Docility, Resistance and the Indie Guitarist: a Foucaultian Interpretation of the Guitar- Hero Joshua Hochman
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Docility, Resistance and the Indie Guitarist: A Foucaultian Interpretation of the Guitar- Hero by Joshua Hochman A thesis submitted to the Faculty o f Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree o f Masters in Music and Culture Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario ©2013 Josh Hochman Library and Archives Bibliotheque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du 1+1 Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-94602-2 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-94602-2 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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Canada Abstract Using Foucault’s notions of discipline, docility and resistance, this thesis unpacks the impact of sociological, ideological and genre histories in negotiating normative, goal- directed activities in guitar culture. These activities are explored through reading Foucault’s theoretical coinages of the apparatus, capacity and systems of communication onto guitar culture. Given the use of Foucaultian terminology, a particular emphasis is placed on analyzing the workings of power. The guitar is investigated through the evolution of indie, mapping the genre onto a discourse of differentiation which negotiates institutional factors, a continuous sociological and historical narrative, musical identifiers and an affinity for ‘resistance’ or ‘independence.’ This differentiation and resistance will be explored in its relation to power, working both subversive to and as a part of power. The White Stripes and St. Vincent serve as the two case studies. Indie’s resistance is explored through both their careers and, specifically, through their guitar playing. Acknowledgements I would like to, first and foremost, thank my parents for their unquestionable support and guidance (also for helping to fund my obsession with guitar gear and musical doodads). My brother Noah for bringing the first instruments into my house. My brother Jake for mirroring all my actions, allowing me to adopt an external perspective to them. As well as all my colleagues and friends who have attended my performances, performed with me or willfully engaged in overly drawn out discussions of the most minute musical details. I’d like to thank Paul Theberge for his guidance in advising this thesis. I would also like to thank the other faculty members at Carleton University who have assisted in forming my ideas: John Shepherd, Will Echard, Jesse Stewart, James Wright, James Deaville, Anna Hoefnagels and Geraldine Finn. I would like to think Kip Pegley and Kristi Allik for helping me discover the opportunity to combine my passions for philosophy and music. I would also like to thank Paul Fairfield, Jacqueline Davies and Adele Mercier who contributed greatly to the formation of my own philosophical ideas. iv Table of Contents Title Page ......................................................................................................................... i Abstract........................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents ......................................................................... iv List of Appendices .......................................................................................................... v Introduction: Indie Rock, Deconstruction and Guitar Canonism ............................... 1 Chapter One: Indie, Counter-Powers and the Possibility of Resistance ..................... ^ Chapter Two: What Makes Them Indie?...................................................................... 48 The White Stripes.................................................................... 51 St, Vincent ................................................................................. 76 Chapter Three: Guitar-Heros and Anti-Heros, Indie Guitar Gear and Identity Negotiation ............................................................................................................ ^5 Jack White................................................................................. 99 St. Vincent ............................................................................. 119 Postscript: Electric Guitars andMusicology ................................................................. 138 Appendix A .................................................................................................................. 150 Appendix B ................................................................................................................. 151 Appendix C ................................................................................................................. 152 Appendix D ................................................................................................................. 153 Appendix E .................................................................................................................. 154 Works Cited ................................................................................................................. 155 Selected Discography ................................................................................................. 163 List of Appendices Appendix A: ‘Little Room’ - The White Stripes vocal score Appendix B: Pictures of Jack White’s Gear Appendix C: Pictures of St. Vincent’s Gear Appendix D: ‘Icky Thump’ guitar solo tablature Appendix E: Guitar World’s 2012 Reader’s Poll for the ‘Top 100 Guitarists of All Time’ 1 Introduction; Indie Rock. Deconstruction and Guitar Canonism Upon opening the Rolling Stone special issue ranking the ‘100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time,’ author David Fricke invites the reader to celebrate rock & roll’s “primary expressive weapon” and “defining instrumental voice.”1 To most, it seems unnecessary to justify the centrality of the electric guitar to Western popular music’s mythology and practices. It is, recognizably, one of the most popular instruments for aspiring rock musicians as it plays a leading role in defining the rock band. Additionally, there is a wealth of journalistic resources devoted to the instrument (guitar-based trade magazines like Guitar World or Guitar Player and music journalistic publications which create guitar-based material like the Rolling Stone special issue). In spite of the electric guitar’s centrality, there have been surprisingly few extended academic studies of the instrument. A full length study has been pursued by Matthew Bannister (2006) on U.K. indie guitar rock, Andy Bennet and Kenneth Dawe (2001) offer a collection of essays providing a global perspective on ‘guitar cultures,’ Mavis Bayton’s (1997) chapter from Sexing The Groove explores women in electric guitar culture and there are a few other standalone essays. Steve Waksman2 offers a full book, Instruments o f Desire (1999), which seeks to examine “the ways in which the electric guitar has been integrated into a diverse set of existing musical contexts, and the ways in which the electric guitar has reshaped those contexts, and has created new fields of knowledge within the history of popular music.”3 I highlight this goal because it is shared by each of these authors. Though it is recognized 1 David Fricke, “Introduction,” Rolling Stone Presents The 100 Greatest Guitarists o f All Time (2012), 7. 2 Waksman also provided a chapter in the Bennet and Dawe (2001) compilation and various other journal articles which will be integrated throughout this thesis. 3 Steve Waksman, Instruments o f Desire (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 10. that the electric guitar offers interesting and novel perspectives on music culture, there is a lack of cultural insiders (guitar players) who can write about the instrument in a meaningful way to both guitarists