5 research outputs found
Breaking voices : voice, subjectivity and fragmentation in popular music
PhD ThesisFour case studies from 'mainstream' popular music are used to explore the voice as a
primary site for the construction of meaning in popular music, both as a vehicle for
language and as an 'object' outside of or alongside language. The first chapter argues
that the extensive use of overdubbing technology by the Carpenters forms part of their
relationship with the 'geno-song', and that the cyborgian voice which emerges from
such use of technology disrupts human-centred psychoanalytic models of subjective
development. Finally, different recordings of 'Superstar' are analysed to show how
different recordings of a song negotiate ideas of 'presence'. The second chapter outlines
various sexually queer subjects presented by Madonna, and argues that the process of
constant transformation challenges hegemonic Western notions of a unified 'self'. The
chapter also argues that musical factors have underpinned her visual transformations,
and that her vocality has suggested her maturation as an artist and challenged the
ideology of 'voice' as a stable signifier of identity. A chapter on Eminem explores his
simultaneous use of three distinct characters to play out different aspects of his own
identity, and how his work represents and constructs masculinity. Specifically, the
chapter argues that the use of language as a system does not easily parallel the
masculinist content of the lyrics, but can instead be aligned with traditionally 'feminine'
or feminising modes of writing. Moreover, according to a traditional gendered musical
semiotics, the interface between language and music does not underline 'masculinity' in
normative ways. The final chapter considers how ideas of 'self' and Other are negotiated
in Elvis Impersonation. In particular, a model for understanding vocal impersonation is
offered, using Freud's model of the ideal ego and Baudrillard's orders of simulacra.
Finally, the chapter explores the representation and construction of masculinities in
various examples of Elvis Impersonation.AHR