The Mediated Myth of Rock and Roll
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THE MEDIATED MYTH OF ROCK AND ROLL A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School At the University of Missouri In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy By SCOTT M. WALUS Dr. Melissa A. Click, Dissertation Supervisor DECEMBER 2012 © Copyright by Scott M. Walus 2012 All Rights Reserved ! The undersigned, appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled THE MEDIATED MYTH OF ROCK AND ROLL Presented by Scott M. Walus A candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy And hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Dr. Melissa A. Click Dr. Jennifer Stevens Aubrey Dr. Loreen N. Olson Dr. Carsten Strathausen ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As evidenced by this dissertation, my identity is split into scholar and musician and thus I need to acknowledge those who made me the scholar I am and those who made me the musicians I am. I want to start by thanking my dissertation advisor and media studies mentor Melissa Click. I have no idea who I would be as a scholar without her guidance, patience, and willingness to argue with me over the finer theoretical disagreements in cultural studies and media studies. Some of my favorite memories at MU revolved around these academic disputes where the idea for this whole study started. There were also probably snacks. Her belief in me during this process kept me going. She has my unending gratitude and respect. Next, I would like to thank committee member and my mass comm mentor Jennifer Aubrey. I was lucky enough to take multiple classes with her and develop my knowledge on mass communication. She even invited me to a research project with her. In that moment I felt smart for the first time in my doctoral program and I want to thank her for the opportunity. Unfortunately I was still a bit too wrapped up in the rock and roll myth to actually complete that project. Thank you to committee member Loreen Olson, who “wanted to see the baby born” even after she left the University of Missouri. She was always the voice of reason and wisdom in my years at MU. Thank you committee member Carsten Strathausen. The one class I took with you on critical methods permeated into my scholastic core and changed my work for the better. Thank you also to Michael Porter and Mitchell McKinney who I learned an incredible amount from in my coursework and as well as letting me TA for them instead of teaching public ii speaking. Thanks to everyone else at MU who had a hand in this as well. Thank you to everyone at Eastern Illinois University for supporting me through this process and helping me develop as a professor especially David Gracon and Carrie Wilson-Brown. We share a passion for media studies as well as a hallway. On the music side, I would like to first acknowledge the musicians I interviewed for this study. Thank you for talking to me at gigs, in your homes, and everywhere else that a university researcher does not typically travel in pursuit of interviews. Thank you to anyone I've ever made music with, both in the same band or the same bill. Thank you to Gary Taylor at Music Go Round for hiring me as the store's guitar and amplifier technician so I did not foreclose on my house the summer before I started at EIU. In that moment, I seriously considered staying there forever, surrounded by a never ending supply of guitars and musicians. Special thanks to John Gaetano, Chris Reehoff, Matt Van Ham, Mike Fierstein, Bryan Batsell, Nate Furstenau, Jake Pope, and Jason Potter for the whiskey, music, sweaty hugs, and sympathy in this process. If I didn't make music I wouldn't have any friends or sweaty hugs. I want to thank my father Wayne Walus, who despite his constant inquiry of “Why don't you just hand your paper in,” I still love dearly and appreciate all that he taught me. I take great pride in being the son of a body man (car collision repair). Finally, I need to thank my wife, my band mate, and my partner in crime in this thing called life, Keri Cousins. I cannot imagine my life without her and everyday I grow more thankful that I get to be a part of her life. Without her, I would have never finished this dissertation. iii ! TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ ii ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1. SITUATING THE CULTURAL PHENOMENON ................................................1 Rock and Roll: Where It Is and What Does Myth Three Mediated Articulations of Myth of Rock and Roll That Thing You Do Behind the Music Boston's “Rock and Roll Band” Why Rock and Roll and Myth Matter Preview 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ................................................................................35 Media Studies: The Interaction of Texts and Audiences Media texts Audiences Myth Today Form and concept in cultural mythologies Ideology and myth: Two sides of the same coin Conclusions 3. METHODOLOGY AND APPROACH ................................................................69 iv ! Guiding Reflective and Emergent Considerations Textual Analysis of Mediated Forms Sample Analytic approach Concept and Personalization through Lived Experience Sampling Locations Interview Protocol Data Analysis Assuring Quality 4. THE MEDIATED FORM OF ROCK AND ROLL ..............................................91 Rock and Roll (n.), (v.), (adj.) Rock and Roll: From Average Origins The rock star: Social and financial mobility Performing gender in a rock and roll fantasy Sexual orientation in rock and roll Race in rock and roll “On the Road”: The Possibilities of Getting in the Van Media and Rock and Roll: Potentially Magic, Potentially Soul-Stealing “Making It” and the Signifiers of Rock and Roll Success Conclusions about the Mediated Form of Rock and Roll 5. NEGOTIATING THE CONCEPT OF ROCK AND ROLL ...............................145 MTV, Infomercials, and Autobiographies: The Mediated Forms of Rock v ! and Roll Understanding the Concept of Rock and Roll Expectations and Disillusions Gender in Rock and roll Sexual Orientation and Race in Rock and Roll On the Road: Living in the Eternal Present The Experience of Rock and Roll: Religion, Magic, and Drugs Concept Conclusions 6. CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................214 Theoretical Implications and Contributions Limitations Future Directions Concluding Thoughts APPENDIX 1. FILM AND PROGRAM SUMMARIES .............................................................232 2. RESPONDENT DETAILS ..................................................................................239 3. INITIAL INTERVIEW PROTOCOL ..................................................................244 4. REVISED INTERVIEW PROTOCOL ...............................................................247 BIBLIOGRAPHY...... ......................................................................................................250 VITA.......................... ......................................................................................................266 vi ! ABSTRACT The mediated myth (Barthes, 1957) of rock and roll is simultaneously simple and complex, discussed openly and mired in code, and contains both surface level and deep structures. It is at once a rejection of American capitalism through its insistence on the existence “pure” rock and roll outside of industry while being the very embodiment of it through its meritocratic and agentic views of rock and roll success, where the best product sells the most records. The myth of rock and roll contains promises of openness and equality to “anyone” who wishes to “do it” while disguising “averageness” as white, male, and heterosexual. As with the function of all myths, each of these dualistic statements contains a degree of truth to allow its circulation throughout culture (Dyer, 1982). However, musicians negotiate what constitutes “truth” through the lens of the myth throughout the various stages of their careers. Additionally, the cultural forms and individual concepts of rock and roll are not inherently good or bad, or true or false, rather, they serve different functions. In the myth of rock and roll, either form or concept by itself would not work; the interplay between the two provides the key to understanding the longevity of rock and roll. The forms provide a widely available cultural resource and draw musicians into “doing” rock and roll. The forms promise social/economic mobility and experiential pleasures that can be attained by “anyone” willing to follow a seductively logical set of vii ! steps. These musicians' concepts initially reflected the hopefulness of these forms, providing the logistics and encouragement for those willing to step into performing rock and roll. In this stage, musicians had agency in their own success through an egalitarian process. However, material reality cannot match the clarity and unity of the forms, and these musicians had to shift their concepts to continue doing rock and roll. These musicians recognized “truth” in experiential moments and valued present moments in pursuit of the ideal core of rock and roll. The ideal core contains the potential of a religion, magic, or drugs, providing both pleasures as well as a dependency. Rock and roll offers a spiritual, transformative, and pleasurable, but ultimately temporary, experience. When these pleasures combine with a mythic promise