Articles That May Be Helpful

Here are some articles we’ve read in class that I thought may be helpful. The blurbs come from my postings to the class blog: http://engl334.motime.com/

Walser, “Popular Music Analysis” from Analyzing Popular Music

I felt that the reading on form was a bit too technical for me, but it was interesting to see the different ways to pick apart a rock song. I followed Walser's "Popular Music Analysis" much better, so I'd like to talk more in-depth about the article here in my blog post. I think Walser's main argument was that in studying or analyzing popular music, it is important to understand not only why a particular genre of music appeals to its fans, but also how that genre of music allows us to understand a deeper truth behind our culture, behind "social relations, identities, structures and forces" (22). A good example of this can be found in Walser's discussion about Kenny G. Why is it that Kenny G is despised so much? Walser offers up an interesting suggestion: "...he is easily positioned as another in the long string of white musicians who have grown rich by taking advantage of the fact that in a racist society, audiences often reward those who can deliver black music without the black people in it" (36). What Walser is saying is that Kenny G's music reveals something about musical culture. Kenny G prompts us to question the issue of race in music. It's similar to the ongoing debate about "white rappers" versus "black rappers," which forces us to think about authority and who has the right to be a part of a particular music scene.

I really enjoyed Walser's conclusion towards the end of the reading: "Our commitment should be not to a certain set of methods, but rather to investigating music as something people do, something that they are enabled to do by the set of conventions and possibilities we call culture" (38). I think Walser argues for his anthropological approach towards popular music studies very well. He is successful in illustrating just how music and culture are so closely intertwined. Walser shows how popular music can have an effect on culture and vice versa. I am leaning strongly towards this approach in my own research on psychedelia. I think Walser put it just right: It's all about the people. I want to find out how the people affected the music of the 1960s and how the music in turn affected the people.

John Covach, “Pangs of History in late 1970s New-wave Rock” from Analyzing Popular Music

This article was an interesting read for me, because it makes a lot of references to the genre of music I'll be studying this semester -- psychedelic rock of the 1960s. Covach compares the genre of psychedelic rock to new-wave rock. He says, "Many of the stylistic features of new wave can be seen as the opposites of what may be found in the music of popular British bands such as Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin..." (175). Covach describes new wave as a rejection of hippie music, but reminds us that new wave hasn't shed characteristics of hippie rock completely. He then talks about "music worlding," which is similar to the idea of intertextuality -- the idea that all texts are intertwined. So, "music worlding" then is the idea that we listen to songs and unconsciously relate those songs to other songs, to our personal lives, to our social and cultural standings. For Covach, "new wave refuses to return to the past while simultaneously evoking and even celebrating rock's pre-hippie past" (195). Very ironic. The article made me think about the evolution of music, how new genres emerge from older ones and how music genres are continually morphing, even today.

Anyway, the music worlding approach Covach uses in his article is an interesting one that might be worth using in my research. I'm interested to see how the music of Pink Floyd affected the period of the 1960s, and I think looking at songs that have heavy Pink Floyd influences could be an interesting route to take.