RESIDUAL CULTURE OF ROLLER RINKS: MEDIA, THE MUSIC & NOSTALGIA OF ROLLER SKATING by Romy Poletti A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts McGill University, Montreal 2009 Program: Department of Art History and Communications Date June 2009 i MCGILL UNIVERSITY, MONTREAL ABSTRACT Residual Culture of Roller Rink: The Media, Music & Nostalgia of Roller Skating By Romy Poletti More than other cultural sites or practices, roller skating invokes nostalgia and notions of the past. This project analyzes the ways in which roller skating has occupied a residual cultural status for more than one hundred years. Ultimately, the music at the roller rink mediates not only the movement in the space itself, but also the cultural movement of roller skating within society. Thus, this project explores the ways in which roller rink music engenders nostalgia through its use of residual sound technologies and genres. By focusing on the two prolific eras of roller skating, the Golden Age (1926-54) and Roller Disco (1977-1983), we will assess the role music played in both the rise and fall of popularity in roller skating, while exploring the re-presentations of these moments in film. Plus que d'autres sites ou pratiques culturelles, le patin à roulettes invoque la nostalgie et les notions du passé. Ce projet analyse les façons dont le patin à roulettes a occupé un statut culturel résiduel pendant plus de cent ans. En fin de compte, la musique à la roulatèque obtient par médiation non seulement le mouvement dans l'espace lui- même, mais aussi le mouvement culturel de patin à roulettes dans la société. Ainsi, ce projet explore les façons dont la musique de la roulatèque engendre la nostalgie par son utilisation de technologies résiduelles du son et des genres. En nous concentrant sur les deux ères prolifiques du patin à roulettes, l'Âge D'or (1926-54) et le "Roller Disco"(1977- ii 1983), nous évaluerons le rôle que la musique a joué autant dans l'ascension que dans la chute de la popularité du patin à roulettes, en explorant les représentations de ces moments dans le cinéma. iii Acknowledgments Throughout this arduous process, I have dreamt of writing the acknowledgements section as I knew it was representative of not only the end, but of the moment at which I could express my gratitude to the people who helped me to reach this point. In the academic sphere, I am indebted to the teachings and works of Margaret DeRosia, Carrie Rentschler, Keir Keightley, Ned Schantz and Jonathan Sterne. Keir Keightley and Jonathan Sterne both provided foundations for my interest in studying a residual sound culture, and Professor Keightley was particular helpful in his film and reading recommendations. I owe thanks to my advisor Will Straw for his help not only in the preliminary stages of this project by opening his wealth of disco archives to me, but also for his honest appraisal of my work throughout the various stages. All of this is dedicated to my loving and very patient parents, Endri Poletti and Joyce Nolan. Their unfaltering support emotionally, financially, intellectually, spiritually and all other synonymous adverbs, are truly why the following pages exist. I don’t know how else to express my gratitude and appreciation for having such amazing parents except to have this completed thesis to show them. …And last but not least, I owe my dear friends and co-workers, Tiffany Swan-Mazur and Darlene Walker, an immense amount of gratitude for taking me to the North London Optimist roller skating rink. Without that introductory outing, I would have never known about the magical world of the roller rink… iv Table of Contents List of Figures ...................................................................................................vii Chapter I..............................................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction.............................................................................................1 1.2 Current State of the Skate: Viva La Revival!.........................................3 1.3 Succinct History of the Rink & Skates...................................................4 1.4 Roller Skating Axioms: Nostalgia & Music...........................................9 1.4.2 Music Mediating Past-ness .........................................................10 1.5 Nostalgia & The Past ............................................................................12 1.6 Residual Media .....................................................................................15 1.6.2 Rhythm & Circulation ................................................................17 1.7 Contextualizing the Rink ......................................................................18 1.7.2 Ice Skating & Roller Skating.......................................................19 1.7.3 Dance Halls & Clubs ...................................................................20 1.7.4 Films & Cinemas .........................................................................22 1.8 Chapter Conclusion...............................................................................24 Chapter II: History of Roller Skate Music........................................................26 2.1 Introduction...........................................................................................26 2.2 History of Early Roller Skating Music.................................................28 2.3 Ice Skating Begets Roller Skating........................................................29 2.4 Organ Donors Revive Roller Rinks......................................................32 2.5 The Golden Age....................................................................................33 2.5.2 Listening to the Rhythm of the Rink ...........................................34 2.5.3 Rhythm Is a Roller Skate Dancer................................................36 2.6 Teenage Rebellion & The Great Rock n’ Roll Dwindle......................37 2.6.2 What Is In A Name? ....................................................................41 2.7 Vinyl Record Players & Sound Reproduction .....................................42 2.8 Race at the Rink: Sounding Differences ..............................................43 2.9 Disco Mainstreaming & Roller Disco..................................................45 2.9.2 Turning the Beat Around (and Around, and Around).................47 2.9.3 Disco Memories & Nostalgic Discourses ...................................49 2.10 Roller Skating Outside: Bringing the Beat to the Street ....................52 2.11 Chapter Conclusion.............................................................................54 Chapter III: Cinematic Roller Rinks.................................................................56 3.1 Introduction...........................................................................................56 3.2 Depression-ness Rinks..........................................................................57 3.2.2 Remember Seventies-ness Roller Skating & Rinks....................59 3.3 Rink Music on Film ..............................................................................61 3.3.2 No Time like the Not So Distant Past-ness.................................62 v 3.4 Cinematic Roller Rink; Hollywood Musical........................................64 3.5 Space ....................................................................................................69 3.5.2 Urban Roller Rinks......................................................................70 3.5.3 Skating Around the Margins .......................................................73 3.6 Chapter Conclusion...............................................................................75 Chapter IV: Conclusion ....................................................................................77 Notes..................................................................................................................84 Bibliography......................................................................................................85 Works Cited...................................................................................................85 Filmography .................................................................................................89 vi List of figures Number 1. Xtreme Deodorant, International Ad Campaign, 2006 ………………………...…80 2. Madonna, “Sorry” Music Video Still, 2006………………………...……...……...81 3. Jessica Simpson, “A Public Affair,” Music Video Still, 2006 ……………………81 4. Recreatheque “Kebekelektrik” Advertisement, 1976 …………………………….82 5. The Roller Skating Song Crazy Sheet Music, 1907 ………………………………83 6. The Skater’s Song Sheet Music, 1864 ……………………………………...…….83 vii Chapter One: You begin to recall those dreamy Saturday afternoons at the roller rink; it was raining outside, but inside it was real warm … Then there was that steady roar of a thousand clay wheels on hardwood, and yes, you can here it now, the organ music that had nothing to do with Bach or church, but that was very, very close to heavenly. - Anybody’s Roller Skating Book, 19791 Roller skating in America never dies... - The Complete Roller Skating Book, 19792 There is the romance of discovering the thing in all of its dripping nostalgia. - Greg Urban, Metacuture, 2001: 2. 1.1 Introduction October 20, 2007 -- At the corner of Portage Avenue and Langside Street in Winnipeg, Manitoba, an unsteady chain-link fence surrounds a wrecking site.3