Music as the Key to the Cultural Soul: An Analysis of the Nationalizing Force of Song Lyrics by Diane Hart A major project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION We accept the major project as conforming to the required standard Dr. Bettina Heinz, Faculty Supervisor Date School of Communication & Culture Royal Roads University Dr. Bettina Heinz, Major Project Coordinator Date School of Communication & Culture Royal Roads University Dr. Phillip Vannini, Second Reader Date School of Communication & Culture Royal Roads University Dr. Joshua Guilar, Director Date School of Communication & Culture Royal Roads University Royal Roads University June 2008 © Diane Hart 2008 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-44178-7 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-44178-7 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. Canada Music as the Key ii Abstract Cultural artefacts offer insights about the culture in which they are created and consumed. By inspecting the most popular music in nations (based on airplay and sales) one may be able to develop an understanding of the current popular sentiments held in various locations. This research project was designed to examine how popular music in three nations may reflect national identity. Lyrics of the most popular songs from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada provided the basis for this analysis. A discourse analysis of lyrical content helped to uncover perpetuated ideologies regarding relationships and personal values. The presence of consistent themes in each nation suggested that national identity is evident in music. Music as the Key iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank my major project advisor, Dr. Bettina Heinz, for her extreme patience and dedication to academic excellence. Additional appreciation goes to my second reader, Dr. Phillip Vannini, for his attention to detail and his honesty. I am grateful for the Royal Roads University professors who have encouraged me and directed me to this point in my academic career. The constant support of my Royal Roads University peers has been paramount as it has propelled me forward with feelings of determination, confidence, and peace. I have come to realise that my major project is more than merely a Master's degree component as it has been the catalyst for discovering real life lessons. I truly feel that it is by the infallible faith of my parents (Jean and Bill Hart) and the constant grace of God that I have completed this paper. It is to them that I dedicate my major project. Music as the Key iv Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Introduction 1 Literature Review 4 Context 9 Discussion 14 Conclusions 17 Appendix A 24 Music as the Key 1 Introduction Communication studies, due to contributions by Marshall McLuhan (1962), value the theoretical constructs offered by the concept of globalisation (Fiss & Hirsch, 2005). Fast-paced technological advances present new opportunities for multicultural and intercultural discourse. Shared meaning is a possible result of the innovations as information is easily accessible in many locations around the world. I, however, am critical of the ease at which some communication scholars have adopted the globalisation concept to supersede the concept of national identity retention. Social codes, national traits, and identity concerns, though in a constant state of flux, may still have distinction (Fiss & Hirsch, 2005). My analysis will not only seek out national identity differentiation, then, but will also be critical of the ways that some scholars view the current technological world. My critical discourse analysis is based on the writing of Mikko Lehtonen who contends that, "All discursive use of language aims at producing certain effects and subject positions in the recipient.. .[With] the concept of 'ideology' we can describe those areas of language use that deal with the interests of different group and questions concerning power" (2000, p. 47). This paper analyses popular music in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Consumers of music, although subject to influence by recording companies, have led to the popularity of the specific songs in this study. Generally accepted and constantly perpetuated lyrical content may therefore present insight into the national values. Norman Fairclough deems that discourse analysis is an effective tool in the effort to denaturalise properties of discourse: Music as the Key 2 "Naturalized discourse conventions are a most effective mechanism for sustaining and reproducing cultural and ideological dimensions of hegemony. Correspondingly, a significant target of hegemonic struggle is the denaturalization of existing conventions and replacement of them with others" (1995, p. 94). My goal within in this project was to denaturalise the musical representations that may have begun as a personal reflection, but contributed in the production of a collective national understanding. Though it is problematic to view national identity as a singular conceptual framework embraced by all residents of a particular location there is still validity in the perception of dominant messaging. Culture continually evolves, especially when factors such as immigration come into play. Homi Bhabha comments on the "third space" in which first generation individuals are unable to fully adopt the new culture, and are unable to retain the previously attributed culture (Bhabha, 1994, p.39). Music has the ability to impact identity when it is repeatedly presented (Karimi, 2005). Moreover, with the repetition of music singles (which are evaluated according to a national level of singles charts, given advanced airplay, and arguably more recognisable for the population) the development of collective identity is encouraged. Notably, musical representation is more than its lyrical content: tempo, utterances, musical interludes, tone... all have distinctive impact on the message. These factors are beyond the scope of this project. Discourse analyses are also complicated by the fact that any textual sample is necessarily limited by time of selection. In this study, the results may vary depending on the timeframe during which a song is chosen. To provide a consistent standard, I chose the top three songs per month with a sample of three months to account for seasonal difference in each nation based on airplay and sales for each. Furthermore, lyrics are succinct and carefully Music as the Key 3 chosen by songwriters. Lehtonen states that in artistic literature "The fact that texts do not imitate reality but, on the contrary, textually produce it often remains unnoticed" (2000, p. 73). Lyrics are created to be listened to, thus they constitute a body of text of analytical importance. Music as the Key 4 Literature Review Culture is a transient concept, and cultures move from tradition to modernity and postmodernity while retaining national aspects of identity (Abril, 2006; Nadezhda, 2005; Perez, 2006). Identifying a singular music tradition as well as a singular mode of cultural expression present at any one time is not probable due to the intricacies of diversity within national culture. It is possible, however, to note cultural influences in music (Abril, 2006). White and McCormack found that "Music can be a powerful theme as we investigate issues such as ethnicity and the struggle for equality, population growth, economics, technology, business and industry, and efficacy and empowerment within the context of social history" (2006, p. 124). Thematic trends imbedded in song lyrics provide a basis for relevant analysis as is shown by studies in both poetic and lyric discourse (White and McCormack, 2006). The use of "pop" music is