Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 10-26-2018 10:30 AM The Event of Blues Music and the Effects of Technology on the Artistic Event Adam Rejak The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Calcagno, Antonio. The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Theory and Criticism A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Adam Rejak 2018 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Continental Philosophy Commons, Other Music Commons, and the Other Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Rejak, Adam, "The Event of Blues Music and the Effects of Technology on the Artistic Event" (2018). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 5840. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/5840 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract The goal of this dissertation is to find out whether or not blues music is an event. I explore what constitutes a musical or artistic event in modern times and to see how this has changed in relation to earlier periods. I also identify its essential formal elements. I divide blues music into two categories, namely, its technical playing qualities (the micro) and its historical changes (the macro). This division frames the entire project and illustrates that in order to discuss an artistic event, we must account for both its technical and historical aspects. I examine several theories of the event including those of Gilles Deleuze, Alain Badiou, and Martin Heidegger. While Deleuzian events are common and happen at the most elemental stages in life, Badiou’s notion of the event focuses on rare historical occurrences. Heidegger, by contrast, offers an ontological look at the happening of artistic works. He claims that great works of art are happenings that tell the viewer something about the culture from which they originated. However, Heidegger’s theory falls short because of his exclusive consideration of static forms of art as well as his distrust of technology. In response to Heidegger, I turn to the works of Walter Benjamin and Theodor Adorno. Benjamin provides a theory about the importance of mechanical reproduction and its effects on the work of art. While Adorno’s theory proposes that modern forms of music are essentially non-events. Adorno’s critique of jazz (and popular music in general, including the blues) comes from a misunderstanding of the importance of the medium on the general population. I conclude that blues music is an event and that it cannot be considered outside of its history as a musical form of reproduction. Ultimately, I will illustrate that the event of blues music changes the way we consider artistic events as a whole. Keywords Deleuze, Badiou, Heidegger, Benjamin, Adorno, Event, Art, Blues Music, Technology. i Acknowledgements I would like to thank the Centre for the Study of Theory and Criticism and Western University for allowing me to pursue this project. I feel fortunate to be able to write about a topic that has been so important to me during my adult life. Next, I would like to thank everyone on my supervisory committee, including Antonio Calcagno, Helen Fielding and Jonathan De Souza. Your hard work and guidance helped me shape this project. I want to give special thanks to my supervisor, Antonio Calcagno, who has helped me every step of the way. He has been very generous with his time and I am forever grateful. I would be remiss not to mention a special group of friends from my undergraduate days. My friends in the King’s Philosophy department showed me how hard I needed to work in order to be successful. From that group I wish to thank Rachel Robinson for her help in editing this dissertation. Finally, I would like to thank my wife and the rest of my family for their support, especially my mom and dad, who always preached the value of education. Although at first I resisted the idea of going to university, it turned out to be the best decision of my life. This dissertation is dedicated to them. ii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... ii The Event of Blues Music - Introduction ....................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1 - Blues Music History .................................................................................................... 4 Origins......................................................................................................................................... 4 The Beginning of Blues Standardization .................................................................................. 10 Delta and Piedmont Blues ......................................................................................................... 16 Urban Blues and the Advent of Rock n’ Roll ........................................................................... 25 Authenticity: The Narrative of the Blues Revival .................................................................... 29 Technological Mediation & the Blues ...................................................................................... 50 Concluding Remarks ................................................................................................................. 54 Chapter 2 –Deleuze and Badiou – The Micro and the Macro Event ............................................ 55 Deleuze and the Micro Event .................................................................................................... 56 Badiou and Badiou’s Deleuze ................................................................................................... 68 Badiou and Deleuze on Artistic Events .................................................................................... 79 What Makes Blues Music an Event? ........................................................................................ 86 Chapter 3 – Heidegger and the Cultural Happening ..................................................................... 94 “Truth” in the Philosophical Tradition ..................................................................................... 95 Heidegger’s Further Critique of the Tradition ........................................................................ 101 The Event of Art ..................................................................................................................... 108 Heidegger and the Blues ......................................................................................................... 119 Chapter 4 – Benjamin and Adorno – Technology, Industry, and the Event ............................... 133 Benjamin’s “Aura”.................................................................................................................. 135 Critiques of Benjamin ............................................................................................................. 141 Benjamin and Music ............................................................................................................... 147 Adorno’s Culture Industry & Art’s Place in Society .............................................................. 158 Adorno and the Case Against Jazz.......................................................................................... 164 Musical Shifts in the Culture Industry .................................................................................... 175 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 179 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 183 iii Curriculum Vitae ........................................................................................................................ 190 iv The Event of Blues Music - Introduction Is blues music an event? This is the question I pursue in my dissertation. Although seemingly broad, it seeks to answer much more than the question of blues music and its place within event theory. By looking for an answer, I aim to explore what constitutes a musical or artistic event and to see how it has been impacted by technological changes. I will look at the question about the nature of events from several different viewpoints. The first will look at the history of blues music to show how it has evolved and to name the essential elements that make up its playing qualities. By doing so, I will divide blues music into two categories, namely, its technical playing qualities (the micro) and its historical changes (the macro). Through this division I will illustrate that if we are to explain its eventful qualities, blues music needs to be considered from both the micro and the macro perspectives. I will start from the origins of blues music and discuss why the blues was such an important break from traditional forms of music. From a technical standpoint, blues music was known for its improvisational style that did not depend on written notation. From a