Icelandic Identity, Activism, and the Art of Björk
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A FUSION OF NATURE AND TECHNOLOGY?: ICELANDIC IDENTITY, ACTIVISM, AND THE ART OF BJÖRK by ELISSA DALY B.A., Wesleyan University, 1995 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy College of Music 2015 This thesis entitled: A Fusion of Nature and Technology?: Icelandic Identity and Activism in Björk's Music written by Elissa Daly has been approved for the College of Music Dr. Jay Keister Dr. Thomas L. Riis Date The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we Find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards Of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. Daly, Elissa (Ph.D., Musicology, College of Music) A Fusion of Nature and Technology?: Icelandic Identity, Activism, and the Art of Björk Thesis directed by Associate Professor Jay Keister This dissertation investigates the effects of massive industrialization, technological sophistication, and environmental problems in Iceland on the music of Björk, Iceland's most renowned living musician. In the seventy-year period since Icelanders gained independence from Denmark, their perception of themselves has changed from a fishing and farming community to an urban community preoccupied with technological development. I investigate the way this shift in Icelandic identity has been expressed through the art of Iceland's pop stars with a focus on Björk. In the last twenty years, during Björk's rise to fame, Iceland has become a contender in the global economy in the areas of technology and sustainable energy. The collapse of Icelandic currency and the proposed construction of major hydroelectric power plants and aluminum manufacturing plants at the expense of the natural environment has forced Icelanders to make difficult choices. This dissertation investigates the ways Icelandic identity explains how Icelanders have responded to these choices and in particular how one Icelandic musician did. A preoccupation with nature, Icelandic nationalism, a pagan identity derived from old Norse Eddas and Sagas, self-sufficiency, rebellion, isolation or "alien" identity, and iii a modern-day preoccupation with technology are recurring themes in Björk's music that provide a gateway to understanding a shift in Icelandic identity that has occurred during the last century. An investigation into Icelandic culture, politics, economics, and popular music expression indicates the extent to which local environmental crises, the global climate crisis, and Icelandic popular music are linked. While retaining a vast pristine landscape, Iceland has still fallen prey to environmental destruction that plagues other locales of the world. Informed by the growing field of ecomusicology, this study views the popular music scene of Iceland as a kind of petri dish: a microcosm that demonstrates how economic and social pressures affect popular music. Just as Darwin found the basis for a theory of evolution in his study of the Galapagos Islands, we can learn about pressures that are put upon music and the ways that music responds to those pressures by studying this small island nation near the Arctic Circle. iv Acknowledgements I would like to thank my Dissertation Committee Chair, Dr. Jay Keister, for advising me through every step of the process, for always challenging me and my arguments, and for beginning and continuing this journey with me, teaching both my Ethnomusicology Pro- and Music-and-Identity Seminars, as well as Japanese Ensemble. Thank you also for having me as your TA for World Musics Asia. I would like to thank my Dissertation Committee members, Dr. Thomas L. Riis, Dr. Jeremy Smith, Dr. Ben Teitelbaum, and Dr. Kris Shaffer. Thank you to Dr. Riis for early advice about the project, always quickly reading and returning papers to me with profound and encouraging edits, for the intellectual adventure of Historical Musicology ProSeminar, and for teaching me to question history. Thank you to Dr. Teitelbaum for serving in the demanding role of "outside" committee-member, leading me to important Icelandic & Nordic sources and for helping with Chapter Two. Thank you to Dr. Shaffer for your advice about how to approach a music analysis of Biophilia, for editing a draft, and for helping with Variations Audio Timeliner. Thank you to Dr. Smith for the research inspiration, the lively William Byrd Seminar and Music History Pre-1750 course, and for teaching me when and when-not to chase the rabbit down the musicological rabbit hole. Thank you to visiting scholar, Dr. Aniko Toth, for the geothermal energy course. Thank you to my parents, Beatrice Daly and Warren B. Daly Jr., my honorary parents Jain Himot and Joe Bruno, my brother Mike Daly, sister-in-law Marylene, and tiny nephew Marlon for their love, support, (and adorableness!), my Aunt Barbara and Uncle Doc, v my honorary brothers Dave and Phil Himot, and sister-in-law, Jen, and their collective five kids - thank you for all the fun and laughter (and also your love and support). Thank you to my faithful friends (nearest-and-dearest) and CU Musicology Colleagues for the fun times and helping me make it through the last five years! Thanks to Joe for the book on the Battle of the Atlantic! Thanks to Mom for never tiring of hearing me talk about "the Björk project" and academic life, for reading a long draft and expressing genuine interest in every chapter, and providing thoughtful and insightful feedback to boot. Thank you to Dad for carefully proofreading a final draft. Thank you to Dr. Carlo Caballero for your extensive comments on my prospectus, the fun times in Music Bibliography and Research and Music History Post-1750, and for advising me through my first few years of the CU musicology program. Thank you to Dr. Elissa Guralnick for helping me to prepare my dissertation prospectus, for reading drafts carefully and returning them with discerning critical marks, and taking the time in the last semester before your retirement to advise me on grant-writing. Thank you to CU librarians Jennifer Knievel and Rebecca Kuglitsch for meeting with me and responding graciously to my research inquiries. Thank you to Dean Bruns and Joyce Cheney for supporting my progress toward graduation. Thanks to Steve Slater for helping with the World Musics courses and to book CU music building space, often when there did not appear to be any. Thank you to the CU College of Music Deans past, Dean Sher, and present, Dean Shay, for your support of graduate students. Even though I have never met you, a boundless thank you to the scholars and journalists upon whose vi work this dissertation draws, and I hope to meet you one day!; when I refuted your arguments, you must know, it is the highest compliment. Additional endless thanks to Amber Thompson for helping with "the missing abstract," and any and all of the other behind-the-scenes folks of the CU Interlibrary-Loan and Prospector staff. Without you, I would have had great difficulties obtaining the materials that I needed to complete the project (did you think that I would ever stop ordering materials? . and again? . and again?). Thank you to Dr. Laurie Sampsel and the library staff at the CU Waltz Library and Norlin Library, the librarians at the National Library of Iceland, particularly those in Reference and National Archives, the CU Information Technology Department, Sara Fall and Eric Klinger from The CU Writing Center, the CU Graduate School, and Björk, for your music and all- things-punk-and-creativeful. Thank you to Dr. Austin Okigbo for the African Seminar, research and grant-writing support, and the Comprehensive Exam questions, Brad Goode for the Comprehensive Exam questions and the many jazz courses, John Drumheller for two semesters of music theory courses, John Gunther for the Contemporary Jazz Theory course, Nicolò Spera for adopting me into the CU Guitar Program, Dr. Brenda Romero for the Mariachi Ensemble support and bringing the gamelan to CU, CU Mariachi Ensemble Director Chino Rodriguez for all of the songs and for always asking about my work, Maputo Mensah for an exciting year working together in the CU African Highlife Ensemble, Mami for Japanese Ensemble, Made for Gamelan Ensemble, Peggy, Gayle, Steve, Nancy, Glenn, and Kevin for helping with the World Music Ensembles. Thank you to Dr. vii and Mrs. Heyer for the Musicology Award in Honor of Deborah Hayes, Dr. and Mrs. Stormo for the Stormo Music Scholarship, Mr. Jones and Dr. Beers for the Edith E. Edwards Scholarship in Music. Thank you to the donors of the Pete Smythe Scholarship and the Nancy and Ted Anderson Music Awards. Last but never least, thank you to Kim Tilley, Wendell Goddard, Abdoul Doumbia, and Koffi Toudji for your friendship and recommendations, Dr. Rebecca Maloy for administering our Pi Kappa Lambda chapter (and having me as a member!), and the staff of the College of Music for making it all happen. viii CONTENTS CHAPTER ! I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1 An Ecomusicological Study of Björk................................................ 1 A Snapshot of the Icelandic Music Scene........................................ 11 Major-label Icelandic Pop Stars and Nature................................... 16 What is at Stake............................................................................... 21 Outline of the Dissertation.............................................................. 23 II. ICELANDIC