Subjectivity in American Popular Metal: Contemporary Gothic, the Body, the Grotesque, and the Child

CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Glasgow Theses Service Subjectivity In American Popular Metal: Contemporary Gothic, The Body, The Grotesque, and The Child. Sara Ann Thomas MA (Hons) Submitted in fulfilment for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Arts University of Glasgow January 2009 © Sara Thomas 2009 Abstract This thesis examines the subject in Popular American Metal music and culture during the period 1994-2004, concentrating on key artists of the period: Korn, Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Tura Satana and My Ruin. Starting from the premise that the subject is consistently portrayed as being at a time of crisis, the thesis draws on textual analysis as an under appreciated approach to popular music, supplemented by theories of stardom in order to examine subjectivity. The study is situated in the context of the growing area of the contemporary gothic, and produces a model of subjectivity specific to this period: the contemporary gothic subject. This model is then used throughout to explore recurrent themes and richly symbolic elements of the music and culture: the body, pain and violence, the grotesque and the monstrous, and the figure of the child, representing a usage of the contemporary gothic that has not previously been attempted. Attention is also paid throughout to the specific late capitalist American cultural context in which the work of these artists is situated, and gives attention to the contradictions inherent in a musical form which is couched in commodity culture but which is highly invested in notions of the ‘Alternative’. In the first chapter I propose the model of the contemporary gothic subject for application to the work of Popular Metal artists of the period, drawing on established theories of the contemporary gothic and Michel Foucault’s theory of confession. The second chapter focuses on instances of violence to the body and the recurrent themes of pain and violence, which are explained through the model of corporeal verification and consensual violence. In the third chapter I explore the contemporary gothic subject in the tradition of the grotesque and the monstrous, drawing on theories of the gothic monster, to suggest that the subject is engaged in a negotiation of the boundaries between self and other. The fourth chapter concentrates on the figure of the child, drawing on theories of horror film and fiction and the tradition of the Evil Innocent and the Gothic child. The i final chapter is a case study of Marilyn Manson, exploring his role as a paradigmatic example of contemporary gothic subjectivity. ii Acknowledgments This thesis would not have been possible without the help of the following lovely people: The Parental Guidance Units – For all the support & encouragement, not to mention the cash… Connor O’Bain – For always believing in me even and especially when I didn’t. The Supervisories Dr Kolocotroni & Dr Lury – For your invaluable help, notes, time, & patience. (especially the patience) Martin Cloonan – Not just the censorship guy – for letting me sit in on his popular music class, for helpful chat & advice, and being a Thoroughly Nice Chap. Lobster – For allowing me the flexibility to do this part time whilst doing a job which was, as you say, more than full time. For late night chats and many years of friendship. Surge Purge Susie – For suggesting the best possible thing I could have done at that moment in time. Thankyou. Lib – For saying the difficult things when they needed saying. I promised that I’d credit you as a research assistant for the note-organisation escapade, so here: Research Assistant: Elizabeth Boyd My extra pairs of eyes Kirsty stripey_kitten, Mo nevali, Emma paddy, (also for continued faith and Kylie lyrics) & Ms (blonde, pink, sparkly) Russell. (To the latter also thank you for academic chat and psychology 101) Iain Timmsky n Anna, Davey Deth n Lou, Sean + Daisy + Cameron + Freya – miss you all Leon @ Chameleon & Violet Grimm for answering my questions about body mod – Muppet for being an encyclopaedia of Rock Facts – Kelly & Steven for the CD loan – Poprock for answering random email queries and always having a good gig recommendation – Loullabelle for glamorous library assistance. Cheers y’all. iii Table of Contents Abstract i Acknowledgements iii Introduction 1 Chapter One The Subject and the Contemporary Gothic 42 Chapter Two The Body and Corporeal Verification 78 Chapter Three The Grotesque, the Monstrous, and the Self as Other 105 Chapter Four The Figure of the Child: Innocence, Inheritance, Abuse and Vengeance 126 Chapter Five Marilyn Manson 153 Conclusion 201 Bibliography 206 Discography 218 iv Introduction This project began with the intention to examine the presentation of self in Popular Metal music and culture at the turn of the twenty-first century, concentrating on the work of certain prominent musicians of the period. I was interested by the seeming paradox of the existence of a music culture that defined itself against the mainstream, and yet that was itself becoming more fashionable and ultimately co-opted into that mainstream. During this same period, many researchers had become increasingly interested in the resurgence of the gothic mode in popular culture, identifying a particular contemporary gothic, although this has not been applied to popular music in any sustained manner. The work of those artists whom I studied displayed a recurrent concern with issues of subjectivity, where considerable attention was given to the production of subjectivity in relation to past trauma, which has much sympathy with theories of the contemporary gothic. Other recurrent themes such as pain, self-hate and childhood became the starting point for chapters in this thesis. Also important was the persistence of an oppositional notion of ‘them and us’, in which the artist allied themselves with the audience in an inference of community and shared understanding while differentiating themselves from ‘normal’ society. I have chosen to describe the group of artists whose work I focus on here as ‘Popular Metal’. Although Metal has many subgenres of its own, the artists I have chosen to study are wider in their appeal than, for example, Extreme or Black Metal, and have been more commercially successful. I had initially begun by using the term ‘Rock’ to describe these artists, however I feel that it is too general a term to use for this group in particular. Metal may be positioned as either a partner to, or subgenre of Rock, and with which it shares much ideological ground, especially in terms of issues of authenticity. There is a certain amount of fluidity to the use of these terms, but where ‘Rock’ is considered to be more accessible and to refer to a wider category, ‘Metal’ is more specialist, ‘darker’, or ‘harder’. It remains though that ‘Rock’ is a widely-used umbrella term, and there are some instances throughout the thesis, such as during the discussion of 1 issues of authenticity, where it remains as such. I have also used the term ‘Alternative’ throughout to describe the culture which, often because of limited sites of socialisation, brings together fans of different Rock and Metal subgenres. The work I have done focuses upon popular North American Popular Metal musicians working during the period 1994 – 2004. Although some artists have released work in the years immediately proceeding or following this time frame, I have chosen to focus on this period in particular because of various changes that occurred within the music, culture and the industry at this time. The early nineties were dominated by Grunge, a genre of music typified by the hugely successful band Nirvana. Its emergence can be seen as a reaction against the commercialism and pomposity of ‘Hair Metal’ bands popular in the 1980s, favouring a much less polished style of dress, a vocal style that was more concerned with the scream than falsetto, and an approach to the music industry which superficially at least favoured independent production over the major record labels. Nirvana’s lead singer, Kurt Cobain, eventually committed suicide in 1994, an event that to a great extent marked the end of the Grunge period, and ensured both Nirvana and Cobain’s mythologisation in the popular music canon. It was also in 1994 that Korn and Marilyn Manson, two of the main artists I shall study here, released their debut albums. This period saw the rise of a new subgenre called Nu-Metal, and it ends with the development of Emo, a subgenre of particular popularity at the time of writing, that attracts derision and sometimes violence toward its fans, and has attracted a certain degree of moral panic concerning its supposed glorification of self harm and suicide. Nu-Metal is characterised by the use of downtuned guitars, a quiet / loud dynamic that is reminiscent of Grunge, and in some cases the use of turntables and samplers as well as the more traditional line up of guitar, bass, and drums. Nu-metal lyrics deal generally with isolation, alienation, family breakup, self-hate and anger. The bands Korn, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, Deftones, Disturbed, Staind, My Ruin and Static-X are all associated with the Nu-Metal label, whilst some artists such as Limp Bizkit are sometimes termed ‘Rap metal’ because 2 of the use of Rap in the vocals. Hip-hop’s influence upon the subgenre is unusual but not groundbreaking: the first Rock/Rap crossover is probably the re-release of Stadium Rock band Aerosmith’s single ‘Walk This Way’ in 1986 featuring rap artists Run DMC. Although the rise in popularity of many Nu-Metal acts during this period was one of the main factors in the surge in popularity of Rock and Metal music in general, there are few – if any – artists who would choose to associate themselves with the label.

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