USE AND INFLUENCE OF AMATEUR MUSICIAN NARRATIVES IN FILM, 1981-2001 Colin Helb A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2009 Committee: Jeremy Wallach, Advisor Irina Stakhanova Graduate Faculty Representative Vivian Patraka Awad Imbrahim © 2009 Colin Helb All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Jeremy Wallach, Advisor This dissertation is an analytical survey of four amateur musician narratives created between 1981 and 2001. Unlike purportedly true, marketing-driven uses of amateur narratives, the four narratives chosen for this project are unabashed total fictions. Despite this, the films achieve levels of perceived “authenticity” by way of cultural value and influence. None of the narratives deal with amateur musicianship as a stage or step in an inherent progression towards professionalism, as seems a prerequisite for the recollections of the now professional. But all include narratives of amateur musicians struggling to make it against “insurmountable commercial odds” resulting from an artist’s gender, talent, ability, or identity. Despite this, none treat hegemonically dictated concepts of commercial success, wealth, fame, and stardom as the ultimate and/or desired goal of amateurism or semiprofessionalism. The films all present concepts of accomplishment in challenge of hegemonic notions of professional dominance and commercial success as markers of success. The four films, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1981), Ishtar (1987), Half-Cocked (1995), and Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), are culturally representative of their respective eras, but have experienced lasting cultural influence in both filmmaking and music making. The films exist as prototypical examples of amateur musicians narratives, performance, and media common to the 20th Century “rise of the amateur” as found on the Internet, in realty programming, and marketing tragedies. iv Dedicated to Carolyn and the cats for enduring Northwest Ohio winter with me and to the memory of Nick Buono who first taught me that popular culture is important. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my mother without whom I would not have been given the opportunity to pursue all of my dreams. I would also like to thank all of my aunts, uncles, grandparents, great uncles, great aunts, cousins (particularly Chris and Tim Celfo for forming our first band, Helfo, with me in 1985 and writing “Friday Night”), and friends of the family who might as well have been uncles and aunts and cousins. I wish my father were alive to see me finish this project. I constantly wonder what he would think of what I have become. I must acknowledge my wonderful committee. Jeremy Wallach has been a supportive and inspirational lead advisor. I have enjoyed as our relationship has grown and I wish him unending health, success, and happiness in the future. Likewise, thank you to Vivian Patraka, Awad Ibrahim, and Irina Stakhanova. If I do not express it enough, I am both hugely honored that you would want to work with me and inspired that I get to work with any of you. I do not believe my time at Bowling Green State University would have been possible without Donald McQuaire and Gloria Enriquez Pizana of the American Culture Studies Program. Thank you both so much for meetings, photocopying, announcements, support, advice, money, and friendship. I would like to thank the faculty and graduate students of the American Culture Studies Program; Departments of Theatre & Film (especially Cynthia Baron), Communications (especially Tori Ekstrand), Popular Culture, and English; and the University Library (especially Bill Schurk) at BGSU. I would like to thank my officemates, administrators, and undergraduate students for putting up with my sometimes excited and spastic ways. I wish to thank all the people I am especially proud to call friends and colleagues who I met while at BGSU: Michael Kimaid, Gabe Beam, William Emerson, Andy Famiglietti, vi Matthew and Karin Barbee, Cristian Pralea, Steve and Jenna Swanson, Kelly Watson, Isaac Vayo, Mike Lupro, Beth Kaufka, Gavin Meuller, Katie Casey, James Paasche, Courtney Ollcott, Dave Moody, Danny Shope, Aisha McGriff, Jason Kirby, Sarah Tebbe, Dustin Tahmakera, Alyssa Burger, Steve Harrick, Mike Lewis, Charles Hohman, Angie Fitzpatrick, Aisha Rick Claypool, Lisa Avila, Justin Philpot, Melissa Mills-Dick, Jason Zeh, Byron Kanoti, Molly Brost, Jamie Stuart, Marnie Pratt, Eric Wade, Kelly MacDonanld, Hope Bernard, and last, but not least, Mark Samuel Bernard, one of the greatest friends I will ever have. You have all been instrumental in my social and professional life in the past few years and I hope for many more years to come. I would like to thank the great group of friends I have collected over the past few decades of life. Somehow, I seem to have a couch to sleep on all over the world and, for that, I am extremely happy. Particularly, I would like to thank all of my friends from Yardley, PA, especially Brad Perry, Walead Beshty, Fred DeSloover, Sgt. Michael and Sabrina Golembesky, Becky Rothman, Greg Camphire, Ian McConville (R.I.P.), Jeff Rosenberger, Katie DeSloover, Joe Kates, Wally Wild, Ali Hennessey, Jeremy and Andrea Pfancook, Jeff and Julie Cusanno, Anand Desai, Dave McMaster, Terry Yerves, Liz (still) Lehmann (to me), Steve and Laurie Kellner, and everyone else I would name if I wanted to do the long version. Thank you to all the residents of Rubin Hall at New York University in the fall semester of 1994. I had a great time, but it wasn’t for me. Thanks also to New York City for leading me to West Virginia. Thank you to all of my friends from Morgantown, West Virginia, West Virginia University, and all the great bands I had the pleasure of getting to know and admire during my time there. Thanks to Mitch Jones, Trae Elswick, and (especially) Matt Reiter for remaining dear friends. Thank you to Roger Banks for teaching me the ropes of The Academy and being a great friend vii (Richard, too). Thanks to Chris Kasper for helping me leave the mountains of West Virginia and return to Southeastern Pennsylvania. I would like to thank everyone with whom I have ever had the pleasure of playing music in every real and fake band I ever was a part of. To name but a few: Helfo (Chris and Tim), “Band”/Blueprint (Brad, Trevor, Terence, Jason), Afton (Fred V., Tim), Yuppie Larva Gone Astray (Walead), Bus (Brad), Frame/Mode (Jason, Isaac, Terry, Matt), Dewback (Jeff, Michael, Tim, Greg, Mark, Brad), Grass Combustion (Teel and Jay), Good and the Hoods (Dan, Jeremiah, Mitch, “Nasty” David Asty), The Courteous Ninjas (Lance Manyon, Coitus Maximus, Capt. Major Moto, Maximiliian Power, Hal Crotchborne, and Karma Sutra), Kind Insight (Damien, George, Colin M., Abe, Jason, Britt), The Recipe (Joe, Gregg, Amos, Tom, Julie, Kristen, Travis), Some of the Most Famous People Alive (Kasper, Nick, Abe, Keith W., Catfish), PoCKetScHwa (Kasper, Slick, Mike, Jared), theroyaloui (Mike and James), The Daven Mines (Dave), KBD (Mike and Gabe), 1000000 a.d. (e-Thrice, MR, Niloc, PC, Winter), and all the wonderful and weird local amateur and semiprofessional musicians and scenesters I’ve met in Bucks County, PA, Morgantown, WV, Philadelphia, PA, Toledo, OH, and all over the United States. Finally, I must acknowledge a handful of teachers who have and continue to guide my research, teaching, and life. In particular, I must thank Mrs. Lowe from Makefield Elementary, Mr. Snyder from Pennwood Middle School, Mr. Wilson from Pennsbury High School, and Mr. Roche also from Pennsbury High School. I may not even know most of your first names, but your mentorship, love of teaching, and knowledge will continue to mean more to me than I ever expressed in my formative years. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION. AMATEUR MUSICIAN NARRATIVES: FACTUAL, FILMIC, FICTIONAL, AND FABRICATED ............................................................................... 1 The Amateur ....................................................................................................... 6 The Recent Rise of the Mediated Amateur ........................................................... 14 Popular Music on Film and Film on Popular Music ............................................ 20 Notions of Authenticity in 20th Century Popular Music ........................................ 23 Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Four Films ................................................ 28 CHAPTER I. INAUTHENTIC SUCCESS/AUTHENTIC OBSCURITY: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE FABULOUS STAINS ..................................................................... 34 All Washed Up Becomes Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains ................. 37 The Production of All Washed Up ........................................................................ 64 The Cult(ure) of The Fabulous Stains ................................................................. 71 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 75 CHAPTER II. ISHTAR AND THE AMATEUR MUSICIAN AS METAPHOR ............ 78 Ishtar and the Songwriting Team of Rogers and Clarke ....................................... 83 Elaine May’s “Orwellian” Vision ........................................................................ 98 A Spinal Tap for Songwriters .............................................................................. 102 Conclusion ......................................................................................................