Jeff Titon, an ethnomusicologist, folklorist, professor at Brown University, andcreator of the blog Sustainable Music recently took the time to answer a few questions. Inthis interview he provides us with a refreshing look on how music and sustainability cancombine to change the way humans interact with both each other and the earth.

 

Waller: Your blog originally caught my eye because I am interested in both music andsustainability. I like the idea of music playing a role in that— even beyond preservingculture. What do you have to say about music and sustainability meshing together sincethey both sort of have communal ideals?

 

Titon: I agree that many musicians and listeners respond to communitarian idealsthrough music's ability to bring people together, and also that sustainability is for the goodof the community of all living creatures. I think it's important to acknowledge that noteveryone understands it that way; some people use music for an ego­trip, while sustainability has been co­opted by people whose goals are not primarily communitarian.I'm thinking of corporations, especially, such as Monsanto, who proclaim themselves tobe green and acting in the interests of the planet.

 

Waller: I agree that a lot of popular music today is geared towards being catchy andmaking money. I read on your Sustainable Music blog that you spent some time with Pete Seeger. You wrote about the fact that the Press called him a hero after his death while inthe 50’s he was portrayed as a villainous Communist. How do you think the public wouldreact if an artist on the radio decided to start playing for free at festivals (or did thingssimilar to that) and do you think there would be a shift in what music means to ourculture?

 

Titon: Yes, absolutely. I think things are already moving in that direction. Jambands likeThe Grateful Dead started the trend in the 1960s by encouraging fans to record their music and trade tapes, leading to a whole lot of tape ­trading, mix tapes, etc. in the decades since then. In the 1990s it became possible for musicians to reach audiences directly through the Internet, and to record using home digital sound stations, instead of having to rely on record companies for production and distribution, and sound studios for recording; and this dealt a serious blow to the previous commercial model for music sales. Free music is available on YouTube already, and elsewhere on the Internet. I think free concerts probably is the next step, but as you know these also exist. For example, in Maine, the folk festival in August in Bangor is free. (The musicians do get paid, though,from contributions.) In short, I think there already is a shift under way in what musicmeans to our culture, and that it will probably continue in that direction of non­commercialization. Music plays multiple roles in a society. Although through the majority of our livesit has mostly served as a form of entertainment it also is a large part of any social change. Even a few years ago during the Occupy Movement, musical events were organized in order to create a stronger bond between those already involved and also draw in new people. This also created an affiliation and helped the musicians write and perform newmaterial that directly affected the core of the movement itself.

 

Waller: Something I am personally really interested is music’s place in movements and policy change. I wasn’t alive during the Civil Rights Movement but that in particular has always struck a chord with me since traveling to Alabama and Georgia. It wasn't an extremely large movement but it was powerful and I love that. Do you recall any performances or songs that you associated with the movement growing up or that you feel impacted it?

 

Titon: "We Shall Overcome" was the anthem for the Civil Rights Movement and almost everyone, myself included, was affected by it. If you google Bernice Reagon, one of theFreedom Singers who's written widely and wisely on music and the Movement, you'll find more. Freedom Singers also have an informative page in the Wikipedia. These sorts of communal ideals only benefits social activists/leaders becausethey create a new pathway for more people to come together. Any movement is made upof people and music allows dealing with harsh social issues and policies to become morepersonal and human. People of all ages and backgrounds can feel as though they areapart of something good and creating positive change through music. It makes peopleactually care. It demands people to listen. In an earlier conversation Jeff Titon mentionedthe Common Ground Fair that takes place in Unity, Maine. It is run by the Maine Organic Farming and Gardening Association.

 

Waller: Yes! I really want to go to the Common Ground Fair next year. A few of myfriends went this past year and really enjoyed it. MOFGA seems like a good organization,I’d like to get involved next season.

 

Titon: It's the perfect combination for sustainable agriculture and music, and it's so close to Farmington in Maine also. MOFGA works all year round, and you could go to their website and find out more about their activities, especially in case you want to visit them.

 

     Aldo Leopold once said, “Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art,with the pretty. It expands through successive stages of the beautiful to values as yet uncaptured by language.” Both music and sustainability perpetually revive and restore each other while simultaneously bringing about happiness and closeness of those that inhabit the earth.Together it can make all the difference.