5U Understanding papular mttsk culture Thompson, C, (20011) Please Please Me Sixties llntish Pop; Inside Out, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Toynliee, J. (2000) Matdtig Papular Music: Musieiaus, Creativity and institutions, London: Arnold. DVD documentaries Dig!, Australia; Palm Pictures, 2003. I Am Tnady flaga, 1 have included them as they established new approaches to the production and mar-L ling of pop and are examples of debates around authorship, authenticity and ■ ■ l< lirity. While attention is given to the musical qualities of each performer, they are ,ilmi situated in terms of genre, the musk: industry, the personal stance of the musicians and their place in popular music history and the audience reception of the work. The musical examples included show that we must go beyond simple ..... i< il aesthetics to explain why particular songs 'work' in terms of creating an audience and establishing an artist's profile. Authorship and stardom Auli'iii' theory attribulcs meaning in eultural lexis lo llie intentions of an individual creative source. The ,iuii in concept ir> historically linked to willing and lil-ii,n\ sludies, ^licic il hits been applied to 'significant' works deemed to have value, whii h accordingly arc considered pail ol high culture. An ideological (50 Understanding popular music culture Auteurs and stars 61 construct, it is underpinned by notions of creativity and aesthetic value. The concept of auteur has been especially important in relation to film, emerging as ,i imi- pari ill" fresh critical studies in the 1950s, with iIlľ auteur usually regarded as the director (see llayward, 2000i. The concept has since been applied to other I'm ms of popular culture and their texts, in pari in an attempt to legitimate their study vis-á-vis 'literature' and 'art'. Applying auteurship to popular music means distinguishing it from mass or popular culture, with their connotations of mass taste and escapist entertainment and instead relating the field to notions of individual sensibility and enrichment. The concept underpins critical analyses of popular music which emphasize the intentions of the creator of the music (usually musicians) unci attempts to provide authoritative meanings of texts and has largely heen reserved for the figures seen .is iiuisianding creative talents. It is central to the work of some musicologists, who identify popular music auteurs as producers of 'art', extending the cultural Ibnn and, in the process, challenging their listeners. Auteurship has been anrih-111 < d primarily to individual performers, particularly singer-songwriters, but has also been attributed to producers, music video directors, songwriters and DJs. Indeed, in some eases, as Phil Spector demonstrates, these figures, rather than the musicians, may provide the dominant input. It can also be argued that, as with contemporary filmmaking, the creative process in rock is a 'team game' with various contributions melding together, even if a partii ttlar musician is providing the overall vision. Despite this multiple authorship, however, as Will Si raw acutely observes, 'typically we evaluate a musical recording or concert as the output of a single individual or group'f 1999: 2(H)). In the late 1960s popular music criticism began to discuss musicians in auteurist terms. John Cawelti, for example, claimed that 'one can see the differences between pop groups which simply perform without creating that personal statement which marks the auteur, and highly creative groups like the Bcades who make of their performance a complex work of art' (Cawelti, 1971: 267). American critic Jon I.....I;m argued that the criterion of art in rock is die 'capacity of the musician to create a personal, almost private, universe and to express it fully' (cited in frith, 1983: 53). By the early 1970s: self-consciousness became the measure of a record's artistic status; frankness, musical wit, the use of irony and paradox were musicians' artistic insigna - ii was such self commentary that revealed the auteur within the machine. The skilled listener was the one who could recognize the artist despite the commercial trappings. (Frith, 1983: 53) The discourse surrounding 19ti0s rock established a paradigm aesthetic: thai has, until recently, dominated the application of the concept of authorship in popular music. Al a common-sense level, auteurship would appeal in In- ,ippli< id ill in populai miisii, since while liny ate winking within an indiislii.il »\iicm, ......\ individual performers are primarily responsible for their recorded product There are also 'artists' - the term itself is culturally loaded - who, while working within ilie commercial medium and institutions or popular music, are seen to utilize the medium to express their own unique visions. Such figures are frerjucully accorded auteur status and, on the basis of their public celebrity and visibility, will Ire-i|iiinily be stars as well. The concept of auteur stands at the pinnacle of a pantheon of performers and their work, a hierarchical approach used by fans, critics and musicians to organize their view of the historical development of popular music and the contemporary status of its performers. Auteurs enjoy respect for their professional performance, especially their ability to transcend the traditional aesthetic lornis in which they work, Particular popular music melagenres (see Chapter 6) have their own commonly recognized auteurs. In rock and pop, for example, musicians often accorded the i.mis of auteur include the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Aretha I lanklin, James Brown, Jimi llendrix, David Bowie, Prince, Michael Jackson, III nee Springsteen and Radiohead, all of whom have achieved commercial as well as critical recognition. (Note the general absence of women from this list and, further, its domination by 1960s performers.) The status of several has waned, wiih their later work largely being found wanting when placed against earliei ierror-dings, as with Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones. However, such figures H tain auteur status on the basis of their historical contribution, as do auteur figures whose careers were cut short, for example Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain. There are also performers whose work has had only limited coin mi-icial impact but who are regarded as having a distinctive style and ouevre thai has taken popular music in new and innovative directions, such as Frank Zappa, Brian J'no and Captain Beelheart. Since all music texts are social products, performers working within populai •i tires arc under constant pressure to provide their audience with more of die music that attracted that same audience in the first place. This explains why thill in musical direction often lose a performers' established audiences, while hopefully creating new adherents. This is to emphasize the contradiction between being an 'artist' and responding to the pressures of the market, and to claim particular performers as auteurs despite their location within a pmfn-ditvetl commercial industry (a similar process to that applied in film studies in the I95flh to Hollywood cinemas studio system). This leads to pantheons of musical value dial arc ptoblematic, since all musical texts 'arrive on the turntable as die o ;uil ul the same commercial processes' (Frith, 1983: 54), Furthermore, as in any ana ol 'creative' endeavour, there is a constant process of reworking the Yoniinon i'nk' or traditions of generic popular forms, as continuity is self-const iotuh combined with change. Slurs und Sim i/oiii Slats ate individuals who, as a colisei|iu m | of their publii pellininam e. <>i appeal ances in tin mass media. beCOtlM "idih ■• < o^ni/i d and UCOiIÍN synibbi b"2 Ihdmtandhig popular musk culture Auteurs and stun 69 status. Stars are seen as possessing a unique, distinctive talent in the cultural forms within which they work. Initially associated with the Hollywood film star system, stardom is now widely evident in sporLs, television and popular music. While lliere is a large body of theoretic-ally oriented work on film stars (see Hayward, 2000, for a helpful overview), the study of stardom in popular music is largely limited to personal biographies of widely varying analytical value. The important question is not so much 'what is a star?' but how stats function within lite music industry, within textual narratives, and, in particular, at the level of individual fantasy and desire. What needs to be explained is the nature of emotional investment in pleasurable images. Stars are invested with cultural value and are popular because they resonate with particular lifestyles and cultures, while also representing a form of escapism from everyday life and the mundane. Stardom in popular music, as in other forms of popular culture, is as much about illusion and appeal to the fantasies of the audience, as it is about talent and creativity. Slats function as mythic constructs, playing a key role in their fans ability to construct meaning out of everyday life {see the essays in Kelly arid McDonnell, 1999). Such stars must also be seen as economic entities, used to mobilise audiences and promote the products of the music industry. They repre-seni a unique commodity (brm, which is both a labour process and a product. Audience identification with particular stars is a significant marketing device. Several popular music stars have continued to generate enormous income after their deadi, wliicli freezes their appeal in time while enabling their continued marketing through both the back catalogue and previously utneleiised material. Elvis Presley, Jimi llendrix, Bob Marley, Kim Oohain (Nirvana) and Michael Jackson are examples of what has been termed ■posthumous celebrity'. Madonna must be viewed as much as an economic entity as she is a cultural phenomenon, as over the course of her contract with Time-Warner she generated mure than SUS500 million in worldwide music sales. Madonna represents a bankable image, carefully constructed in an era of media globalization, an image that made her attractive to live Nation, tu which she moved in October 2007. Similarly, pop star Britney Spears, whose wealth was estimated at US$123 million by Fmbm magazine in 2004, had by then sold more than 76 million records worldwide for her label Zomba. Wliile Spears did not release any new recordings in 'J005-2006, the media attention devoted to her marital split in late 2006 demonstrated her continued celebrity status. In 2011 country singer-songwriter Taylor Swift sold more than US million copies of her albums in the US and had a highly lucrative world tour. Such success helped establish her as a brand, with her own management company, lucrative contracts with companies such as Covergirl and die launch of her own line of perfume, Wonriersirurk. All of these combined to place Swift at the lop of littlbmrd magazine's list of the biggest music industry money makers tor the year. Vet I he enormous fascination with stars' ]visnivul lives suggests a phenomenon ill,ii cannot be simply explained in lermi "t political economy, Pans both create anil maintain the alar through 1 litmil of ad.....li..... u ansi ending ihrii mvn lives in the process. Stars appeal because they embody and refine the values invested in »|>ecilic sucial types; e.g. Kylie Minogue in thelOtiOs as 'the girl next door'; Bruce Springsteen, whose work and image is founded on associations with urban wot king-i lass authenticity. Contemporary established' stars are frequently at pains to exercise considerable control over their artistic lives, perhaps because this hits often been hard won; all have an ability to retain an audience across time, either through reinventing their persona and image or through exploring new avenue, ■i> Ik it music. Many have pioduced a substantial body of work, often multimedia in form; while seeking, to varying degrees, new ways of reinterpreting or real hulling popular music styles and traditions. In these respects, such stars an frequently considered to be auteurs. The construction of a popular music stars persona and image may change across time, at times in a calculated attempt to redefine a performers audience and appeal. A number of commentators have observed how Madonna h.c. been able constantly to reinvent her persona and retain a high degree of creative cnntrol over her work. Her audience appeal and commercial success lie. primarily in performance, through both concerts and music video, and In i ability to keep herself in the public eye and the creation and uraiulen.in< < ul image is central to her success. The career of Lady Gaga follows a similai pattern. The two most extensively considered popular music stats are Elvis Presley ami tin* Beatles, The Beatles are routinely considered to be auteurs: they dramaiiialls' altered the status of popular music in the I9fi0s and iheir commercial and allien] i-iiiss made them iconic public figures. Elvis was certainly a star and, as lite appeal of Graceland shows, continues to be one. In Dmd Elvis, Greil M,.....I (191)1) offers a fascinating account of die ongoing cultural preoccupation wilti 'linking1 since his deaih in 1977. However, Presley is rarely accorded auiciu si.nir., ■ Ii I ii nigh he has a claim to this based largely cut his early career at Sun Kci null Springsteen and Madonna are the popular music stars and auteurs of ihe ptirti til years who have generated the greatest amount of academic :mil popular ana l\sis and discussion, with considerable attention being paid more recently In I '. Kail in] irad and Lady Gaga. In sum, the discourse surrounding these perl ounces ihuws how authorship and stardom have become linked constructs with a iiuinbri ul dimensions: the economic, the cultural and the aesthetic. This is also the i i ■ in varying degrees, with die following examples. Hubert Johnson: 'Hellhound oh my Trail* It i ihct I Johnson was an auleur who posthumously l>ecaiue a star, lie is ogaided HI 11 ii- 'key transitional figure working within the Mississippi Delta's him s i uli m. Me bridged the gap between the music's rural beginnings anil its modem nib.ui iii.uiilesialious' (Barlow, 1989: +5). Hi a ii in 191 1, Johnson was raised by his mother, who roulincly moved I...... I In i to place in I he mid-south. His own adulthood was similarly ic-.ili . .mil provided a recurring message in his wnik 1'illnu Ihn sin.iii ami li.ivelling 64 Understanding poputai music culture Auteurs and stars 65 companion, Johnny Shines, said of Johnson: 'People might consider him wild because he didn't think nothing of just taking oft" from wherever lie was, just pack up and go. He had that about traveling.' Johnson had only limited commercial success during his short life. His few recording sessions were held in San Antonio late in 1936 and in Dallas in early 1937, when he recorded a total of just 29 blues tracks. This small output was to have an influence out of all proportion to its size, not only un the blues, but also on the development of 'rock* in the 1960s, as British bands such as the Rolling Stones and Cream covered songs by Johnson (see Weisman, 2005). The singer was murdered in Greenwood, Mississippi, in 1938, poisoned by a jealous lover, aged only 27. While Johnson started out in the blues as a haimoinca player, he soon switched to guitar, lie was strongly influenced by Son House's bottleneck slide technique, which formed the core of his own playing style, and by other contemporary Delia bluesmen such as Charley Patton and Willie Brown. Hut Johnson assimilated a range of other influences, incorporating them into his own distinctive style: "His guitar work was also influenced by the recordings of Kokomo Arnold, Scrapper Blackwcll, Willie Newbem, and Lonnie Johnson, who also influenced many of his vocal inflect inns, along with Leroy Carr, Peetie Whealstraw, and Skip James' (Barlow, 1989: 45-6). Contemporaries commented on the breadth of Johnson's musical tastes, and marvelled at his ability to 'pick a song right out of the air. He'd hear it being played on the radio and play it right back note lor note- 11c could do it with blues, spirituals, hillbilly music, popular stiilf. You name it he could play it' (Robert Lockwood, Jr.). lied he silling there listening to the radio and you wouldn't even know he was paying any attention to it - and later that evening maybe, he'd walk out on the streets and play the same songs that were played over the radio, four or five songs he'd liked out of the whole session over the radio and he'd play them all evening, and he'd continue to play them. (Johnny Shines, cited in Barlow, 1989: 46) Johnson was influential in tliree areas. First, through his guitar playing: As a guitarist he almost completely turned the blues around. His tightening of tin; rhythmic line was die basis for the instrumental blues scene that followed him in Chicago - letting the upper strings play a free melodic part, but using the thumb for a hard rhythm in the lower strings that was also a drum part. (Samuel Charters, cited in Barlow, 1989: 47) Robert Palmer notes how Johnson made his guitar: sound uncannily like a full band, furnishing a heavy beat with his feel, (hording innovative shulllc rhythms and pit king oul high ireLli -stung lead with lux slitlei, all at the nunc tune. I'Vllow guitariM* would watch him with unabashed, open mouth wonder. They were watching the Delta's first modern bltiesman at work. (ibid.) Si i mikI, Johnson recorded a number of strikingly original songs, which capitis 'I a timeless feeling of desperation and intensity. In songs like 'Rambling on M\ Mind,' 'Dust My Broom' and 'Sweet Home Chicago1 Johnson celebrated mobility and personal freedom; double entendres and sexual metaphors abound in 'Steady Rolling Man'. "1'erraplane Blues' and 'Traveling Riverside Blues'; .....I in 'Crossroad Blues' and 'Hellhound on My Trail'Johnson encouraged the 1« r.'-iul that be had flirted with the devil: I've got to keep moving, I've got to keep moving Blues lalliug down like hail, Blues falling down like hail And the days keeps on 'minding me There's a hellliuund on my trail I bird, Johnson's voice is particularly effective at conveying a fatalistic sense of the ■■iil .mil spiritual forces he saw arrayed against him. His vocal intonation is ■ l»ii.illy compelling in his poignant 'Love in Vain', with its dietues of painful ■ I' parlure and separation: I followed her to the station with her suitcase in my hand And I followed her to die station with her suitcase in my hand Well it's hard to till, its hard to tell when all your love's in vain All my love's in vain (On fSngofl/u Delta Bines Singers, Vol. 2, CBS Records UK, 1970; also available on the boxed set Robert 'Johnson. Iht Complete Recordings, Columbia, 1990) V.....lalysis based on the song lyrics would not convey the emotional impact of |iiIiilsoii's voice and its interplay with guitar in the recorded version of the song. In |ii illiimalice, the song is stripped down to its bare essentials, making it almost ......nihilist in contemporary terms. Obviously, if judged by the standards of tra- ilitioual, classical musicology, it would be Ibiuid wauling. The vocal is weak and iv.iviiing and the singer does no l project well. Vet Johnson's voice has an edge of Ii .pcration and hints at depths of experience. This is abetted by the use of npi'iiiion and the interplay between the amplified acoustic guitar and the voice. I In piece also exemplifies the role ol improvization and jwrrlbimalice in styles null as unk and blues. Although ils conlempoiaiy impact is limited by the primitive recording technology of its day, this also contributes to the songs iiillirlllicity. Johnson has a claim to being an atileur on the basis of his recordings and their Influence, but his now iconic star .status owes much to other factors. The singer MM widely thought to have sold his soul to the devil in return lor i lie ability to be 6G O'/uia standing popular musk culture Autems id' will) (icorgc Harrison and albums for bodi ihe former Beailis, r.in tin di/./y earlier heighis were not to be scaled again, in part because he no loiteri had total control, bul was working as a hired hand. I lis | >i CSeriCC alone was now iiiMillu ieul lo vil In.lib glial anlrr a in old'* niii > rv» Willing his piolite ,u ilu 68 Understanding popular music culture Auleurs mid stars 69 end of the 1970s, Nir Oohn painted a picture of a reclusive figure whose myth had swamped his present reality. Sjieclor's success can be attributed to a combination of two factors. First, lie established the concept of business independence, seeking to control every aspect of his own enterprise: production, puhlieity and distribution. Second, Spector was our ol die first self-conscious pop artists, 'the first to rationalize, lite first to comprehend precisely what he was up to. With him, there was immediately a totally new level of sophistication, complexity, musical range' (Colin, 1980: 154). Paradoxically, Speed ir managed to raid every musical source he could and sull be completely original; to In- Miii lly commercial while concerned with die records as ait. He combined the I wo great rock 'n' roll romances rebellion and teen dream - into one. Spcrior's achievement remains impressive and the positive response to die 1991 reprise of his work, die CD set Back To Mono (1950-J969), was indicative of the continued interest in his work. On this, Spector remastered 60 of his singles (plus his attempt to create an album as a total entity, Christmas Gift to l'un\, retaining their original mono sound, Spector's claim to autetir status rests on a I combination of initial musical innovation and the aura of mystery and controversy created by his 'star1 lifestyle; a mix of eccentricity (episodes with guns in die studio), a messy divorce in the 1970s and his increasing social isolation. His arrest on suspicion of murder in 2003, and subsequent lengthy trial, added to this mystique, yet, ironically, prompted fresh interest in his work. As Virgil Moorefieldl concludes: By taking total artistic control of a recording, Spector in fact redefined what it meant to produce a record. He changed forever the way the producer's role would be viewed' (Moorelield, 2005: 12). The Spice Girls As with Madonna, the Spice Girls' success story raises issues of the status of musical genres, image and representation, the commod if nation of popular music and die nature and operation of celebrity in pop culture more generally. 'lite Spice Girls were originally put together by the management team of Bob Herbert and his son Chris. Chris drew up a flyer, which he distributed in London and the southeast of England: 'R.U. 18-23 with the ability to sing/ tlance. R.U. streetwise, outgoing, ambitious, and dedicated?' Four hundred showed up for the auditions at Dance works Studios, just off London's Oxford Street. The original five Spice Girls [including Michelle Stephenson, who dropped out and was replaced by Emma Bunton) met for the first time in Mauh 1994. Victoria Adams, Melauie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chishohn and Geri Halliwell came from varying backgrounds and the combination of personalities to make up the group was chosen quite deliberately. The press, and theii fans, later referred to them as Posh (Victoria), Sporty (Mel C), Baby (Emma), Scary (Mel B) and Ginger (Geri); labels which became pervasive public signifii is and helped consolidate the Spice Girls' image. Chris Herbert used Trinity, a dam v/rehcarsal/ii-miding studio in Woking, Suriry, .is a base lin ihe group, who spent almost a year lluie, working mi lh< n mnging, developing embryonic songwriling skills and beginning the process of wiling themselves to the music industry. The Herberts had no official contract mill Ihe girls and were a relatively small company and the band, now increasingly DOlihdent in their abilities, looked around (or a deal that offered greater support i.. iheir increasing ambitions. In April 199,} they left manager Chris Herbert and ■t|med with Simon Fuller's 19 Management. In 1996 they signed to Virgin I ■ mis for a reported £2 million advance. fuller commissioned three teams of songwriters, all of whom had considerable Riusic indusu-y experience, credits and success, to work with/for the group, to develop their song ideas. Their inpui is shown on the group's debut album, u iiiii.ii(I and Rnwe, who had previously written material/hits for East 17 and I like That, came up with three of the Spice Girls' four number 1 singles, 'Wannabe', Become 1' and 'Mama', and also wrote if U Can't Dance'. Absolute (Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins) provided 'Who Do You Think You Arc', 'Something I 'inla funny', 'Naked' and 'Last Time Lover'. The remaining iwo songs on the in i ill nun, 'Say You'll Be There' and i/ive Thing' were written by Eliot Kennedy (one with Gary Bayliss). The Spice Girls gel soiigwriting credit on all lli< songs on Ihe Spice album, but Davis (1997) claims that they actually only goi iImihi one-twentieth of the com|XJser's royalties apiece. The debut single 'Wannabe' was released injuly 1996. It went to number I in ill. IK within a few weeks and stayed there lor two months - a record for a ili hm single by a UK girl group. Subsequently it reached the number 1 chart ('•'Minn in 31 countries, including the US, selling four million copies worldwide. I 11 S(>ice Girls next three singles also topped the UK charts, making them the inoup io have had four UK no. Is with their four first singles and already ......osl successful British girl group ever. The appeal of the group was enhanced I'\ theii videos and energetic dance routines anil performances on leading music lid vision show Top of the Pops. The Spia LP went triple platinum in the UK >i ii Inn three weeks of its release and by mid-1997 had sold over 10 million copies iMiildwide. ihe Girls' personal lives, notably earlier modelling efforts and personal relationships, came under intense scrutiny by, first, the British and then the International press, especially the tabloids. The group's slogan, 'Girl Power', 'a hybrid ol 90s' good-feel optimism and cheery fun-pub feminism which alienates no.....■' (Davis 1997: 35), attracted considerable debate (see Lemish, 2003). Hiiiing 1996 and into 1997, the Spice Girls solidified their success in Britain mil then tackled America. A carefully orchestrated marketing campaign was Undertaken hy Virgin in the US, partly to offset initial critical reception of the records, Em example, the Rolling Slow?a negative Match 1997 review of Spur. >>lin Ii Libelled the music a watered down mix of hip-hop and pop and accorded ii mil\ our and a hall slats (on a live-star scale;. 'Despite their pro-woman |«oiiug', wrote reviewer Christina Kelly, 'the Girls don't gel bugged down by litythtiig drepri than mugging tin- promo shols and giving out tips on getting lm\s into bed' (cited in I ticket son, 1998: 2l).r>). Virgin marketed the band with lienvv emphasis mi theii videos anil the Girls visual appeal, largely avoiding the nimi |>• in im.illy awkwaid pi ml media This.....mi high profiles for MTV, short 70 Understanding popular music culture Aukius and suits 71 interviews for television, and staged events where Cameras could only get passing glimpses of the Spite Girls in controlled situations'. MTV was crucial, 'showing the Girls' nipplc-li iendly videu (ibr '"Wannabe") at every opportunity' (Dickerson, | I99B: 205). hi July 1997, Spice topped the Billboard album charts and Mlum Slo, ran a cover story headlined 'Spice Girls Conquer the World1, a nine-page article! which told readers everything they could possibly want to know about the 1 Spice Girls (10 July 1997 issue). All this without playing a conceit or playing live,] iv ept on the television show [jite.WgtU with David iMterman. The Spice Girls rilled a market niche. As Chris Herbert observed: The whole teen-band scene at thai time was saturated by boy bands. I It'll that if you could appeal lo the hoys as well, you'd he laughing. If you could pnl together a girl band which was both sassy, for the giris, and with obvious] sex appeid, lo attract the boys, you'd double your audience. (Davis, 1997: 35) The Spice Girls also provided an aniidote ro the 'laddish' culture of UK Krii Tup in llie early 1990s, associated with performers such as the Gallagher brother! (Oasis). The Spice Girls were the subject of considerable hostility from many 'rock' critics/fans, who saw them as a media artifact, a view underpinned by the historical denigration of dance pop as a genre. Their success was made possible by a combination of their music, their marketing and their personalities. The Spice Girls' music is 'a mixture of dance, hip-hop, K&B, and smooth-as-silk pop ballads. Technically solid. Middle of the road. Nothing extreme' (Dickerson, 1998: 203). This is to overlook the appeal of llie clever and catchy lyrics of songs such as 'Wannabe', with ils cauliphrase 'Zig-a-zig-ah' for sex and the highlighting of ongoing friendship and a streetwise attitude toward relationships: Yo, I'll tell you what 1 want, what I really really want, So tell me what you want, what you really really want, I'll tell you what 1 want, what 1 really really want, So tell me what you want, what you really really waul, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really really really wanna zig-a-zig-ah If you want my future forge I my past, If yOU wanna gel with me better make it fast. Now don't go wasting my precious time, Get your acl togedier we could be just fine. If you wanna he my lover, you gotta get with my friends. Make it last forever friendship never ends, II you wanna be my lover, you have goi to give, Taking is loo easy, bul dial's the way il is What do you think about that now yon know how I feel, Nay you can handle my love arc you lor real, I won't be hasty, I'll give you a try II you really bug me then I'll say goodbye. (The Spice Girls, •Wannabe', Virgin, 1996) I lowcver, this well-ciafled pop is nol the foundation for their mega-success, which due mainly to the band's public image, which they partly created for thein-irlvrs through force of personality and an irreverent attitude to the music indus-ii\ and the media. They were seen as five 'sassy1 individuals who combined next-door appeal with considerable sex appeal. 'The\ introduced the l.iiuMi.ige ol independence to a willing audience of pre-teen and teenage girls I power' (Whiteley, 2000: 215,1. hi a discourse reminiscent of Madonna's i nlv career, critics pointed to a contradiction between the Spice Girls' sclf-PXpression and iheir subversion of standard 'feminine' images and their incor-pntalion into a male-dominated industry, I he group members themselves, and defenders, claimed in response that this was of their own choosing and on tin ii own terms. I In Iraiichi/ing (through product endorsements) of a huge range of Spice Girl I.....lucls added lo die (tills' ubiquitous presence through 1997 and 1998. hi linriuber 1997 (J magazine rated die Spice Girls the 'biggest rock band in the iiiti based on the amount of airplay they had received, total income from ii mid sales, concert tickets etc. and die number of appearances on national i/iiie covers iboih music and 'general' tides), hi 199B die Spice Girls leleasetl III ii second album, Spire World, again topping the charts internationally, anil a h ni ihe same name. In August 1990 'Viva forever' became their seventh I K number 1 single and they sold out a 10-concerl 'world' tour. During 1999 in.I mio 2000 ihe group's momentum cased: Geri departed and was not n |il;iuil; the remaining members devoted themselves to individual projects (e.g. Mil l"s A'uit/tem Star); and Victoria and Mel B became mothers. A third Spice 1 litis" allium was released in November 2000; its limited success contributed lo llie effective breakup of the band. Winntii Twain: on her way ' ..iintiy emerged in the LS as a major market force in popular music in the I'i'MK (sec Sernoe, 199b) ami classic stereotypes associated with the genre (espe-• i ill) 11■> maudlin themes and limited appeal) no longer hold up. Billboard placed 1 i ih lliniiks as 'I op Country Album Artist' and 'Top Fop .Album Artist' for die 1990, 1991 and 1993. In 1993 all six of his albums were included among tit 100 ......1 popular albums of the yeai, with iwo - Mb Ftacti and Httpm' llie Mud having sold .itinin 10 million copies each. His crossover success opened tin w,i\ mi die |nip cliails loi othei counlry at lists, olicii rehired lo as 'new DUUntry1, with Billy Ray Gyrus, Dwighl Yoakum, M.ii\ I Jiapin Carpcnlci and Kib.i Mi I.iiiin .ilium)' ilu In a .« 111111.mi i i>l On i.nh n, mid If »91 is. Ai the 11 Understanding popular music culture Auteurs and stars 73 same time, country radio became the second most listened to music formal in the US, second only tu adult contemporary, and video channel CMT (Country Music Television! achieved a significant market share. The success of Shania Twain lining the late 1990s was in part made possible fay this aggressive resurgence of, EOuntry music and the receptive context that it created. Her crossover to die ;mnuiercial mainstream and massive success, however, lifted the 'country' tag I Imni her and hy 1998 she was an international pop star. Shania twain was horn in Canada. Her life story has, slightly cynically, been] njiupaied lo a fairytale: A country girl from Timmins, Ontario, is raised dirt poor, starts performing in bars as a child, loses her parents at age 22 when dieir car collides with a logging truck, sings to support her three teenage siblings, then finds her | prince - reclusive rock producer Robert John (Mutt) limge - who gives her a j Studio kiss of stardom. (Brian.Johnson, 'Shania Revealed', cover story in Macleans,\ Canada's leading magazine, 23 March 1998; Hager, 1991}, provides a detailed and balanced biography). Her success is based on a combination of her songwriting, her .striking and attractive looks, her music videos and, as Johnson suggests, the role of Mull Lange in Iku recordings. The weighting variously accorded to these factors, illustrates the controversy that has surrounded her status as a star and a popular music 'auteur'. Twain moved to Nashville in 1991 after signing a deal with Mercury Nashville, changing her name from Lateen to Shania, which means Tin on im way' in Ojibwa (the language of her foster father;. Her self-tilled debut album (1993) featured only one of her own compositions, her producers opting instead for songs from established songwriters, a common practice in Nashville. The debut was respectable, without making a major impact: it sold around a hundred iliutisand copies, two singles from it gol to no. 55 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles Chart and Shania made Billboard1 & 1993 list of promising new artists. The accompanying music video for 'What Made You Say That', her own compost* linn, broke with country tradition, celebrating her 'wholesome' sexuality, as she frolicked on a tropical beach with a male 'hunk'. It featured her bared navel, which became a 'trademark' on later videos and magazine covers. Screened on CM 1 Latiope, the video also brought Shania to the attention of leading Knglish producer John 'Mutt' Lange. The two started collaborating on songwriting, became close friends and were married in December 1993. Shania's second album, 'Ihe Woman in Me (1995), was produced by her husband, who also partially financed it. Featuring a number of the songs tin tied mwii for the first album, Tlie Woman in Me took a year and a half and more ih.in half a million dollars to complete, a recording effort which stunned Nashville, '.■■here budgets of one-leiilh of thai amount were standard il lager, 199)1: 54) li sold 12 million copies by the end of 19911. Of the 12 snugs, 111 were iii-wrillen liy Shania and l.iuge and there was a solo contribution limn each. An llagei describes it, this was a creative collaboration, with each contributing from their ■.(lengths and complementing the other. In producing Vie Woman in Me, Lange (bvu on the 'rock' style that he had used for very successful records with Del' Lcppard, AG/DC and Bryan Adams. The album was a combination of'irresistible .....K*i sassy lyrics, all backed by Lange's onion-skin production, which reveals more of each song with each play1 (Q, review, November 1999). Her third album, on Over (1998) sold 4.2 million during its first fixe months of release. The first .....> from it, "You're Still the One', topped the Billboard country chart in May 1998 and went on to reach no. 1 on the pop chart. Both the album, and the Hveral singles from it, lopped charts internationally. This success was achieved, her critics observed, without Twain performing This claim conveniently overlooked the fact that she had been performing in public from the age of three, but really referred to the singer's not initially iindei taking a concert lour to promote her albums. Instead, Shania did a series of I.....lolional appearances, in shopping centres, on lalk shows and at industry howcases. This led to claims that her songs were largely the product of the i.....ding studio and raised questions about her ability to present them in per- brmance. Twain was also frequently accused of being a 'packaged' artist, created b) her high-powered management (Jon Landau, who also represents Biik-_ •I.....i;>ieen;. Hie success of her extensive touring in 1998 and into 1999, and Ihi quality of her stage performance, erased these doubts. The tour also enabled llie production of a best-selling concert video. I over stories (for example, Rolling Stone, i September 1998; Q, November I I99) accentuated Shania's 'natural1 physical appeal, particularly her bare mid-nil .i feature of several of her early videos. In her songs and videos, Twain ......bines a flirtatious glamour and self-empowerment: 'a country singer who look* like a supermodel' who 'on camera projects a playful allure iluit is pan ....... "ii, part corne-oll'-il' (Johnson, Maclean's, 23 March 1998: 50). This is i .......--in \ei^< much in the mould of the Spice Cirls. I lei songs, mainly co-written with Ijmge, reinvigurate tiled county formats. I hi y range from ballads of domestic bliss ('You're Still ihe One') and feisty " 1 ui,uue ('Don't Be Stupid. You Know 1 hive You*), io clever assertions of ......wit's lights (i loney I'm 1 lome' is a neat role reversal). Within its|)op ballad formal .n.l. .in hy nine, 'Black lives, Blue Tears' alerted listeners to domestic violence. i em On (hvi established Shania Twain as a successful crossover artist. Remixed I ions of singles lioiii the album placed less emphasis on country style inslru-111 Illation, i reating greatei airplay on non-country radio. Her next album, after a ii 'time out' suffering from exhaustion, continued this marketing strategy. ' (>' i" double album, featured 29 songs in a country mix on one disc mid the same songs in pop mixes on the other. The album, and several llgh from it, topped the charts. .1 Greatest Hits album, in 2004, maintained I wain's commercial success. (her the next few years, the singer look "time out' to Ii nine h mother, divorced from Lange and published her autobiography. In I lei ember 2012 she will start a two-year residency in Lis Vegas, with a In.m Shmi.i: Slid the One' and is planning to mind again. Shania Twain is a 74 Understanding popular music culture popular music autcur whose work and marketable image made her a star, although her success illustrates the frequent contribution of others to musical authorship. Lady Gaga Slefaui Gennanotla, better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is a pop star born in and of the internet age. She has exploited the reach of the web and social media, constantly eomniunicating widi her dedicated and extensive fans (the 'little monsters') lit rough Faeebook and Twitter; she debuts her videos on YouTube and is die most downloaded artist in history. As leading business magazine Forbe observed in November 2009: 'I^ady Gaga isn't the music industry's new Madonna, bite's its new business model' (cited Callahan, 2010: 12). While some accounts see Gaga as moving in 18 months (2009-2010) from being an 'unknown' performer to being 'the biggest star in the world' (Callahan, 2010: 1), hers was not an overnight success story. Gaga, who began learning piano at age four, had l>een song writing and performing since high school and in New York clubs since 200"). Early performance clips on YouTube. demonstrate her already evident talent in musicianship, vocal ability and commanding stage presence, Biographical accounts and interviews (Crigoriadis, 2H10; lliutt, 2009), emphasize her drive and determination from an early age to succeed in the music business. Indeed, in many ways, Gaga personifies rhr traditional route to success, based on hard work and live performance, sketched earlier (Chapter 3), Gaga created a perlbrinance persona and spectacle, which creatively pulled together a brieolagc of hundreds of pop art direads. Maureen Callahan, attending a sold-iiui I-ady Gaga concert at the Manchester Evening News Arena, the largest in the UK, holding 21,000, observed that among the people and things Gaga referenced, overtly and covertly, on the night were: The Wizard of Oz; the late designer Alexander McQueen's 200G fashion show, in which Kate Moss appeared as a ghostly 3-D lloating hologram; a famous image of McQueen binding a model - face painted white, streaks ol red paint streaming from the eyes, mouth gagged with black ribbon - in swathes of white; the Broadway musical lient; the archly art-directed interstitial clips MTV pioneered on its award shows; Elton John and Billy Joel; Rnb Reiner's classic 1984 rock spoof, Tins is Spinal Tap; Cirque du Soleil; Japanese horror films of the 1950s; shock artists Tracey Emin and Damien thirst; David Bowie and Freddie Mercury; the entire gay subculture of ilk-past three decades; the stark black-and-white aesthetic of the great rock: photographer Anto Corbijn. And, of course, Madonna. (Callahan, 2010: b) lady Gaga's debut single 'Just Dance' was released on 8 April 2008; il pn cedrd her first album by lour months, m sei up the .din......lease and cie.iic a demand lot il. 'Ihr Fame (or Fame, in KNM inaikels) was released on II Oiiuhci I Auteurs and stars 75 2008, By this lime, 'Jusl Dance' had done well internationally, especially in the I urapean dance music market and the single now spent the North American milliliter on the Billboard Hot Dance Music - Club Parly Chart, peaking at no. I in January 2009. Il was followed by the release of a fnrlher single from the llbum, 'Poker Face', which was an international no. I hit. The market trajectory nl the album reflected llie success of the singles and the impact of Gaga's sub-si ■ |in iit success at major music awards, along widi several high-profile media il'peaiantes. A career 'lipping point' was her performance of'Paparazzi' at the (009 MTV Video Music Awards (13 September), when she won Best New Artist. Cum was i hen Bill board's Artist of the Year for 2010 and 7ime magazine named In i line ol the most influential people in the world. Ihr Fame peaked at no. 2 on Billboard and by mid-2011 had sold 4.2 million Copies in the US alone. The success of her next release, the eight-track EP, Hi, Fume Monster, which reached no. 5 on Billboard and sold 1.5 million copies, II ililtd Lady Gaga to embark on the 18-month long Monster Ball Tour, which became one of the highest grossing concert tours of all time. Her 2011 album, ftm this Way, also topped charts internationally, selling 1.1 million copies in the In a week of its release in the US market, Ixiosted by online retailer Amazon's i ouiroversially selling the album for 90c, to promote its new cloud senile. lady Gaga is not only a highly successful contemporary recording and touring no is, she is a celebrity widiin the wider pop culture. She continues to be featured in numerous music and fashion magazine cover stories and appeals on lending uilk shows and at music and fashion awards. In October 2010, eight wax models of the singer w«re unveiled by Madame Tussauds' waxwork museums iround the world, al a cost oT USS2.1 million, with each dressed differently in ■ if luation of ihe singer's provocative fashion sense. Gaga is actively and pub-In ally involved with humanitarian causes. Her stage show statements and tweets following the Japanese tsunami disaster (in February 2011) brought the rebuilding • i loii to the attention of her 20 million followers on Twitter. In 2012, at Harvard I Diversity, she launched her 'Born This Way Foundation' aimed al empowering ......g people through addressing issues such as self-confidence, well-being and •lamping out bullying. Conclusion Ihe aulciiis and stars I have considered hen: share a number of charactei isli ■■. \i a fairly self-evident level, in their musical careers diey all exercise considerable . nun ol over their artistic lives, perhaps because this has often been hard won. All ' . an ability lo retain an audience across time, either through reinventing tin u • i ona/image or through exploring new avenues in their music. They all have i liiii d a siibsiaiitial body of work, olten multimedia in form; and lliey have all In i n, lo vaiying degrees, seeking new ways ol irinterpreting or reaffirming |>op-iiI.ii music styles. These characteristics apply lo bolh auletirs and slats, bill llie I.iin i go Uyoud litem, lo function as mylliii lonnirui is, related lo then audiences • olliiitM and individual relationship i<> tin iuh.ii .unl performei (Marshall, 76 Understanding papular music culture 1997: 163). Popular music stars and auteurs also represent economic entities, a unique commodity form which is both a labour process and product. The continuity of their careers contributes to stability in the marketplace, thereby enhancing the cultural and potential commercial value of their musical 'texts'. Further reading Stardom and celebrity Hayward, S. (2000) Kh Concepts in Cinema Studies, London, New York: Routledge. Kelly, K. and McDonnell, E. (1909) Stars Don't Stand Still in tlie Sky, Umdoti: Kinidedge. Marshall, P.D. (1997) Celebrity and Pouw; Fame in Contemporary Culture, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. Biographical material, often situated around interviews and new releases, is aj staple |>art of the music press, 'lite brief career profiles included here can be supplemented by the extensive entries on each in Wikipedia, and official artist websites, Robert Johnson and the blues Robert Johnson. The, Complete Recordings, Columbia, 1990 (boxed set). The two known photos of Johnson can be seen at: www.deltahaze.com Pearson, B. and McCuILoch, B. (2003), Robed Jokttsvn: Loit and Found, Urbaim, IL University of Illinois Press (especially Chapter 13). Documentaries; The Search for Robert Johnson, Sony, 1992 (DVD). Can't Ton IlearTJie Wind Howl? The Life andMask oj'Robert Jafmsoii, Shout, 1997 (DVD). Aukurs and stars 77 Luiden. AT. (1997) The Spit* Girls, New York: Ballanline Books, h-mish, D. (2003) 'Spice World: Constructing Femininity the Popular Way', I"vfmttir Mask and Society, 26, 1: 17-29. Movie; Spice, World, Virgin, 1997, Shuniu Twain and country t wie (in Ofw, Mercury Records, 1998. Omtest Hits, Mercury, 2004. Il.ui.-r, B. (1998) Ore ihr Way. Vie life, and Music oj Simula Tivain, New York: Berkeley Boulevard, I n.iiu, S. (2011) From als Moment On, New York: Ania Books. I HIicial web site: www.sliamaiwaiu.com l.ady Gaga limn this Way, Interscope Records 201 I. ti" Fume, Interscope Records, 2000. Ii» Fume Monster, Interscope Records, 2009. t HIicial web site: www.ladygaga.com Callahan, M. (2010) Poker Face. The Rise and Rise of Lady Gaga, New York: Hyperion. Origoriadis, V. (2011) 'Crowing Up Gaga', in A. Rossand D, Carr (etls), Best Music Writing 2011, Philadelphia, PA: Perseus Books/ Da Capo Press. I bau, U. (2009) 'New York Doll', Rolling Stone, August, cover story: 'The Rise of I *id\ Caga'. Phil Speclvr Back Tn Mono (1958-1969), Spector/Abko, 1991 (boxed set). Moorefield, V. (2005) The Producer as Composer. Shaping the, Soundi of Popular Mmic, Cambridge, MA: MIT' Press. (Includes a case study of the Ronettes, 'Be My Baby'.) Rihowtsky, M. (1989) He's A Rebel, New York: E.P. Dutton. Thompson, D. (2005) Wall of Pain. The Biography of Phil Specior, Bodmin: Sanctuary Publishing. The Spice Girls Spice, Virgin, 1996. Spice World, Virgin, 1997. F'ornfr, Virgin, JtlOO.