Every Town Is All the Same When You've Left Your Heart in the Portland Rain: Representations of Portland Place and Local Identity in Portland Popular Lyrics
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Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses Fall 12-13-2013 Every Town Is All the Same When You've Left Your Heart in the Portland Rain: Representations of Portland Place and Local Identity in Portland Popular Lyrics Meghan Andrea Kearney Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the Ethnomusicology Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Kearney, Meghan Andrea, "Every Town Is All the Same When You've Left Your Heart in the Portland Rain: Representations of Portland Place and Local Identity in Portland Popular Lyrics" (2013). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 1489. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.1488 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. Every Town Is All the Same When You’ve Left Your Heart in the Portland Rain: Representations of Portland Place and Local Identity in Portland Popular Lyrics by Meghan Andrea Kearney A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Communication Thesis Committee: Leslie A. Rill, Chair Lee Shaker Hunter Shobe Portland State University 2013 PLACE AND LOCAL IDENTITY IN PORTLAND POPULAR LYRICS Abstract This study looks at how place and local identity of Portland are described within music lyrics from Portland, Oregon popular indie-rock artists. Employing a constant comparative analysis on a set of 1,201 songs from 21 different popular Portland indie- rock artists, the themes of landscapes and climate were found to represent place, and themes of lifestyles and attitudes represented local identity. Reviewing the uncovered themes showed a strong connection between representations of place and local identity within lyrics and common stereotypes or understandings of the city of Portland and its indie-rock music scene. The results of this study illustrate how place and local identity are communicated through popular but locally-tied music lyrics and how these lyrics may describe cities. i PLACE AND LOCAL IDENTITY IN PORTLAND POPULAR LYRICS Acknowledgements I would like to specially thank: Dr. Leslie Rill for going above and beyond what I could have ever expected from an academic advisor and mentor. Dr. Lee Shaker for first introducing me to the importance of cities in communication. Dr. Hunter Shobe for assuring me that entertaining things like sports and music do have a place in academic research. Dr. Cynthia Coleman and Dr. Jeff Robinson for helping me through tough grad school moments. My best friends for sticking with me through my thesis and always being around when I needed breaks. My mom for constantly supporting all that I do. Scott Hansen (Tycho) for creating the only music that kept me focused when writing. And all of the incredible Portland artists who make this great city what it is. ii PLACE AND LOCAL IDENTITY IN PORTLAND POPULAR LYRICS Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. ii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ ii Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Justification ..................................................................................................................... 3 Study Goals ..................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 2: Literature Review .............................................................................................. 7 Popular Music ................................................................................................................. 7 Place .............................................................................................................................. 11 Local Identity ................................................................................................................ 16 Music Scenes ................................................................................................................ 22 Place and Local Identity in Popular Music ................................................................... 24 Chapter 3: Method ............................................................................................................ 36 Constant Comparative Method ..................................................................................... 36 Sample........................................................................................................................... 39 Procedures ..................................................................................................................... 41 Data analysis ................................................................................................................. 44 Chapter 4: Results ............................................................................................................. 47 Place .............................................................................................................................. 48 Physical Landscapes. ................................................................................................ 48 Climate. ..................................................................................................................... 58 Local Identity ................................................................................................................ 62 Lifestyles. .................................................................................................................. 62 Attitudes. ................................................................................................................... 70 Chapter 5: Discussion ....................................................................................................... 76 Summary of Findings .................................................................................................... 78 Theoretical Implications ............................................................................................... 87 Limitations .................................................................................................................... 97 Further Research ........................................................................................................... 98 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 100 References ....................................................................................................................... 104 Appendix ......................................................................................................................... 118 iii PLACE AND LOCAL IDENTITY IN PORTLAND POPULAR LYRICS Chapter 1: Introduction Portland, Oregon is a city quickly becoming one of the most desired places to experience, booming with unique and celebrated cultures. Neighborhoods, restaurants, pubs, shops, events and more showcase the city of Portland and its community members on a daily basis. Within this, one of the strongest community ties recognized within the city and across the globe is the Portland music scene. Portland offers a tight knit community of local musicians and local fans who participate in performances nightly at venues like Portland’s Doug Fir Lounge and Mississippi Studios, each situated in one of Portland’s distinct neighborhoods. Each summer, local festivals like Musicfest Northwest and PDX Pop Now bring together thousands of community members across the city for a celebration of Portland artists. Portland’s music scene is as much a part of the local community as the individual community members themselves, and those most responsible for making these connections are the artists. As far back as recorded history allows, music has played a role in the communication of ideas, expressions of power, social happenings (Cooper, 1991) and endless forms of messages created by an artist and played to its listener. Dating back to 13 BC, designs found on tombs, walls, or pottery depicted figures with musical instruments (Cox, 1990). These depictions are thought to have displayed those of high power showing that even then, music and art were believed to have influential roles over culture, and those creating these influences were in a spotlight. Connecting this power of artist to a community, allows the artist to speak directly to local communities and express ideas about their own personal identifications with their communities. However, with the 1 PLACE AND LOCAL IDENTITY IN PORTLAND POPULAR LYRICS emergence of new technologies and globalization, geographic spaces and local music scenes now include popular artists whose work reaches well beyond their geographic boundaries. The works of popular music artists have been endlessly exemplified as having distinct influence over audiences. These influences span from the way listeners dress to mirror artists, as in the punk rock genre (Hebdige,