View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Helsingin yliopiston digitaalinen arkisto Laura Ahonen Mediated music makers Constructing author images in popular music Academic dissertation to be publicly discussed, by due permission of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki in auditorium XII, on the 10th of November, 2007 at 10 o’clock. Laura Ahonen Mediated music makers Constructing author images in popular music Finnish Society for Ethnomusicology Publ. 16. © Laura Ahonen Layout: Tiina Kaarela, Federation of Finnish Learned Societies ISBN 978-952-99945-0-2 (paperback) ISBN 978-952-10-4117-4 (PDF) Finnish Society for Ethnomusicology Publ. 16. ISSN 0785-2746. Contents Acknowledgements. 9 INTRODUCTION – UNRAVELLING MUSICAL AUTHORSHIP. 11 Background – On authorship in popular music. 13 Underlying themes and leading ideas – The author and the work. 15 Theoretical framework – Constructing the image. 17 Specifying the image types – Presented, mediated, compiled. 18 Research material – Media texts and online sources . 22 Methodology – Social constructions and discursive readings. 24 Context and focus – Defining the object of study. 26 Research questions, aims and execution – On the work at hand. 28 I STARRING THE AUTHOR – IN THE SPOTLIGHT AND UNDERGROUND . 31 1. The author effect – Tracking down the source. .32 The author as the point of origin. 32 Authoring identities and celebrity signs. 33 Tracing back the Romantic impact . 35 Leading the way – The case of Björk . 37 Media texts and present-day myths. .39 Pieces of stardom. .40 Single authors with distinct features . 42 Between nature and technology . 45 The taskmaster and her crew. 47 Visual reflections of Björk. 49 Conclusion . 54 2. Stardom in disguise. 56 Author image as a marketing asset. 56 (Non)visual promotion. .57 The masked anonymity of Daft Punk . 59 Home-made musicianship. 62 Rejecting regulations. 63 Fragmenting the subject. 66 Futuristic imagery and faceless travellers . .67 Confused timelines and circular subjects . .71 Conclusion. 75 5 II AUTHORSHIP AS A MEANS OF ATTRIBUTINGVALUE AND FIXING MEANING. .77 3. Auteurism and the issue of cover versions. 78 Auteur theory – From screen to music scene. 78 In search of musical auteurs. .80 Auteurism in rock . 83 Tale of an auteur – Tori Amos . 86 Cover versions – Reconstructing the past . 88 Another author, another set of meanings?. 89 Auteur status as a licence to experiment. 92 The interplay of authors . .94 Recasting the speaker of “´97 Bonnie & Clyde” . 96 Conclusion. .100 4. Authentic authorship vs. inauthentic calculation . 101 Demystifying authenticity . .101 From folk-rocker to pop singer – The case of Jewel . 103 Twisting the image. .106 Singer-songwriters – Source and voice intertwined. 107 Collectively individual. 109 Mediated self-expression. 111 Art and commerce face to face . 113 Technology – Automated inauthenticity? . 114 Conclusion. .117 III MEDIATED AUTHOR CONSTRUCTIONS. 119 5. Images and impressions. .120 Implied authors and preferred readings . 120 Manipulated messages. 121 Authorship through mediated images. 123 Creative collectives. .125 Democracy with a front figure – Coldplay. .126 Britney Spears – Manufactured autobiography? . 130 In control – Prince. .134 Team undercover . 138 Suggested images and multiple meanings . 140 Conclusion. .142 6. Genre-based author images online . 143 Theorizing genre . 143 Fluid, dynamic and codified . .143 Genre shaping. 145 The presented author image online . 146 Bruce Springsteen – Telling stories. 149 Kylie Minogue – A dancing pop queen. .153 Kraftwerk – Robotic man machines. 157 Comparing three sets of generic rules . 160 Conclusion. .163 6 IV RETHINKING MUSICAL CREATIVITY. .165 7. Expanding notions of authorship. 166 The poststructuralist shift. 166 From isolation to intertextuality. .167 Right here, right now – Instant reception . 169 Author God and the anti-author. 170 Musical authorship through communication models. .171 DJing – Producing and reproducing . 173 The authorial profile of Jori Hulkkonen. .175 Conclusion. .179 8. Sampling – Authorial voices in collision. 181 Defining sampling. 181 From home studios to MTV – The Avalanches. .183 From sonic fragments to album. .185 Lost origins. 187 Proving creativity or lacking imagination?. .188 Imitation, quotation, recognition. 191 Ethical and legal concerns. 193 Hidden creators. 194 Conclusion. .196 CLOSING WORDS – POST-AUTHORSHIP AND AFTER. 198 The author – Front and center. 198 Mediated stardom, constructed images . 199 Bringing the cases together . 200 Updated authorship. 201 The author remains . 203 REFERENCES. 204 Research literature. 204 Miscellaneous literature on popular music (biographies, reviews etc.) . 214 Newspaper, magazine and online articles. 216 Sound recordings and DVDs. .222 Appendix . 223 7 Acknowledgements In the same way as musical authors are dependent on the help of other music makers, I am no less indebted to many people, without whose assistance and support this work would never have been completed. First, I am grateful to Professor Erkki Pekkilä for providing me with the opportu- nity to work as part of the Music and Media Project (No. 1206444), funded by the Academy of Finland. In addition to Professor Pekkilä’s guidance, I am thankful for the valuable feedback that Professor Eero Tarasti and Alfonso Padilla have given me during my years in the Department of Musicology. I am also grateful to Janne Mäkelä, whose kind support and clever comments have been more than precious. My thanks go also to all the other members of the Music and Media Project, including Susanna Välimäki, Dario Martinelli, Hanna-Mari Kauhanen, Leif Nystén, Arto Vilkko, and especially Ano Sirppiniemi, my office neighbour and travelling companion. I wish to express my gratitude also to the external examiners of this study, Profes- sors Anahid Kassabian and Helmi Järviluoma-Mäkelä, for their willingness to get involved with my work. Their words of wisdom have been extremely valuable to me in completing the final form of my study. I also want to thank Richard Littlefield for revising the language of my manuscript. I am also grateful to my personal English “help-desk” and dear friend, Maiju, for commenting on my numerous writings. I wish to thank the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Niilo Helander Founda- tion for providing me with financial assistance, which helped me greatly during the closing stages of this study. I also thank the Finnish Society for Ethnomusicology (SES) for publishing my study in their publication series. It may be stating the obvious, but it is the support of my family and friends that has kept the whole process alive. Warm and special thanks go to my sister Hanna, with whom I have shared many soundtracks of my life. The person whose name I have saved for last, is Juuso – my tower of strength – who has given me love, hope and support through every stage of this study. In the heart of Helsinki, August 2007 Laura Ahonen 9 INTRODUCTION – UNRAVELLING MUSICAL AUTHORSHIP Background – On authorship in popular music All musical works have something in common: they are all made by someone. There- fore, it should be possible to locate at least one author for all.