So, now to place what I learned about Saddle Creek within what I've read this semester regarding popular music studies. This second part is a consideration of different approaches to classifying this particular group of participants. I'm thinking in terms of what we've done at the end of each tutorial this semester - take whichever subcultural activity we've been discussing, and run through the readings, evaluating then for how well they fit with what we're discussing.
I was going to tack this onto the end of the last post.. but that got really long!
Subcultural Theory
Not so much. We don't really see anything that fits with the 'spectacular' inherent to this theory. There also doesn't seem to be the acting out of class tensions that the CCCS fellows attributed much of the classic subcultures to, nor the complex systems of bricolage such as with punks, mods and teddy boys in the 60s and 70s. At a stretch, one could argue that the DIY practices and the DIY, lo-fi sound of some of the Saddle Creek recordings show a kind of homology.. but observing that the modes of production have an effect on the sound that is produced is more common sense than a sound example of subcultural theory.
Sarah Thornton's article
Much of this article is concerned with youth partaking in the social activity of going to clubs and being consumers of music. As such, it is not all easily applied to the Saddle Creek musicians.
There seem to be shades of Frith's 'sixth form culture' idea that can be observed in the DVD - if not much discussed by the interviewees. Much of their connections were made at college, they fit the description of "individualists who buy albums, listen to progressive rock and go to concerts" (95). There are also allusions to accusations of elitism, and a shot of a note written about how they were called "rich West Omaha kids".
Regarding the ideas of cultural capital, based solely on what we see on the video, there isn't evidence that they "exhibit the burlesque exaggerations of an imagined other" (101). They do not seem to define their music and tastes by "what it emphatically isn't" (105).
However, this does get one thinking about other kinds of capital--specifically, social capital. 80% of the bands on Saddle Creek, says one member in the intro, lived in and grew up with the other band's members in Omaha. As the label enjoyed greater success, the decision was made that they should welcome the bands of friends and family members with more or less open arms. So in this instance, being a part of the community basically guaranteed access to the economic capital available to the label.
Neotribes
The article regarding tribes was largely concerned with consumption and the links between audience members, and the ways in which their styles and consumer preferences intersected with their clubbing activites. There is not a lot here to relate to the music-making community in Omaha.
Additionally, Andy Bennet sums up his take on tribal theory by noting that "in choosing certain musical styles and visual images, the forms of association and social gatherings in which young people ebecome involved are not rigidly bound into a 'subcultural' community but rather assume a more fluid, neo-tribal character." (111)
The implication is that association and gatherings come out of existing preferences for sounds and styles held by individual members, and that these associations are as changeable as are the individual's tastes. Such a model does not seem to apply to Saddle Creek, which exhibits a consistent membership despite varied and changing interests in exploring new sounds.
Scenes
As is fairly obvious from the fact that it is more often than not referred to as the 'Omaha scene', scene theory fits best with what we can see on the Spend an Evening with Saddle Creek DVD.
Geoff Stahl's introduction to scenes in his article about Montreal gives us a few succinct definitions that illustrate this:
"The significance of musical life might be better seen as occuring at the juncture of soatual relations and social praxis" (53)
and;
"Scene used as an interpretive tool can encourage analyses of the interconnectivity of a city's cultural spaces, its industries, institutions and media, emphasizing its heterogeneity as well as its unifying elements." (53)
So, this approach is suited to looking at the fluidity of roles and the importance of location we see in the instance of Saddle Creek. It also focuses on the production and distribution side of music scenes, rather than focussing on the audiences, as with a lot of the club culture readings.
However, like tribe theory, this conception of scene stresses a certain transience. While certainly over the 10 years history seen on the DVD, it could be assumed that some players have moved on to different occupations, groups of people or locations, there is a consistency of membership over a longer period of time that neither tribe nor scene theories seem to have accounted for.
Problems with the material
In analysing this material alone to begin with, there are a few limitations. The documentary deals entirely with the musicians and others directly involved with the record label. Firstly, this poses the issue that the story is told entirely from their point of view. Bluntly, those involved are never going to say 'Yeah, we really set ourselves up in opposition to the mainstream, tried to make our music inaccessible to gain some indie points', either because that would be inherently uncool, or because claims of opposition and inaccessibility are arguably more the activities of audiences and listeners, and less that of musicians.
Secondly, the production and performance focus renders this subejct matter of less use to some of the approaches, which focus on those who participate by buying and listening to records, going to shows, but not actually making the music.
I was going to tack this onto the end of the last post.. but that got really long!
Subcultural Theory
Not so much. We don't really see anything that fits with the 'spectacular' inherent to this theory. There also doesn't seem to be the acting out of class tensions that the CCCS fellows attributed much of the classic subcultures to, nor the complex systems of bricolage such as with punks, mods and teddy boys in the 60s and 70s. At a stretch, one could argue that the DIY practices and the DIY, lo-fi sound of some of the Saddle Creek recordings show a kind of homology.. but observing that the modes of production have an effect on the sound that is produced is more common sense than a sound example of subcultural theory.
Sarah Thornton's article
Much of this article is concerned with youth partaking in the social activity of going to clubs and being consumers of music. As such, it is not all easily applied to the Saddle Creek musicians.
There seem to be shades of Frith's 'sixth form culture' idea that can be observed in the DVD - if not much discussed by the interviewees. Much of their connections were made at college, they fit the description of "individualists who buy albums, listen to progressive rock and go to concerts" (95). There are also allusions to accusations of elitism, and a shot of a note written about how they were called "rich West Omaha kids".
Regarding the ideas of cultural capital, based solely on what we see on the video, there isn't evidence that they "exhibit the burlesque exaggerations of an imagined other" (101). They do not seem to define their music and tastes by "what it emphatically isn't" (105).
However, this does get one thinking about other kinds of capital--specifically, social capital. 80% of the bands on Saddle Creek, says one member in the intro, lived in and grew up with the other band's members in Omaha. As the label enjoyed greater success, the decision was made that they should welcome the bands of friends and family members with more or less open arms. So in this instance, being a part of the community basically guaranteed access to the economic capital available to the label.
Neotribes
The article regarding tribes was largely concerned with consumption and the links between audience members, and the ways in which their styles and consumer preferences intersected with their clubbing activites. There is not a lot here to relate to the music-making community in Omaha.
Additionally, Andy Bennet sums up his take on tribal theory by noting that "in choosing certain musical styles and visual images, the forms of association and social gatherings in which young people ebecome involved are not rigidly bound into a 'subcultural' community but rather assume a more fluid, neo-tribal character." (111)
The implication is that association and gatherings come out of existing preferences for sounds and styles held by individual members, and that these associations are as changeable as are the individual's tastes. Such a model does not seem to apply to Saddle Creek, which exhibits a consistent membership despite varied and changing interests in exploring new sounds.
Scenes
As is fairly obvious from the fact that it is more often than not referred to as the 'Omaha scene', scene theory fits best with what we can see on the Spend an Evening with Saddle Creek DVD.
Geoff Stahl's introduction to scenes in his article about Montreal gives us a few succinct definitions that illustrate this:
"The significance of musical life might be better seen as occuring at the juncture of soatual relations and social praxis" (53)
and;
"Scene used as an interpretive tool can encourage analyses of the interconnectivity of a city's cultural spaces, its industries, institutions and media, emphasizing its heterogeneity as well as its unifying elements." (53)
So, this approach is suited to looking at the fluidity of roles and the importance of location we see in the instance of Saddle Creek. It also focuses on the production and distribution side of music scenes, rather than focussing on the audiences, as with a lot of the club culture readings.
However, like tribe theory, this conception of scene stresses a certain transience. While certainly over the 10 years history seen on the DVD, it could be assumed that some players have moved on to different occupations, groups of people or locations, there is a consistency of membership over a longer period of time that neither tribe nor scene theories seem to have accounted for.
Problems with the material
In analysing this material alone to begin with, there are a few limitations. The documentary deals entirely with the musicians and others directly involved with the record label. Firstly, this poses the issue that the story is told entirely from their point of view. Bluntly, those involved are never going to say 'Yeah, we really set ourselves up in opposition to the mainstream, tried to make our music inaccessible to gain some indie points', either because that would be inherently uncool, or because claims of opposition and inaccessibility are arguably more the activities of audiences and listeners, and less that of musicians.
Secondly, the production and performance focus renders this subejct matter of less use to some of the approaches, which focus on those who participate by buying and listening to records, going to shows, but not actually making the music.
No comments:
Post a Comment