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ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Making Scenes: Studying Local Independent Music in Canada By Andrew Vincent, B.A. A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts School of Journalism and Communication Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario April 29, 2005 © 2005, Andrew Vincent Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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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 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract This thesis argues that a comprehensive understanding of Canadian popular music cannot be reached without taking into account local independent music scenes. Looking specifically at the genre of ‘indie’ music, I argue that such scenes reveal a surprising amount of cultural and entrepreneurial activity relative to economic investment. I suggest that such activity is stimulated simultaneously by the exclusivity of the scene’s cultural capital and by the process of sharing common values, a process which I attempt to identify in the practices of the independent record store. Furthermore, I suggest that this activity does not remain contained within the scene, but overlaps with other non-musical practices common to living in a community. I attempt to show that such ‘overlaps’ create opportunities for participation outside of the scene. Local independent music scenes are thus important not only as sites of Canadian cultural production but as sites of social interaction in general. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements First and foremost, I must thank Paul Attallah. I can’t imagine how this thesis might have turned out without his patience, thorough reading, challenging questions, and always enthusiastic discussion. Throughout the writing process, I have also had the opportunity to expand the ideas which follow through many boisterous conversations with friends, local musicians and music fans. Of these, both the most boisterous and constructive have been with my brother Colin, and friend and local label-owner Jon Bartlett. I thank them, and all others I spoke with, for the many entertaining hours talking about music. Finally, a special thank you to Meghan and to my parents for their helpful combination of prodding and encouragement. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Introduction........................................................... 1 Making Scenes: Studying Local Independent Music in Canada-------------------------------1 Some notes about terminology ......................................................................................................2 Two personal musical narratives ................................................................................................. 5 So ...?..............................................................................................................................................7 Who talks about music? ...............................................................................................................14 Chapter 2_______________________________________________________________ 18 Hidden in Canada?: The Study of Local Popular Music.................................................. 18 A New Tradition: The Study of Local Popular Music in the W est ....................................... 21 The Hidden Musicians ............................................................................................................ 26 Rock Culture in Liverpool ......................................................................................................31 Dissonant Identities ..................................................................................................................35 Site and Sound: Understanding Independent Music Scenes ...............................................40 Canadian Popular Music Scholarship ....................................................................................... 44 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................51 Chapter 3 ........................ 52 Culture of Distinction/Communication: Bourdieu, Carey and Indie Rock Scenes____ 52 Indie Scenes: Culture of Distinction ..........................................................................................54 Indie Scenes: Culture of Communication ................................................................................. 67 Making a scene in the community .............................................................................................73 Introduction to Case Studies .......................................................................................................79 Chapter 4 .............................................................................................................................. 82 ‘Totally Essential’: The Cultural Capital of Independent Record Stores------------------82 Cultural Capital in the Domain of the Record Store ................................................................ 84 ‘So where can I get some Queen already?’ ...............................................................................87 Catalogues: Niche vs. Breadth ............................................................................................... 89 The (Un)Changing Content of Record Stores: Vinyl vs. DVDs ........................................ 91 Genre Rules: Organizing the Music ...................................................................................... 93 Staff Picks: Opine or Die ........................................................................................................95 The Presence of the Local: An Invitation to Participate? ................................................... 97 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................99 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Chapter 5 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------101 On the Rink: Straddling Scene and Community at the Exclaim!