How Music Matters: Exploring the Musical Experience, its attachments and its technologies Víctor Miguel Ávila Torres Sociology University of York November, 2019 Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Abstract This thesis explores how music becomes important as a social and individual practice mediated by devices in everyday life. Through the guiding concepts of Attachments and the Musical Experience, the thesis focuses on the idea of music as a practice that acquires importance beyond the economic value through everyday practice from an assemblage and materialities perspective, guided by Science and Technology Studies. The data was generated from 41 participants and the Musical Experience History Method, which includes interviews around their musical practice and their past, while listening together with them and discuss valuable objects that they have selected in advance. This thesis orders the findings by abstract moments and elements of the creation of those musical attachments. The first chapter focuses on the Dispositions and Threshold moments, which explains the initial interest in listening to music, specific genres or practices. The second chapter attends to the flexibility of those elements as new moments of listening and negotiations take place to fit new music, practices and alignment with social and intimate identities, this is analysed through the concept of Re/Tuning. At the same time, the thesis explores the process of assembling meanings around musical objects and practices through the concept of Networks of Meanings. The final chapter explores the ongoing relationship of the listener with specific music, which becomes a material object that is at risk of becoming worn out and deformed, hence that demands to be looked after and constantly refreshed. To finalise the thesis highlights the importance of paying attention to the practices and devices of music and proposes the concept of Plasticine Music as a sensitizing concept to make sense of the flexibility but solid materiality of the musical object in everyday life that is transformed through its mediations. 2 of 263 Table of Contents Abstract 2 Table of Contents 3 Accompanying Material (Playlist) 4 Acknowledgements 6 Declaration 7 1 - Introduction 7 1. 1. Not only Why, But How Music Matters? 10 1. 1. 1. From taste to attachments 16 1. 1. 2. From Listening to the Musical Experience 22 1. 2. Listening to the listeners 28 1. 3. Chapter by Chapter Overview 32 1. 4. About the playlist 34 2 - Literature Review 35 2. 1. Machines and Formats as actors 37 2. 2. Everything, everywhere, anytime 41 2. 2. 1. Control, curation and appropriation 47 2. 2. 2. Collecting Musical Experiences 52 2. 3. The materials of music and their relations 57 2. 4. Auditory Bubbles and Affective Experiences 62 2. 4. 1. Memory, affect and the body 66 2. 5. Fandom in the digital era 69 Conclusion 73 3 - Methodology 75 3. 1. Music and technology in everyday life 78 3. 2. The Musical Experience History Method 83 3. 2. 1. Listening with listeners 86 3. 2. 2. Listening to the Objects 89 3. 2. 3. Recruiting the listener 93 3. 2. 4. Listening to the Data Through Grounded Theory 98 3. 3. Listening in two languages (A Note on Translation) 101 Conclusion 104 4 - Getting attached to music and the self 104 4. 1. Threshold moments and Dispositions 106 4.1.1. Dispositions and Threshold moments 111 4. 2. Re/Tuning Attachments 116 4. 3. Demanding the musical identity 121 4. 3. 1. The Musical Experience as social mediator 125 4. 4. Musical identity and distributed agency 130 4. 4. 1. Intimate attachments 133 4. 4. 2. The Plural Musical Identity 138 Conclusion 143 5 - Drilling the Musical Experience 144 5. 1. A room of one's own (Spaces) 146 5. 1. 1. The physical room 147 5. 1. 2. Devices as rooms 150 5. 1. 3. Assembling and tuning the room 154 5. 2. Getting into the music (Knowledges) 156 3 of 263 5. 2. 1. Repeated Listening 158 5. 2. 2. Digging out affects with the lyrics 161 5. 2. 3. Networks of meaning 165 5. 3. Drilling through technologies (Devices) 169 5. 3. 1. Drilling experience of access and control 170 5. 3. 2. Drilling the sound 174 5. 3. 3. Challenges and technical knowledge for drilling 178 5. 3. 4. Drilling as resignification of devices 181 Conclusion 184 6 - Managing the attachments to the Musical Experience 186 6. 1. Keeping the Musical Experience alive 188 6. 1. 1. Looking after the object that wears out 188 6. 1. 2. Refreshing the Musical Experience 193 6. 1. 3. The Musical Experience against the Musical Experience 198 6. 2. Deploying attachments and musicking in everyday life 202 6. 2. 1. The flow of the Musical Experience in everyday life 203 6. 2. 2. Managing places, the Musical Experience and everyday life 207 6. 2. 3. Managing sound and affects 211 6. 3. Musical experiences and the mediation of everyday life 215 6. 3. 1. Mediating the world through Music 216 6. 3. 2. Memory and time mediation in the Musical Experience 220 Conclusion 224 7 - Conclusions - How Music Matters? 227 7. 1. From attachments to the Musical Experience 231 7. 1. 1. Plasticine Music 235 7. 2. Technological change and the Musical Experience 238 7. 3. Music that matters 242 References 244 Appendix 1: Initial Interview Guide 263 4 of 263 Accompanying Material (Playlist) Apple Music: https://apple.co/3403LLD Spotify: https://bit.ly/2O0Omp2 5 of 263 Acknowledgements First, I want to thank my supervisor Dave Beer for his guidance, support , music chats and for trusting me with this project. To my supervisor, Daryl Martin for his patience, support, time and for helping me to navigate the most difficult moments of this adventure over many cups of coffee. To each of my participants in Mexico and the UK, that gave me their time, stories and music selflessly. This work would not be possible without you. I want to thank the Department of Sociology at York, particularly the Science and Technology Unit (SATSU) for being the most supportive and inclusive community: Joanna Latimer, Sian Beynon-Jones, Ellen Annandale, Clare Jackson, Ben Vincent, Amanda Waggett, Tom O’Brien and Brian Loader. I would like to thank specially Nathan Manning for trusting me and offering me another space for ideas, discussion, support and long conversations. To the teachers and guides of the past turned into friends in the present: Sandra González-Santos, Claudia Magallanes Blanco, Leandro Rodríguez, Edwin Culp, Jerónimo Repoll, Manuel Guerrero and Jorge Calles. Gracias por inspirarme y guiarme hasta acá. Thanks to the lovely friends that I had the chance to make in academia, for their inspiration, listening, reading and support every day: Holly Steel, Anaïs Duong-Pedica, Will Paterson, Teddy Holmes, Germaine Stockbridge, Alejandra Vázquez-Jaramillo, Raven Bowen, Jack Denham, Dilvin Gumuscu, Dimitra Mouriki, Rachele Salvatelli and Jill Simpson. Thanks to the friends that we found at York who helped us to earn our ways of living, but also to fell in our home away from home. At the Dean Court Hotel: Cristi Frasina, Ralu Sandú and Peter Fernandez. At the Shambles Tavern: Keith and Sue Woodward, Luke Smithson, Clare Lynch, Nicola Morris, Chantelle Morris and the rest of the weapons. Thanks to the Golden Ball and all its great community: Beth, the Hannas, Cowgirl (Sam and Danny), Nathan, Arran, Maddy, Martin and Jess Gardham. At the Viccy Vaults: Mick and Anna. To my friends in Mexico who were always happy to provide me with the much-needed late chat, beer or dance: Carlos Chang, César Jerónimo, Elisa Alegría, Paulina Solís, Martha Palacios, Neil Owen, Israel Jerónimo and Rafael Chías. Gracias por la música compartida, los quiero familia. To my extended family who put a lot on the side to help me to make it here: Imelda Torres, Ángeles Torres, Lucas de Palacio, Jorge Torres, Guadalupe Hernández, Hortencia Ávila, Guadalupe Ávila, Karen Ávila, Rosalba Carrera, Ines Torres-Lytle, Alejandro and Fernando Torres, Ricardo Mackenzie and Aurora Hernández. To my family, for their support and encouragement at every step that brought me here. Thanks for letting me listen to all that music and for all the love: Dolores Torres, Miguel Ávila and Alfonso Ávila. Los amo mucho. To my partner Denise Mackenzie, whose love, care and support was crucial and for sharing the music of my life. For the braveness of accompanying me to this new adventure and facing every day with the same amount of enthusiasm as the first day. Gracias por la música. Thanks to the music, musicians and sounds that have made my world and story. This is thesis is my acknowledgement and tribute to that music and my stories above. 6 of 263 Declaration I declare that this thesis is a presentation of original work and I am the sole author. This work has not previously been presented for an award at this, or any other, University. All sources are acknowledged as References. Víctor Miguel Ávila Torres 7 of 263 1 - Introduction Si hablar sobre música nos importa tanto más que hablar sobre danza o escultura, es porque el valor que le damos a la música va más allá de otras prácticas simbólicas eficaces. La música nos importa porque en el runruneo incesante al que nos invita se juega algo acerca de quiénes pensamos que somos o quiénes desearíamos ser, aun a sabiendas de que al hablar sobre la música siempre hay algo que se nos escurre, se nos escapa, tanto sobre la música como respecto de quiénes somos. Esa conversación sin fin nos ayuda a pensar acerca de cómo habitamos este mundo y de la forma en que usamos las canciones para rehacer nuestros mundos inmediatos.