Handbag Dance Music and Gay Male Culture
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
LOVE IN THE FIRST DEGREE: HANDBAG DANCE MUSIC AND GAY MALE CULTURE ADRIAN RENZO, BA (HONS) A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2007 School of Communication Arts University of Western Sydney ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr Sally Macarthur, for her enthusiasm, patience, and attention to detail throughout the course of my candidature. Thanks are also due to Dr Tony Mitchell at the University of Technology, Sydney, for his constant encouragement, and to all the people who have offered feedback at conferences hosted by the International Association for the Study of Popular Music and the Musicological Society of Australia. My friends Dr Nathan Wilson and Corrina Bonshek provided invaluable assistance with the thesis. They were also a ready-made postgraduate support network during the candidature, for which I am very grateful. I also wish to thank Kyrra Lee for alerting me to many ‘extended 12- inch moments’ in handbag music. I have been fortunate enough to have taught some of the thesis material at the Music Department, University of Western Sydney, and in the Department of Writing and Cultural Studies, the University of Technology, Sydney. I would like to thank: my colleagues at both institutions for their support; the students in the ‘Contemporary Cultures’ and ‘Music and Popular Culture’ courses (UTS, 2001-2005); and the students in the ‘Popular Music’ course (UWS, 2003-2004) for their constructive feedback on the project; Cheryl Harris at Ward Library (UWS) for providing generous assistance with research materials; and the School of Communication Arts (UWS) for providing financial assistance. Finally, I would not have embarked upon a PhD without the encouragement and support of my parents, Antonietta and Nicola Renzo. May they keep dancing for years to come. iii STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICATION The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this material, either in full or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution. Signed: ……..…………………………………… Date: ………………………………………….. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICATION iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES viii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ix LIST OF CD TRACKS xi ABSTRACT xv CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Gay men and ‘trash’ pop music 2 1.2 Why music? 4 1.3 Anti-intellectualism—inside and outside academia 9 1.4 Defining and defending ‘handbag’ 17 1.5 Overview of the thesis 25 CHAPTER 2 POPULAR MUSIC STUDIES AND THE PROBLEM OF CLOSE READING 34 2.1 Introduction 35 2.2 On ‘rescuing’ popular music: the contributions of popular music studies and cultural studies 37 2.3 Should we engage in close reading? 45 2.4 The musicologist’s discourse replicated: the case of ‘bastard pop’ 54 2.5 Conclusion 63 CHAPTER 3 CLUBBING IN SILENCE 66 3.1 Introduction 67 3.2 Thornton and ‘subcultural ideology’ 70 3.3 Jackson and the shift away from ideology 78 CHAPTER 4 ADORNO AND DANCE MUSIC 89 4.1 Introduction 90 4.2 Historical context 92 4.3 Passive or active audiences? 95 4.4 The individual-as-social 100 4.5 ‘Natural’: tonality in contemporary dance music 107 CHAPTER 5 HANDBAG AS LOW-OTHER 129 5.1 Introduction 130 5.2 Innovation over pleasure 131 5.3 ‘Being real’: The problem of authenticity 142 v 5.4 On valuing handbag: An alternative approach 151 CHAPTER 6 PERFORMANCE AND QUEER IDENTITY 156 6.1 Introduction 157 6.2 Performance and queer identity 161 6.3 Performance on the dance floor 177 CHAPTER 7 THE 12-INCH SINGLE AS SONG 193 7.1 Introduction: ‘songs’ versus ‘tracks’ 194 7.2 A dual approach to 12-inch singles 198 7.3 Stock-Aitken-Waterman: the significance of songs in gay male clubs 212 7.3.1 SAW’s 12-inch singles as ‘tracks’ 216 7.3.2 SAW’s 12-inch singles as ‘songs’ 224 CHAPTER 8 HANDBAG, DJ CONVENTIONS, AND SONGS 237 8.1 Introduction 238 8.2 Stratification as DJ tool 239 8.3 The significance of song structures in handbag music 248 8.4 Drama and Excess in Handbag Music 257 CHAPTER 9 CONCLUSION 269 9.1 Research findings 270 9.2 Studying ‘the music itself’: cultural competence and textual analysis 273 9.3 Significance of the research 278 REFERENCES 285 DISCOGRAPHY 305 APPENDIX A Excerpt from Go Home Productions, ‘Ray of Gob,’ mm. 13-20, 0.19-0.32 333 APPENDIX B Excerpt from Thriftshop XL, ‘Dub Spin Me Round,’ mm. 31-38, 0.55-1.10 334 APPENDIX C Harmonic restriction in selected 1990s 12-inch singles 335 APPENDIX D Harmonic restriction in selected 12-inch singles produced by Stock, Aitken, and Waterman 338 vi APPENDIX E Harmonic restriction in selected 1980s 12-inch singles 340 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 7.1 Kylie Minogue, ‘Got to Be Certain (Extended),’ mm. 1-44, 0.00-1.32 226 Table 7.2 Lonnie Gordon, ‘If I Have to Stand Alone (Club Mix),’ mm. 1-33, 0.00-1.03 234 viii LIST OF FIGURES Where relevant, recorded excerpts to accompany these Figures have been included on CD 1. For added clarity, all bar and timing indications in the Figures refer to the full recordings. These full recordings are included on CDs 2, 3, and 4. Figure 4.1 Structural Overview of S Club 7, ‘Natural (Almighty Mix)’ 110 Figure 4.2 Textural Graph of S Club 7, ‘Natural (Almighty Mix),’ mm. 1-73, 0.00-2.10 114 Figure 6.1 Textural Graph of Motiv8, ‘Rockin' For Myself (Ultimate Vocal Mix),’ mm. 1-49, 0.00-1.26 181 Figure 7.1 Structural Overview of Donna Summer, ‘I Feel Love (Summer '77, Re-Eq '95) 207 Figure 7.2 Textural Graph of Sinitta, ‘I Don’t Believe in Miracles (Extended Club Mix),’ mm. 1-45, 0.00-1.30 217 Figure 8.1 Textural Graph of Thelma Houston, ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way (House Club Remix),’ mm. 141-79, 4.26-5.41 243 Figure 8.2 Textural Graph of Gloria Estefan, ‘Turn the Beat Around (Def Classic Mix),’ mm. 1-49, 0.00-1.31 244 Figure 8.3 Textural Graph of Transition between Thelma Houston, ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way (House Club Remix)’ and Gloria Estefan, ‘Turn the Beat Around (Def Classic Mix),’ mm. 1-62, 0.00-1.43 245 ix LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Where relevant, recorded excerpts to accompany these Musical Examples have been included on CD 1. For added clarity, all bar and timing indications in the Musical Examples refer to the full recordings. These full recordings are included on CDs 2, 3, and 4. Musical Example 2.1 Freelance Hellraiser, ‘Stroke of Genie-us,’ mm. 43-50, 1.01-1.13 62 Musical Example 4.1 S Club 7, ‘Natural (Almighty Mix),’ mm. 69- 72, 2.03-2.10 112 Musical Example 4.2 S Club 7, ‘Natural (Almighty Mix),’ mm. 94- 97, 2.48-2.55 112 Musical Example 4.3 S Club 7, ‘Natural (Almighty Mix),’ mm. 8-10, 0.12-0.18 115 Musical Example 4.4 S Club 7, ‘Natural (Almighty Mix),’ mm. 16- 18, 0.27-0.32 116 Musical Example 4.5 S Club 7, ‘Natural (Almighty Mix),’ mm. 24- 26, 0.41-0.47 117 Musical Example 4.6 S Club 7, ‘Natural (Almighty Mix),’ mm. 49- 56, 1.27-1.41 118 Musical Example 4.7 S Club 7, ‘Natural (Almighty Mix),’ mm. 57- 64, 1.41-1.56 119 Musical Example 4.8 S Club 7, ‘Natural (Album Version),’ mm. 23- 25, 0.54-1.01 121 Musical Example 4.9 S Club 7, ‘Natural (Almighty Mix),’ mm. 90- 93, 2.41-2.48 122 Musical Example 6.1 Motiv8, ‘Rockin' For Myself (Ulimate Vocal Mix),’ mm. 29-38, 0.51-1.05 184 Musical Example 6.2 Motiv8, ‘Break the Chain (Direct Hit Mix),’ mm. 145-56, 4.10-4.31 187 Musical Example 6.3 Motiv8, ‘Break the Chain (Dolomite Euro Radio Mix),’ mm. 1-12, 0.00-0.21 189 Musical Example 7.1 Bass drum pulse (underdetermined) 218 Musical Example 7.2 Bass drum pulse with added percussion 219 Musical Example 7.3 Mandy Smith, ‘Positive Reaction (Our Mandy’s Extended Mix),’ mm. 1-8, 0.06-0.22 220 Musical Example 7.4 Mandy Smith, ‘Positive Reaction (Our Mandy’s Extended Mix),’ mm. 13-18, 0.30- 0.41 221 Musical Example 7.5 Mandy Smith, ‘Positive Reaction (Our Mandy’s Extended Mix),’ mm. 20-24, 0.43- 0.53 222 Musical Example 7.6 Mandy Smith, ‘Positive Reaction (Our Mandy’s Extended Mix),’ mm. 25-26, 0.54- 0.58 223 Musical Example 7.7 Kylie Minogue, ‘I Should Be So Lucky,’ mm. 1-4, 0.01-0.05 229 x Musical Example 7.8 Kylie Minogue, ‘I Should Be So Lucky,’ mm. 1-4, 0.00-0.08 230 Musical Example 7.9 Mirrorball, ‘Given Up (Original 12” Mix),’ mm. 1-4, 0.00-0.07 231 Musical Example 7.10 Mirrorball, ‘Given Up (Original 12” Mix),’ 97- 100, 2.53-3.00 232 Musical Example 8.1 Donna Summer, ‘This Time I Know It’s For Real (Extended Version),’ mm. 51-54, 1.46- 1.54 265 Musical Example 8.2 Donna Summer, ‘This Time I Know It’s For Real (Extended Version),’ mm. 61-64, 2.07- 2.15 266 xi LIST OF CD TRACKS Bar numbers have been included for all Musical Examples which have been notated in the thesis.