Vol. 30, No. 2 (2010)
Publication date: 2011-11-18
Number of articles: 11
Éditorial
La musique populaire : vers une économie du don - PDF through Erudit
Articles
“Give a man a mask and he’ll tell the truth”: Arnold Schoenberg, David Bowie, and the Mask of Pierrot - PDF through Erudit
There are striking parallels between Arnold Schoenberg’s treatment of the Pierrot character in 1912 and David Bowie’s adoption of Pierrot as an alter ego in 1980. For both musicians, Pierrot is a necessary mask, and each uses the “insolent clown” in his own way, but in the service of the same delicate negotiations between past and future, and between artifice and truth in art and self. In Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and Bowie’s song “Ashes to Ashes,” we see and hear the music of the past alongside “a nostalgia for the future”: Pierrot provides the means—the mask—behind which musical reflection, self-examination, and psychological purgation can occur.
Bruce Springsteen, sociologie d’un rocker - PDF through Erudit
In this article, by the light of sociology of the amateurs and sociology of social representations, we propose to study Bruce Springsteen’s place in rock culture. As a professional rocker—in contrast with the figures of the pioneer and decadent—he embodies the legacy and the pursuit of rock by being a messenger and perpetuating the myth of social origin. To catch the structure of his imaginary, the notions of dynamical “deep-root”, authenticity, present and brotherly pact will serve our narrative discourse and argumentation. We will see that the role of the rocker is to consolidate the social link and thus to cement and perpetuate rock tribe and culture. The musical repertoire, lyrics, journalistic treatment and the discourses of the amateurs will illustrate this perspective.
La genèse d’une reconnaissance réfléchie de la musique de film au Québec : le Prix Jutra - PDF through Erudit
The Jutra Awards, an annual competition rewarding Quebec’s film industry, are in their first years of a renewed and improved approach to celebrating film music and its composers. This is the result of much debate—even controversy—in the industry, with respect to the credibility of the awards in the “Best Music” category. By studying the results of the competition since its inception in 1999 and in comparison with the regulations and the histories of the Felix, the Genie, and especially of the Academy Awards, we will show that the recent updates to the rules of eligibility for music at the Jutras are justified, but also that they can still be improved upon. One objective of this paper is to better understand the concept of originality in film music, as it pertains to competition in the film industry in Quebec. A second objective will be to question the importance of recognizing, in separate categories, “dramatic” orchestral film scores, original popular music and original songs. Also, we will consider the influence of an artist’s pre-established popularity on his chances of winning an award for his work. Finally, based on the rule changes made for the 2011 Jutras, we will outline some implications for the future of the competition.
L’expérience musicale est une expérience sociale : de l’intellectualisation de la musique électronique à Lima (Pérou) - PDF through Erudit
Music cannot be analyzed per se because it is thoroughly embedded in the social contexts in which it is produced and developed. By analyzing the characteristics of the social space in which electronic dance music is diffused in Lima, we will be able to understand how this “minor” music genre became an instrument of social distinction and elitism.
Hybridization and the Creation of “Third Spaces”: an Analysis of Two Works by Tomás Gubitsch - PDF through Erudit
Tango’s recent resurgence has greatly intensified the momentum of a long process of “international dissemination” that began with the genre’s arrival in Paris during the first decade of the twentieth century. The many dialogues promoted by this renewed popularity have set the stage for an unprecedented period of development marked by artistic collaboration, experimentation, and hybridization. As a result, the genre is undergoing numerous changes; among the most striking are the new sonic shapes it is assuming. Through the detailed analysis of two compositions by Argentine guitarist and composer Tomás Gubitsch, who since the 1970s—the time of the country’s notorious and brutal “Dirty War”—has resided in Paris, this paper examines some of the processes currently shaping the sonic form of some of tango’s numerous variants. This work hopes to shed light on Gubitsch the composer and on the current tango phenomenon itself, as well as to contribute to a better understanding of the ways musical hybrids are constructed.
Les nouveaux enjeux de la granulation sonore : l’esthétique populaire de l’Intelligent Dance Music (IDM) - PDF through Erudit
Intelligent Dance Music (IDM) is a trend that emerged in England in the 1990s. The music of the movement is characterized by popular structural elements (primarily binary rhythms, numerous repetitions, classical forms, etc.) combined with a certain rhythmic and timbral complexity. IDM artists use specific tools to recreate sonic micromanipulation techniques that were developed in academic circles in the 1970s and 1980s, which they distribute to a large public audience, who make up the next generation of ‘active’ listeners. Sharing these techniques has been facilitated through the development of digital technology that emerged at the beginning of the 1990s, which made it possible for micromanipulations to be widely used in popular music. Micromanipulations create an aesthetic that incorporates sound granulation and which is characterized by the diverse technologies used in the construction and decomposition techniques, such as granulation of sound, granular synthesis, cutting, repetition and automated mixes as well silence or pauses. This article summarizes the development of auditory micromanipulation techniques and the conditions that fostered its development, and introduces IDM as the trend which has introduced this technique into the popular aesthetic.
