Men and Popular Music in Algeria : The Social Significance of Raï

Rating:
Summary: Arab males, Arab music
Review: I was searching for books on Arab masculinity and I am pleased that I stumbled upon this text. This was an interesting example of ethnomusicology. Schade-Poulsen produces an extensive, almost exhaustive, look into rai, including how the music is produced, why it is (un)popular in the West, what some Algerian men think of it, what happens in the cabarets and weddings where it originated, etc.

As a Western reader, I was fascinated to see how this Arab phenomenon differs from its Western counterparts. In the West, recording artists beg for attention, whereas the rai musicians seemed to avoid it. Here, youth rebel against their parents by playing music loudly that the older generation fears or just doesn't get. In this book, it is stressed how young men don't listen to rai in front of their fathers out of "respect." In the West, artists usually don't cover another artist's song unless the other artist is older or dead. In Algerian music settings, musicians perform anybody's latest hit.

Similarly, this book offers a much different view of a predominately Islamic country compared to what Western media usually shows. Though this book was published before September 11, 2001, recent history especially makes this contrast important. Schade-Poulsen describes few of the Algerians that he met as having any interest in fundamentalist political movements. Like young guys in the West, the men here just want to have fun and be boastful. Though Islam condemns alcohol and prostitution, both are mentioned here often, and in a way that shows no embarassment from those interviewed.

Whereas America's New York, Hollywood, and Washington, D.C. have their distinct purposes for fame, most countries have capitols where all the action takes place. This book, in contrast, focuses on Oran, the birthplace of rai, as opposed to Algiers. Similar to Liverpool in Britain or Abiza in Spain, this book illustrates how music scenes may thrive outside of "the City."

The big question on my mind is whether this book could be described as "men's studies" or not. The author mentions that due to Algerian customs on gender segregation, he was not allowed to interview female rai performers and listeners. This book does examine Algerian men's opinions on gender and manliness. It says much about male-female/heterosexual relations, infra. Still, this look at men is by default.

Different people will prefer different chapters. Some may like the description of rai's production. Others may prefer the discussion of how rai listeners practice or put off practicing Islam. Others may like the interviews of rai fans and detractors. Still, some may feel that the chapters took such different directions as to make the book feel motley or hodgepodge.

My biggest struggle with this book is how sexism is left unchallenged. If the author critiqued his Algerian male subjects, he may have come off as imperialist and racist. Further, such a critique may have warded off interviewees from telling what they really think. Still, the way that women are placed as second-class citizens so uncritically here disturbed me. Too, in this book, Arab men praise white women and badmouth Arab ones. This may be an example of the grass being greener on the other side. (Let's be honest, some Western men, across racial identifications, often talk about their desire for a foreign wife from the developing world.) Still, it came off as both sexist and Eurocentric, highly problematic.

Schade-Poulsen states that his research interests focus on male-female relations. So did the subject fit his interest or did he make it do so? I wonder whether the chapter called "The Rai of Love" was his concern more than his interviewee subjects.

I also have questions on this work. He mentions that he was only in Oran for a few weeks or a season. I find it odd that he could witness so much and meet so many people in such a small amount of time. He quotes often from Virolle-Souibes. I am impressed with how multilingual the author is. But did he just take that writer's ideas and translate them for English-reading audiences?

Despite any critiques, I appreciated this book immensely. I hope more academics, both Arab and Western, write compelling books on Arab men.

Rating:
Summary: Arab males, Arab music
Review: I was searching for books on Arab masculinity and I am pleased that I stumbled upon this text. This was an interesting example of ethnomusicology. Schade-Poulsen produces an extensive, almost exhaustive, look into rai, including how the music is produced, why it is (un)popular in the West, what some Algerian men think of it, what happens in the cabarets and weddings where it originated, etc.

As a Western reader, I was fascinated to see how this Arab phenomenon differs from its Western counterparts. In the West, recording artists beg for attention, whereas the rai musicians seemed to avoid it. Here, youth rebel against their parents by playing music loudly that the older generation fears or just doesn't get. In this book, it is stressed how young men don't listen to rai in front of their fathers out of "respect." In the West, artists usually don't cover another artist's song unless the other artist is older or dead. In Algerian music settings, musicians perform anybody's latest hit.

Similarly, this book offers a much different view of a predominately Islamic country compared to what Western media usually shows. Though this book was published before September 11, 2001, recent history especially makes this contrast important. Schade-Poulsen describes few of the Algerians that he met as having any interest in fundamentalist political movements. Like young guys in the West, the men here just want to have fun and be boastful. Though Islam condemns alcohol and prostitution, both are mentioned here often, and in a way that shows no embarassment from those interviewed.

Whereas America's New York, Hollywood, and Washington, D.C. have their distinct purposes for fame, most countries have capitols where all the action takes place. This book, in contrast, focuses on Oran, the birthplace of rai, as opposed to Algiers. Similar to Liverpool in Britain or Abiza in Spain, this book illustrates how music scenes may thrive outside of "the City."

The big question on my mind is whether this book could be described as "men's studies" or not. The author mentions that due to Algerian customs on gender segregation, he was not allowed to interview female rai performers and listeners. This book does examine Algerian men's opinions on gender and manliness. It says much about male-female/heterosexual relations, infra. Still, this look at men is by default.

Different people will prefer different chapters. Some may like the description of rai's production. Others may prefer the discussion of how rai listeners practice or put off practicing Islam. Others may like the interviews of rai fans and detractors. Still, some may feel that the chapters took such different directions as to make the book feel motley or hodgepodge.

My biggest struggle with this book is how sexism is left unchallenged. If the author critiqued his Algerian male subjects, he may have come off as imperialist and racist. Further, such a critique may have warded off interviewees from telling what they really think. Still, the way that women are placed as second-class citizens so uncritically here disturbed me. Too, in this book, Arab men praise white women and badmouth Arab ones. This may be an example of the grass being greener on the other side. (Let's be honest, some Western men, across racial identifications, often talk about their desire for a foreign wife from the developing world.) Still, it came off as both sexist and Eurocentric, highly problematic.

Schade-Poulsen states that his research interests focus on male-female relations. So did the subject fit his interest or did he make it do so? I wonder whether the chapter called "The Rai of Love" was his concern more than his interviewee subjects.

I also have questions on this work. He mentions that he was only in Oran for a few weeks or a season. I find it odd that he could witness so much and meet so many people in such a small amount of time. He quotes often from Virolle-Souibes. I am impressed with how multilingual the author is. But did he just take that writer's ideas and translate them for English-reading audiences?

Despite any critiques, I appreciated this book immensely. I hope more academics, both Arab and Western, write compelling books on Arab men.