Eva Anderson
Blog Post #1 GWSS
Drawing from the ways in which the “forgotten” are honored and remembered in the Day of the Dead ceremonies the same way reader and listeners are encouraged to value and understand the forgotten narratives of those who produce punk, such as the artist Alice Bag who is the critical focus in the essay written by Michelle Habell-Pallán titled “Death to Racism and Punk Rock Revisionism.” In the same article, the evaluation of the musical practices of ranchera demonstrates that the music is far more than merely the rhythm and harmony. Music is, in fact, a celebration, “beyond words, its beats and melodies evoke deep memory and transfer subtle essences that flow and travel, like wind, water, and fire, from one person to another” (Habell-Pallán, 265).
Habell-Pallán discusses the unconscious echoing that Alice Bag utilizes of the ranchero music in her punk performance. This same echoing is acknowledged in the Dia De Los Muertos celebrations practiced around the world. November 1st and 2nd is “an uplifting time to remember loved ones who have died,” according to the news article in the Chicago Tribune by Kori Rumore titled, “Anatomy of a Day of the Dead Altar.” Instead of quietly mourning the death, the lives of the dead are celebrated in the same way that Alice Bag pays tribute to the artistry of the Rancheros music. Annually, beautiful ofrendas are created, and forgotten stories and people are remembered, in that same what that artists and genres are given the agency to have a critical intervention.
DJ Selections:
The songs I have chosen are songs that echo in the same way that the Day of the dead celebrations honors one’s ancestors. The dead artists that Bob Dylan acknowledges in these two songs are, like Day of the Dead, celebrational. He allows their legacy to live on not only in their music but in the way that others uncover their stories and keep them relevant.
“Roll-On, John” (to honor John Lennon after his death)
“Blind Willie McTell” (to honor the bluesman who died before Dylan’s recording career officially began whom he)
Readings:
Habell-Pallán, Michelle. “ ‘Death to Racism and Punk Rock Revisionism’ in Alice Bag’s Vexing Voice and the Unspeakable Influence of Cancion Ranchera on Hollywood Punk” in Pop When the World Falls Apart. 2012.
Rumore, Kori, et al. “How Day of the Dead Is Celebrated (Explained in English and Spanish).” Chicagotribune.com, Chicago Tribune, 16 Sept. 2019, www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-day-of-the-dead-altar-diagram-spanish-english- 20151029-htmlstory.html.
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