Critical Review, Cohen

In her article Cohen starts off by defining and describing the pros and cons of ethnography in an anthropological sense. Shes points out that ethnography is surrounding yourself in the culture and people you are studying and getting an inside look at a group of people. But she is quick to address that it is possible to miss certain things about the culture being studied because the one writing is not a full part of the culture and may miss certain understandings that natives know by second nature. She moves on to applications of ethnography in the music world and some of her own studies. For instance, Cohen studied two rock bands out of Liverpool in attempt to grasp their way of life. Through her study she was able to focus in on the hardships of a band working together to make one finished project. I found it interesting that she pointed out the bands struggled between the musical side and the "commerce" side when making their music and not just the vision of what they thought would be great music. Cohen's article concludes describing the spread of ethnomusicology through increased documentation on the internet and also her hope that in the future the cultures surrounding music will be well documented and studied.

Discussion Question:
Is a study done by ehtnography legit, or is it a false representation of a culture because those being studied may react differently with a stranger around?