Re: [ARSCLIST] Hawaiian discography

[Cary Ginell <soundthink@xxxxxxx>]

Only those (including myself) who have taken on the thankless task of assembling a discography can understand what Malcolm has gone through. I consider his work to be a monumental endeavor, and if it takes me a few extra minutes to figure out how to conduct a search to find what I'm looking for, at least we have Malcolm to thank for putting it there in the first place. 

Cary Ginell


-----Original Message-----
From: Malcolm Rockwell <malcolm@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sat, 7 Jun 2008 11:43 am
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?