Music-428 Project Proposal

Music-428 Project Proposal For my final research project, I plan on examining the local hardcore punk scene, one of the area’s most prominent and active musical subcultures, and comparing this local scene to the hardcore punk culture prevalent in Washington DC in the 1980s and 1990s. I hope to look at and discover the driving influences that shape each of the two regional scenes as well as the political and social attitudes that have emerged from the two scenes. Both scenes seem intently organized around a “Do-It-Yourself” structure that allows for accessible and communal recording and performance practices. Furthermore, both scenes draw in a crowd that would seem to match the musical ideals of hardcore punk, one that is rebellious in its lack of adherence to social conventions and that uses such ideals as DIY practices and a straight edge lifestyle to avoid systems and substances on which many musicians have historically been dependent. In short, the hardcore communities in both areas have drawn in people who would conventionally be considered “weirdos” or “freaks” because they have trouble with the normalized cultural practices typical of their region and age group. I plan to examine what drives these sorts of people, whether the driving influences are the same across both hardcore communities, and how the DC community, established in the late 70s and early 80s, may have influenced the currently active hardcore community in the Pioneer Valley. My final project will largely take the form a research paper, as much of my project will be based on research and analysis. Part of this paper, however, will include a first-hand account of what it’s like to engage with the local hardcore community, as well as interviews and quotes from active members within the community. This first-hand account and the observations and analysis that go along with it will be paired with observations, relevant quotations, and extensive analysis taken from books, recordings, articles, and films detailing DC’s hardcore culture and prominent hardcore bands. I also plan on recording a two hour radio show that will survey the recordings of both local and DC hardcore musicians, while integrating a discussion of the observations and ideas about the two cultures that are reflected in the music being played. Questions: - - - - - On what levels (ie musical, cultural, performance) is hardcore defined in local communities and in DC? What distinguishing characteristics of hardcore matter to its fans and practitioners? What social, cultural, and political ideals is the local hardcore community concerned with and how is this similar or different to those of the DC hardcore community in the 80s and 90s? What characterizes a hardcore fan or musician in the Pioneer Valley and in DC? What draws people into the music and culture of hardcore? How has the culture of DC hardcore influenced local hardcore culture? What efforts does the local hardcore community take to align itself with or separate itself from DC hardcore? How do DIY attitudes manifest themselves in performance and recording practices of hardcore bands? What makes DIY such a big part of hardcore culture? To what extent is hardcore a communal experience and how does this feed into the attitudes/ideals/practices of hardcore fans and musicians? What does the performance of aggression and anger characteristic of hardcore represent? Does this sort of performance tie into the idea of hardcore as an outsider culture reacting against the normal/mainstream? How did “straightedge” emerge from DC hardcore culture and is this an important part of hardcore culture outside of the DC hardcore scene? Methodology: My project will make use of a number of different methodologies. First and foremost, my examination of the local hardcore culture will be based largely around ethnographic research. This ethnographic research will take a few different forms. I’ve already identified several members of the local hardcore community who I plan on interviewing. These include a member of the seminal Amherst hardcore band, Ampere, who’s one of the central figures around whom the community is organized and members of the former Amherst College hardcore band Tashtego, who were both musicians in and fans of the scene and who thus can provide insight about the scene from both perspectives. I hope to ask questions addressing a number of different aspects of the hardcore community including recording, performance, interactions between fans and musicians, and the scene’s structure and organization. Furthermore, as part of my ethnographic research, I plan on attending several hardcore performances, particularly at the Dad City venue, a basement in a house on Route 116 lived in and run by Hampshire students. I’ve already experienced one Dad City concert and plan on attending others, to observe methods of performance, fan reactions to performance, show organization (ie how money is collected, people are admitted entrance, and equipment is set up), and the appearance and attitudes of fans within the community. Furthermore, I plan to use local record stores as a place for ethnographic study, examining the types of local hardcore offerings seen at these record stores and hopefully finding fans within the record stores to talk to about their experiences with the hardcore community. I think this website will be a valuable tool, especially for engaging with discussions going on in the local hardcore community. My project will also use historiographic research, particularly to engage with the DC hardcore community of the 80s and 90s. I have identified a number of books, films, concert videos, and articles that address either specific bands within the DC hardcore culture or address the culture in general, its aggressive championing of DIY practice, and the emergence of the straight edge lifestyle from this culture. The concert videos will provide an interesting comparison between the two cultures in terms of performance and fan interaction at live shows. Several of the books and films I have identified contain direct quotes from or interviews with musicians who were a part of DC hardcore punk which will hopefully provide interesting comparisons between the language and attitudes expressed in these quotes and interviews with the language and attitudes used in the interviews I conduct. I also plan on using analytic methodology to examine recordings coming out of each of the two scenes. I would like to look both at the prominent characteristics of the hardcore sound – speed, loudness, screamed aggressive vocals, rough, often sloppy instrumentals – and the attitudes expressed in the lyrics on hardcore recordings. I hope to draw comparisons between the sound/lyrics of the two scenes, seeing if I can identify how local musicians stick to or diverge from templates established by DC hardcore music. I also am interested in seeing how an analysis of the hardcore sound can shed light on observed performance practice and how an analysis of hardcore lyrics can shed light on the ideas expressed in interviews and quotations from members of the two different hardcore communities. Works Cited: American Hardcore: The History of American Punk Rock 1980-1986. Dir. Paul Rachman. Culver City, California: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2007. DVD. This documentary film takes a historical look at hardcore punk in the early to mid 1980s, with much mention made of DC based punk bands such as Minor Threat and Bad Brains. Ampere. Like Shadows. No Idea Records, 2011. CD. Like Shadows is the most recent recording from Ampere, who’ve been at the forefront of Amherst hardcore for the past decade and include members from the seminal late 90s Amherst screamo band, Orchid. Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life. New York: Back Bay Books, 2001. Print. Azerrad’s book gives a biographical account of 13 American independent punk and rock bands in the 1980s, two of which (Fugazi and Minor Threat) sprang directly out of Washington DC, and one other of which (Black Flag) featured DC native, Henry Rollins as its frontman. Bedford, Oscar. David, Ian. Mueller, Michael. Suechting, Max. Personal Interview. Date to be foreseen. Oscar Bedford, Ian David Michael Mueller, and Max Suechting are the four members of former Amherst College hardcore punk band, Tashtego, as well as active fans of the regional punk scene. Borlagden, Joseph. “The Paradox of “Do-It-Yourself” in Unpopular Music.” Philosophical and Cultural Theories of Music. Boston: Brill, 2010. Print. This essay examines the nature of DIY (“do-it-yourself”) culture as it exists in underground music. D.I.Y. or Die: How to Survive as an Independent Artist. Dir. Michael W. Dean. Los Angeles, 2001. DVD. This short documentary film examines the DIY ethos in independent music through interviews with prominent DIY musicians including Ian MacKaye of prominent DC punk bands Minor Threat, Teen Idles, and Fugazi, and J. Mascis of prominent Amherst indie rock band, Dinosaur Jr. The Fugazi Live Series. “Wilson Center, Washington DC, March 3, 1988.” Washington DC, 1988. The Fugazi Live Series presents video recordings from a wide range of concerts by the seminal DC punk band, Fugazi, spanning the course of their career. This particular video recording is of an early Fugazi show held in Washington DC. Killingsworth, Will. Personal Interview. Date to be foreseen. Will Killingsworth is a founding member and guitarist for the Amherst hardcore/screamo band Ampere and a figurehead in the regional hardcore scene, with whom many of Amherst’s hardcore bands are affiliated. Kuhn, Gabriel. Sober Living for the Revolution: Hardcore Punk, Straight Edge, and Radical Politics. Oakland: PM Press, 2010. AC ebrary. Web. This account of the youth straight edge movement, its ties to hardcore punk, and its origination as a 1980s hardcore punk subculture features direct contributions from influential DC punk figure, Ian MacKaye. Various Artists. 20 Years of Dischord. Dischord Records, 2002. CD. Released in 2002, this recording offers a comprehensive portrait of DC punk in the 1980s and 1990s, including a song from each band on the Dischord Records label, founded by Ian MacKaye and based in DC. Waksman, Steve. This Ain’t the Summer of Love: Conflict and Crossover in Heavy Metal and Punk. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009. Print. Waksman’s book offers historical insight into the traditions, ideals, and politics that guided heavy music in the 1970s and 1980s, touching on DC hardcore figureheads such as Minor Threat.