DOCSLIB.ORG

I Can't Explain David Bowie, Or Can I? by Brian Nickens As Early As 10

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
I Can't Explain David Bowie, Or Can I? by Brian Nickens As Early As 10 I Can’t Explain David Bowie, Or can I? By Brian Nickens As early as 10 years old I was listening to a steady diet of British Rock. The Beatles, Kinks, Rolling Stones and Cream were in full swing. I was the youngest of 5 children and retreating into my Bedroom alone listening to my older Brothers alBums Became my sanctuary. And Boy, could I listen! I rememBer lying on my Bedroom floor late at night with the record player turned down real low so my parents couldn’t hear. With my ear right against the speaker, I would analyze every tone, sound and lyric of all my favorite songs. By the time I was 14 years old I was already a legit Beatles connoisseur. I would listen to the guitar riffs on Taxman over and over, and over again. I loved the raunchy distorted guitar sounds. Then came Bowie! David and I: The year was 1973. I was 14 years old and went with a friend of mine to visit Marianna his “girlfriend”. When we arrived we were invited into the living room where she and a friend of hers had two albums of David Bowie. They insisted we hang out and listen. The albums were Aladdin Sane and Pin Ups. I was smitten By the sound of these records. I had never heard anything like it. Bowie's otherworldly look made the sounds even more intriguing. David Bowie instantly became my favorite singer. I didn’t have to think aBout it, or ponder it or even get used to the sound. I went home that day with one thing in mind. I had to buy those Bowie albums as soon as possible. I soon discovered he had released another album called The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars. Oh. My. Gosh! Those three records have enough musical genius in them to launch 100 new genres of rock and pop music. And as history proves, they did, and continue to do so. I don’t recall at that time Being concerned or offended that he was gay. When I looked at the alBum cover art and listened to the music the only thing I saw and heard was a one-of-a-kind rock star with records that had their own sound and style. It was nothing like the Beatles or the Stones or anyone else. David Bowie had created his own unique style and sound and I loved it. David’s Death: All over the world Bowie fans mourned David’s death on January 10, 2016. He passed from a very secret Battle with cancer. I was shocked at the news. Back in 2014 I started collecting vinyl records again and I had already acquired almost every Bowie alBum By the end of 2015. Once again I had found myself enjoying the unique sounds, textures, rhythms and lyrics of each album. And no two albums sound alike. The morning after David Bowie died I opened my FaceBook Page and the very first post I saw was By Chris Lizotte saying R.I.P. with a picture of Bowie. I fought Back the tears as I readied myself for work. I knew I was going to have an emotionally rough day. I truly loved the artistry and genius of this man. I watched all day as media outlets and journalists around the world Broadcast the news of Bowie’s death highlighting the early part of his career when he was a cross-dressing bisexual. Bowie eventually ditched the gender-neutral image and became happily and successfully married to supermodel Iman for 24 years. Even still his history of bisexuality was front and center in many and most of the news reports. Why Am I Writing This? How is it that I can Be such an avid fan of a man whose legacy includes one of rock music’s first openly gay men? And Be especially drawn to the music from his Bisexual era? I am a Born again Christian and was raised with Christian Beliefs and understand homosexuality is sin. Yet I have great admiration for David Bowie and his music. I feel that this personal reflection is worth sharing. Understand that I have reconciled this issue in my heart many years ago. Today David’s death and the worldwide puBlicity of it serve as motivation for me to finally articulate this for myself and anyone else who is interested. Here is my reckoning: I loved David not only for his music, but also the person I could see behind all the glitz and glam. Even though in the early days his alter ego rock personas were either gender amBiguous or hyper feminine, to my knowledge his music never campaigned for these causes nor does it contain any sneaky underhanded attempts at gay or any other kind of indoctrination. I’m not saying the gay front was only a gimmick. I think it was an amplified version of how he felt. Having said that, As far as I can tell David’s music never tried to invade my faith, my values or my politics. Yes, there are some sexually and spiritually dark references emBedded randomly throughout his music, but not in a glorifying or indoctrinating way. Most of these are wrapped in a baser form of subtle confession. In the midst of all the perceived ambiguity and androgyny there was a real and considerate open display with the poetry of an honest internal struggle. But I never detected an agenda beyond great music. David Bowie truly attempted to release his art and music with a consideration for the diversity of his audience. This made him a true showman. I understand that there may have Been and proBably were demonic influence and occult leanings to his religious and spiritual views and that these influences are also laced throughout his music. BUT! The music was still David’s! Man is created in the image of God and we also carry the same creative DNA of our creator. The demonic influence over Bowie's life and music created an audio illustration of one man's battle for significance and self discovery as he constantly tried to suppress the forces that plagued him. This may come as a surprise to some of you... I know of pastors who are demonized. That’s another subject for possibly my next blog. David and Ziggy: The entire story-line of the legendary alBum Ziggy Stardust is the actual crucifying of the androgynous rock alter ego that he had conjured. I personally believe that he knew that he had created a monster and tried his Best to Bury his alter ego Ziggy. In 1990 David Bowie attempted to retire his entire previous catalogue of songs saying “I want to make a Break from what I've done up until now”. David went on to create some of the most fascinating music much of the world has yet to hear. By then he was stuck with Ziggy Stardust, and from a public perspective, rightfully so. The album is no less than Brilliant, still Being discovered By an entirely new generation. As hard as Bowie tried to distance himself from Ziggy and androgyny he could not. The worldwide fame of that album had sealed Ziggy Stardust into a permanent place in rock history. David And Ideology: David Bowie made it clear that he didn’t want his music or his lyrics to Be used for religious, social or political ideologies. In the classic song All The Young Dudes he penned, “I never got it off on that revolution stuff, it's such a drag, too many snags”. His often stated position on song writing was that his lyrics and the vocals are just another instrument in the Band. He didn’t seem to care if the lyrics made sense or not. He often scramBled them to strip the story out of them, while maintaining the clever phrases and the poetry. He was only after the music itself as an art form no different than jazz, painting or sculpting. When it came to song development Bowie wanted the entire package to be a fresh form of creativity. Chords, notes, sounds, blended genres and the latest technologies were all equal portions. As far as he was concerned the lyrics were suBservient to the overall. You might say he was the opposite of Dylan in that respect. That day as a teenager in Marianne’s house I distinctly remember when she played the song I Can't Explain. I was riveted By the power and the performance of that song. I instinctively knew at the age of 14 that I wasn’t hearing a gimmick or some producer fabricated-and-controlled pop/junk made strictly for the sake of selling records. Even Back in 1973 I disdained that kind of stuff as much as I do now. David Bowie wasn’t a concept, a brand or the gay community’s poster boy. Quite the contrary he was even criticized openly for Betraying the gay culture. David Bowie was a spiritually frustrated man who with a homosexual past who wanted more than anything to make great music. And that he did. David And Others: As David Bowie poured himself out honestly and purely in the form of faBulous art he never shied away from admitting the darkness that often surrounded him, but always honoring other people. He always insisted that his creations were excellent and that the musicians he used shined in the mix. Entire careers were launched off his.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Young Americans to Emotional Rescue: Selected Meetings
    YOUNG AMERICANS TO EMOTIONAL RESCUE: SELECTING MEETINGS BETWEEN DISCO AND ROCK, 1975-1980 Daniel Kavka A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF MUSIC August 2010 Committee: Jeremy Wallach, Advisor Katherine Meizel © 2010 Daniel Kavka All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Jeremy Wallach, Advisor Disco-rock, composed of disco-influenced recordings by rock artists, was a sub-genre of both disco and rock in the 1970s. Seminal recordings included: David Bowie’s Young Americans; The Rolling Stones’ “Hot Stuff,” “Miss You,” “Dance Pt.1,” and “Emotional Rescue”; KISS’s “Strutter ’78,” and “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”; Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy“; and Elton John’s Thom Bell Sessions and Victim of Love. Though disco-rock was a great commercial success during the disco era, it has received limited acknowledgement in post-disco scholarship. This thesis addresses the lack of existing scholarship pertaining to disco-rock. It examines both disco and disco-rock as products of cultural shifts during the 1970s. Disco was linked to the emergence of underground dance clubs in New York City, while disco-rock resulted from the increased mainstream visibility of disco culture during the mid seventies, as well as rock musicians’ exposure to disco music. My thesis argues for the study of a genre (disco-rock) that has been dismissed as inauthentic and commercial, a trend common to popular music discourse, and one that is linked to previous debates regarding the social value of pop music.
    [Show full text]
  • Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 500 Songs
    Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 500 Songs No. Interpret Title Year of release 1. Bob Dylan Like a Rolling Stone 1961 2. The Rolling Stones Satisfaction 1965 3. John Lennon Imagine 1971 4. Marvin Gaye What’s Going on 1971 5. Aretha Franklin Respect 1967 6. The Beach Boys Good Vibrations 1966 7. Chuck Berry Johnny B. Goode 1958 8. The Beatles Hey Jude 1968 9. Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit 1991 10. Ray Charles What'd I Say (part 1&2) 1959 11. The Who My Generation 1965 12. Sam Cooke A Change is Gonna Come 1964 13. The Beatles Yesterday 1965 14. Bob Dylan Blowin' in the Wind 1963 15. The Clash London Calling 1980 16. The Beatles I Want zo Hold Your Hand 1963 17. Jimmy Hendrix Purple Haze 1967 18. Chuck Berry Maybellene 1955 19. Elvis Presley Hound Dog 1956 20. The Beatles Let It Be 1970 21. Bruce Springsteen Born to Run 1975 22. The Ronettes Be My Baby 1963 23. The Beatles In my Life 1965 24. The Impressions People Get Ready 1965 25. The Beach Boys God Only Knows 1966 26. The Beatles A day in a life 1967 27. Derek and the Dominos Layla 1970 28. Otis Redding Sitting on the Dock of the Bay 1968 29. The Beatles Help 1965 30. Johnny Cash I Walk the Line 1956 31. Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven 1971 32. The Rolling Stones Sympathy for the Devil 1968 33. Tina Turner River Deep - Mountain High 1966 34. The Righteous Brothers You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin' 1964 35.
    [Show full text]
  • Autobituary: the Life And/As Death of David Bowie & the Specters From
    Miranda Revue pluridisciplinaire du monde anglophone / Multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal on the English- speaking world 17 | 2018 Paysages et héritages de David Bowie Autobituary: the Life and/as Death of David Bowie & the Specters from Mourning Jake Cowan Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/miranda/13374 DOI: 10.4000/miranda.13374 ISSN: 2108-6559 Publisher Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès Electronic reference Jake Cowan, “Autobituary: the Life and/as Death of David Bowie & the Specters from Mourning”, Miranda [Online], 17 | 2018, Online since 20 September 2018, connection on 16 February 2021. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/miranda/13374 ; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/miranda.13374 This text was automatically generated on 16 February 2021. Miranda is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Autobituary: the Life and/as Death of David Bowie & the Specters from Mournin... 1 Autobituary: the Life and/as Death of David Bowie & the Specters from Mourning Jake Cowan La mort m’attend dans un grand lit Tendu aux toiles de l’oubli Pour mieux fermer le temps qui passé — Jacques Brel, « La Mort » 1 For all his otherworldly strangeness and space-aged shimmer, the co(s)mic grandeur and alien figure(s) with which he was identified, there was nothing more constant in David Bowie’s half-century of song than death, that most and least familiar of subjects. From “Please Mr. Gravedigger,” the theatrical closing number on his 1967 self-titled debut album, to virtually every track on his final record nearly 50 years later, the protean musician mused perpetually on all matters of mortality: the loss of loved ones (“Jump They Say,” about his brother’s suicide), the apocalyptic end of the world (“Five Years”), his own impending passing.
    [Show full text]
  • Gonzo Weekly #165
    Subscribe to Gonzo Weekly http://eepurl.com/r-VTD Subscribe to Gonzo Daily http://eepurl.com/OvPez Gonzo Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/287744711294595/ Gonzo Weekly on Twitter https://twitter.com/gonzoweekly Gonzo Multimedia (UK) http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/ Gonzo Multimedia (USA) http://www.gonzomultimedia.com/ 3 gave it, when we said that it was his best album since Scary Monsters back in 1980. Yes, I think that it probably was, although the 2002 album Heathen gives it a run for its money, but with the benefit of hindsight, it still lacked the hallmarks of a classic David Bowie album, mainly because it didn't break new ground. Between 1969 and 1980 Bowie released thirteen studio albums which basically defined the decade. With the possible exception of Lodger which was basically bollocks, IMHO, each of these albums not only broke new ground, but was a significant advance upon the one that came before it. Bowie defined the concept of the rock star as artist, and where he led many others followed. Each of his stylistic changes spawned a hundred imitators. In the wake of Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane came dozens of glam bands, most of them totally missing the point, and schoolboys across the United My dear friends, Kingdom sported Ziggy haircuts. His plastic soul period not only persuaded his loyal legions that Luther Vandross was where it was at, but also meant that the 2016 is only a couple of weeks old, but we already high street outfitters were full of Oxford Bags and have the first major cultural event of the year.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rolling Stones and Performance of Authenticity
    University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Art & Visual Studies Art & Visual Studies 2017 FROM BLUES TO THE NY DOLLS: THE ROLLING STONES AND PERFORMANCE OF AUTHENTICITY Mariia Spirina University of Kentucky, [email protected] Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2017.135 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Spirina, Mariia, "FROM BLUES TO THE NY DOLLS: THE ROLLING STONES AND PERFORMANCE OF AUTHENTICITY" (2017). Theses and Dissertations--Art & Visual Studies. 13. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/art_etds/13 This Master's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Art & Visual Studies at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Art & Visual Studies by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known.
    [Show full text]
  • Sheet for Teachers
    martha mooke & Composers and Schools in Concert Composer Workshop Classical/Electronics/Experimental Cue Sheet for Teachers Recommended for grades 9 - 12 string programs Workshop Description In this three-period, hands-on workshop called “The Creative Spirit Unleashed”, world-renowned performer and improviser Martha Mooke will address methods for developing a creative voice in an encouraging, supporting, and nurturing atmosphere. Students will be guided to experiment with non-traditional instrumental techniques and musical ideas to overcome inhibitions and the fear of making ‘mistakes’, through ensemble and peer-to-peer partnering performance activities. Students will also develop tools to create their own compositions. Instructional Goals Teaching Artist, Martha Mooke • Explore extended techniques on instruments Martha Mooke, composer/electro-acoustic • Learn to improvise violist, a pioneer of electric five-string viola, • Create original compositions and transcribe into notation transcends musical boundaries by synthesizing classical music training with extended techniques, • Listen, analyze, and describe music electronics and improvisation. A Yamaha • Evaluate music performances Artist and leading clinician on electric and contemporary approaches to string playing, • Cultivate teamwork through ensemble playing and peer support she has received awards from ASCAP, Meet the on solo performances Composer and Arts International. Course Outline Mooke is founder/violist of the electro-acoustic Period 1: Introduction of extended techniques. Conceptualize and Scorchio Quartet. Recording with David Bowie, discuss ideas for creating an original composition through improvisation Philip Glass, Trey Anastasio she has toured exercises. Students are assisted in their compositional process from internationally with Barbra Streisand, Peter brainstorming to outlining to notating. Gabriel, Andrea Bocelli, Star Wars in Concert, and Period 2: Begins with warm-ups and improvisation exercises.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cinematic Worlds of Michael Jackson
    MA 330.004 / MA430.005 /AMST 341.002 Fall 2016 Revised: 10-7-16 The Cinematic Worlds of Michael Jackson Course Description: From his early years as a child star on the Chitlin’ Circuit and at Motown Records, through the concert rehearsal documentary This is It (released shortly after his death in 2009), Michael Jackson left a rich legacy of recorded music, televised performances, and short films (a description he preferred to “music video”). In this course we’ll look at Jackson’s artistic work as key to his vast influence on popular culture over the past 50 years. While we will emphasize the short films he starred in (of which Thriller is perhaps the most famous), we will also listen to his music, view his concert footage and TV appearances (including some rare interviews) and explore the few feature films in which he appeared as an actor/singer/dancer (The Wiz, Moonwalker). We’ll read from a growing body of scholarly writing on Jackson’s cultural significance, noting the ways he drew from a very diverse performance and musical traditions—including minstrelsy, the work of dance/choreography pioneers like Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, and soul/funk legends like James Brown and Jackie Wilson—to craft a style uniquely his own. Crucially, we will ask how Jackson’s shifting public persona destabilize categories of gender, sexuality, and race----in a manner that was very different from his contemporaries: notably, the recently-deceased David Bowie and Prince. Elevated to superstardom and then made an object of the voracious cultural appetite for scandal, Michael Jackson is now increasingly regarded as a singularly influential figure in the history of popular music and culture.
    [Show full text]
  • Omega Auctions Ltd Catalogue 28 Apr 2020
    Omega Auctions Ltd Catalogue 28 Apr 2020 1 REGA PLANAR 3 TURNTABLE. A Rega Planar 3 8 ASSORTED INDIE/PUNK MEMORABILIA. turntable with Pro-Ject Phono box. £200.00 - Approximately 140 items to include: a Morrissey £300.00 Suedehead cassette tape (TCPOP 1618), a ticket 2 TECHNICS. Five items to include a Technics for Joe Strummer & Mescaleros at M.E.N. in Graphic Equalizer SH-8038, a Technics Stereo 2000, The Beta Band The Three E.P.'s set of 3 Cassette Deck RS-BX707, a Technics CD Player symbol window stickers, Lou Reed Fan Club SL-PG500A CD Player, a Columbia phonograph promotional sticker, Rock 'N' Roll Comics: R.E.M., player and a Sharp CP-304 speaker. £50.00 - Freak Brothers comic, a Mercenary Skank 1982 £80.00 A4 poster, a set of Kevin Cummins Archive 1: Liverpool postcards, some promo photographs to 3 ROKSAN XERXES TURNTABLE. A Roksan include: The Wedding Present, Teenage Fanclub, Xerxes turntable with Artemis tonearm. Includes The Grids, Flaming Lips, Lemonheads, all composite parts as issued, in original Therapy?The Wildhearts, The Playn Jayn, Ween, packaging and box. £500.00 - £800.00 72 repro Stone Roses/Inspiral Carpets 4 TECHNICS SU-8099K. A Technics Stereo photographs, a Global Underground promo pack Integrated Amplifier with cables. From the (luggage tag, sweets, soap, keyring bottle opener collection of former 10CC manager and music etc.), a Michael Jackson standee, a Universal industry veteran Ric Dixon - this is possibly a Studios Bates Motel promo shower cap, a prototype or one off model, with no information on Radiohead 'Meeting People Is Easy 10 Min Clip this specific serial number available.
    [Show full text]
  • Radio Drive® Featuring - Kevin Gullickson
    Radio Drive® Featuring - Kevin Gullickson Radio Drive is an Alternative Pop Rock band featuring Kevin Gullickson. As the engine behind Radio Drive, Kevin has won international awards and nominations for his songs and music videos. The music of Radio Drive is being aired on radio around the world alongside major artists and is receiving rave reviews by music critics. He has been featured on web zines and radio shows in Europe, Canada and the USA. Kevin’s music has landed on charts on indie stations around the world, including Canada, Germany, the UK and the South Pacific. His music has been used on shows airing on Animal Planet, National Geographic, Comedy Central, Fox Channels, History Channel, Spike TV and Discovery Channel in the USA and TV programs in England, Mexico, New Zealand and Australia. Kevin’s 2014 release of “A Taste of Heaven” was raved about by critics and received massive radio play on indie stations around the world, winning awards and nominations. The following year, in mid August 2015 Kevin finished a project with internationally recognized producer, Stuart Epps. Stuart has worked with some of the most influential artists in music, including George Harrison, Bill Wyman, Jimmy Page, Elton John, Oasis and more. Kevin now has the honor of being listed among the artists Stuart has worked with. The result is a magnificent song entitled “Humanity”. In 2017 Kevin was chosen by BEM Wireless to endorse their products. In April 2018 Kevin released his 5th full album titled “She Colors My World”, mastered by Robert L. Smith at Defy Recordings (credits include David Bowie, Aerosmith, Paul McCartney, just to name a few).
    [Show full text]
  • Tribute to David Bowie
    Tribute to David Bowie By Jennifer Sage The world lost a magical, mystical, playful, brilliant artist on Sunday, January 10, 2016. I woke to the sad news and immediately found myself purchasing many of his songs that I didn’t already own. David Bowie was a big part of my youth. When I was a freshman in high school, I embroidered rock-and-roll artists’ names on my jeans (yeah, that was a thing back then). David Bowie had a coveted spot on my right knee. It was 1976, and the Bump was the big dance craze at the time. Bowie’s hit song “Fame,” filled with soul, was a perfect song for the Bump. To this day, I can’t hear that song without my mind going back to Saint Augustine High School dances in San Diego. All of the songs in my playlist were performed by David Bowie except one, “Lust for Life,” but he co-wrote it with Iggy Pop. The only other time I have done a profile tribute to a band or artist using solely their music was with REM, and that was to celebrate their retirement, not a death. Even after we lost such great artists as Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston, I could only bring myself to play a handful of their songs. There are many covers, remixes, and mashups of David Bowie songs that you could incorporate in your tribute playlist, as well as duets and other artists of his era, so you don’t have to play just Bowie songs. But before you dismiss the idea, remember that David Bowie’s art not only spanned decades, he also spanned many genres and styles.
    [Show full text]
  • David Bowie's Urban Landscapes and Nightscapes
    Miranda Revue pluridisciplinaire du monde anglophone / Multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal on the English- speaking world 17 | 2018 Paysages et héritages de David Bowie David Bowie’s urban landscapes and nightscapes: A reading of the Bowiean text Jean Du Verger Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/miranda/13401 DOI: 10.4000/miranda.13401 ISSN: 2108-6559 Publisher Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès Electronic reference Jean Du Verger, “David Bowie’s urban landscapes and nightscapes: A reading of the Bowiean text”, Miranda [Online], 17 | 2018, Online since 20 September 2018, connection on 16 February 2021. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/miranda/13401 ; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/miranda.13401 This text was automatically generated on 16 February 2021. Miranda is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. David Bowie’s urban landscapes and nightscapes: A reading of the Bowiean text 1 David Bowie’s urban landscapes and nightscapes: A reading of the Bowiean text Jean Du Verger “The Word is devided into units which be all in one piece and should be so taken, but the pieces can be had in any order being tied up back and forth, in and out fore and aft like an innaresting sex arrangement. This book spill off the page in all directions, kaleidoscope of vistas, medley of tunes and street noises […]” William Burroughs, The Naked Lunch, 1959. Introduction 1 The urban landscape occupies a specific position in Bowie’s works. His lyrics are fraught with references to “city landscape[s]”5 and urban nightscapes. The metropolis provides not only the object of a diegetic and spectatorial gaze but it also enables the author to further a discourse on his own inner fragmented self as the nexus, lyrics— music—city, offers an extremely rich avenue for investigating and addressing key issues such as alienation, loneliness, nostalgia and death in a postmodern cultural context.
    [Show full text]
  • Nolan Washington 0250O 19397
    A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of University of Washington Committee: Program Authorized to Offer Degree: ©Copyright 2018 Daniel A. Nolan IV University of Washington Abstract Souvenirs and Travel Guides: The Cognitive Sociology of Grieving Public Figures Daniel A. Nolan IV Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Sarah Quinn Department of Sociology The deaths of public figures can produce a variety of emotional reactions. While bereavement research has explored mourning family or close friends, this literature does little to address the experience of grief for public figures. Similarly, research on how people relate to public figures provides an incomplete picture of the symbolic associations people can form with those figures. This study relies on interviews with individuals who had a memorable reaction to the death of a public figure to explore how these individuals related to that figure. Results suggest two ideal type reactions: Grief, characterized by disruption and sharp pain, and Melancholy, characterized by distraction and dull ache. Respondents reported symbolic associations between the figure and some meaning they had incorporated into their cognitive framework. I argue that emotional reactions to the death of a public figure are an affective signal of disruption to the individual’s cognitive functioning caused by the loss of meaning maintained by the figure. The key difference in kind and intensity of reaction is related to the cognitive salience of the lost meaning. This research highlights how individuals use internalized cultural objects in their sense-making process. More broadly, by revealing symbolically meaningful relationships that shape cognitive frameworks, this analysis offers cognitive sociological insights into research about the function of role models, collective memories, and other cultural objects on the individual’s understanding of their world.
    [Show full text]