Neil played his music

In my opinion, the paper was classically academic. I had a much easier time getting through this piece, however, I’m not sure whether it was the actual writing or the structure which made it smoother. I feel like it was the structure that I was raised upon and familiar with all through high-school. Of course, the examples she lays out were helpful.

 I was fortunate enough to see Neil Young + Promise of the Real play at the Santa Barbara bowl earlier this month. He played a setlist that defined himself (Neil) and most of his career. He opened solo acoustic with “After the Goldrush” and followed it up with memorable hits like “My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)” and “Helpless”. The show proceeded through a handful of solo acoustic songs to the grungy ringing of his Gibson Les Paul. He played old songs and new songs. He played a concert that painted his perception of humanity and MotherEarth. Like himself, the show was very political and took stabs at names like Starbucks and Monsanto.

Like this incredible and memorable show, this piece by Charmaz was very similar in the sense that it encapsulated the classic academic style of writing. As classic as Neil. It was structured in a way that was logical and seemingly conventional. She began with a specific idea and throughout each paragraph gave examples to explain the idea and references to insure no misunderstanding.

As did Peshkin, Charmaz gave healthy examples, including her Codes with Interview Statements. These segments spoke true volumes of what she was trying to explain. My favorite part of this whole piece was the Negative Identifying Moment being given the example of the retired college professor and his wife. [He, slowly and painfully] “The schools don’t have any money… I can’t speak very well.” Charmaz describes her feelings for the retired professor and harsh reality he, in that moment, faced. Participating in this short sequence was like watching someone who was observing his own identity crumbling away. Her description was almost journalistic and put the image of an old guitar breaking one last string. The damage done.

The Grounded Theory Method: An Explication and Interpretation was a song Kathy Charmaz wrote beautifully. There was a rhythm and tone, that I seemed to have skipped over with Peshkin.

Neil played his music. Kathy Charmaz didn’t miss a beat.