Over the past decades it has become less acceptable simply to acquire new musical knowledge and to present it judiciously, wisely, and authoritatively. The presentation, usually in the form of academic writing, is often assessed as much for its subject positioning or authorial tone as it is for its relevance or accuracy of content. How might a system of valuation be established by which sound writing may be sanctioned to be really sound, effective, veridical, ethnographically sensitive?

In Madagascar, a mandôlina is a popular stringed musical instrument in the shape of a portable radio-cassette player. Why go to great lengths to detail this physical image for an instrument that has none of its electronic/acoustic properties? A mandôlina represents the ability to communicate with ancestral spirits, linking imported electronics to the spirit realm.