Musicology I: Artists and Audiences
April 25th, 2008 by DylanPapers by Greg Albright, Dylan Smith, and Rachel Turner
Self-Conceptions of Jazz Fan/Musicians
Greg Albright
This paper seeks to examine the practices of jazz musicians and their interactions with jazz music as fan text(s). Interviews were solicited from members of the Swarthmore College Jazz Ensemble and other student performing groups, focusing on their conceptions of their playing; in particular, whether they consider their jazz performance to be a manifestation of their fandom of jazz (if they do consider themselves fans at all). In addition, it will engage the question of what can be considered “text” in the convoluted world of jazz performance as rewriting.
- – -
Sharing with the Deadheads
Dylan Smith
This paper focuses on the fan community of the Grateful Dead, named Deadheads. I discuss aspects of the fan community that illustrate how it is a shared community, much like other media fandoms we have studied. But they were distinct in music fandom in certain ways. I emphasized two aspects of the culture, tape trading and “living on the road.” In addition, it brings up features of the band itself that allows this unique fan community to thrive.
(When Sheptoski is referred to, it is from Deadhead Social Science)
the-dead.pdf
- – -
We’re Gonna be Big Stars: A Cavicchi-inspired analysis of Counting Crows’ success
Rachel Turner
David Cavicchi’s “Loving Music” outlines the ways in which music really began the media fandom that is encountered presently in society. His argument is compelling and can be demonstrated in a case study of the band Counting Crows, tracing their fan following from 1993 to present time. The band has tested the boundaries of their music over the last decade and a half to produce unique albums that are tied together by on-going themes and the distinct quality of singer and song writer, Adam Duritz. Duritz commonly uses real events in his own life to inspire his lyrical genius, as well as music from rock legends like Van Morrison, Bob Dylan and the Beatles. These drastic differences between the albums show the Counting Crows’ true love of creating music, highlighting their disinterest in pleasing the MTV status quo and their balancing act between success and sell-out. A “band’s band,” the Counting Crows interaction with fans through multiple contexts has allowed the fan base to remain strong for over fifteen years. In an examination of the albums produced by the Counting Crows, the transformation their musical palate combined with their ability to adhere to a personalized and unique sound, the band embodies an excellent exemplar of Cavicchi’s argument about music fandom.
Posted in Colloquium | Comments Off