This thesis evaluates the relation between British popular music and national identity. It concentrates on developments during the 1990s, bringing together all three popular genres of pop music during that period: indie rock, dance music and black music.
Taking into account theoretical considerations on popular music, this thesis applies theories of collective identities in general and national identity in particular to Nineties pop. By analyzing an example of popular music media as well as selected music texts, the discourses within popular music culture are being compared to general discourses on questions of national identity within Great Britain.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Collective identities
3. National identity
4. National British identity
5. Popular music theory
6. British pop and national identity before 1990
7. Indie rock and Britpop in the 1990s
8. Black British music in the 1990s
9. British dance music in the 1990s
10. Conclusion
11. Bibliography
12. Lyrics
Objectives and Research Focus
This thesis examines the complex relationship between British popular music and national identity during the 1990s, exploring how musical genres act as sites for constructing, contesting, and negotiating Britishness within a broader socio-political context. The primary research goal is to understand how music influences public perceptions of national identity and whether these cultural forms can offer alternative, more inclusive representations of the nation.
- Analysis of the interplay between identity theory and popular music culture.
- Evaluation of how subcultures, such as Britpop and dance music, construct or challenge traditional symbols of Englishness.
- Investigation of the influence of the "black diaspora" and racial discourses on British music.
- Examination of the role of music media, specifically the magazine The Face, in shaping cultural discourses.
Excerpt from the Book
The deconstruction of an English symbol - Blur’s “Country House”
The song “Country House” appeared on the album The Great Escape and was released as a single in August 1995, on the same day as “Roll With It” by Oasis. It became one of Blur’s biggest hits. Musically, the song combines the traditional rock-format, namely vocals, guitars, bass and drums in a verse-chorus-scheme, with a stomping brass section. Thus, the listener is reminded of Cockney pub songs and marching bands, or maybe even the entertaining music of bingo halls and fairgrounds. All these references are institutions of stereotypical British leisure entertainment. However, in combination with the rock elements, meaning is re-signified. Pubs, brass bands and fairgrounds are symbols for an old-fashioned working class identity, but in this context of modern pop music, these references are encoded as ironic. On the other hand, rock is usually associated with codes of roughness and authenticity, but mixed with those allusions to apparently banal leisure activities, the song constructs itself as inauthentic. In the middle of the song there is a break and the music turns into sounds of Sixties psychedelia, supported by androgynous voices, which are so exaggerated that again a mood of kitsch and fake is created. Altogether the song musically represents a carnivalesque situation.
The lyrics tell the story of a successful businessman moving to the countryside. On the one hand, the businessman represents Thatcherite capitalism, which is described as a preying “rat race”, and he is satirized as thinking to himself “Oops I’ve got a lot of money” and “I’m a professional cynic”. On the other hand, the scenario of the country life also does not prove to be the paradise it usually symbolizes in traditional Englishness. The businessman’s life in the country house is characterized by “pills” and “Prozac”, “[psycho]analyst bills” and lack of laughter. The lyrics stress the countryside to be full of “charm” and “rest”, safe from “harm”. However, such repeated indication of the countryside’s peacefulness seems to imply that it is actually a very boring place, an interpretation that is supported by the ambiguous meaning of the word “bland”.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the research topic by analyzing Morrissey’s song “Irish Blood, English Heart” as a catalyst for discussions on modern national identity.
2. Collective identities: Explores identity theory, focusing on the construction of collective identities and the linguistic and semiotic nature of these social processes.
3. National identity: Investigates the theoretical challenges in defining a nation, introducing the concept of “imagined communities” and the role of discourse in constructing national narratives.
4. National British identity: Discusses the historical and socio-political fragmentation of British identity, including the influence of the British Empire, devolution, and traditional symbols.
5. Popular music theory: Outlines the academic field of popular culture, defining the role of music as a text within social and institutional power structures.
6. British pop and national identity before 1990: Provides a historical overview of British popular music subcultures from the 1950s to the 1980s and their relationship to identity and class.
7. Indie rock and Britpop in the 1990s: Analyzes the Britpop phenomenon as a discourse on national identity, focusing on its reliance on selected traditions of white, working-class masculinity.
8. Black British music in the 1990s: Explores how black musical genres, including hip hop and soul, were utilized to create new, hybrid, and more inclusive British identities.
9. British dance music in the 1990s: Examines the impact of the rave revolution, the “Bristol sound,” and drum’n’bass on shifting notions of nationality and technology-based identity.
10. Conclusion: Summarizes the thesis findings, concluding that while traditional essentialist identities fail, popular music increasingly promotes hybridity over "authenticity."
11. Bibliography: Lists the academic sources and texts consulted.
12. Lyrics: Contains the full lyrics of the key songs analyzed in the thesis.
Keywords
British Popular Music, National Identity, Britpop, Discourse Analysis, Cultural Studies, Hybridity, Othering, Black British Music, Subculture, Semiotics, Globalization, The Face, Class Identity, Authenticity, Rave Culture.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this thesis?
The thesis investigates the relationship between British popular music and the construction of national identity during the 1990s.
What are the central themes discussed in the work?
Key themes include the impact of subcultures on identity, the role of media in defining "Englishness," the tension between local and global influences, and the critique of essentialist, race-based definitions of belonging.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to evaluate how popular music in the 1990s served as a site for re-signifying Britishness and whether it successfully offered new, inclusive identities for a modern Britain.
Which academic methods are employed?
The author uses discourse analysis and semiotics to treat pop music performances as texts, examining lyrics, visual aesthetics, and the broader social context.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The chapters trace the development of genres like Britpop, black British music, and dance music, comparing their lyrical content and subcultural codes to broader public discourses on national identity.
How are the keywords characterized?
The work is characterized by terms linking cultural production with social identity, such as "subcultural capital," "hybridity," "othering," and "semiotics."
How does the thesis categorize the "Britpop" phenomenon?
The author views Britpop not as a distinct musical genre, but as a discourse that sought to reaffirm a specific, white-masculine tradition of Britishness in reaction to American influence.
How did the magazine "The Face" influence these cultural trends?
The Face is analyzed as a influential "style bible" that helped shape public opinion, initially supporting the Britpop mythos before eventually distancing itself as the discourse became stale.
What role does the "black diaspora" play in the author's argument?
The author argues that black British music, through its emphasis on hybridity and versioning, provides a more accurate representation of contemporary multicultural Britain than the traditionalist rhetoric of Britpop.
Does the work address the impact of dance music on British identity?
Yes, the work explores how dance music and rave culture allowed for the crossing of class and ethnic boundaries, often using technology as a means to move beyond traditional, lineage-based notions of identity.
- Citation du texte
- Anja Thümmler (Auteur), 2004, British Popular Music and National Identity in the 1990s, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/186497
