research

I think that my research has shown preliminary thesis possibilities. I think it will be about the drive of Bulgarian music toward Westernization in an attempt to counteract communist repression. All the bands here are trying to emulate what they think punk is, which is actually much more influenced by metal than actual punk. But its interesting- I saw a show that was one punk band, one hip hop band and one ska band. The crowd remained throughout the whole show- the same kids listened to all three kinds of music. The hip hop group most ostensibly resembled Western music and an overt attempt to recreate it. There were awkwardly choreographed, scantily clad dancers and, though the lyrics were in Bulgarian, the occasional utterance of "bitch" and "ho" came across, so I got the general impression that they were awkwardly attempting to recreate Bulgarian gangster rap. I don't know- nothing about the musical structure is unique to Bulgarian music, though I have heard a lot of faux folk rock music here. I know more about Bulgarian folk culture than the Bulgarians my age that I've talked to. Its really kind of sad. Maybe its different in the cities. Anyway, this is what I think so far...