Biophilia and the Aesthetics of Blues, Jazz, and Hip-Hop Music in African-American Prose Fiction
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Biophilia and the Aesthetics of Blues, Jazz, and Hip-Hop Music in African-American Prose Fiction Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades an der Philologisch-Historischen Fakultät der Universität Augsburg vorgelegt von Monika Demmler 2015 Erstgutachter: Prof. Dr. Hubert Zapf Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Erik Redling Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 09.07.2015 Acknowledgements During the creative process of writing this doctoral thesis, it felt that certain develop- ments or resembled the movements of a progressive fractal. It started off with a basis as an initiating idea, from where it took forms, step by step from one level to the next one, until up to the point where the form gradually began to perceive its beauty. However, to get up those levels was by far not as smooth as I had imagined in the be- ginning of this project. To transcend critical, despairing phases, I literally needed to take on a life-affirming stance as a prerequisite for finishing this process after a time period of five years on the whole. In this sense, I would like to thank my parents for having raised me with the possibility of developing a creative, independent and open- spirited mind in the natural environments of the countryside around a small village, as well as being role models for how to follow set aims despite critical moments in which obstacles rule. I am greatly indebted to Professor Doctor Hubert Zapf from the University of Augsburg, who introduced me to the teachings of cultural ecology, which inspired me to carry out this musical-literary intermedial project, in which I could follow my interests in blues, jazz, and hip-hop music. Professor Dr. Erik Redling from the University of Halle provided me kindly with helpful advice at criti- cal stages, which motivated me for further research. I am also much obliged to the Hanns-Seidel Foundation for both ideal and financial support throughout the research and writing process. Moreover, I would like to thank Dr. Katharina Donn, Dr. Michael Sauter, Dr. Timo Müller, and Dr. Johanna Hartmann for their help in various matters. Along this line goes gratitude to the support of many friends who accompa- nied me along this road by confirming me in this endeavor and empowering my stamina. Monika Demmler Berlin/London 2015 Table of Contents 1. Introductory Remarks: The Ecological Trauma in the 21st Century 1 2. Theorizing Biophilia and the Aesthetics of Blues, Jazz, and Hip-Hop Music in African-American Prose Fiction 14 2.1 Authentic Atmospheres and Literary Acoustics 15 2.1.1 Blues Music 19 2.1.2 Jazz Music 22 2.1.3 Rap Music 25 2.2 Musical Aesthetic Reception in Prose Fiction 28 2.2.1 Iser's Concept of the Implied Reader 28 2.2.2 Emotional Engagement in the Reading Process 30 2.3 Biophilic Healing in African-American Prose Fiction 33 2.3.1 Musical Text as Ecosystem 36 2.3.2 Imaginative Fictional Soundscapes 38 2.4 Biophilia Education in African-American Prose Fiction 42 2.4.1 Life-affirming Stance 43 2.4.2 Creative Life Approach 45 3. Biophilia and the Aesthetics of Blues Music in Banjo: A Story Without a Plot, Dirty Bird Blues, and Invisible Man 49 3.1 Banjo: A Story Without a Plot – Banjo's Life-affirming Stance 53 3.1.1 Banjo's Orchestra and Early Blues Music 53 3.1.2 Ecological Random Adventures 59 3.1.3 Sympathy with Banjo 62 3.1.4 Cosmopolitan Attitude 64 3.1.5 The Love of Life in “Shake That Thing” 66 3.1.6 Biophilia Versus “Necrophilia” 68 3.2 Dirty Bird Blues – Man's “Down-to-Earth” Attitude 71 3.2.1 Man and Country Blues Music 72 3.2.2 “Natural” Literary Acoustics 76 3.2.3 Empathy with Man 79 3.2.4 A Man-Made World 81 3.2.5 Cathartic Power in Blues Music 84 3.2.6 “Whatever Comes Natural” 86 3.3 Invisible Man – Invisible Man's Biophilic Experience 90 3.3.1 Invisible Man and Urban Blues Music 91 3.3.2 An Ecological Blues Atmosphere 96 3.3.3 “On the Lower Frequencies, I Speak for you” 98 3.3.4 Comic Performances 100 3.3.5 Biophilic Experience in “Black and Blue” 102 3.3.6 Lessons from the Epilogue 104 4. Biophilia and the Aesthetics of Jazz Music in Jazz, Don't the Moon Look Lonesome: A Novel in Blues and Swing, “Solo on the Drums,” and “The Screamers” 107 4.1 Jazz – A Harmonious Composition 110 4.1.1 The Traces and the Jazz Age 111 4.1.2 Hope and Fear of Love 115 4.1.3 Tracing Lost Parts of the Self 117 4.1.4 “Wildness” and Biophilic Experiences 119 4.1.5 Rhythms of Life 122 4.2 Don't the Moon Look Lonesome: A Novel in Blues and Swing – Swinging Harmony 124 4.2.1 Carla and Swing Music 125 4.2.2 Gefuehlsraum for Carla 128 4.2.3 Biophilic Discovery 131 4.2.4 Swinging in Harmony 134 4.3 “Solo on the Drums” - Kid Jones's Healing Process 137 4.3.1 Kid Jones and Bebop Jazz 137 4.3.2 Emotive Dialogue 139 4.3.3 Fictional Structure of a Jazz Song 141 4.3.4 Dramatic Staging 143 4.3.5 Message of the Drums 145 4.4 “The Screamers” - Lynn Hope's Jam Session 147 4.4.1 Lynn Hope and Free Jazz 147 4.4.2 Expressive Screams 149 4.4.3 Stored Ecological Energy 151 4.4.4 “Priests of the Unconscious” 153 4.4.5 “The Sound as a Basis for Thought” 155 5. Biophilia and the Aesthetics of Rap Music in Philadelphia Fire, The Plot Against Hip Hop, and The Haunting of Hip Hop 158 5.1 Philadelphia Fire – Healing Storytelling 162 5.1.1 MOVE Bombing 162 5.1.2 Breaks of Silence 167 5.1.3 Concept of Great Time 170 5.1.4 Creative Storytelling 174 5.1.5 The Tree of Life 177 5.2 The Plot Against Hip Hop – Biophilic Education 180 5.2.1 Rap Music History 181 5.2.2 Search for Truth 186 5.2.3 Fictional Remix 189 5.2.4 “Dead Homiez” 192 5.2.5 “You Must Learn” 194 5.3 The Haunting of Hip Hop – The Message of the Drums 196 5.3.1 Flow and Beat 196 5.3.2 Haunting of the Self 199 5.3.3 Rap Musical Composition 202 5.3.4 “A Battle for the Living” 204 5.3.5 “Lessons of Life” 208 6. Concluding Remarks - “Love it or Lose it?” 211 7. Bibliography 219 1. Introductory Remarks: The Ecological Trauma in the 21st Century In the 21st century, human roots in the natural world have been erased and human life is less embedded in natural life cycles with the result of deep-rooted self-alienation, fragmentation, isolation, rootlessness, and emotional displacement (Bateson, Mind and Nature; Lasn and White).1 The destruction of our nature has deprived us of countless opportunities for emotional fulfillment as the extinction of species has in some way been the extinction of our own emotional experiences (Milton 61-62).2 In order to counter this ecological trauma in the 21st century, the modern “seemingly au- tonomous ego” is to be replaced by a more natural one, an “individual whose very completeness as an ego [is] possible” (Bookshin 211). We need to find equilibrium between the technological or synthetic world and our ties to nature (Lasn and White). The modern, seemingly autonomous self as the ideal in Western society is to be re- placed by a more “natural” one, preferably rooted in a rounded and complete com- munity (Bookchin 211).3 As human beings have been increasingly disconnected from nature, the ability to experience biophilia has been lost (J. Miller; Stokes, “Conservators”). Biophilia is defined as the “love of life or living systems”4 (Fromm, Heart), and refers to the ten- dency of human attraction to all that is alive and vital, as it is proposed by Edward O. Wilson in Biophilia (1984). In a biophilic experience, human life is enriched by its broadest affiliation with our natural world. As our bond with nature is experiential, biophilia is best seen as being derived from learned experiences and through the 1 For more information on the unity of human mind and nature see Bateson, Gregory. Mind and Nature: A Necessary Unit (1979). NY: Hampton, 2002. 2 For more information on the extinction of emotional experiences see Nabhan, Gary P. and Sara St Antoine. “The Loss of Floral and Faunal Story, the Extinction of Experience: Ethnobiological Perspectives on Biophilia.” The Biophilia Hypothesis. Eds. Stephen Kellert and Edward O. Wilson. Washington, D.C.: Island P, 1993. 232-56. 3 The awareness of profound unity of all life forms calls for a change in lifestyle with regard of the quality of experience and self-realization, instead of increasing wealth as a measure of personal and social wellbeing. The oneness of life requires diversity, complexity, and symbiosis of various life forms, including human beings for the benefit of all (Naess, Ecology, Community and Lifestyle 168-201; “Shallow and Deep” 95). 4 The term biophilia stems from the Greek words for “love” and “life” (Ulrich 122). 1 practice of infusing responsibility for nature (Simaika and Samways 905). With re- spect to individuals, the term nature and the adjective natural used in this study refer to properties, inherent characteristics, and vital powers, or more generally, to human nature with its inherent impulse to act and sustain action.