Univeristy of California Santa Cruz Cultural Memory And
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UNIVERISTY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ CULTURAL MEMORY AND COLLECTIVITY IN MUSIC FROM THE 1991 PERSIAN GULF WAR A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in MUSIC by Jessica Rose Loranger December 2015 The Dissertation of Jessica Rose Loranger is approved: ______________________________ Professor Leta E. Miller, chair ______________________________ Professor Amy C. Beal ______________________________ Professor Ben Leeds Carson ______________________________ Professor Dard Neuman ______________________________ Tyrus Miller Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Copyright © by Jessica Rose Loranger 2015 CONTENTS Illustrations vi Musical Examples vii Tables viii Abstract ix Acknowledgments xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Purpose Literature, Theoretical Framework, and Terminology Scope and Limitations CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND AND BUILDUP TO THE PERSIAN GULF WAR 15 Historical Roots Desert Shield and Desert Storm The Rhetoric of Collective Memory Remembering Vietnam The Antiwar Movement Conclusion CHAPTER 3: POPULAR MUSIC, POPULAR MEMORY 56 PART I “The Desert Ain’t Vietnam” “From a Distance” iii George Michael and Styx Creating Camaraderie: Patriotism, Country Music, and Group Singing PART II Ice-T and Lollapalooza Michael Franti Ani DiFranco Bad Religion Fugazi Conclusion CHAPTER 4: PERSIAN GULF WAR SONG COLLECTION, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 116 Yellow Ribbons: Symbols and Symptoms of Cultural Memory Parents and Children The American Way Hussein and Hitler Antiwar/Peace Songs Collective Language, Group Singing and Patriotism Conclusion CHAPTER 5: MODERN COMPOSERS REACT 175 John Adams: The Death of Klinghoffer Lou Harrison and Jerome Kitzke: Remembering American Indians Through the Gulf War Laurie Anderson: A Voice from Beyond iv Aaron Jay Kernis: Second Symphony Conclusion CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION 236 Remembering History Through Music Posterity and Longevity Considerations for the Future BIBLIOGRAPHY 246 v ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 3.1 Bad Religion’s Logo, Known as the Crossbuster by Fans 101 3.2 First Line of Bad Religion Song Modeled after 23rd Psalm 102 3.3 Cover of the New World Order Issue, Maximumrockandroll Magazine 104 3.4 Concert Fliers to Positive Force’s Protest, with Fugazi 109–110 4.1 Anti-Saddam Hussein Propaganda from the Persian Gulf War 132 4.2 Karen J. Hagerty’s “Through Children’s Eyes” 141 4.3 Middle East Christmas, Album Artwork, Adam and Bonnie Peterson 143 4.4 Saddam, This Bomb’s For You, Album Artwork, John Jacoby Sr. 150 4.5 Nirvana, List of Songs, Patti Cardamone 159 vi MUSICAL EXAMPLES Example Page 3.1 Styx, “Show Me the Way,” organ introduction and first line, mm. 1–6. 66 3.2 Styx, “Show Me the Way,” refrain, with gospel choir. Note the plagal progression in the last two measures. 66 3.3 Randy Newman, “Lines in the Sand,” mm. 1–6. 74 3.4 Lee Greenwood, “God Bless the U.S.A.,” chorus. 78 5.1 Lou Harrison, Homage to Pacifica, Third Movement, for Chorus and Gamelan 196 5.2 Jerome Kitzke, Funk You Theme, mm. 44–46 202 5.3 Jerome Kitzke, Whom Bomb Section, mm. 50–52 202 5.4 Jerome Kitzke, Lakota Poem, mm. 154–159 203 5.5 Kernis, Bass Clarinet and Horn Opening Melody, First Movement, mm. 1–8 221 5.6 Kernis, Brass and Percussion, First Movement, mm. 96–98 222–223 5.7 Kernis, Clarinet and Viola, Second Movement, mm. 10–28 224 5.8 Kernis, Violin, Third Movement, mm. 1–8 226 5.9 Kernis, Strings, Winds, and Piano, Third Movement 227 vii TABLES Table Page 4.1 Recorded Sound Collection Bibliographic Location Matrix 119 4.2 SONIC Listing of PGWSC Recordings, Sorted by Title Order 121 4.3 Remaining Songs Used in Present Study 128 viii Abstract Cultural Memory and Collectivity in Music from the 1991 Persian Gulf War By Jessica Rose Loranger Although scholars have thoroughly documented the music associated with the Vietnam War and the post-9/11 wars, virtually no musicological study has been conducted on the 1991 Persian Gulf War. The present work attempts to fill this lacuna by investigating American music stimulated by this war and placing it into the context of the culture from which it emerged. In addition to its value as a reflection on the Middle Eastern crisis and US-Iraq relations, this music served as a vehicle for cultural memories of World War II and the Vietnam War. The demonization of Saddam Hussein blatantly evoked Hitler, making an emotional case for a just war; the ubiquitous “support our troops” campaign not-so-subtly elicited Vietnam. A brief historical overview offers background to the conflict and a discussion of US memories of Vietnam and World War II. Collective remembering, revising, and forgetting bolstered support for the war, support for the soldiers, and antiwar sentiments. Commercial popular music responses reflected these memories through a combination of communality and sentimentality, while also circumventing the more difficult aspects of the war. Other less mainstream musicians, such as Fugazi and Ani Difranco, responded with scathing lyrics against war, government, and society. A virtually unknown Persian Gulf War Song Collection at the Library of Congress ix contains more than 140 unpublished or self-published cassettes and 78s. Although of little commercial worth, the songs provide important insight into the way some Americans processed US involvement in the Gulf. Composers Lou Harrison, Jerome Kitzke, Laurie Anderson, and Aaron Jay Kernis also created musical responses to the conflict. Their expression of collective remembering relies on inclusive concepts of humanity, suffering, and empathy. Gulf War music—whether mainstream or homegrown—reflected a widespread urge for solidarity, both for and against the war. Additionally, songwriters who addressed hostilities in the Middle East confronted the nation’s past, with cultural memories that adhered to and resisted dominant narratives. The findings of this study hold particular importance for adequate consideration of the Gulf War not only as a reaction to the Vietnam War, but also as a precursor for post-9/11 politically engaged music. x Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have been possible without the generosity, guidance, and time of so many people. First, I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to Leta Miller, who has been not only a fabulous adviser, but an irreplaceable mentor—a guiding light for me and a profound inspiration in the balancing of academia and motherhood. She has encouraged me endlessly and maintained genuine enthusiasm about my work. Most importantly, Leta always believed I would finish this undertaking, at times when even I doubted. Thank you for your advisement, assurance, and kindness. Many thanks also to my committee, Amy Beal, Ben Carson, and Dard Neuman, for also navigating me along this path; and for reading chapter drafts, advising me honestly, and challenging me to think beyond boundaries. Thank you to faculty members less directly involved in the dissertation, but integral to my time at UCSC—Paul Nauert, Paul Contos, Anatole Leiken, Undang Sumarna, and Tanya Merchant. Of course nothing would ever happen without the hard work and expertise of Laura McShane, Susan Gautieri, Alice Gallup, Dave Morrison and (once upon a time) Tom Listmann. To the graduate students with whom I studied, particularly Leta’s discussion group, I am grateful to all of you for your ideas and feedback. To Mark Davidson for agreeing to read my popular music chapter: thank you for the editorial comments, along with the kind of insight one can only acquire through years of deep engagement. xi Many thanks also to Karen Fishman and the other librarians at the Library of Congress’s Recorded Sound Division for extensive help with an unwieldy collection, which was never really a collection in the first place. I would also like to thank various funding sources that helped with research travel and pushed me towards completion—UCSC Music Department, UCSC Arts Dean’s Fund for Excellence (Dean Yager), the GSA, and the Popular Culture Association. Last but certainly not least, I want to thank my childcare providers, friends, and family—my village—for supporting me through this daunting (and seemingly everlasting) process. You know who you are, and you know I love you. Thank you for listening, discussing, and offering suggestions. Thank you for withstanding my stress and my obsessive discussions about Bette Midler, Fugazi, Oliver Stone movies, and The Death of Klinghoffer. I appreciate your patience and your willingness to go on this journey with me. In particular, I could not have accomplished this degree without the support of my mom and brothers, my life partner, and his parents, whose devotion to our children is a true blessing. Words alone could never express the depth of my gratitude. xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The past is never dead. It’s not even past. –William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun How does a nation remember its past? How do the stories we tell ourselves emerge and re-establish themselves as time progresses? These stories, while stimulating memories, also help us to forget aspects of the remembered, of our histories. What role does music play in the expression and formation of such memories? Popular culture generates artifacts that partially accomplish this task of cultural forgetting and remembering. Films, novels, and iconic imagery create a space for the recollection of events that may otherwise fade. At the same time, they emphasize certain aspects at the expense of others, inscribing a narrative that is necessarily selective. Monuments and memorials enshrine particular events or people, physically embodying the past. Music making, listening, and consumption play a part in the commemorative process when musicians and audiences engage with their shared cultural heritage. As George Lipsitz astutely notes, “Musical forms have meaning only as they can be interpreted by knowing subjects.”1 Despite the inherent difficulties and inevitable fallacies in attempting to unravel the complex of musical meaning, its exploration remains a culturally relevant endeavor.