Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present

BOOK REVIEW
Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present
by Chirstopher I. Beckwith
p. 2009
Princeton University Press


   In a certain sense, you could state that the entire pre-History and History of humanity can be described by depicting the fall in prominence of Central Asia from its position of shaper of all that was to come in pre-History, through the great Empires of the Classic and Medieval Periods down to Central Asia's present status as an economically depressed, under-educated, war-torn back water.

  So far has the geographic area described in this book fallen that it does not even register on the radar of most contemporary West European/Americans as a location at all.  Instead, Central Asia is known more for some of the nations that are located there- Afghanistan, for one, Tibet, for another then for its identity as a region.  That's a pity, because considering the amount of money we are shoveling into Central Asia, you would think, we, as a nation, would have a vested interest in knowing the history of the place.

  Beckwith starts with an abiding interest in the Indo European diaspora and does an excellent job describing the common characteristics of the daughter cultures.  Chief among the ideas is the "Comitatus."  The Comitatus is a group of armed, mounted warriors whose loyalty lay with the chief of the tribe (as supposed to with a specific people, empire or nation.)  The Comitatus was tied to their leader by blood and honor- the idea of a "blood brother" is specifically derived from Indo-European roots.  Although likely originated in the proto-Indo European morass, the Comitatus was not limited to PIE speakers- the Mongols as well as other non PIE descended speakers adopted it to great impact throughout history.  In the Arab world, the Turks brought Comitatus to the Middle East via the Mamaluk tradition.

  The primary pre-Historical dynamic that Beckwith illuminates is the role that agriculture played in pre-Historic times. The so-called "Nomadic" peoples of pre-Historic times farmed as well as herded, and Beckwith repeatedly makes the strong point that viewing Indo European and later expansion and diffusion through the filter of the desire to control trade makes just as much sense as any previous explanation.   He notes that the Scythians, a northern Iranian speaking barbarian people known to the Greeks for their wild ways and red hair, were setting up wheat farms specifically to export to the Greek colonies of the Black Sea and the main land in the period 300-200 BC.

    The historical diffusion of the Indo European speakers lasted from 2000 BC all the way to the edge of the Christian era, in three successive waves, after which remaining Indo Europeans in Central Asia (mostly the Iranians and their descendants) duked it out with peoples from the East: Tibetans, Chinese, Turks and Mongols, in a process that ended up with them being displaced out of Central Asia and taking their present day locations and merging with the peoples already in residence.

   Under the Turks and Mongols, Central Asia reached the height of prominence in the early Middle Ages, a time when other World Areas were struggling- Western Europe comes to mind.  Central Asians, particularly the little-known Sogdian people, influenced the rising Arab Caliphate as well as the Chinese Dynasties, and the intellectual achievements between about 300 and 800 AD were first class.  Under the Mongols, the Silk Road had a "pax-Mongolia" where trade and wealth rose to unmatched heights.  Mongol rule was disrupted by the plague, and after that Central Eurasia suffered a long term decline that was persisted up to today.

  The Silk Road was displaced by the "Maritime Littoral" otherwise known to Western Europeans and their progeny as the "Age of Discovery," starting in the 16th century.  That displacement was solidified by the 19th century partition of Central Asia between Russia and China.  Since then it has been "all downhill" as they say. It's almost impossible to imagine a return to global prominence for Central Asia.  Perhaps there is some grand world-historical lesson there, but I'm inclined to think not.

  Regardless of the present situation, the incredible success of the Indo European daughter languages makes those ancestor cultures of interest to anyone who's trying to "show how we are all one people,"  promote peace, global understanding, cross cultural communication etc.  Particularly when it comes to places like Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan this history bears directly on our experiences there and the lessons should be heeded.

The Three Waves of Indo European Migration in Pre-History

  The major error of Indo European studies is the FALSE equation of "Indo European Language" with "Indo European Race" or "Aryan Race."  The fact is that Race is a concept that doesn't really exist in any universal sense, whereas language is in many ways the very foundation of human culture.

 One of the issues with Pre-History is the lack of written history itself.  This limits sources to non-historical scientific fields like archeology and linguistics.  For Indo European studies, linguistics has proved particularly important because of a combination of twentieth century inaccessibility to archeological sites in Central Asia and the Middle East and the Greek/Latin/Sanskrit comparison itself being both a seminal moment in Indo European Studies AND the foundation of comparative linguistics.

  The main debate in linguistics as it concerns Indo European Studies is what the different Indo Euroepan daughter languages can tell us about WHERE "Proto-Indo-European" speakers CAME FROM.  For a looongggg time the debate focused on finding a "right" answer, but the debate was marred by errors made by earlier linguists.  Current linguistics favors a 'three wave model' of diaspora, with groups spinning off from the center at different times in (pre) History.

   Group A, the first language is Anatolian (present Turkey) and Tokharian (eastern Asia).  Group B is Germanic, Italic, Greek, Indic and Armenian.  Group C is Celtic, Slavic, Baltic Albanian and Iranian.  If you add in the archeological findings in places like the Tarim Basin, the departure/split for Group A is about 2000 BC.  Group B comes as early as 1600 BC and then Group C runs all the way into the "Christian" era.  There was also interaction among the different daughter languages, both between and in-between groups.  For example, Indo-Iranian is commonly referred to as a family, even though under this model Indic proceeds Iranian.

White People in Kafiristan & The War on Terror

  These are  photographs is of native children who lives in northwest Pakistan.  It comes from a photo set labelled Kalash, Chitral.  The Kalash language is from an obscure branch of the indo european language family.  The Kalash live in the part of Pakistan known as the "north west province."  I will guarantee you a million dollars that when most people think about islamic terrorism and the impact our behavior is having in that part of the world, they are wholly unaware that people who look like this- i.e. white- live in THAT part of the world.

  Here is another one:



  Check out this entire photo set.  Pakistan, people. Pakistan.

Show Review: Crystal Stilts, Young Prisms, GHOST SHORES

SHOW REVIEW
Crystal Stilts
Young Prisms
Ghost Shores
at the Casbah, San Diego

   When I heard Dirty Beaches "True Blue" for the first time (on You Tube, of course.) the band that leapt to mind was Crystal Stilts.  When I heard that Zoo Music was going to be putting out Badlands as an LP, I went on-line and looked up the history of the Slumberland/Crystal Stilts relationship. Suffice it to say that I have listened to and thought about Crystal Stilts as much as any band between 2009 and today, even though I've never written about them on this blog.

    When I heard Alright of Night for the first time, it had already been out for a period.  Crystal Stilts, because of the timing and location of their ascent, was not a band I was following before their rise to prominence.  As they mentioned last night, last time through town was in 2008 itself and they played before 15 people at the Che Cafe.  I know I wasn't there- I don't even think I knew that the show was happening or who the bands were.  Embarrassing for me.

  Last night was better, but not the huge draw that I, personally, would expect based on my own level of interest.  I guess it goes to show how out of touch my personal taste is with even the more hard core concert goers of the San Diego CA.  The lack of popularity and/or ability to fully vibe with the popular taste of the market where I live is troubling, but not a game breaker.  It's a fact that bands I think should sell out shows will not sell out shows on a more or less regular basis forever.  I get that.

   Local openers GHOST SHORES began with an attention grabbing set, not to mention an audience of their own (younger looking women.)  They are all San Diego based, but have a relationship with the Murrieta based Brent Trudgers run Hi-Shadow Records.  The revelation of the night was their 19yo female singer, who easily brought to mind comparisons with Siouxsie, and of course more recent models like Tamaryn and Zola.  Polished she isn't, but she actually jumped into the crowd during her set- something I've never seen Tamaryn or Zola do.  The band though- a conventional rock three piece needs some work and/or rethinking.  The skittery indie rock simply did not do the singer justice.  I suppose you could view it as an interesting artistic choice, and as long as the singer is under 21 there is no rush, but I think she would be better supported by synths.  I say to young artists if you are going to emulate a singing style, Siouxsie Sioux, with her decades long career and pop-cross over appeal is a worthy inspiration. Go for it, ladies.

    Young Prisms were fresh off of their role as support act on the Fresh & Onlys, Crocodiles tour.  The reports  from the road on Young Prisms were enthusiastic, and that was backed by the presence of recently arrived members of Crocodiles and Dum Dum Girls at the show, supporting, as it were.   Young Prisms is a four piece from San Francisco- female lead singer.  I'm quite sure that the dismissive Pitchfork review of their most recent record didn't give them enough credit.  Or maybe they just need to work on their recording technique.  First, Stephanie Hodapp as a vocalist was between "good" and "great"- certainly not something which detracted from the experience as Larry Fitzmaurice claimed about the recordings.  Second, I know Pitchfork doesn't give credit for being an actual band that tours and plays shows and, you know, actually exists, unlike so many of their favorite artists, but to me that means something.  Young Prisms has a good live show, and they are super young and ready to commit to growing as artists and live performers.  That counts.  I say they are worth checking out, and further, that they are worth getting behind as a live act.

  Crystal Stilts took the stage a leetle late for my taste.  Again, for the second time in three nights it was a disappointing to sad audience.  I'm not one to get hung up on things that DIDN'T happen, but if I was Crystal Stilts I would be contemplating by passing San Diego on the next trip through.  Maybe give Santa Barbara or Costa Mesa a shot.  They are touring as a five piece and sounded just as distinctive in person as on record.  In fact, I couldn't help but think about the comparitive trajectories between Crystal Stilts and another band that shares some commonalities in terms of ascent, but differences in trajectory: Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

  It occurred to me during last night's show that Crystal Stilts Brad Hargett and Pains Kip Berman are kind of like mirror images of each other, one embracing the light (Kip) and one embracing the dark. (Brad)  I'd imagine that is nothing more then an airy artistic fantasy spun by someone who doesn't know "how things work" in the big city aka Brooklyn, but there is something about the narrative of the out-of-towner who moves to New York City and makes it in an indie rock band that resonates outside the limited milleu of the indie rock scene.  It's a cross over story, with pop appeal, but I think it's easy to see that Crystal Stilts is not interested in getting there and that's Alright with me.  Enjoy the road, that's what I say.
   

Can We Talk Northern European Summer Festivals For a Minute?

  Something I've noticed in the last two weeks is how the summer festival season is, essentially, the 'pay-off' for indie rock bands.  It's like for Lions, when the Wildebeasts come to the water hole in the summer, and the Lioness kills a half dozen and drags the corpses up a tree...for later.


  Summer festivals are great because:
a)  they pay well.
b) no one gives a shit.
c) if you want to pull off a stunt you have a big stage to do it on.


  To get on a summer festival line-up you need a booking agent at a well known agency, but once you are there it is gravy my friend, pure gravy.


  So here is one that is cool looking: The Festival de-Affaire at Valhofpark in Nijmegen, Netherlands.  Who's playing? Glad you asked:  Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, The Books, Avi Buffalo, Dirty Beaches & Crocodiles.  It looks fun to me.  The Festival de -Affaire runs from July 16th through the 22nd.


  That same time there is a little festival I like to call the Hultsfredsfestivalen.  It goes off the 14th through 16th of July, and it has a killer line up, also.  It includes The Prodigy, Cut Copy, Prodigy, Beach House, Armand Van Helden, Duck Sauce, Dirty Beaches and Dum Dum Girls. The Hultsfredsfestivalen is located at Hultsfreds Hembygdspark, south of Stockholm in Sweden.


  It would be cool if the Dum Dum Girls played the Festival de-Affaire and the Crocodiles  could play Hultsfredsfestivalen in Sweden, then they could all share travel expenses. 

TONIGHT @ CASBAH: CRYSTAL STILTS, YOUNG PRISMS, GHOST SHORES

GHOST SHORES PHOTO BY ATOMIZEME (FLICKR PROFILE)

TONIGHT AT THE CASBAH

CRYSTAL STILTS
YOUNG PRISMS
GHOST SHORES

GHOST SHORES HAS MUSIC OUT ON HI SHADOW RECORDS  (FACEBOOK PROFILE HI SHADOW) WHICH IM PRETTY SURE IS BRENT FROM TRUDGERS LABEL.


GHOST SHORES:  YOU ARE APPROVED. LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THE LIVE SHOW.  (BAND CAMP)

BY ALL ACCOUNTS YOUNG PRISMS "KILLED IT" ON THE CROCODILES/FRESH N ONLYS TOUR: RECOMMENDED!!!!

Show Review: Whither the Vivian Girls? No Joy, PLATEAUS

Show Review
Vivian Girls*
No Joy
PLATEAUS
San Diego, CA.
Casbah

Also last night (not attended):
Beach Fossils
Craft Spells
Writer
San Diego, CA.
Soda Bar

* didn't stay.

   The Vivian Girls are as real a "victim" of rock critics as any band in all the land.  Whether it's questioning their "direction,"  wondering about whether they are "over" or just being a misogynist who is afraid of women who are doing their own thing, I have read it all about the Vivian Girls, and I can't help but be a little pissed off by the tone of much of the rock criticism of this act.  In all honesty, I think part of the soap-opera vibe that surrounds the Vivian Girls is a product of their location at the center of the blog-gossip maelstrom.  On their most recent record, they didn't make any effort to distance themselves from that physical environment, so I would have to assume that they are fine with it.

  I think it's just important to note at a factual level that the Beach Fossils, Craft Spells, Writer concert across town at the Soda Bar was sold out according to tweets I read during the No Joy set.  That would certainly explain the low attendance for the Vivian Girls.  I do think it is worth noting that San Diego is a price sensitive market and that pricing the wrong show at 12 or 15 could lessen attendance by 100 or more on an early week night.

 Art Fag Recordings PLATEAUS (SOUNDCLOUD) led off the night. I find that the marker of a band on the rise is that they can actually, like, perform in a convincing manner in front of the Casbah crowd on a Monday or Tuesday night, even if people are kind of still waking up and/or not present.  I will say that I think you could make the case that PLATEAUS drew equal to the Vivian Girls, based on the absence of obvious Vivian Girls fans.  Personally, I think the PLATEAUS have the potential to broadly appeal to rock audiences in cities less jaded then San Diego, but they will have to hit the road to get that response.  They had def. improved since their last show in terms of "tightness"- it was noticeable and commented upon by companions at the show.

  Mexican Summer's Canadian based NO JOY was in the role of main support, and it was easy to see why. They have a two girl/two guy conventional rock four piece arrangement but present like a more muscular "rock" edition of Pearl Harbour/Puro Instinct.  Certainly, the half full Casbah was kept at attention.  Lots of potential to develop there and this was a good opening act slot.

  Unfortunately, I had to leave before the Vivian Girls played, but I would expect that they would be disappointed by the turn out.  I am surprised that Beach Fossils sold out and Vivian Girls was half full, especially since it was Casbah/Soda Bar.  I'm totally opposed to creating horse race environments in the local scene, but at a national level it is hard to draw the conclusion that Beach Fossils is a band on the ups.  I think Vivian Girls have a lot to be proud of and it's a fucking shame that (male) rock critics can't appreciate it because they are sexist a*******.  Back the f*** off the Vivian Girls already.

Friends, Influences & Appearances: A New Artist's Guide To Blogging

  To boil it down to an acronym, "F.I.A.: Friends, Influences & Appearances."

  In the beginning, there is a band or a solo artist, with the following assets:  1. Name.  2. Song/Songs 3. Friends.  The problem is, how do you go from that, to being a recognized Artist with an album length release, booking agent and fans (as evidenced by a mailing list, streaming plays on the internet, and acknowledgment by critics.)

  One of the impacts of digital era technology is the explosion in the number of Artists who are "getting in the game" with zero prior experience.  The break-through success of a few of these artists serves to obscure the ground work that they do to create the appearance of a "break-through."  One of the main things that new Artists in this category need to bear in mind is that jumping high is easier if you are standing on a platform that is raised off the ground.  That pre-fashioned step can take the form of work in prior bands, professional experience inside the music industry or even formal education, but if you lack any of these traits, you might want to consider starting with a blog.

   Blogs are good because they allow the new Artist total control over their image.  Unfortunately, merely starting a blog does not ensure an audience, and that is where the "FIA" acronym comes in handy- following those three principles is the best way to develop an audience for your project.

   1.  FRIENDS:  For the ground-zero Artist, nothing is more important then friends.  Friends are more important then Shows, more important then Songs and frankly, even more important then the underlying merit of Songs. Friends are people who will pay attention to your project EVEN IF IT SUCKS.  A key insight that I feel is often missing from younger artists is that they can band together in a group to help one of their number rise in prominence- it's not always predictable who and how it will happen, but if you are sitting in a room, reading this on a computer monitor, you need to realize your chances are better in a group then all alone.  This grouping can be as simple as "we all go to the same high school.;" or "we put on diy shows together."  More advanced examples can be starting a record label, forming side projects, but generally speaking the idea here is to generate activity that the non-interested can take notice of.   The "FRIENDS" level is where the internet truly makes it possible for "SOMETHING" to arise from "NOTHING" provided there is underlying merit in at least one of the Artists.

   2.  INFLUENCES:  I think many  young Artists feel like the first thing to do after starting a blog is to "POST A SONG" but this is a big mistake.  It's more important that you establish some context for people who are going to be listening to you on the internet.  There should be no shame in not feeling prepared to post original songs, provided you limit the information provided on your blog.  The obvious solution is by blogging about "INFLUENCES."  Influences can be classic acts from decades ago, bands that are still in existence or your buddies projects. Influences can be musical or non-musical.  By blogging about influences, you can create an audience for your own music, so choose wisely and carefully.

    3. APPEARANCES:  If you have managed to generate some measurable attention from FRIENDS & INFLUENCES, you can use your blog to discuss Appearances, either of you, or your FRIENDS projects.  The key here is not the size of the audience for these Appearances, only that an audience an exist and the idea that it ought to be expanded over the course of time.

    The idea behind using a blog to promote a specific artistic project lies in providing CONTEXT to the AUDIENCE.  It is also a useful way to generate feedback.  A lack of interest is negative feedback.  An email from a record label is positive feedback.  New Artists need to be equally prepared for both, but there is no reason to speed the songs being made public- that is the beauty of the Internet and Technology for new Artists.

  
    It also opens this process up to much smaller geographic areas then was possible prior to technology.  Personally, I think an Audience of 50 people in a specific city is enough to generate interest to launch a musical act nationally.  According to my Business Control Atlas, there are 316 different markets in the United States alone with more then 12,000 people between the age of 18-34.  50 people is less then one half of one percent (60 people.)  Those same markets each have at least 10,000 people between the age of 5-17- perhaps the low end for a potential audience, but certainly young people can play an equal or greater role- especially today. That 316 market figure contains every city in the United States with more then 55,000 population.

  In conclusion, if you are one person in a small town with artistic inclinations reading this and wondering what to do next, you could do worse then "start a blog and find one person to read it who lives nearby."  Nor is this process limited to those big markets- Oxford Mississippi boasts a variation on what is described in this post, and they don't even belong to a specifically defined market. (close to Memphis and Jackson, though.)

The Ennis Diamond & The Eighth Stream: Important Relationships in American Popular Music

     In his awesome, The Seventh Stream: The Emergence of Rocknroll in American Popular Music, author Philip Ennis describes the relationships common to all "streams" of American Popular Music.  He describes it in the shape of a "diamond" thus "Ennis Diamond" because each corner of the diamond has a relationship with the corresponding corners.  The four tips of the diamond are:

  Artists
  Audience
  Critic
  Distributor

     Each stream of Popular Music (Pop, Country Pop, Black Pop, Gospel, Folk, Jazz, Rock) can be described in terms of the Ennis Diamond, and one can show how Streams can have similarities and differences, both in terms of the tips of the diamond, as well as the relationships between the tips.

   On a personal level, the Ennis Diamond comports with some of the topics I've covered on this blog- particularly the characteristics of the Audience as one of these important "tips" of the Ennis Diamond.

    Using this terminology, a critic could also hypothesize an "eighth stream," perhaps consisting of "electronic pop" or "foreign pop."  You can also use the Ennis Diamond to describe the impact of a specific technological change among Artists of each stream, or how that same technological change allows specific Artists to "cross" the streams.

The Seventh Stream: The Emergence of Rocknroll in American Popular Music

BOOK REVIEW
The Seventh Stream:
The Emergence of Rocknroll in American Popular Music
by Philip H. Ennis
Wesleyan University Press
p.  1992

    A note on vocabulary- Ennis uses the term "Rocknroll" to refer to the formative period of "rock and roll."  He distinguishes rocknroll from the later period of "rock."  Basically, rocknroll is what happened before 1965 and "rock" happened afterwards.  It's not a usage that has caught on in any significant way since the publication of this book in 1992, and perhaps that is unfortunate, because I, for one, happen to agree that "everything changed" in the mid 1960s, and that the changes weren't for the better.

  Eninis' main thesis is that rocknroll was the synthesis of the six pre-existing "streams" of American popular music:  Pop (Tin Pan Alley/Brill Building), Black Pop, Country Pop, Gospel, Jazz and Folk.  In the first section of The Seventh Stream, Ennis focuses on the "assembly" of the six distinct streams against the back drop of technological change between 1900 and 1940.  His insightful, distinct division of American Popular Music into six "streams" is paired with a turgid, obvious recitation of the pre-World War II struggle between the publishing industry and the broadcasting industry.  To his credit, Ennis does clearly demonstrate how this struggle influenced the development of the "six streams"  (In a nutshell, the rise of radio favored Black Pop and Country Pop at the expense of Traditional Pop.)

  The lasting contribution that Ennis makes to "rock history" comes in his tour-de-force of a second section, where he describes the emergence of rocknroll in the post World War II period.  Perhaps his most important insight is the manner in which he describes the reflective relationship between Charts and the Record Labels who sought to profit from that information.  The concept linking the two is the "crossover" i.e. a song that appeared simultaneously on two or more of the three major post War charts: Pop, Country & Rhythm and Blues.  Ennis makes the case that it was the goal of the actors in the period immediately preceding the emergence of rocknroll to CREATE a sound that would "chart" on all three charts at the same time.
  This was certainly the goal of Bill Haley, whose "Rock Around the Clock" was the first rock "hit" in 1955.  Haley, a long time musical journeyman, had been tinkering with different stylistic combinations in a concentrated attempt to "cross-over" BEFORE he recorded rock around the clock.  This was also the case for the man who would embody the emergence of rocknroll: Elvis Presley.  Before Elvis arrived, Sam Phillips was LOOKING for someone LIKE Elvis- a white guy who could sing like a black guy.  It's an analysis that very much gibes with my own reading of the same books that Ennis relied on.  In this analysis, the technological changes that preceded rocknroll's emergence (the 45)) were a necessary but not sufficient condition for the emergence.  Rather, it was the effort of specific individuals to "solve the problem" of cross-over appeal, as based on their analysis of the Billboard/Cashbox charts.  This effort was largely undertaken by the independent effort of small scale record label owners- not- repeat- not- by the major labels of the time.
    Like other books about rock that were published prior to the mp3 revolution, Ennis' section covering the mid 60s to the "present" suffers from the absence of the internet. Certainly, one is reminded of the "End of History" type books that accompanied the fall of the Berlin Wall and failed to anticipate the rise of Islamic radicalism.
     One theme that emerges from the Seventh Stream is the way in which dominant streams become creatively "exhausted" and then look to outside influences from less popular streams.  Ennis also tips his cap to the importance of demographics- it's hard to divorce the emergence of rocknroll from the post World War II "baby boom" and concomitant rise of "Youth Culture."  All in all, the Seventh Stream is easily the BEST book I've ever read on the roots of rocknroll.  It's a must read, especially for young musicians or would be cultural critics.  GO GET IT.

Crocodiles Pitch In At Fresh & Only's Austin Psych Fest Set

When the Fresh and Onlys took the stage at Austin Psych Fest Saturday (April 30), they were playing with one man down -- guitarist Wymond Miles had to sit out the last few dates of the San Francisco foursome's now-completed U.S. tour.

"He got some bad news from back home," frontman Tim Cohen explained to Spinner. "It changed things quite a bit."

The band still sounded clean and focused as a trio, though Miles' more earnest stage presence (compared to Cohen's mystic, eyes-to-the-sky approach) was clearly missed. After a few songs, Crocodiles keyboardist Robin Eisenberg pitched in, adding vocals and more texture. Then came Crocodiles guitarist Charles Rowell, making for a downright epic, five-piece Fresh and Onlys line-up, highlighting its poppier, more wall-of-sound side.

(SPINNER DOT COM)