or inhibit (i.e. mask) the frequencies of
another sound. This paper will draw upon the first author’s eight years of experience producing within the metal genre, including releases through Sony and Universal and working with the likes of Colin Richardson and Andy Sneap
Dreaming of drams: Authenticity in Scottish whisky tourism as an expression of unresolved Habermasian rationalities
No full textIn this paper, the production of whisky tourism at both independently owned and corporately owned distilleries in Scotland is explored by focusing on four examples (Arran, Glengoyne, Glenturret and Bruichladdich). In particular, claims of authenticity and Scottishness of Scottish whiskies through commercial materials, case studies, website-forum discussions and 'independent' writing about such whisky are analysed. It is argued that the globalisation and commodification of whisky and whisky tourism, and the communicative backlash to these trends typified by the search for authenticity, is representative of a Habermasian struggle between two irreconcilable rationalities. This paper will demonstrate that the meaning and purpose of leisure can be understood through such explorations of the tension between the instrumentality of commodification and the freedom of individuals to locate their own leisure lives in the lifeworld that remains. © 2011 Taylor & Francis
Is Emo Metal? Gendered Boundaries and New Horizons in the Metal Community
No full textThis article examines debates in Kerrang! magazine around emo’s position in the metal community. The author asks: Why is emo vilified and rejected in British metal magazines, what can debates around emo reveal about the gendered nature of metal, and what potential for new envisionings of metal do they encapsulate? As the only British weekly magazine to focus on metal and hard rock, Kerrang! fulfils a pedagogical role in the metal community, establishing a canon of musical works, and a history and ideology of the genre. Fans are vividly represented in its letters pages, their words and images used to disseminate Kerrang!’s ideology of metal. The reported increase in female readership in 2006 has been attributed to the coverage of “emo” bands, such as My Chemical Romance, who have a majority of women fans. This coverage has provoked debate and censure in the magazine’s letters pages, debate that illuminates gender relations and allows new consideration of the gendering of the metal community. Inspired by Barthes’s Mythologies, the author performs a semiotic reading of Kerrang!’s June letters pages between 2000 and 2008 in order to understand the gendered myths forged and propagated by the design, images, content and editorial treatment portrayed. Employing Thornton’s concept of the gendered mainstream, the author delineates the implications of Kerrang!’s myths for female fans, arguing that the influx of female emo fans reading Kerrang! has caused a revolt amongst fans of more established metal bands, who represent the magazine and emo as feminised, akin to the mainstream. The author concludes that whilst debates around emo are rooted in the metal community’s conservative ideas about gender, the presence of many vocal young fans open to ideas of fluidity of gender allows us to conceive of a more inclusive metal community in which gender boundaries are less constrained
Sports Fans and Fan Culture: A Critical Reflection on Fandom as Communicative Leisure in a Commodified World
No full textThis critical reflection tries to understand sports fandom and sports fan culture by framing it in wider forms of fandom: music fandom and SF fandom. The reflection involves a review of key literature on sports fandom and wider fan cultures, but the main methodological focus is a critical reflection on the author's own fandoms. Specifically, the reflection returns to a PhD on rugby league and rugby union in the north of England, the first major ethnographic study undertaken by the author, before re-engaging with other forms of fandom in his personal life and his published research. New research is undertaken for this project in the form of personal reflections on fandom in the author’s own autobiography. The author argues that fandoms are important leisure spaces shaped by commodification, but which are still spaces where identity and community can be constructed by individual agency
How a turn to critical race theory can contribute to our understanding of 'race', racism and anti-racism in sport
No full textAs long as racism has been associated with sport there have been consistent, if not coordinated or coherent, struggles to confront its various forms. Critical race theory (CRT) is a framework established to challenge these racialized inequalities and racism in society and has some utility for anti-racism in sport. CRT's focus on social justice and transformation are two areas of convergence between critical race theorists and anti-racists. Of the many nuanced and pernicious forms of racism, one of the most obvious and commonly reported forms of racism in sport, racial abuse, has been described as a kind of dehumanizing process by Gardiner (2003), as those who are its target are simultaneously (re)constructed and objectified according to everyday myth and fantasy. However, this is one of the many forms of everyday racist experiences. Various forms of racism can be experienced in boardrooms, on television, in print, in the stands, on the sidelines and on the pitch. Many times racism is trivialized and put down as part of the game (Long et al., 2000), yet its impact is rarely the source of further exploration. This article will explore the conceptualization of 'race' and racism for a more effective anti-racism. Critical race theory will also be used to explore the ideas that underpin considerations of the severity of racist behaviour and the implications for anti-racism. © The Author(s) 2010
Introduction: Social theory and Social Movements - 21st century innovations and contentions
No full textCopyright © The Author(s) 2022. Since its establishment in 1977, Capital and Class has provided a critical space for scholars and activists to explore existing and new forms of socio-political struggles and movements in and against capital. A range of theoretical perspectives have also been employed by Capital and Class authors to make sense of these movements, which, among others, include Open Marxism, social movement theory, critical urban approaches, Gramscian, autonomist and post-structural perspectives. This special issue builds on, develops and extends this rich tradition in Capital and Class by interrogating the ways in which social theory can be used to understand and analyse 21st-century extra-parliamentary political, cultural and social movements across the world. In particular, the special issue contributes to the field of social and political movements by offering papers that ask (1) how can contemporary collective action critically advance social theoretical ideas, and (2) what new tools of inquiry can build on existing theoretical approaches to enhance our critical understanding of social movements
Author Correction: Identification of genetic effects underlying type 2 diabetes in South Asian and European populations
No full textAuthor Correction to: Identification of genetic effects underlying type 2 diabetes in South Asian and European population
