This thesis explores the relationships between popular music and experiences of sexual violence. It is situated at the intersection of trauma theory and cultural studies. Though a great deal of feminist work has been done on representations of sexual violence in the media, these reflections have either ignored music as a medium, or focused on it only in terms of misogynistic lyrics in rap and hip-hop. Similarly, contemporary trauma theory has addressed rape narratives in literature with regard to how these have interacted with lived experiences, but has not looked at these possibilities within music. There are two distinct ways in which this thesis approaches the topic: narrative analysis of the songs themselves, and survey work done with the audience of one particular iconic artist in this area, Tori Amos. The first chapter of analysis focuses on songs narrating experiences of domestic violence, and situates these within a wider feminist context of activism and social awareness. The second narrative analysis chapter examines songs concerned with sexual violence, and seeks to explore whether or not the diversity of experience narratives lacking in other popular media can be found in music. The two remaining substantive chapters in the thesis utilise audience research in order to explore issues of authenticity, understanding and healing. In examining the multiple audience responses to Tori Amos' part-fictionalised, yet autobiographical, rape narrative, 'Me and a Gun', a picture emerges of authenticity as a far more complex notion to listeners (and other receivers of art) than more widespread media representations seem to suggest. Finally, in examining the narratives of Amos' listeners, with regard to their own experiences, it becomes clear that Amos' music, Amos herself, and Internet communities built up around Amos, are vital sources of support for those who have been traumatised by sexual violence.

Cypher contributes significantly to the ‘underground’ hip hop scene in New York, as well as further afield; its rich musical and cultural roots can be traced directly from African oral traditions and cultural practices, and it reflects the epitome of hip hop culture by the way it advocates the principles of communication, knowledge and truth whilst enabling empowerment and fulfilment of its participants in a multi-faceted social dynamic. Cypher is unique in terms of its practice, as it requires little to no monetary or material input to take part, and is accessible to people from all backgrounds, but particularly to those from marginalised communities. It is an important musicological phenomenon which, seemingly unconsciously, contributes significantly towards the survival of hip hop; with so much discussion about the ‘death’ of hip hop, it is refreshing to have the assurance that certain practices within hip hop culture, such as cypher, are very much thriving and playing a large role in the survival, if not the existence, of hip hop culture as a whole. While there have been significant studies in hip hop culture in the fields of sociology and English studies, there remain relatively few published texts that have been written from a musicological standpoint. This thesis contributes to hip hop scholarship in a pioneering sense, especially since cypher is a form of rap which in itself is rarely investigated. In terms of the theoretical contributions that are made in this study, it is fair to say that cypher has a strong musicological and social role in its practice as well as holding great prominence in African-American culture; it forms an intrinsic part of everyday life for many of its participants. Using a combination of scholarly research and fieldwork methodology, using the latter to be able to account for experiencing cypher first-hand, means that this thesis presents academic research whilst remaining true to the essence of hip hop by keepin’ it real. With an emphasis on authenticity running throughout hip hop culture, the ability to reflect a genuine understanding of the role and dynamics of cypher has been of paramount importance in order to achieve credibility in the academic field as well as in the hip hop community. This thesis fully supports the notion that cypher has a highly significant role in hip hop culture, and, furthermore, that cypher reflects a team spirit that for some provides a form of cultural compensation and an alternative education; cypher also gives a voice to marginalised individuals and communities. This research marks cypher on the musicological map.

This thesis explores the role of popular music in the negotiation of Taiwanese identity. Taiwan has undergone a number of significant changes historically, socially and culturally since the mid-twentieth century. After fifty years of Japanese colonial rule, the island came under the strict control of the Chinese Nationalist Party in 1945. From the time Taiwan entered a democratic era, following the end of martial law in 1987, moves towards Taiwanese consciousness and Taiwanese identity - which were suppressed under Japanese colonial and Chinese authoritarian rule - have increased significantly. However, nearly three decades later today, the political status of Taiwan remains unresolved, as it is neither an independent nation state nor a province of China. Taiwanese identity is not yet clearly defined and well-bounded due to the complicated political sphere. My research focuses on the nature of popular music and its relationship to politics and identity in the context of Taiwan. I regard popular music broadly as a mediated form that is widely distributed in Taiwanese society. Such cultural production plays an important role in creating, maintaining or rejecting political and cultural identities. My thesis not only discusses how Taiwanese identity is expressed in popular music, but also how the identity of Taiwan is constantly constructed and negotiated through the medium of popular music. The thesis is organised into five chapters which consider different aspects of popular music and identity. I begin by providing a historical overview of the island which provides contextual information for which provides the contextual background for understanding the social and cultural values that are carried in the music, and the implications of those values. In the subsequent chapters I look at popular music and its relationship with the government's political and cultural policies, as well as social and cultural movements in different political phases from the late 1970s until the present time. I focus on specific case studies from the 1970s to the 2000s, including the campus song movement, protest singers, nationalist Black Metal, and the 'Taike' phenomenon. Through the study of various popular styles and groups of different times, I argue that the evolution of Taiwanese identity that is developed in popular music directly corresponds to the evolving social and political landscape.

This thesis considers the positioning and re-positioning of vinyl records and those that collect them. It does so in the context of vinyl’s decline as the primary carrier of music. It is constructed within a theoretical framework of material culture and broader cultural studies. It draws on qualitative data collected through a standard survey from 344 record collectors in 21 countries. The data is discussed and presented in theoretically conceptualised chapters. I consider vinyl as a physical artefact, as ‘thing’ and contrary to historical and contemporary engagement with music as ephemeral, as experience. I discuss vinyl in terms of eras; of both disc manufacture and what I have termed three eras of collecting. I argue that the economic and cultural trajectories of vinyl lead to differing states of desirability along these journeys. Vinyl is then positioned as a collectable object, contrary to established collecting theory, drawing on the varying states of desirability. Notions of the past are considered in relation to vinyl’s historical position as primary carrier during the ‘golden era’ of popular music. The differing patterns of nostalgia are discussed in relation to how they enable record collectors access to the pasts of popular musics and defines markers of collecting that allow identiIication of differing nostalgias. I argue that the sensory nature of the vinyl experience, how these objects are positioned as markers of collectors’ taste, contribute to attitudes regarding condition through the idea of patina. This taste and accompanying practices are further discussed as contribution to the social aspects of collecting, to status, shared cultures and knowledges. The practices of collectors are varied and complex but with common focal points and issues. Collectors value the physical engagement with vinyl, the large artwork and the attentive, prolonged ‘slow’ engagement with the format. Nostalgic practices of record collectors vary dependent on their length of engagement with the culture as well as their age. Collectors’ experience of vinyl as either the primary or as a marginal deliverer of music also contributes to differences in practice. These markers impact on their attitudes to condition of second hand records and the trace of previous ownership. This work crosses between, and contributes to, discourses of material culture, cultural theory, and poses challenges to established ideas of collecting.

The conductus repertoire was widely cultivated between c.1160 and the late thirteenth century, and it comprises Latin texts set to both monophony and polyphony. Unlike the organum and the motet, the conductus does not normally exploit any pre-existing musical or poetic material. This makes the polyphonic share of conductus material the first newly composed, coherent repertoire for more than one voice. This thesis focuses on the two-part conductus. It aims at exploring the authorial and historical context in which it was created, analysing and categorising the interaction between its syllabic and melismatic sections, and describing its development over the life span of the corpus. The conductus is introduced and presented within the broader context of music of its time. It is argued that most of the extant testimonies of conductus were subject to several stages of reworking, and a multitude of personalities are credited with the creation of the repertoire as a whole. Furthermore, the study discusses some particular cases of contested attribution and proposes new authorial identifications. The analytical description that follows challenges the current view of the polyphonic conductus as a rigid juxtaposition of syllabic cum littera and melismatic sine littera sections. Such a sharp division does not take into account the complex structure of the syllabic cum littera music. The analytical study consequently undertaken describes all melismatic features of the two-voice conductus. Two groups of melismas are identified. The first, framing caudae, typically covers a structural role. The second, internal caudae, interacts actively with all the components of the song: text, meter, rhymes, and meaning of the poem. The last section of this work examines the evolution of the use of melismas throughout the lifespan of the genre. The study is accomplished by building on the previous analytical investigation, diminishing ambiguities due to the relatively small sample of datable songs. The terminal cauda results being the main feature of the repertoire, initially set to all stanzas. The initial cauda was instead either set to all stanzas or not used at all. The approach to framing caudae becomes more flexible after the end of the twelfth century. Internal caudae were instead always used by conducti composers.

No description available.

No description available.

This research thesis is a study of the Country music scene on Merseyside, carried out within a popular music studies framework. This Country scene was once considered by some to be the largest such scene in Europe, but after well over half a century, it now appears to be in terminal decline. This research examines the relationship between the music, the participants and the processes of the scene in order to understand how it developed, how it was sustained, and what might have been the circumstances, which contributed to its eventual decline. The research covers a wide variety of inter-disciplinary areas such as oral history, document research, genre analysis, structural and semiotic analysis, considerations of scenes, ‘thirdspace’ and localities, cultural geography, etc, all in an attempt to understand how and why this particular music genre, thrived and then declined on Merseyside. The origins and pathways of the global flow of music into the city of Liverpool were considered by this researcher, as was the importance of key individuals, venues and physical cultural places in the construction and maintenance of the scene. This research also covers areas that could be regarded as holding great significance, both positive and negative, regarding this scene. These include issues related to translocal and virtual Country music scenes, the Cowboy image, the line-dance phenomenon, originality and pastiche and authenticity (or lack thereof) of certain artists and bands. The demise of what now remains of the local scene involved research in situ over a fifteen-month period at one of the last local Country music communities in Liverpool at The Melrose Abbey Public House, Liverpool. This research displays how this community had adopted, developed and displayed rituals and practices of immense significance that not only prolonged the scene’s survival but also left an indelible mark on the local community.

This thesis is the culmination of a four year research project which encompassed analysing lullaby texts, exploring lullaby performance contexts, researching how the lullaby functions, and considering its role in modern family life in Scotland and the UK. The aim of this ethnological study has been to record and analyze current perceptions of the lullaby; ascertain whether the tradition is, as has been suggested, a dying one; discover which lullabies are in the common repertoire; and explore how they are used. This has been achieved by recording autobiographical memory narratives, and direct experiences, from children, parents, grandparents, semi-professional and professional musicians, and songwriters, in a bid to understand lullabies in their social and cultural contexts. Fieldwork carried out with mother and baby groups introduced a workshop programme to teach lullabies and record what impact the introduction of regular lullaby singing made to the infant sleep-time routine. The research also explores and highlights the many ways that lullabies are used in the fields of medical science and music therapy. This thesis demonstrates that this form of song has many important functions including developmental, psychological, social, and therapeutic, and thus the study reveals the power of the lullaby and opens up many avenues for further research.

This thesis aims to explore the musical style of Elton John by taking an interdisciplinary approach to popular music analysis. In addition to analysing Elton John’s musical style, the approach taken will itself be assessed to ascertain whether it can be beneficial for future research into popular music. The introductory chapter defines the key concepts and considers who or what Elton John is. With a career spanning over 45 years and in excess of 300 million albums sold, Elton John is a major popular music artist. However, the Elton John brand is not confined to popular music records. Elton John has been involved with films and stage shows, and he is a celebrity as well as a popular music star. Issues relating to gender have been relevant to Elton John throughout his career and provide appropriate contextualisation for an analysis of his musical style. These extramusical aspects are discussed in the two chapters following the introduction, and their impact upon Elton John’s role as a popular music artist is considered. Four periods of Elton John’s music career have been identified, and a case study from each period follows the chapters concerning gender and related issues and stardom and celebrity. Each case study draws upon established methods of music analysis, and evaluates elements of the music such as instrumentation, melody, and harmony, as well as instrumentation and how the listener interacts with the music. Both the recording and a sheet music score are used as the musical text. Their use is dependent upon which is most suitable for the specific analysis task. A range of computer software is used to produce quantitative data about Elton John’s musical style, and this complements the analysis undertaken using more traditional methods. The interdisciplinary approach taken enables an Elton John formula for writing pop songs to be devised. The thesis concludes by examining how Elton John’s musical style can be interpreted in light of the cultural issues highlighted, the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary approach, and how this research is situated within the wider popular music field.