Ttxiual aiwly.iii and popular muxicalogy 79 5 'Message Understood?' Textual analysis and popular musicology The term 'text' has traditionally heen used m refer to an author's original words,] or a prose work especially one recommended for student reading. Mora recently, ax a cultural studies term, text refers to any media form that is self-contained and conveys cultural meaning, including television progiainmi's, recordings, I ill ns and books. Popular music texts are quite diverse, embracing both sound and visual examples, with these at times combined. The most prominent are aura! texts: sound recordings, in various formats, the torus of thin chapter. In addition, there are graphic texts, most notably album covers, and J audiovisual texts, primarily music videos. Other forms of popular music text; include music magazines, posters, (-shirts, lour brochures and fan club meichan-disc. Musical performances, especially concerts, and DJ discourse have a bo; been analyzed as Ibrms of musical text. These various forms are frequently interconnected and mutually reinforcing. Following a brief consideration of the nature of textual analysis, 1 turn in musical texts with particular reference ro issues around musicology, rht* analysis of song lyrics, and the nature and status of 'covers'. Chapter 6 considers texts as 'coUeotrvities', through discussions of genre and the album canon. Due to its close association with MTV and YouTube, music video, the, main example ol .in audiovisual music text, is discussed in Chapter B. Il is obviously difficult to express through language qualities that are often visual and aural, rather then linguistic. Accordingly, the book's associated website provides links lo websites where album cover art, song lyrics and recordings catv be accessed. Textual analysis Textual analysis is concerned with identifying and analyzing the formal qualities of texts, their underpinning structures and constituent eh a racl eristic. As such, it has become closely associated with various approaches to content and disriiuisr analysis, including scoliotic analysis. Studies of allium covers, lot example, show how they convey meaning through the seuiiotic resources they draw on and ilis-play, via language, typography, images and layout iMachin, 2010). They nuki M ailislic sialeineul in relation to the Ktyle ol iimi.h ihnii^h thiii assm ialinn with 11, ii iniilar iconography, for example the use af apoealyplic imagery hi heavy iun.il Ltnd die fantasy imagery of progressive rock (see the examples in Ochs, I'l'JO). Album covers also consolidate and sustain ihe representation of artists as .....ii. figures. For example, Island's marketing of Boh Marie t and the Wailers, ivilli i overs constructing ±\Jarley as a star figure and the baud as politically mihiritir style rebels, was important lo their commercial success ami the main-Rrrarrung of reggae in the 1970s (see the discussion of this in Chapter 7). The iiIUiiii covers of the Beatles recordings were especially notable: 'groundbreaking In their visual and aeslhelic properties (and) their innovative and imaginativr ■ It-sinus' (higlis, 2001: they forged a link with the expanding British graphic design industry and die an world, while making explicit the connections between ioth (see later). Intertextaajily is also evident in the ■ Ii • muse around preferred slyles and performers and implicit in ihe repackaging nl I he hack catalogue of recordings as generic <>ampiUnions and boxed sets. I In inline Oracyk (2001: Chapter 3) provides a number of interesting musical IKairipleS, making ihe poiul that such 'inlluences, connections, and allusions i ii all- nuances of meaning that cannot be grasped simply through a general milirtextuaUty' (59). \ | mini of debate around popular culture is its ideological role in reinforcing mid reproducing dominant values through their representation in popular texts. CiilicH who concentrate on the text iiself, oflen using concepts; ironi senuotk mi I |r.\i luiaiialylic analysis, argue that there frequently exists in the text a pre-l. ned leading, that is, a dominant message set within the cultural code of e.stab-I In 11 i om rnlions and practices of iln- produi i rs/transmitters of the text. I I..inm i, while many consumers may, at least implicitly or subconsciously, accept .in Ii pi i hi i cd readings, ii ritual be kepi in mind that il is not necessarily true that .ill listeners do so. In particular, snUuriinaie groups may reinterpret such textual mi. hi . making 'sense' of them in a different way. 'the Strawbs 'Part of the I iimn', intended as i direct attack on trade unionism, achieved the opposite chili when snug by striking Coventry cai winkers, The study of pop fans simi-l,nK MlggrttU dial riiliunil meanings are iiliun.iii h ni.idi by i imsiinieis, even if UO t.hidimtaiutíng popular musk culture this process is under conditions and opportunities not of their own choostn (see Chapter 10). This opens up the idea of popular resistance to, and subversto dominiím cultures, a view that has 171 formed analysis nf the nature and reception of popular song lyrics and music videos. Musicology and popular song Clearly, the central textual form in popular music is the song, primarily re dttced as individual sound recordings: the single. The analysis of these has been dominated in popular discourse hy fans, the music press and music critics and ir academic work by musicology. To illustrate the issues, the discussion her concentrates uu ruck and pop, the dominant metagenres in popular music. Musicology developed with Western art music and historically privileged the J text by placing the emphasis firmly on its formal properties, Musicologists have| investigated genres such as the blues, jazz and, more recently, pop and rock, music, using conventional concepts derived from the study of more traditional/ classical forms of music: harmony, melody, beat and rhythm, along with voca style and the lyrics. A major early debate in popular music studies was around the value ol" such an approach to pop and rock musical texts. Indeed, there was an argument as to whether popular music, especially rock and pop genres, even merited such a 'serious' analysis. This was clearly evident in the 19SOs, in the bemused reaction of die mainstream British press to the emergence of 'populál music studies', reflecting conservative notions of high culture set against the mass j society critiques of popular music. Academic musicologists at first largely ignored rock and pop music, although notable early exception wiis Wilfred Mellcrs' sympathetic study uf the Beatles Twilight of the Gods (1974}; his example was followed by the pioneering work of, among others, John Shepherd, Philip Tagg, Robert Walser and Susan Mel,ary. Most musicologists, however, were reluctant to engage with a form of music accorded low cultural value in comparison with 'serious' music. At the same time, many sociologists writing on popular music were wary nf musicology. Simon Frith, in one of the first extended academic treatments of pop and rock music, noted how both rock musicians and rock commentators generally lacked 'ihe vocabulary and techniques of musical analysis, and even the descriptive words that critics and fans do use - harmony, melody, riff, beat - are only loosely understood and applied' (Frith, 1983: 13), Frith saw rock critics as essentially preoccupied with sociology rather than sound and identified what has been too ready a willingness to dismiss musicology as having little relevance to the study of popular styles. The arguments here were well rehearsed through the 1980s: traditional musicology neglected the] social context, emphasized the transcription of music (the score) and elevated] harmonic and rhythmic si run 11 re to pride nf place as an evaluative criterion, l'opukii inn,!!, by way of contrast, was seen in iinph.isi/r in n | n i-ialii 11 iluou^li performance uuil as received primarily in termu of I he body and rmolitmi rather than as pure text, M.mv rock mujirUtu uhtcrved ibat rlnnirnl music Textual analysis and popular musicology 81 ■ tpi-iaied according to a different set of musical criteria, which had hide validity (hi ihcir own efforts. Certainly, attempts to apply traditional inusieological criteria could all too ■ 1 uppeur pretentious, as shown bj Fritb's comparison uf two explanations of il>< Animals' 11)64 hit 'I'm Crying'. Richard Middieton, a musicologist, in his 1 tplaitaiion emphasized the formal musical qualities of the composition, including tin 1 mint that: The cross relations in the osrinato (which Ls melodic and harmonic) are die equivalents of blue notes, arising from a similar conflict betweert melodic and tonal implications. 'Itie modal melodic movement of the ostinato, with its minor lliirds, clashes with the tonal need for major triads imposed by the 12-har blues structure. (eked in Frith, 1983: 13) Compare this with Alan Price's description: '1 wrote the music and Erii' (Ihadon) did the words and we jusl threw it togedier in rehearsal in Blackpool. We jusl stuck it together and recorded it and by chance it was successful' (frith, 1 l 13). Middletou's analysis, while accurate, places considerable demands on th< trailer, while Price's casual explanation reflects a romantic rock ideology, with ll< ideal of spontaneous and inspired creativity. In die early 1990s, there were signs that the largely negative attitude toward ri|'| >h ing musicology to popular music was changing. Several musicologists 1 il miiIi popular music genres and texts (for example: McLary and Walser, I'l'Ml, Moore, 1993; Tagg and Clarida, 2003), while popular music scholars gen-n.ilh began to accord musicology more weight in their analyses. This work H" ii die imisi priiiuisiiig, ol a mass of beat gitiups lo spokesmen, stunning on in hall of an unite generation' (Perry, 190ft] SO) While the son^ had a vn\ 86 Underskuuling popular music culture simultaneous sound to il, 'My Generation' had actually been laboriously developer] by Townshcnd, through a number of intermediate stages. As a band, the Who and 'My Generation' were linked to the mod subculture, which began in London around 19-63. In a deliberate marketing move by the group's managers, tlie Who were originally called the High Numbers, whose first Single, 'I'm the Face/Zoot Suit' (1064) drew on mod slang and dress. A youth subculture, mod was basically a working-class movement with a highly stylized form of dress, the fashions of which changed frequently and an interest in America R&1J music, living for weekend partying, the mods took pep pills, particularly "purple hearts' (amphetamines). Several class-based strains of mod appeared, each with distinctive styles: an art school, high-camp version; mainstream mods; scooter boys; and die hard mods, some of whom developed into skinheads. The mod lilestyle parodied and subverted the respectable conventions of their class backgrounds and the relatively unskilled office jobs many of them held. 'My Generation', claims Gary' Herman, 'epitomises everything that Mod meant to the mods themselves and to a whole generation of kids for whom mod was the only adequate expression of their feelings' (Herman, 1971: 62). The song present! a picture of a confused and inarticulate adolescent, with lead singer Roger] Oaltiey singing the vocal in a stuttering fashion that mimics the speed-induced verbal stoppages associated with mod melhedrine use. People try to put us down (Talkiu 'bout my generation) Just because we get around (Talkin 'bout iny generation) Things they do look awful cold (Talkin 'bout my generation) Hope I die beiore 1 get old (Talkin 'bout my generation). The song itself employs what Townshcnd called 'the Who brag form', with iti self-assertive aggressiveness concealing a basic insecurity. Its pace is fail and frantic. It is a combination or bravado and inarticulateness; the stuttering conveys a mix of rage and frustration - as if the singer can't gel the words out, 'My Generation' was a logical progression from the earlier Who singles 'Can't | Explain' and 'Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere', bike them, ii opened with a scries i power chords and rustling drums, which Keith Moon subsequently develops into a slashing attack on his drum kit and John Entwistic's run ibling bass ('perhaps the. J most prominently recorded electric bass in rock np to that time': Marsh, 19t)3: j 1B6). This style, which had developed because the Who had no rhythm guitarist, accordingly meant Townshend's lead guitar is strongly rhythmic, emphasizing chord structures rather than melodic lines. A series of simple chord i lunges keep il„ iii..in i.....n going. I he song builds in inn iiMly, it I ,.....iivndo ■ I Ii i ilbiti k i Inn.ixing with sounds tcuiinist enl ol the (In null si line, »1 lr.nl guitar and drum kit which limned part lagy 87 ii'Milmionary about the song was its use ol leedback. Rather than being used 'as a gimmick separate from the basic How of the music', 'My Generation' uses feed-ti.uk Tor the lust time as an integral part of a rock composition - without it, the wing would he incomplete' (Marsh, iyi3;S: lt!7). This indicates Townshend's reputation as a lead guitarist, in addition to his il,Hiding as the writer of some of the most memorahle lyrics in rock. The Who ......ed exhaustively through the 196tls, particularly in the US where explosive i . n appearances at the Monterey Fop Festival (1967) and Woodstock (1969) .....sulidated dieir standing as one of ruck's premiere live acts. Townshend's gtiltar work earned him recognition among his peers and fans and he consistently placed well in performers' polls in the music press. What made his playing distinctive was his incorporation of it into the group's stage act, with his trademark pn i pel let-arm playing style earning him tlic nickname the Birdman. Townshend's ili-.inn t ion of his guitar at the end of many of the Who's early concerts became a I" iluimanec trademark, as did his experimentation with feedback. I lie reputation of the Who, and Tuwnshentl, rests largely on their early hits: musical acid bombs, uniquely summing np that Sixties teenage attitude which PWtipuunded swaggering confidence with spluttering Lustration', and which 'an Mill touched by a magic that has rarely been duplicated in English rock' (Sinclair, l'0fK2: :ltilTJ2; see also Ferry, 1998). 'My Generation' is regularly included in volumes presenting a canon of rock records and today's youth still finds it of .....iisl, It has clear links with the later 'three-chord thrash' of late 1970s* punk .....I the recent revival of'garage rock', which many students listen to. This, and tin mod association, acts as a nostalgic prompt to further investigation of the song .....I the Who. The Sex Pistols, 'Anarchy in the UK', and punk rock, further illustrates how •wigs are situated in terms of a combination of their formal musical properties, t...... anil social context, along with listeners' responses to them. Wm Pistols: '■Anarchy in the UK' I'unk lock was a musical style with a closely associated youth subculture. The In .tiiiical roots and antecedents of punk have been much debated, as haw its ■ ili i ■ |inl influence (see Satin, 1999). Punk emerged in response to a s|>ecilie «inial and political context, in the UK in iy76 and 1977, affirming a politics of ii -.iiislaciion with contemporary social and economic upheaval, which iiuluilcil h.up rises in youth unemployment, racism and industrial unrest. I.valuation then and since gives 'Anarchy in the UK' (Virgin, 1976) and the Sex 1'i.snils debut album Anw Mmd the lialbtks (Virgin,!977), which ibr many lis-n in is was their lirst expoMire to the song, a key place in the advent ol punk rock in l'i/7 11)78 in die UK, and accords it a lasting influence, Tor Dave Marsh, il (Untilales the musical fracture presented by punk in the laie 1970s; xiuielhidy had figured out how to make iitlislii allv and eoiumiii nil', viable |m|i iiiiimi based on a lliytluuic pruccsH milmde Kit'II. ,i leal nuri|ii.ill< < I liltCfl 88 Understanding popular miuk culture the advent of Elvis Presley; consequently, things were fundamentally different thereafter. It was a true historic disjuncture. (Marsh, 1989: 72) Forjun Savage (1991), it was 'an index of their increasing ambition ... a call to arms, delivered in language that was as explosive as the group's name'. For Creil Marcus ;1992: 594), it was part of the Sex Pistols' rupturing of rode 'n' roll, as they 'broke the Story of rock & roll in half, turning it back on itself, and recasting key questions as to its cultural weight (see also die reviews collected in Heylin, 199«: 137fT.). Savage traces the genesis and impact of 'Anarchy', giving it a definite political intent and accusing John Lydon (Johny Rotten) of'deliberately using inflammatory imagery' particularly the terms 'antichrist' and 'anarchist', both conveying images of apocalypse, the second coming and social chaos: 'there seems little doubt that Lydon was fed material by Vivienne Westwood (McLaren's designer partner) and Jamie Reid (the Pistol's graphic artist), which he then converted lo his own lyric' (Savage, 1991: 204). The raw sound of the song is hardly accidental, as it went through a number of versions and recording sessions. 'Anarchy in the UK' was one of seven songs recorded by the group in July 1976 and it was these tapes that their manager Malcom McLaren look to the recording companies. With a stagnant music industry largely reading lo trends rather than initiating them, the Pistols' material at first created little interest: When production values were complex and smooth, the Goodman (producer, Dave Goodman) tapes capture the group's live sound 'of broken glass and rusty razor blades'. In 197fi, they must have sounded to the uninitiated like a rougher, more inept version of the new wave of Pub Rock bands, none of whom had reached the attention of the industry. (Savage, 1991: 206; see also Heylin, 1998) Two days after they signed for EMI, the Sex Pistols again recorded 'Anarchy in the UK.', which was to be their first single. The first attempts 'to get the spirit of live performance' (bass player Glen Matlock) proved unsatisfactory and it was eventually re-recorded with a different producer, Cliris Thomas replacing Dave Goodman. On 26 November 1976 the single was finally released: "A much cleaner, more mainstream version, it was hy that stage so loaded with expectation that it was difficult to listen objectively' (Savage. 1991: 255). Following the infamous Grundy interview of die group on Thames Television on 2 December and the subsequent controversy and distribution problems, the single climbed tl , acknowledged that he, was comfortable with Danger Mouse's project, but EMI, the Ueaties1 label, attempted to prevent the distribution of Tita Grey Album. Music: activists responded by coordinating a major online protest, 'Grey Tuesday1, wil at least 170 websites risking a lawsuit by hosting the album (1 loward-Spink, 20114; McLeod, 2005b). In his extensive analysis of new 'configurable.1 technologies, Aram Sinnreich sees such mash-ups as further examples of die social and economic ramification! posed by these technologies, which are undermining the traditional consumer/ producer dichotomy of musical production. Along with remixes, mash-ups problematic the distinction between the 'original' and ihe 'copy', in die prunes* raising questions of authorship and die musical division or labour: 'Who is the author of a mash-up, and who is its audience? Are DJs composers or performers Is a digital music file source material or finished product?' (Sinnreich, 2010: 8), Finally, I want to consider a particular Ibrm of song text, cover versions, which again demonstrate debates around commerce, creativity and authenticity. Cover versions (liner versions are performance! and recordings by musicians not responsibk fo| the origin.d iccnriling Historically, t hnu* wiie nlnn \i.iml,ml .mil were die Textual analysis ami popular muskulogy 91 Naples of singers' repertoire for most of the 1940s and 1050s. Reflecting industry I.....petition and as part of marketing strategy, record companies would release linn ,u lists' cover versions of hits from then" competitors. In the 1950s, white llngrra covered die original rock V roll recordings by black artists, often sanitizing llx in in die process (e.g. Pat Boone's cover ol Little Richard's 'Tutti Krutli"), in an ■ Mini by record companies to capitalize on the ethnic divide in American radio, i ,i n Ír ism of this frequently exploitative practice led to covers being equated with .i l.nk of originality and regarded as not as creative, or authentic, as the original I.....ding. This view was reinforced by the aesthetics and ideology of 1960s' rock Vulture, valuing individual creativity and the use of one's uiwi compositions (Kcighllcy, 2003). More recently, it has been recognized that many song covets li.ui lieen creative in their own right ('Hie Wire, 2005; Solis. 2010; and see the i dimples thai lulkjwj. There is an economic dimension to covers, since they ate a proven product il>.ii .iu audience can often identify with. Accordingly, many covers, especially itinii played by cover and tribute bands, seek to replicate the original recorded ......i as closely as possible. Covers have also featured strongly in the charts, . |.. i i.illy since die late 1900s. There is a fresh generation of listeners and a new II -ii lor a recycled song, as reissues, compilation albums and him soundtracks .....H i m i- to demonstrate. Such marketing practices and career choices can urn lei mine the status of covers, but the negative image of the cover song is Midi w ivcd. Interpretation of the originál recording aside, covers have provided a ii.....ng gi ound tor musicians and háve often served as a form of homage- lo the m filial artists. Playing and recording covers is a way for artists to authenticate d.....selves with iheir audience, through idculilication widi respected original uiiisis. Elvis l'rcsley:s Sun pelIbimauccs of' That's Alright Mama' (Sun, 1955), UľígiliaJI; recorded by R&B singer Arthur 'big Boy' Grudup, and his version of ílu Uucgrass classic ■Blue Moon of Kentucky', rehearsed the singer's intluences .i.-l miiuiliuied to the formation of rockabilly and rock 'n1 roll in the l!)50s. I Kiel in iheir careers, established bauds and performers will sometimes record ■ mm albums of rovers, in a 'tip of the hať to dieir influences (lor example, Mclallica, Matthew Sweel and Susanna Huffs). In die UK, in the late 1950s and early 1900s, a number of musicians became lilii lutrly interested in black American performers, including those whose work I-i i A ii led die antecedents of rock %' roll. Groups such as the Rolling Stones, the \ .iidbinls, and the Animals began playing covers or reworked versions of \nniiiuti it&B and blues, gradually transforming the musk into what became known as 'rock1. A significant audience emerged for this music, stimulated by .........ľ f.nglaiid by several leading American blucsuten, including Howliif Wolf ílu I Mm Ids W.i I its ( iuilai isl fric CI,i|>lou was pri imincni ;inii aig ilm.sc ivacliing Inn k beyond 1950s' rock V roll lo country and electric blues for inspiration and ..... ■» al texts. In 1900, with two other key figures in I lie British rhythm and bints .....vetucnt, (linger Baker (drums) and.Jack Br IKE (bus), Clapton formed Cream. I Ik .....i......- together in » conscious Mtcrnpt la push (he boundaries of mek through developing ihe potential of Mm•» b.i ■ d imitil ,uiil prilnnncil and 92 Understanding popular musk culture recorded versions of blues' classics, notably Willie Dixon's 'Spoonful', itself based on Cliarlie Pat ton's 'A Spoonful of Blues' (1929). Headlam (1997) instructive!) tracers these back to their original sources in Chicago and Helta blues. To illustrate how artists 'seek to define themselves in relation to traditions and genres odier than their own', Butler examines two covets by the Pet Shop Boys: 'Where the Streets Have No Name', originally hy rock hand U'2 (1987) and I 'Go West', originally by the disco/dance group the Village People (1979). Tliel musical sound, performance style wild lyrical themes of each pair of songs, and the discourse surrounding their production and reception, show how these coven provide an intertextual commentary on the original works. He argues that the Pet Shop Boys subvert the U2 song, 'poking fun at certain common ways of exposing authenticity in 1980s rock' and their cover of 'Go West', as a 'stomping disco record', repositions disco as a form of roots music for the gay community of the 1990S (Butler, 2003: 1). Covers are a significant part of the repertoire uf many other performers, with the ability to 'mine' and revise the musical past, regarded as a virtue. Joan Jett, who played rhythm guitar in the teenage female hard rock band the Runaway*,] initialed a solo career widi 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' (Boardwalk, 1982,1. A remake ol an obscure B side by British band the Arrows, Joan Jett and the Blaekhearis' version was one of the biggest hits of the 1980s, spending seven weeks at no, 1 mi the US Billboard chart. The song provided the title track lor a successful album, which also included "Crimson and Clover', originally a no. 1 hit for Tommy James and the Shondells in 1967. Released as a single, Jen's rover of this reachec no. 7. She had further chart success with a cover of Gary Glitter's 'Do Youl Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)' and subsequently released an album of covers, 'Hit j Hit f.i\t (I'.pic. 199(1). featuring songs she had frequently played in concert. As it quirky footnote to this, the Arrows' version of '1 l.»ve Rock 'n' Roll' was itself I an oblique form of cover, being written in response to the rather cynical and 1 world-weary tone of the Rolling Stones' single, "It's Only Rock ln' Roll'. At the beginning other music career, punk poet Patti Smith appropriated and adapted songs associated with masculinity anil the niiiumlii ivrirl liadihon :n rock, inflecting them with a radical feminism. In her first single, a cover of'Hey Toe'j Smith replaced the original wife-murderer in the song with female tenon i and media celebrity Patri Hurst. On her critically acclaimed debut album HoriQ (Arista, 1975), Smith covered Van Morrison's 'Gloria' (originally recorded by Them, in 1966). Them had recorded 'Gloria1 in a proto-punk, garage rock siyle, with a basic beat, Van Morrison's growled vocals and a ragged chanted chorus: 'G-L-O-R-l-A: Gloria'. The song's lyrics emphasize the appeal of Gloria - 'she'll make you feel alright' and cater to the male fantasy of seduction by a female temptress. Them's 'Gloria' can be considered an example of male-coded ruck 'if roll, sometimes referred to as 'cock rock'. This became an alternative icim fur hard rock, highlighting the genre's often explicit and aggressive expression ol male sexuality, ns misogynist lyrics ami its phallic imagery, Cock ruck |xtI.....len were regarded as aggressive, dominating and boastful, a si......- ii was aigued, evident fan thefa live shows. lexluul analysis and popular musitrology 93 Against this tradition, Patti Smith reworks the song from a female point of • Vi, exposing Morrison's macho stance with an exaggerated leering 'male' vocal ncrfbrmance and using gender ambiguities to parody the 'malejtess' of Van Morrison's song. At various points in the song, Smidi slips into gendered 'char-« i< is*, undermining the dominant male rock vocal of the original, along with its numerous cover versions hy male rock bands (Daley, 1997: 237). On stage and in In i personal style, Smith emulated the toughness of male rebellion, but regarded liej band's music as 'feminine music'. In her striking photograph (by Robert M.ipplcdiorpe) on the cover of Hones (Arista, 1975), Smith is dressed in jeans and I white shirt, with a tie draped around her neck, conveying an air of selT-assurance exual ambiguity. Along with her music, this stance enabled Smith lo challenge patriarchal control ;uid attempt to bridge rock's gender gap, as have later I" iloi'iners such as Bjork, PJ. Harvey and Tori Amos, Recent analyses of covers have extended lite earlier considerations of issues uf It and sexuality and ethnicity, lo show how 'cover versions can supply case Hindus for the textual illustration and mounting of discussion around questions of Id lllil) and political power' (Griffiths, 2002; see also Solis, 2010). Conclusion I have aigued that musirolngy has much to oiler as an approach to the analysis of in i lical texts, provided that we also recognize diat songs exist very much within a broader set of social relations. As the musicologist Nicholas Cook puts it, there is I need lor 'the reconciliation of today's broadened agenda with the traditional ill 'ipliue's practices of close textual reading. Li other words, we need to find I i ol talking about music and its social or ideological meaning at the same ...... (< took, n.d.). Obviously, my discussion of the songs included here has been I.mm d, especially in relation to the way in which the music 'works' with the lyrics '■ate an aural text: the recording. To engage with them further, it is necessary to led n to the recordings (through iTunes) and view them as performances (through \.hi lube). At the same time, it is necessary to go beyond musical texts as indi-v "Inal entities, and their qualities as music, to consider how they create particular II letting experiences and an audience for their performers. This includes id ling texts as 'collectivities' and the role of genre. Further reading /Vi/iu/cir rnusiculugy |Ve also Appendix 2: Musical analysis.] aid, I) .mil < .loag. I). (2005) Afusicokgr. Vie Key Concepts, Abingdon, New York: Kiiutledge. (look \ What is musit ology^', vvwvv.mia.ac.uk/ailii les Inili, S. (2007) 'Why Do Songs I hue VV'oiilsf" in I'upulw Mus'u Seriously. S,lnttil /viirtvi \l. lei shot: Ashgalr (lilst publish. <| I'lHH) 94 Undenlwu!i?tg popular music culture llenninn, A. (2003) 'Music and Mediation: Towards a New Sociology ol'Music', in II. Clayton, T. Herbert and R. Middleton (eds), The Cultural Study of Music: i Critical Introduction, New York, London: Routledge, pp. 80-91. Middleton, R. (ed.) (2000) Reading Pop: Approaches lo Textual Analysis in Populai Ah Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. Moore, AT. (ed.) (2003) Analyzing Popular Music, Cambridge, New Yor Cambridge University Press, Scott, D. (ed.) (2009) The Ashgate fosearck Companion to Popular Alitskvlogy, Farnhai Burlington, VT: Ashgate. Tagg, P. and CUirida, B. (2003) Ten Littk Titts Tunes: Touxnds a A/usicology of i Alass Aledia, New York, Montreal: Mass Media Musicologists' Press. Mush-ups Howard-Spink, S. (2004) 'Crey Tuesday: online cultural activism and the mash-up of music and polities', First Monday, 9, 10. McLeod, K. (200.1) 'Conlessions of an Intellectual (Property): Danger Mouse, Mickey Mouse, Sunny Bono, and My Long and Winding Path as a Copyright Activist-Academic', Popular Aiusk and Society, 28, 1: 79 94. Sinnreidi, A. (2010) Mashed lip. Aiusk, Technology arid the Rise of Configurable Cub Amherst, Boston, NLA: University of Massachusetts Press. Covers Griffiths, D. (2002) 'Cover Versions and the Sound of Identity in Motion', D, llesmondhalgh and K, Negus (eds), Popular Aiusk Studies, London: Arnold. Keightley, K.. (2003) 'Covers1, in J. Shepherd, D. Horn, D. I-aing, P. Oliver and P. Wicke, (eds) lite Encyclopedia uf Popular Aiusk of the World, Volume 1, London: Cassell. Plasketes, C. (guest ed.) (2005) Popular Aiusk and Society, 28, 2, 'Special issue: Like a Version Cover Songs in Popular Music*. Solis G. (ed.) (2010) Play it Again: Cover Songs in Popular Musk, Aldershot: Ashgate. 6 'It's Still Rock ; Negus, 1999; some accounts, wanting to ground tin iIi.iiism.....nine in musicology, prelii llie term style lo genre, for instance i Ii niton, 1994) and studies of pari it nlui rentes have been forced (o grapple with llie iwiiie. 96 Understanding popular mask culture Genie is central to the wider popular music culture. Genre categories are tM dent in the A&R and marketing practices of sound recording companies; the dam collected hy recording industry organizations (for example, the RIAA's consuinei profile statistics); industry publications such as Billboard, especially its chart listingfl the formats of radio stations and MTV channels; music retail; and the musfcl press. Fans will frequently identify themselves with particular genres, often demonstrating considerable knowledge of the complexities of their preferences (suli" i genres). The various popular music encyclopedias, the standard histories, journalistic 1 and academic analyses, all use genre as a central organizing concept. Jennifer Lena and Richard Peterson (2008) provide a useful survey of what they see its two dominant approaches to the study of musical genre: iliosi grounded in musicolugy, which identify genre as music sharing distinctive musical characteristics, and accounts that place genre study more firmly in a social conn text, which they see as having greater explanatory power. Following thr' 'social context' approach, they define music genres as 'systems of orientations, expectations, and conventions that bind together an industry, performers, critics, and fans in making what they identify as a distinctive sort of music' (2008: r>9B),J This situates genre is a process: as Frith has observed, for musicians genre categories constitute an effective shorthand for discussing and making music; Tor] listeners, genre helps organize the listening process; and for die industry, genre combines musical style (the sound) and the marketing of it (Frith, 199*3 79 95). In part, critical analysis has concentrated on die tension between an emphasis I on 'standardized codes dial allow no margin for distraction' (Fahbri, 1999), and the lluidity uf genres as these codes are elaborated on and challenged arid displaced by new codes. While musical genres continue to function as marketing categories and reference points ibr musicians, critics and fans, particular example! clearly demonstrate that genre divisions must be regarded as highly fluid. No styM is totally independent of those dial have preceded it and musicians borrow .1, incuts from existing styles and incorporate them into new forms. Gharlej Kronengold (2008) provides an insightful example of this, in his discussion ol thi links between three late 1970s' genres - disco, new wave and album-oriented rock - normally viewed as distinct, but that 'overlap in varying degrees with respect to their historical moment, modes of dissemination, instiunion.il frames (like record labels), musical materials, personnel, and audiences' (43), lie observes dial: When you study these genres yon can't entirely abandon the notion of g< on as a set of rules and constitutive features; but these and other genres ol the seventies can oflen be better referenced to their internal variety and proliferation of suhgenres, their modes of revision and transformation, and theil movement towards other genres. ii:ii Drawing on this literature, several distinguishing characteristic's of genre* i an be identified and applied lo iheil studv I list, tin ir are the slylisli. Hails pil w III Gmn, authenticity ami the nuton lJ7 in die musk: their musical characteristics, which produce an identifiable sound, Hct in ding Lo conventions of composition, instrumentation and performance. IVsc may vary in terms of their coherence and suslainability, particularly 1.....1 metagenies. Along with other aspects of genre, particular musical cliar- .....islics can be situated within the general historical evolution of popular music. mid, there are other, essentially non-musical, stylistic attributes, most notably ....." "»d its associated visual style. This includes standard iconography and .......1 covin- lonual; rhc locale and sti ncture of perlbrmances, especially hi ........it. and the dress, makeup and hair styles adopted by bolh the performers Uld I heir lisieners and fans. Musical and visual stylistic aspects combine in i. litis of bow they operate lo produce particular ideological effects, a set ofasso- ".....1« thai situate the genre within die broader musical constituency. Third ill. re is the primary audience for particular styles. The relationship between tints .....d subcultures) and their genre preferences is a Ibrm of Iransaction, mediated fiv tin lin ins of delivery, creating specific cultural lbrms with sets of expectations. I Jeiiies are accorded specific places in a musical hierarchy by bolh critics and and by many performers. This hierarchy is loosely based around ihe Milium of authenticity, sincerity and commercialism. The critical denigration of •'inn genres, including disco, dance pop and the elevation uf others, such ■ ih. country, reflects this and mirrors the broader, still widely accepted, high/low culture split. Fourth, there are the institutional frames and practices, i.illy within the recording companies (sec Negus, 1999), which help shape He u res. Elsewhere (Shuker, 2012), I have identified and provided brief introductions to I ' popular music nictagcnres: blues (including R&H and gospel}, country, I DM: electronic dance music, folk, heavy metal, jazz, pop, hip-hop, reggae, rock, mil and world music. Obviously, especially given the lluidity of genres 1 meii-i' m I earlier, these designations are open to debate. For example, should R&B Suspel be 'lumped in' with blues or is the: Liter more appropriately placed Willi soul? These metageure divisions are, in part, necessary heuristic devices, .....brella' terms to give some structure to a cultural field. Each is characterized b having a specific geographical, social and cultural and historical point of " ni, a broad musicologic al identity; and a subsequent history of stylistic and .......Liiional diffusion, wilh emergent associated major genres and suhgenres. \ hi example of die framing of metagenies, let me consider the two most ■ < itiiiinmly referred to: rock and pop. Rock| pop and authenticity I III terms 'pop' and rock' are often used as shorthand for 'popular music', at the ..... nine as there is a tendency to eontrasl and polarize ihe two styles. They arc I" .i regarded OS broadly constituted niciagcnres and as commercially produced ..... |" loi lousumpliiiii by a mass market Similarities uf production aside, there ......ipoi'lant ideological assumption* behind 11 it distinction between pop and lock, largely based aioiinti thr concrpl ol .iiiiln inn ||« 98 Understanding popular musk culture Authenticity A central concept in the discourses surrounding popular music, authenticity is imbued with considerable symbolic value. As commonly used, die term authenticity assumes that the producers of music texts undertook the 'creative' work themselves; that there is an element of originality or creativity present, along with connotations of seriousness, sincerity and uniqueness; and that while the input of Others is recognized, it is the musicians' role that is regarded as pivotal. IiuportaJM in identifying and situating authenticity are die commercial setting in which a recording is produced, widx a tendency In dichotomize the music industry into independent labels (more aulheulic, less commercial) and the majors (more commercial, less authentic). Perceptions of authenticity (or non-authenticity) are also present in the degree lo which peiformers and records are assimilated and legitimized by particular subcultures or communities. As I outlined in Chapter 3, authenticity is traditionally associated with live performance, a view undermined by the rise of disco and liter dance cultures. The use of authenticity as a ceniral evaluative criterion is commonly seen in the discussions of the relative nature and merits of particular genres and performers within popular music culture, e.g. vernacular community-based styles of folk, country blues and roots music are I frequently perceived as more authentic, than their commercialized forms. Alan Moore usefully moves the discussion of (he concept beyond simple polarities (authentic versus unaudieulie), by postulating a tripartite typology dependent on asking who, rather then what, is being authenticated. As he suggests, authenticity is most usefully conceived of as 'a construction made in die act ol listening' (Moore, 2002: 210). Accordingly, we should be asking not if particular stylistic characteristics ran be considered 'authentic', or non-authentic, hut rather how authenticity is constructed in particular music genres and performers and lite I strategies involved. This process is evident in relation to pop and lock. Pop: 'Silly Love Songs' (Paul McCartney) As Philip Pnnií (1992) documents, pop music was evident in three of the defining 'streams' tiiat eventually overlap and fuse in the evolution of American popular music: 1 Pop' as the commercial music of the nation, associated with Tin Pan Alley, musical theatre, die motion picture and the rise of radio, 2 'black pop', Lhe popular music of black Americans, commercially domesticated around 1900 and from 1920 tu 1948 known as 'race music'. 3 'Country pop', the popular music of the American white south and southwest. Alongside these were three smaller streams: jaw,, folk and gospel. Collectively, these sis si reams were the 1>.lms lm tin , in.-igriu e in the I Tills of what Funis, in common with many tidier commentators, terms 'rock 'n' mil', his seventh stream. ItoUawiOfl Its Tin Pan Alley antecedents, pop was seen ()s, Musically, pop became defined by its general accessibility, its commercial orientation, an emphasis on memorable hooks, or choruses and a lyrical pre-imupatiou \sitli romantic love as a theme. Tin; musil il aesthetics of pup are essentially conservative: 'ft is about providing popular tunes and cliches in which in express commonplace feelings - love, loss, and jealousy' (Frith, 2001: 90). Along with songwriters, producers are often regarded as the main creative force In hind pop artists. Accordingly, as a genre in the marketplace, pop's defining liature is that 'It is music produced commercially lor profit, as a tnatter of enterprise not an' (Frith, 2001: 94). Over the past half century it has frequeitlly been collapsed into and equated with 'popular' and includes a range of styles under labels such as 'chart pop' and 'teen pop'. Much of pop is regarded as dis-pusable, tbr-the-mument dance music; the best of it survives as 'golden oldies' and ■ lassie hits'. While pop has a long musical history, predating the 1950s, it became used in a Heiii'tic sense as the umbrella name lor a special kind of musical product aimed at ,i teenage market, especially in the UK. Reflecting the dominance of teen pop in the lute 1950s, pop became used in an oppositional even antagonistic sense, tn lock music (see later). 'Pop' became used to characterize diart- and teenage .uiiliciice-oriented music, particularly the genres of dance pop, bubbleginn, power pop, and the new romantics, and peiformers such as the girl groups of the I'Mills, their 1990s' equivalents, and rhe ubiquitous boy bands of lhe modern era. Pop is also currently prominent in reality television shows such as Pop Idol (see Chapter U). The most significant of tiiese styles has been chari-oriemed, dance pop. As with pop generally, dance pop is often maligned, in part because of its perceived commercial orientation and its main audience of adolescent girls -'ii fiiybnppers'. Commercially highly successful exponents include Kylie Minogue, I'.mla Abdul and Baimnaraiiia in the 1980s; the Spice Girls and Britney Spears in lhe 1990s; and, currently. Kaly Perry, Just in Bieber and Lady Gaga. flu debate around lhe Spice Girls, who had enormous international success in lhe late 1990s, exemplified the discourse around dance pop, especially regarding ii , i ouuiiodifit ation and authenticity. The Spice Girls slogan, 'Girl Power', slres-inl female bonding, a sense of sisterhood, friendship and self-cuulrol, evident through their person as, press interviews and the lyrics to their songs. However, i iiius pointed to the contradictions between the Spice Girls professed self- ■ spiessiun and iheir subversion to standard sexualized 'feminine' images and linn incorporation into a male-donriiiatcd music industry, thereby sustaining ■ I ni 11 ii. ii u ginoVi ideologies (see their career profile in Chapter 4). I he success of these pop performers was frequently attributed to die Svengali-likc inllueiiec of producers and professional songwriters (e.g. Stock Aiken Water-in. in .nuI British 'new pup' in the 1980s) and exposure through MTV and energetic \ ii In i |h 'tin niancrs (e.g. Uiilucy Spears), as much as or more than musical tuleni. I'll,i\, pop is increasingly identified will lhe wider culture of celebrity. Some |xip i" 11 ol mils capitalize nil llieii pnoi pnbhi visibility in lilm and 100 Understanding popular mask culture television, fashion and society, using this to (they hope) launch a recording career (Bans Hilton, Hillary' Duff}. Conversely, others use pop success and celebrity as a I launch pad to commodity themselves more widely, as with Kylie Minogue, Madonna and Beyonee. 'Rock On' (Gary Glitter) •Rock' became the broad label for the huge range of styles that have evolved out of rock 'n' roll since die mid-1960s; Uiese include hard rock, blues rock, progressive rack, punk rock, psychedelic or acid rock, heavy metal, country lock, glitter rock, new wave, indie rock and alternative rock (Shuker, 2012). A semantic shift was conlirmed in March 1967, when the influential CrawdaddyX magazine changed its subtitle from 'The magazine of rock V roll' to 'The magazine of rock'. Ruck is often considered to carry more 'weight' than pop, with connotation ol greater integrity, sincerity and authenticity. Dave Hill, writing of the 1980s, obseiA'ed: Pop implies a very different set of values to rock. Pop makes no bones about being mainstream. It accepts and embraces the requirement to be instantly pleasing and to make a pretty picture of itself. Rock on the other hand, has liked to think it was somehow more profound, non-conformist, self-directed and intelligent. (Hill, 1986: 8) Similarly, for Martin Strong: Rock music is written by the artist(s) for him or herself, not with the initial intention of making money, hut to make music - and, possibly, to stretch its limits and boundaries a little further. This is music that may last forever, becoming 'classic' in the process. On the other hand, POP music is written with the sole intention (normally) of making a quick buck, either for die artisls(s) or (more than likely) their record label. (Strong, 2006: Prel'a. e] Stub distinctions attempt to keep commerce and artistic integrity apart on a central yardstick to identity particular artists with either pop or rock 'n' roll. This reflected a tendency in the 1980s (and still evident) to view popular musii in terms of a series of dichotomies: mass v. community/local; commerce v. ci rath ity; manufactured v. authentic; major record companies v. independents. This is a legacy of the mythology of'lock', which was a product of the 1960s, when leading American critics - Jon Landau, Dave Marsh and Robert Christian elaborated .i view of rock as correlated wilh authenticity, crcaiivitv and die romauiii ■ nlini.il tradition and a particular political moim nr the 1960s' protest movement and die countcrciilliirr. Closely associated with this leftist political ideology ol io< k was Holluifi Slow magazine, lounded in I9ti7 (nee Chuplei 'l| (knu, authenticity and t/ur canon I 01 This demarcation between rock and pap has continued to be evident in the music industry, the music press and among fans and musicians. The distinction is difficult to maintain, given the commercial production and marketing of I>i>ih mriagcnres. Historically, the frequent refusal of rock musicians and lims in admit to commodity status, and attempt to position themselves as somehow ■hove the manufacturing process, have all loo easily have become marketing pluys 'the Revolution is on CBS' slogan of the late 1960s being perhaps the best . sample. Nevertheless, using authenticity to distinguish between rod and pop continues to setve an impnrtanl ideological Junction, helping differentiate particular forms of musical cultural capital. Such distinctions aLso occur wklim (he two metagenres, as with indie rock selling itself apart from mainstream rock music. Heavy metal Heavy metal, now often referred to simply as metal, can also be considered a ineiagcure. It lias a substantial history, distinctive fans and now encompasses a Wide range of subgrnres. The musical parameters of heavy metal (HM) as a genre i.iiinoi be comfortably reduced to formulaic terms. It is usually louder, 'harder' .■ml lister paced dian conventional rock music and remains predominantly guitar Oriented The main instruments are electric guitars (lead and bass) drums and ili i ironic keyboards, but there are numerous variants within this basic framework ■ i Bereliart, 2005). Some forms of die genre have enjoyed enormous commer-i i.il success and have a large fan base; other extreme subgenres have a cult following; As a subject of academic inquiry, "metal studies' can now be regarded i .i subfield in its own right, with a substantial body of recent scholarship i M. Brown, 2011; also Cope, 2010; Waksman, 2009). Some critics sec heavy metal as beginning in the late 1960s, its origins variously being traced to several key recordings: Blue Cheers 1968 reworking of Eddie < in bran's 1950s hit 'Summertime Bines', which turned Cochran's great acoustic mi.ii riff into distorted metallic-sounding electric guitar chords, accompanied by a thumping percussion, and SteppenwolPs 'Born To Be Wild' (1967) with its i< I'ercnce to 'heavy metal thunder' (from die William Burroughs' novel, Naked ! wuh] in the song's second verse. HM was a logical progression from die power trios of 1960s groups such as the Jimi Ilendrbt Experience: and Cream, who played blues-based rock with heavily amplified guitar and bass reinlbn ing one .mother. However, histories of the genre generally see the release of Black Sabbath's I'oiiviiious dcbui album (1970), which reached no. 8 in the UK album chart and »|n'iil three months on the DS album chart, and their lollow-up album Paranoid (1970) as establishing the early parameters of heavy metal. The band's origins in industrial Birmingham were lelleclcri in lheir music, characterized by Tony loiiimi's style of guitar playing (bom of ncccssiiy following an industrial accident; •ee his interview in Stim .lf>n »/ Hmk. episode •)), singer Ozzy Osbourne's venal wail .mil lyrici drawing on bl.uk in.inn and (he occult (see Hnskyns, '.'INI I; 1 02 I hiderxlanduig popular music culture see also Ghriste, 2004). Also important contributors to shaping the new genre were albums from Deep Purple {Deep Purple in Rock) and Uriah Heap (fen1 'eaiy, Very 'umbk in the UK., self-titled in the US), both also released in 1970. Ghriste (2004), writing from the viewpoint of a sympathetic critic, sees metal's early sua cess as based on its devoted fans: an audience linked by tape trading and established by heavy touring and a strong commitment to the live conceit event by bands such as Sabbath. The commercial success of the British bands Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and, above all, Led Zeppelin, along with Grand Funk and Mountain in the US despite the general critical 'thumbs down' for their efforts - consolidated heavy metal as a market force in the early 1970s and established a heavy metal youth subculture, liven this short list of performers demonstrates the ditliculties of i bounding the genre and there are notable differences in their treatment in the various histories and commentaries on metal. Led Zeppelin performed more traditional blues-based material and combined acoustic outings with electric guitars, yet are considered 11M in influential early studies of the genre (Walser, 199S VVeinslein, 2000). Although Deep Purple and their American counterparts arc often considered as HM bands, they have also been classified as 'hard' or 'heavy' rock. In the 1980s there was a clear distinction possible between the more oveitly commercially oriented MTV-friendly 11M bands, such as Bon Jovi and Poison with their glam rock images, and mainstream 1LV1 bands, whose styles merge into hard rock, such as Guns 'n' Roses, and Aerosmith. Drawing on the work of Franco Fabbri (1999), Andrew Cope provides an I insightful re-cvaluatiou of HM as a musical genre and its distinction from heavy rock, with an extensive discussion of 'die actual musical sounds, timbres and] structures that uniquely combine to generate the identifiable fingerprint that listeners recognize as the heavy metal sound' (Cope, 2010: I). Gf particular interest] is his examination of the differences between Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, identifying a 'clear musical and aesthetic dichotomy between the two bands', Cope develops a convincing argument that 'Black Sahbath, through radical transgressions of their origins, initiated the evolution of heavy metal whilst Leq Zeppelin, through a reworking of blues conventions significantly contributed to the evolution of hard rock' (2010: 4, 5, Chapter 3). Until the publication of Deena Weinstein's comprehensive sociological studies (1991, 2000), Robert Walser's more musically grounded treatment (199J) and Jeffrey Arnett's study of its fans (1996), rhere were few attempts to seriously discuss the genre. Yet, as these studies showed, heavy metal displayed a musical eogency and enjoyed a mass appeal, existing within a set of social relation! During the mid-1970s, there developed a heavy metal subculture, predominant!) working class, white, young and male, identifying with the phallic imager) ol guitars and the general muscularity and oppositional orientation of the form 1 In symbols associated with heavy metal, which include Nazi insignia and Lgyptian and Biblical symbols, provided a .signature of identification with the genre, being widely adopted by metal's youttl l has been influential in providing 'a crucial motor of innovation within m. i,if (5, 0). The following discussion and page references are drawn from Kal it id 1 arris. Black metal was arguably the first form of extreme metal to appear, popular-I by the British band Venom, whose 1»JB2 album Blatk Mttal gave the style a til"! and inspired a new generation of melal bands. Venom presented 'more . sin iiu- occult imagery than oilier metal bands' and 'a speeded up and stripped-down version of the genre', which helped shape thrash metal. In the mid-1980s, ill ilh metal developed oul of thrash, with bands such as Cannibal Corpse .mil Morbid Aug. I featuring fast, growled vocals, lyrics that dealt with themes . I. .is wai, violence and the occult, and complicated guitar work (albeit with li>. Solos). Grindcore represented a 'punk-influenced radicalisalion of death .....al' (3), utilizing extreme speed and featuring short songs. Doom metal .....icig.d in die 19110s, as "an extremely slow limn of metal with long epic «.lIK strut lures anil melancholic lyrics' (4). Nationally based variants of ihesr styles developed, as with Norwegian black metal in the early 1990s. Iii..< gciiics 'share .....usual radicalism thai murks them out as different 104 Understanding popular music culture from other forms of heavy metal' (5) and are disseminated through small-scale but global 'underground' networks, rather diaii mainstream commercial minies of distribution. Heavy metal has maintained a high market profile, despite frequent critical derision and a negative public image. The success of Metallica and newer bands such as Godsmaeked and Disturbed has consolidated metal as part of mainstream commercial popular music, with its own dedicated festivals (e.g. Douuiiigton's Monsters of Rock and, more recently, Donningtou's Download), magazines (e.g. Meted Hummer and forratigf), web fan sites and record labels. At the same time, the iitiensificadon of the genre has created suhstyles on the margins of metal itself. Heavy metal fans are attracted by its sheer volume, the 'power' of the music; the genre's problem oriented lyrics, at both the glubal and personal levels; and by iis performers general lack of a commercialized image. This is a form of authenticity with metal fans seeking greater 'substance' than available through mainstream chart-oriented music. World music While it can be considered a inelagcure, world music is really more of a marketing category. World music became prominent in the late lyBUs, as a label applied to popular music originating outside the Anglo-American nexus. The term was launched in 198? as a new category of popular music by 11 independent British, Furopean and American record labels specializing in music from] developing countries, who were seeking to better market their catalogues. In the US, the term world beat was sometimes initially used, along with roots music for American forms. It is useful tu distinguish between world music primarily situated within the western music industry and styles of 'world music', which are the subject of ethnomusicology. World music was encouraged by the interest in, enthusiasm for and borrowings from non-western national musical styles by western artists such as David Byrne, Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon, although Simon's use of African forms, notably in Graceimui (1986), has proved contentious. The category has been defined in essentially two related ways. First, world music is seen in a very heterogeneous manlier as 'the other': music in opposition to die mainstream, Anglo-American and European genres. Second, in an extended lorni of the first definition, work! music includes music from Fan-ope, America and Australia and New Zealand geographically, but this is largely music from diasporic, oppressed or marginalized minorities (such as Aboriginal music in Australia). Both dcliuilioii» recognize world music as the result of processes of globalization and the hybridization (and, in some cases, appropriation) of regional and nationally based iiiiish (for a helpful discussions of the definition of world music, see Guilhaiill, 2001). The resultant breadth of world music is seen in die stcadil) expanding Rough Guides to the nietagcme: the first was published as a single (allied huge) wiluiur ill 1994] this was subsequently expanded in iwu regionally ha* d volumes; .mil recently these have been h vised and published in llnre l.uge Genre, authenticity and the canon 105 relcrence guides. The scries constructs the category around national identity, even though dial is clearly tenuous, given the diversity of styles within particular countries. As such, discussions of world music will embrace, among others, rai music from Algeria, Nigerian juju, Caribbean zouk and Brazilian bossa nova. Hybrid (onus like the Anglo-Indian bhangra and Franco-American Cajun and zydeco, along with the globalized 'Celdc' are also included under die broad rubric. A further aspect is the manner in which world music has becoming self-defined by virtue of musical festival programming (esjjecially the success of WOMAD: World of Music Arts, and Dance, established by Peter Gabriel in 19B?i; the role ■ il die music industry in constructed ii as a genre market' (Laing, zOOU; Negus, 11)99), primarily through record labels specializing in the melageure, notably Real World; and through several music magazines {jRools; Soiigtines), along with regular coverage ot performers ami recordings in more general 'rock1 magazines, such as UNCUT. Perhaps more so than odier forms of popular music, world music is open to processes ol hybridization and musical acculturation, factors, which, in pan, .mount for the considerable attention given to it in recent academic literature, An important aspect here is the rale of race/ethnicity in categorizations of'world music' (Haynes, 2010), which in popular perceptions and in the music press is nihil equated with 'non-while' or 'black' music. The discourse around world music lends to be polarized hetween celebration and condemnation (Frith, 2000). Bui asjoeelyne Guilbault argues: uoilri music should not be seen as simply oppositional or emancipator. Neither, however, should world music be viewed as merely the result of cultural imperialism or economic domination. To understand world music fully, we must look at its place wilhin the complex and constantly changing dynamics of a world which is historically, socially and spatially interconnected. (Guilbauli, 2001: I /(>) Hip-hop: from the margin to the mainstream 1 Jenies can develop as oppositional, but then become part of the musical ■inaiii-llreatn', usually through 'crossing over' into the pop and rock mainstream and iliails. During die 1990s, this occurred with grunge, beginning with the huge access of Nirvana's album Nemrmiui [Cellin, 1991) and in country, with Garth Brooks and Shania Twain (see Chapter 4). Crossover has commonly cecum.! nidi black music in the US, wiih debate over whether this has compromised the authenticity of die music or can be seen more positively as part of the integration and upward s.hi.iI mobility of the black community (George, I'lSSIIi. An example ol crossovci al its most successful is rap, which shifted from its origins in New Voik in the laic I!l70s, with a local billowing, in Luge-stale ro.....iei< i.il MCOBH ilileruaiiiinalK in die late I'I'HI 106 Understanding popular music culture Initially a part of a dance style that began in the late 1970s among black and Hispanic teenagers in New York's outer boroughs, rap became the musical centre of the broader cultural phenomenon of hip-hop; the broad term that encompassed the social, fashion, music and dance subculture of America's urban, black and Latino youth of the 1980s and 1990s (see Potter, 1995). The antecedents of rap lie in the various storytelling forms of popular music: talking blues, spoken passages and call-and-response in gospel. Its more direct formative influence! were in the late 1900s, with reggae's L)J toasters and stripped-down styles of funk music, notahly James Brown's use of slream-ol-consciousness raps over elemental funk backup. Rappers marie their own mixes, borrowing from a range of musical sources sampling - and talking over the music - rapping - in a form of improvised street poetry. This absorption and recontextualizing of elements of popular culture marked out rap/hip-hop as a form of pup art or postmodern culture. Ihe style was economically significant as black youth were 'doing their own thing', largely bypassing traditional music retail outlets. Many of the early rappers recorded on independent labels, initially on 12" singles, most prominently Sugar Hill Records in New York. The label's 1982 release, Grandmaster Flasli and the Furious Five, 'The Message', was one of the first rap records to have mainstream chart success and led lo greater interest in the musical style. Run UMC, Raising Hell (London, 19JSr>; was the tirst rap album to cross over to the pop charts and brought rap into wider public consciousness. As with other maturing musical melagenres, a number of identifiable genres emerged within rap (see the entries in Shuker, 2012; see also Gliang, 2005; Reims, 2000). The Seine was soon taken up by white youth, white artists (Eminem) and the major record labels, in a familiar process of the appropriation of black musical styles. By the late 1990s, rap and hip-hop had become bracketed together as part of mainstream American culture. A Time magazine cover story, featuring Luuryn Hill, proclaimed the arrival of the 'Hip Hop Nation', referring to the music revolution that has changed America [Time, U February 1999: 40—57). The Fugees, The Score, Sony/Columbia, 199G, was a huge international success, with sales of 7 million by early 1997. In adding elements of R&B, soul and ragga rock lo the genre, it foreshadowed the contemporary orientation of rap. By 1998, rap was the top-selling music format in the US market and its influence pervaded fashion, language and street style. The Time story noted that the two terms, rap and hip-hop, were now 'nearly, but not completely, interchangeable' (ibid.). This conflation was cemented through the next few years. The record sides, product endorsements, associated fashion merchandising and public celebrity of artists such as Beyond5- (and her former group Destiny's Child), Kanyc West and Eminem made rap and hip-hop, in effect, the mainstream, The broad genre also became globalized, with distinctive national variants d rap developing (Basil and lemelle, 2006). In a major edited study, Global NiM Tony Mitchell argued that 'Hip-hop and rap cannot be viewed simply as the expression of African-American culture; it has become ,i vehicle t• >■ global youth affiliations and a tool lor reworking local identity all ovei the win Id' (2001: Intiodu. bun). Gerne, autbentmty and tfie canon 107 The rock canon Art forms are frequently discussed in terms of a canon, where works are "typically presented as |>eaks of the aesthetic power of the art form in question, as ultimate manifestations of aesthetic perlection, complexity of lorm and depth of expression which humans are capable of reaching through this art lorm' (Regev, 2000: I). The canon embraces value, exemplification, authority and a sense of temporal mutuality (timelcssness). Critics of the concept (joint to the general social relali-vism and value judgments embedded in it, and the often associated privileging of western, white, male and middle-class cultural work. The gendered nature of the musical canon and its dominance by Anglo-American performers and recording has been strongly critiqued. Mania Citron (1993) poses the question: 'Why is music composed by women so marginal to the standard "classical" repertoire:" Her study looks til the practices and altitudes that have led to the exclusion of women composers from the received 'canon' of |>erfunned musical works, important elements of canon formation: creativity, professionalism, music as gendered discourse and reception. 'Hie historical absence or marginalization of women in popular music histories has also been noted in popular music studies, along with the privileging of male performers and male-dominated or oriented musical styles/genres in discussions of authorship and the consequent domination ill popular music canons by male performers. Notions of canon are frequently present in popular music discourse, implicitly in everyday conversations among fans and more directly in critical discourse. As Moid Regev puts it: 'Canonisation in popular music has gone hand in hand with n very recognition as a legitimate art form' (ibid.). Music critics and the music pi ess are major contributors to die construction of a musical canon, with the use •I ratings systems for reviews, annual 'best of listings, and various 'guidebooks' lo li\ recordings. The canon also underpins accounts of the history of popular music. A number of academic studies have focused on the historical Construction of particular genre canons, including the western classical tradition (Tagg and ( l.uida, 2003: Chapter 1), jazz (Gabbard, 1995) and blues. An example of this process at work is provided by John Dougau in his insightful discussion of canonisation and blues record collectors in the US. He describes these collectors as 'musical archaeologists, culture brokers, creators, keepers, and, through their entrepreneurial efforts (influenced by the release of Harry Smith's 1952 compilation Anthology ffAmerican Fulk Music, on Folkways Records) disseminators of a blues • .iik hi'. He sees this role as playing a vital part in the taxonomy of the genre: Al its core, canon formation among blues record collectors involves organizing and ill-lending a set of selections made from several possible sets of scln lions. 'Hie resulting 'canon' represents the essence of the tradition, and ihe Connection betWBttl the lexis ami the canon reveals the veiled logic and internal rationale ol thai Iiiidilioii. (Dougau, 20(Mi: 12, l:i, 108 Underslaiulittg popular musk culture Genre, mtthenticity and lite anion 109 General coverage of historical ligures, musical trends and recordings are standard content in rock music magazines, especially those aimed at an older readership, for example MOJO and UNCUT. In addition, many of these titles have I)egtin publishing special issues and series. Given that many of these are rapidly sold out, this is a lucrative market, tapping into and reinforcing popular memory. Examples here include theAME Originals, the UNCUT Legends and the Rijlluig Stone special issues, such as Tlie 50th Anniversary of Rwk: LALAIORTALS. Tlie 100 Greatest Artists of All Time (Issue 642, August 2005). In addition to their economic motivation, these publications are playing an important ideological role. They contribute to the identification and legitimating of a canon of performers, in the same way as lists of 'greatest albums', with which, of course, they are closely aligned. The selection process at work here is an interesting one, indicative of particular views of creativity and authorship. The title IMMORTALS. Tlie 100 Greatest Artists of All Time displays no lack of ambition and confidence, but the choices of artists from the 1950s excludes Bill Haley, presumably as his image does not conform lo a I notion of'rock' authenticity. The nature of the canon and the difficulties surrounding it are evident in the recurring presentation of a cation of rock and pop recordings in 'best of/greatest albums of all time' lists. Ralf Von Appen and Andre Doehring (2006) provide a meta-analysis of such lists, drawing on 38 rankings made between 1985 and 1989 and 2000 2004 (see Appendix 3). Tins 'top 30' is dominated by rock albums of ihe 1960s and 1970s, notably the BeaUes and there is an absence of bodt women and black artists. The list represents the staple musical repertoire for 'classic rock' radio, wlticli bollt reflects and reinforces the visibility and value accorded to such performers and albums. They suggest that two criteria underpin this pattern) aesthetic and sociological. Tlie aesthetic places a premium on artistic authenticity and there is at limes a limited relationship between such rankings and sales and than success. The exclusion of compilation and greatest hits albums from most of the lists included reflected the view that the album must represent a showcase ol' the work of an artist at a particular point in time. Von Appen and Doehring's discussion of the sociological factors at work here shows the role of the music press and industry discourse in shaping taste and the cultural capital and social identities of those who voted on the lists. The Following chapters engage with some aspects of these. Lena, J. and Peterson, R. (2008) 'Classification as Culture: Types and Trajectories u! Music Genres'. American Sociological Review. 73, r>: 697 7 18. Simker, R. (2012) Popular Music Culture: Ihe Concepts, 3rd edn, London, New York: Routledge. Authenticity Barker, 11. and Taylor, Y. (2007) Faking It: Tlie Qiuslfor Authenticity in Popular Musk, New York, London: Norton. Moore, A. (2(102) 'AmIn niiciiy as Authentication', Popular Music. 21, 2:^25-36. Pop Lnnis. P.I 1. (1992) The Samth Stream: Ihe Emergence of Rock 'it' Roll m American Papular Music, Hanover, Nil; Loudon: Weslcyan University Press. I i ilh, S. (2001) 'Pop Music', in S. Frith, VV. Straw and J. Street (eds), 7he Cambridge Companion lo Pop and Rock, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hock U Ulnar, K. (2006) Is Rock Dead?, New York, Dmdnn: Routledge. Kt'ightley, K. (2001) 'Reconsidering Rock', in S. Frith, W. Straw and J. Street (eds), 'Ihe Cambridge Companion to Pup and Rod, Cambridge: Cambridge I hiivei sily Press. Heavy metal Blown, A. (2011) 'Heavy Genealogy: Mapping the Currents, Contraflows and conflicts of the Emergent Field of Metal Studies', Journal fur Cultural ftestarek, IS, 3: 1213-42. < lope, A. i 2010) Black Sabbath and the Rise of 'Heavy Metal Musk, Basingstoke: Ashgate. Harris, K. (2007) Pixtrem* Aletai: .1 lusk and Qdture on the Edge, Oxford, New York: Berg. U.tlsi i, R. (1999) Running Willi the Devil: Pomr, Gender and Madness in Ileum Metal \lii\u. Middletovvn, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Wcinsicin, D. (1991, 2000) Heavy Aletal: The Music and Lis Culture, rev. edn, Boulder, CO: Da Capo Press. (The 2000 edition adds a chapter on die 1990s.) Further reading Genre: general Boithwick, S. and Moy, R. (2004) Popular Musk Genres: An Introduction, Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press. Fabhri, !'. (1999) "Browsing Musical Spaces: Categories and the Musical Mind', eoiilerriirc paper, produced online by permission of ihe authot www.lagg.org I Ii m mi ni il.ii y : Metal A I leudbangci's Journey, directed and produced by Sam Dunn, Scot M< lady en, Jessica Wise, Canada, 2006. Wtirltl music I..11II..111I1, J. 12001) 'World Music', in S. Frith, W. Straw and J. Sueet, (eds), The 1 ind.ihtge i '.mnpttiumi to I'op uml Ro,k, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. I 76 92.