Kean, Robert Wilfred (2002) The aesthetics of dissent : cultural opposition and the independent musician. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
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Abstract
The aim of this research is to explore the possibility that independent musicianship constitutes a form of cultural opposition to capitalist hegemony. The analysis which follows attempts to chart a course between two competing theoretical perspectives on modern popular culture: critical theory, according to which popular culture is a medium of capitalist manipulation of credulous masses, and the Birmingham School of cultural studies, which emphasizes the creative potential inherent in cultural consumption. Twenty-four local musicians took part in semi-structured interviews focusing on their evaluations of different kinds of music, the creative and business- related choices they make in bringing their songs to listening audiences, and the values they hold as musicians working outside the creative parameters set by the major-label record industry. The interview data supply compelling evidence that respondents’ artistic sensibilities, and indeed their entire self-understanding as independent musicians, is informed by a critical awareness of the commodity production of culture, and as well a clear desire to resist the aesthetic standardization of music.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| URI: | http://research.library.mun.ca/id/eprint/1434 |
| Item ID: | 1434 |
| Additional Information: | Bibliography: leaves 149-150 |
| Department(s): | Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of > Sociology |
| Date: | 2002 |
| Date Type: | Submission |
| Geographic Location: | Canada--Newfoundland and Labrador--Avalon Peninsula--St. John's |
| Library of Congress Subject Heading: | Musicians--Newfoundland and Labrador--St. John's; Dissenters, Artistic--Newfoundland and Labrador--St. John' s; Alternative rock music--Newfoundland and Labrador--St. John's |
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