Re: [ARSCLIST] Hawaiian discography

[alexjr@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Malcolm,

Did you include Soundies?  We are cataloging our 500+ digitally mastered/restored Soundies, and there seems to be quite a few Hawaiian numbers; the catalog, which includes information about many long-forgotten groups, is up to about 300 pages, and we're only halfway through it.

Alex Kogan
Films Around the World/Showcase Productions


-----Original Message-----
>From: Malcolm Rockwell <malcolm@xxxxxxxxxx>
>Sent: Jun 7, 2008 2:43 PM
>To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [ARSCLIST] Hawaiian discography
>
>I just received the Spring 2008 issue of the ARSC Journal and wish to 
>thank Dick Spottswood for his review of my discography, "Hawaiian & 
>Hawaiian Guitar Records 1819 - 1960".
>Dick is correct in that the criteria explaining who was entered and who 
>was not is complex, especially when it comes to Country, Dance Bands and 
>International entries. I have made an effort to listen to as many 
>recordings of the entries in the book when possible and made my 
>selections based thereon.
>Do 2 bar steel fills in a selection comprise enough material to list? I 
>decided no. Do indigenous styles combining with Hawaiian, such as 
>Krongjong or Middle European chamber music, merit inclusion? I decided 
>no to the first example and yes to the second. Do the inclusion of the 
>words "Hawaii", Hawaiian", "Aloha", or "Hula", or any other numerous 
>Hawaiian words in the title, regardless of content, mean the selection 
>should be ignored? I said yes.
>I will admit I missed the boat on Joe Kaipo's recordings with Jimmy 
>Rodgers, but... after listening to the sides and hearing what I 
>considered mostly a Country derived steel-guitar style, as opposed to a 
>clearly Hawaiian style, I decided for omission, except for the 2 sides 
>that appeared. Because many researchers have wrestled this point with me 
>at length (!!) his work will appear in the revised edition.
>This is an especially tricky distinction: where does the Hawaiian style 
>of playing stop and Country style begin? To me the distinction begins 
>with the single string glissando, two string harmonies and 
>triple-picking (all Hawaiian playing characteristics, two of which are 
>mostly ignored in country styles).
>And where do independently developed indigenous styles, such as Blues 
>and (Indonesian) Krontjong fit? Do they or do they not? I said no to 
>both, with the rare exception.
>On the International front there are quite a few Scandinavian sides I 
>have not heard personally, and Middle European recordings as well - 
>especially those by Wictor Tychowski on the pre-war Polish label Syrena 
>- and others, including much of the Japanese material. In these 
>instances I decided for inclusion of what I could locate, and what my 
>sources heard, as most of the recordings were previously undocumented. 
>I'm sure I will get feedback of any mis-listings or missing material as 
>time goes by. I encourage it.
>Now to the format.
>I put this work together to be published initially as a library-bound 
>hardback but, for numerous reasons, that was not to be. A 1400 page 
>book, with artist and song title indexes accounting for an additional 
>100 - 250 pages, is an expensive undertaking, especially for what is 
>essentially considered a very niche market. After being turned down by 
>the 4 big academic publishers in Hawaii, I turned to US and then 
>international publishing houses, to no avail: "Very nice, but there's no 
>money in it," they explained. It was only then I decided to publish as a 
>CD-ROM.
>I am not entirely pleased with the result, neither am I disappointed. I 
>published it using Adobe Acrobat because is is a flexible and somewhat 
>intuitive format. If one can use Word, one should be able to use Acrobat 
>with only a little effort. I'm constantly amazed that I've had to show 
>some users the basics, especially  how to use the search function! The 
>discography is entirely searchable, thus no indexes; they are 
>unnecessary in this format. I do have a song title index for my own use 
>in Word but it is incomplete (just when do you put the page numbers in, 
>and do you update them every time new additions or deletions are made? 
>Feh. It's more hassle than it's worth) and they are balky. And I won't 
>even go into titles in foreign languages!
>As with publishing in any new format, CD-ROM will have its supporters, 
>its detractors and its wafflers. First there was Lord; he pioneered the 
>format for discography. Then I came along. And now there are Michel 
>Ruppli's new editions of his Mercury and Decca works. I think as time 
>goes by there will be more.
>So for now it's either a CD-ROM or an online subscription service. Both 
>have their merits. If there's a publisher out there who wants to do a 
>revised, hardbound set in four or five years, possibly the second 
>edition, I'm open to it.
>To conclude, it's been a gass doing this project, and many thanks to you 
>all and to Dick for his support and his review. I couldn't have done it 
>without you.
>As for now, there are still copies available from me at 78data.com but 
>they won't last, so order soon.
>Aloha!
>Malcolm Rockwell
>Kula, Hawaii


Alexander Kogan