CAT 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Spoonie Gee, Art Music, Postmodern Jukebox
Frith’s main argument (123)
â—Ź Musical identities are
○ Ideal, never an absolute truth, “what we want to be”
○ Made real through music-related activities, “a direct experience of the ideal
through music”
â—Ź Authentic musical identities are tied to the narratives we regularly use to self-identify
Defining “narrative:
● “Narrative” as derived from literature
○ “Structured time, temporal space” 117
â—‹ Literature: A story that structures and gives sense the behaviors of characters
○ Personal narratives: “Stories” about our own lives to give sense to who we are
â—Ź Other literature-derived terms in cultural theory:
○ “The Subject/Subjectivity” - the person/people/thing doing the activity
â– Demonstrating point of view, control/power
○ “The Object/Objectivity” - the person/people/thing that is acted upon
â– Differentiated from the subjective perspective, lack of control/power
○ “The Text” - a cultural object to be deciphered for its meaning or values
Narrative in culture
● Cultural activities as narratives we “try on” and potentially adopt as part of our “self”
â—Ź Narratives-as-templates are given to us throughout our lives
○ Children’s stories and nursery rhymes
â—‹ The lives of historical and public figures (whether celebrated or condemned)
â—‹ Media: tv shows, broadcast news, literature, movies, music, etc.
“Ideal Musical Identities”
● Identification with the song’s narrative
● Identification with the performer’s narrative
â—Ź Identification with the aesthetic experience as a group
The Post-modern Age
â—Ź Post-modernism: after the industrial/modern age and in the midst of media-saturation
○ The “real” is no longer tied to “simulations” (per Baudrillard)
â—‹ All expressions are available to us, removed from their origins
â– Memes
○ Expressions are regularly “remixed” into new forms
■The remix is “the real”
â– Postmodern Jukebox - turns pop songs into 1930s/1920s style music
â– Hologram concerts - none of the singers are real
â—‹ More signs than actual things
â– E.g. terrorism - more common word than actual happening
â—‹ Personal identity is always in flux
â– Remixed expressions = remixed identity
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Document Summary
Ideal, never an absolute truth, what we want to be . Made real through music-related activities, a direct experience of the ideal through music . Authentic musical identities are tied to the narratives we regularly use to self-identify. Literature: a story that structures and gives sense the behaviors of characters. Personal narratives: stories about our own lives to give sense to who we are. The subject/subjectivity - the person/people/thing doing the activity. The object/objectivity - the person/people/thing that is acted upon. Differentiated from the subjective perspective, lack of control/power. The text - a cultural object to be deciphered for its meaning or values. Cultural activities as narratives we try on and potentially adopt as part of our self . Narratives-as-templates are given to us throughout our lives. The lives of historical and public figures (whether celebrated or condemned) Media: tv shows, broadcast news, literature, movies, music, etc. Identification with the aesthetic experience as a group.
