Unpopular Meters Irregular Grooves and Drumbeats in the Songs of Tori Amos, Radiohead, and Tool by Scott James Hanenberg A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Music University of Toronto © Copyright by Scott James Hanenberg 2018 Unpopular Meters: Irregular Grooves and Drumbeats in the Songs of Tori Amos, Radiohead, and Tool Scott James Hanenberg Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Music University of Toronto 2018 Abstract This dissertation investigates the drumbeat’s role in articulating irregular metric structures in rock music from the past three decades. Having analyzed a corpus of 240 songs, I theorize several distinct categories of metric irregularity; establish drumbeat conventions in the most common irregular grooves; explore connections between drumbeat, meter, hypermeter, and form; and present numerous examples of unique or idiosyncratic drumming practices. While explaining metric trends broadly within a historically situated genre, my research also highlights the metric idiolects of Tori Amos, Radiohead, and Tool. The dissertation comprises three parts. Part I establishes my theoretical position and methodological framework. In Chapter 1, I stress the importance of the snare drum in the mapping of unfamiliar metric terrain: through constant exposure to the backbeat as the standard drumbeat of 4/4 meter, popular music listeners have come to equate snare-drum articulations with a specific metric implication, which informs our interpretation of metrically irregular structures. Chapter 2 establishes a historical and generic context for discussing metric irregularity in recent rock and delineates the boundaries of the corpus. Part II consists of an annotated catalogue of every repeating metrically irregular drumbeat in the corpus. Cyclic patterns are the essence of metric hierarchy; thus, these grooves are essential to understanding the relationship between irregular meter and drumbeat. Chapter 3 reviews metrically ii regular drumbeat patterns other than the backbeat, including the tresillo and various triple and compound meters. Chapter 4 focuses on the two most common irregular meters—quintuple and septuple—each of which bears a distinct relationship to regular metric archetypes and, therefore, reveals a characteristic approach to irregularity. Chapter 5 concerns more complex patterns that arise in larger repeating cycles. Part III looks at non-repeating irregularities. I theorize three distinct types and discuss idiomatic uses in the music of my core artists in Chapter 6. The simplest isolated irregularities concern a single measure, but some structures affect a whole formal section. Chapter 7 shifts to the analysis of full songs, demonstrating the utility of my theoretical innovations. iii Acknowledgments This dissertation would not have been possible without the contributions, insights, and encouragement of a wide network of musicians, thinkers, pedagogues, family, and friends. My engagement with rock music started early on thanks to my parents. My mother Catherine Hanenberg set me on the right path with her collection of vinyl and cassettes. My father Jim Hanenberg owned the small-town music store where I took my first lessons; he still loves to sit and play when we can. My brother Eric Hanenberg is a drummer, and through high school we would play together almost every day. The fascination I held for the drumkit then has grown into this dissertation and Eric has been a constant source of first-hand knowledge, compelling interpretations, and great new music to listen to. I am also indebted to a number of musical friends who have played and talked with me, stoking my curiosity and refining my thinking. I have been uncommonly lucky to remain as close as I have with many members of my earliest middle-school rock bands—especially Kevin Bruner, Ian Scagnetti, Michael Schwarzl, and Preston Wake. The University of Toronto has consistently been a nurturing environment for my work, both through the mentors that I worked with and the many programs that fostered professional development and personal growth. My advisor Ryan McClelland has been invaluable for his support in navigating my graduate career in music theory from start to finish. Ryan, thank you especially for your enthusiasm about this project, for keenly listening to so many examples unfamiliar to your usual playlists, and for your superhuman attention to detail in my transcriptions, prose, and bibliography. My development as a music theorist has also been shaped to a large extent by Steven Vande Moortele, who was consistent in both challenging and encouraging me from my earliest coursework through my doctoral defense. Steven, thank you for keeping me honest and accountable in my thinking. Jeff Packman has had a unique influence on my work as the sole non-music-theorist member of my committee and as the only drummer. Jeff is also the person I most want to sit down with and jam if we ever find time. Finally, I was fortunate to have two conscientious readers round out the panel for my defense. I cannot thank Mark Sallmen and Scott Murphy enough for the care they put into their feedback and for their engaging discussion during the defense. The colleagues I met while at the University of Toronto have impressed me not only with their critical thinking, but more importantly with their unfaltering friendship. Every aspect of my dissertation owes something to the amazing group of people alongside whom I completed my iv program, chief among them Hilary Donaldson, Rebekah Lobosco-Gilli (and her husband Peter Gilli), Patrick Nickleson, Yun Emily Wang, and Edward Wright. For advice and companionship through the ordeal of comprehensive exams; for days spent in silence writing, editing, or just wasting time, so long as we were together; and for colloquium talks and round-tables that turned into trips to the Duke more often than not—thank you all from the bottom of my heart. You have made my time at Toronto so much more than the rewarding professional undertaking I came here seeking, and I look forward to many years of continued friendship, wherever our different paths may lead. In my first semester at Toronto, in Ryan McClelland’s seminar on Brahms’s instrumental music, I quickly realized that I was surrounded by musical talent, but one of my classmates made a particular impression. As I got to know Caitlin Martinkus, making the hard-copy scores I brought to class an excuse to share and sit closer, I saw that she was much more than a formidable formal analyst. Our relationship has been the defining force in my life through graduate school (we were married in 2016) and I am overjoyed to think it will continue to be so for years to come. This dissertation would be a pale shadow of what it is without Caitlin’s insights, her skill as an editor, and her patience with my long hours of listening and tangential digressions about my work, but most of all her love and support. v Table of Contents Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................. vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................... viii List of Examples ................................................................................................................................................ x List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................. xvi List of Appendices........................................................................................................................................ xviii Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 1 Part I – Theoretical Background and Methodological Framework........................................................... 5 A Backbeat-Oriented Approach to Irregular Rock Meter: Implications and Limitations ................................................................................................................................................ 6 The Backbeat .............................................................................................................................................. 14 Hierarchy ..................................................................................................................................................... 22 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 37 The Corpus: Method and Findings ........................................................................................ 41 The Corpus and Its Sources ..................................................................................................................... 45 Predominantly Commercially Oriented Sources ........................................................................... 47 Predominantly Transgressive Sources............................................................................................. 57 Establishing the Corpus ...................................................................................................................