Missing 1st essays

I don't recall receiving 1st essays from the following students:

Matthew Johnston
Richard Meredith
Toby Patterson
Scott-John Pointing
Evan Setiawan
Anastasia Zahnow


If this is you, or if you know whether or not the student has dropped the course, please contact me at c.messenger@uq.edu.au

Final lecture notes, week 13

‘Indie’ and ‘Australia’

Last week: Indie as industry/style:

‘After money, credibility is the most precious commodity in circulation. As far as the majors are concerned, once you buy that the rest is easy.’ (Wark 1993: 108)
Geoffrey Hull: independents are ‘development area’ for major labels.
Hibbert: ‘new aesthetic’ + satisfies desire for social differentiation (cultural capital)
DIY: demystifying record-making process, but production usually does not meet radio/TV standards
Indie must perpetually seek out new sounds, ‘artistic elsewhere’: Athens, Georgia/Minneapolis/ Boston/Manchester/ Seattle/Iceland etc.

Noise rock/Post-rock/Math rock:

Post-rock: Tortoise, Mogwai, Godspeed! You Black Emperor etc.
Re-emergence of prog-rock, but ‘in a world where punk had happened’.
New York ‘No Wave’: Glenn Branca, Sonic Youth; ‘inspired by the intensity of punk’
Math rock: Polvo, Slint

Lo-fi:

Beat Happening, Guided By Voices, Sebadoh, Smog, Cat Power, Will Oldham etc.
Production values/musical style/often just ‘home recordings’
Much post-Nevermind ‘alternative’ music still conformed to industry production standards
Lo-fi: coarse sounds, hum, static, tape hiss, amateurish playing, off-key singing, ‘slacker music.
Art v. commerce debate: aesthetic choices, conscious reaction against prevailing standards of production, economic necessity?
Grajeda: lo-fi as ‘feminisation/domesticifation’ of masculine processes of music production/technological perfection
Avant-garde: ‘making strange’, foregrounding the apparatus

Australian Independent Labels and Globalisation:

Independent labels: for some, protection against cultural imperialism; but subject to international music economy.
Until 1950s, no local labels or recording stars
1970s: pub circuit/oz rock
Most pub rock bands signed to foreign-owned labels, thus these companies tightened hold on local music.
Marcus Breen: local indies a ‘working class challenge to the middle class respectability of the mainstream music industry’.

‘Glocalization’:

Australia’s recording industry sub-branch of global entertainment complex; foreign corporations control over 80% of local market (95% if you don’t count Festival as Australian).
Local artists signed to foreign-owned labels expected to contribute to global balance sheet; A&R look for those acts that display most international appeal.

Case study: Half a Cow:

Nic Dalton (Plunderers/ Lemonheads) began in bedroom, 1980s.
Local distributors: Polygram, Festival, MGM.
Various OS independent deals
Publishing arm: Moo Chewns

Dealing with the devil:

Indies need marketing and promotion muscle; majors want instant ‘indie cred’.
Polygram/Mercury deal: HAC pressured to supply product for company’s other media arms, movie soundtracks.
OS Polygram had first right of refusal; HAC waits nine months before dealing with other OS labels.
Currently distributed by MGM.

Consultation

Turns out I will be on campus this Monday (the 30th), so if anyone requires consultation, email me at c.messenger@uq.edu.au

Post-punk independent labels

Alternative Tentacles: established 1979 San Francisco by Dead Kennedys; run by former vocalist Jello Biafra. Artists—Alice Donut, Butthole Surfers, No Means No.
Amphetamine Reptile: est. 1986 Washington State by Marine Tom Hazelmyer. Artists: Halo of Flies, Helmet, The Melvins, The Cows, Helios Creed, Chokebore.
Au Go Go: est. 1979 Melbourne by Bruce Milne & Philip Morland. Artists: Scientists, God, Magic Dirt. Australian releases for Big Black and Sonic Youth.
Bar/None: est. 1986 Hoboken, New Jersey. Artists: They Might Be Giants, Yo La Tengo, Architecture in Helsinki.
Beggars Banquet: est. 1977 UK by independent record store chain owners Martin Mills and Nick Austin. Hits with Gary Numan ensured security. Subsidiaries: 4AD, Mo Wax, Matador, XL, and Wiiija. Artists: The Charlatans, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, The Pixies, Cocteau Twins, Go-Betweens, M/A/R/R/S, The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx.
Big Cat: est. 1990, UK. Artists: Foetus, Cop Shoot Cop, Pavement, Grandaddy. Bought by V2 in 1996.
Blanco y Negro: est. 1983, UK, by Geoff Travis (ex-Rough Trade), as Warner subsidiary. Artists: Everything But The Girl, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Catatonia.
C/Z: est. Seattle 1985 by Chris Hanzsek and Tina Casale; taken over by Skin Yard bass player Daniel House. Artists: The Presidents of the United States of America, The Melvins, Built to Spill, 7 Year Bitch, Hammerbox. Suffered several dodgy arrangements with Sony and BMG.
Cooking Vinyl: est.1986, UK. Artists: Billy Bragg, Michelle Shocked, The Bluetones, Ryan Adams.
Creation: est. UK 1984 by Alan McGee. Artists: Jesus & Mary Chain, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Swervedriver, Slowdive, House of Love, Teenage Fanclub, Oasis, Super Furry Animals. Sony bought 49% of label in early 1990s; McGee sold out in 1999.
Dischord: est. Washington, D.C. 1980 by Ian MacKaye, Jeff Nelson & Nathan Strejcek. Artists: Minor Threat, Embrace, Scream, Jawbox, Shudder to Think, Dag Nasty, Lungfish, Fugazi.
Domino: est. UK 1993. Artists: The Magnetic Fields, Lou Barlow, Stephen Malkmus, Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand.
Drag City: est. Chicago 1989 by Dan Koretzky & Dan Osborn. Artists: Pavement, Royal Trux, Smog, Will Oldham, Jim O'Rourke, Silver Jews, Will Oldham, Pajo, Joanna Newsom.
The Elephant 6 Recording Company: est. Denver, Colorado/Athens, Georgia. Artists: The Apples in Stereo, Beulah, Elf Power, The Essex Green, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control.
Epitaph: est. 1981 Hollywood by Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion). Artists: L7, NOFX, Offspring, Rancid. Subsidiaries: Anti (Tom Waits), Fat Wreck Chords (Less Than Jake).
Factory: est. 1978 Manchester by Tony Wilson. Artists: Joy Division, New Order, Durutti Column, Happy Mondays.
Fast Product: est. Edinburgh, Scotland 1977 by Bob Last. Artists: Human League, Gang of Four, The Mekons, Scars.
Fire: est. London 1986 by Clive Solomon. Artists: Pulp, Spacemen 3, Everclear, Neutral Milk Hotel.
Flying Nun: est. 1981 Christchurch, New Zealand by Roger Shepherd. Artists: The Clean, Sneaky Feelings, The Bats, The Chills, The Verlaines.
Food: est. 1984 UK by Andy Ross & David Balfe. Originally Rough Trade distribution; 1994 EMI took over and folded into Parlophone. Artists: Blur, Idlewild, Jesus Jones, Dubstar.
IRS: est. 1979 US by Miles Copeland III. Artists: REM, Go-Gos, The Fleshtones, Wall of Voodoo, Camper Van Beethoven. Sold to EMI/folded.
Kill Rock Stars: est.1991 Olympia, Washington by Slim Moon. Artists: Bikini Kill, Lung Leg, Sleater-Kinney, The Decemberists.
Lookout!: est. Berkeley, California 1987 by Larry Livermore & David Hayes. Artists: Bratmobile, Pansy Division, The Donnas.
Mammoth: est. 1989 Carrboro, North Carolina. Artists: Squirrel Nut Zippers, Juliana Hatfield, Chainsaw Kittens, Machines of Loving Grace, The Melvins. Became part of Atlantic Records in 1993; bought by The Walt Disney Company in 1998, who shut it down in 2003.
Matador: est. 1989 New York by Chris Lombardi. Artists: Pastels, Pavement, Nightmares On Wax, Modest Mouse, Liz Phair, Lynnfield Pioneers, Guided By Voices, Guitar Wolf, Interpol, Yo La Tengo, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Chavez, Mogwai, A.C. Newman, The New Pornographers, Belle & Sebastian, Cat Power, Preston School of Industry.
Merge: est. Chapel Hill, North Carolina 1989 by Mac McCaughan &Laura Balance (Superchunk). Artists: Butterglory, Lambchop, Polvo, Portastatic, Spoon, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, The Arcade Fire, Neutral Milk Hotel.
Murderecords: est. 1992 Canada. Artists: Sloan, Eric's Trip.
One Little Indian: est. 1985 London. Artists: The Sugarcubes, Kitchens Of Distinction, The Shamen, Björk.
Play It Again Sam: est. 1983 Brussels, Belgium by Kenny Gates & Michel Lambot. Artists: Young Gods, Sigur Rós, Mogwai, Soulwax.
Postcard: est. 1979 Glasgow, Scotland by Alan Horne. Artists: Orange Juice, Josef K, Aztec Camera, The Go-Betweens. Label motto: ‘The Sound of Young Scotland’. Went bankrupt in 1982.
Righteous Babe: est. 1990 Buffalo, New York by Ani DiFranco.
Rough Trade: est. 1978 London by Geoff Travis (out of Rough Trade Record Shop). Folded in 1991; relaunched 2000. Artists: The Monochrome Set, Young Marble Giants, The Raincoats, The Fall, Television Personalities, The Smiths, The Sundays, Scritti Politti, Galaxie 500, James, Belle & Sebastian, British Sea Power, The Fiery Furnaces, The Libertines, The Strokes, Super Furry Animals, Babyshambles.
SST: est. 1978 Lawndale, California by Greg Ginn (Black Flag). Artists: Black Flag, The Minutemen, The Descendents, Meat Puppets, Hüsker Dü, Bad Brains, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Soundgarden, Negativland.
Sarah: est. 1987 Bristol, UK by Clare Wadd & Matt Haynes. Artists: Heavenly, The Orchids, Even As We Speak, The Field Mice.
Shimmy Disc: est. 1987 New York by Kramer. Artists: Bongwater, Daniel Johnston, Galaxie 500, King Missile, Boredoms, Ween, GWAR.
SpinART: est. 1991 New York. Artists: Apples in Stereo, Augie March, Frank Black, Vic Chesnutt, Eels.
Sub Pop: est. 1986 in Seattle, Washington by Bruce Pavitt & Jonathan Poneman. Artists: Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Afghan Whigs, Combustible Edison, Low, Lubricated Goat, Red House Painters, Red Red Meat, Screaming Trees, Seaweed, Sebadoh, The Walkabouts, The Wipers, The Shins, Death Cab For Cutie, Hot Hot Heat, Iron & Wine. Now 49% owned by Warner Music Group.
Sympathy for the Record Industry: est. 1988 Long Beach, California by Long Gone John. Artists: Hole, The Muffs, International Noise Conspiracy, The Von Bondies, Rocket From the Crypt, Billy Childish, Turbonegro, The Dwarves, Suicide, The Gun Club, Man or Astro-man?, Redd Kross, The White Stripes.
TVT: est. 1985 in New York by Steve Gottlieb (for classic TV theme compilations). Artists: Nine Inch Nails, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Guided by Voices.
Taang!: est. 1981 Boston, Massachusetts. Artists: Dickies, Exploited, Lemonheads, Hard Ons.
Thrill Jockey: est. 1992 in New York by Bettina Richards. Artists: Tortoise, Trans Am, Tom Verlaine, Eleventh Dream Day, Califone, Giant Sand.
Too Pure: est. 1990 London by Richard Roberts & Paul Cox. Artists: PJ Harvey, Stereolab, McClusky, Scout Niblett.
Touch and Go: est. 1981 Chicago, Illinois. Artists: Butthole Surfers, Calexico, Girls Against Boys, The Jesus Lizard, Killdozer, Quasi, The Rollins Band, Seam, Shellac, Slint, TV on the Radio, Urge Overkill, Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Twin/Tone: est. 1977 Minneapolis, Minnesota. Artists: The Replacements, Babes in Toyland, The Jayhawks, Soul Asylum, Ween. Closed 1994.
Wiiija: est. 1988 Notting Hill, London. Artists: Cornershop, Huggy Bear, Free Kitten, Therapy?, Le Tigre, Anjali.
Zoo: est. 1978 Liverpool by Bill Drummond & David Balfe. Artists: Big In Japan, The Teardrop Explodes, Echo & the Bunnymen.

Best gig rider, ever

Click here if you ever intend to book Iggy & the Stooges for a gig

Some indie/alternative etc.

Buzzcocks - 'What Do I Get?' (1978)



Joy Division - 'Transmission' (1979)



The Birthday Party - 'Junkyard' (1981)



The Fall - 'Eat Yerself Fitter' (1983)



REM - 'So. Central Rain' (1984)



The Smiths - 'Hand in Glove' (Live 1984)



Jesus and Mary Chain - 'Never Understand' (1985)



Husker Du - 'Makes No Sense at All' (1985)



The Replacements - 'Bastards of Young' (Live 1985)



Sonic Youth - 'Teenage Riot' (1988)



My Bloody Valentine - 'You Made Me Realise' (1988)



Dinosaur Jr - 'No Bones (1988)



Stone Roses - 'Elephant Stone'(1988)



Pixies - 'Monkey's Gone to Heaven (1989)



Ride - 'Vapour Trail' (1990)



Teenage Fanclub - 'Starsign' (1991)



Pavement - 'Here' (1992)



Liz Phair - 'Fuck and Run' (Live 1994)



Guided By Voices - 'The Official Ironmen Rally Song' (1996)



Neutral Milk Hotel - 'Holland, 1945' (1998)



Yeah Yeah Yeahs - 'Maps' (Live 2004)

Steve Albini

In 1993 musician and producer Steve Albini had a bit of a whinge about the music business in

The Baffler

Riot Grrrl Manifesto

BECAUSE us girls crave records and books and fanzines that speak to US that WE feel included in and can understand in our own ways.
BECAUSE we wanna make it easier for girls to see/hear each other's work so that we can share strategies and criticize-applaud each other.
BECAUSE we must take over the means of production in order to create our own meanings.
BECAUSE viewing our work as being connected to our girlfriends-politics-real lives is essential if we are gonna figure out how [what] we are doing impacts, reflects, perpetuates, or DISRUPTS the status quo.
BECAUSE we recognize fantasies of Instant Macho Gun Revolution as impractical lies meant to keep us simply dreaming instead of becoming our dreams AND THUS seek to create revolution in our own lives every single day by envisioning and creating alternatives to the bullshit christian capitalist way of doing things.
BECAUSE we want and need to encourage and be encouraged in the face of all our own insecurities, in the face of beergutboyrock that tells us we can't play our instruments, in the face of "authorities" who say our bands/zines/etc, are the worst in the U.S. and
BECAUSE we don't wanna assimilate to someone else's (boy) standards of what is or isn't.
BECAUSE we are unwilling to falter under claims that we are reactionary "reverse sexists" AND NOT THE TRUEPUNKROCK-SOULCRUSADERS THAT WE KNOW we really are.
BECAUSE we know that life is much more than physical survival and are patently aware that the punk rock "you can do anything" idea is crucial to the coming angry grrrl rock revolution that seeks to save the psychic and cultural lives of girls and women everywhere, according to their own terms, not ours.
BECAUSE we are interested in creating non-hierarchical ways of being AND making music, friends, and scenes based on communication + understanding, instead of competition + good/bad categorizations.
BECAUSE doing/reading/seeing/hearing cool things that validate and challenge us can help us gain the strength and sense of community that we need in order to figure out how bullshit like racism, able-bodyism, ageism, speciesism, classism, thinism, sexism, anti-semitism and heterosexism figures in our own lives.
BECAUSE we see fostering and supporting girl scenes and girl artists of all kinds as integral to this process.
BECAUSE we hate capitalism in all its forms and see our main goal as sharing information and staying alive, instead of making profits or being cool according to traditional standards.
BECAUSE we are angry at a society that tells us Girl = Dumb, Girl = Bad, Girl = Weak.
BECAUSE we are unwilling to let our real and valid anger be diffused and/or turned against us via the internalization of sexism as witnessed in girl/girl jealousism and self-defeating girltype behaviors.
BECAUSE I believe with my wholeheartmindbody that girls constitute a revolutionary soul force that can, and will, change the world for real.
Bikini Kill (1991)

Cibo Matto - 'Sci-Fi Wasabi'/'Earth Threat' (Live)

Shonen Knife - 'Redd Kross'

Bikini Kill - 'Suck My Left One' (Live 1992)

Essay Two Criteria

Extended musical analysis essay
Due Date: Friday, 3 Nov 06 16:00
2500 words
Weight: 50%

Task Description: examine a post-1977 band, performer, CD, film or music DVD, located within one or more of the following contexts: industry, culture/society, politics, history, musicology/genre, technology, economy, nation, ethnicity, postmodernity.

What the essay is:

Yes, it’s just a bigger version of the first essay. You have the option to perhaps expand on issues that you explored in your first essay, applying similar analysis to an entire CD, discography, career etc. Alternatively, you can start all over again with new contexts, performers, genres etc.

Common mistakes in essay one:

a) Writing off the top of one's head. Remember that research is crucial: your friends may be impressed that you have an encyclopedic knowledge of techno/death metal/indie rock/Backstreet Boys etc., but a university essay requires intelligent research, which should be appear in the essay in the form of correctly referenced quotations or paraphrasing.

b) Not adequately establishing one's context. Several students simply jumped into musical analysis and began throwing around terms like 'postmodernism' or 'music industry production standards' without explaining what the terms meant (that's where the research comes in). Think in terms of structure: outline your context/s; place your subject (CD, band etc) within that context; then bring the two together with examples of musical/textual analysis.

What the essay isn’t:

a) A lazy album review. Remember that this course doesn’t really care whether or not you like or dislike your chosen performer or recording. The fact that you may consider Wolfmother’s CD to be ‘heaps awesome’ is irrelevant; Wolfmother only becomes an appropriate choice once you locate a context relevant to the course with which to analyse their work.

However:

Your subjective response to your chosen CD/band/DVD etc (eg., the ‘heaps awesomeness’ of Andrew Stockdale’s, erm, vocal technique) can provide a route to relevant contexts. For example, several critics have noted that Stockdale’s vocals are reminiscent of early 1970s heavy metal and progressive rock acts; perhaps this is what you mean by ‘heaps awesomeness’, and in this way your initial subjective evaluation could thus provide the beginnings of a research program via which you might ask things such as:

"Has the band played into this/attempted to capitalise on this postmodern connection? Do their guitar riffs, instrumentation, production, videos, artwork etc. also hint at early 1970s influences? If so, why might they be drawing on these associations? What label are they on? Is it independent or a major? What type of audience are they seeking/have they attracted? What might it mean that this audience is possibly too young to know or care about early 1970s rock? Have other similar bands helped make their success possible? Are they part of a movement? Are they a reaction against a previous musical trend?"

The most crucial part of the process comes next: researching the relevant contexts. All of those points I make above are merely assumptions/hunches on my part. They wouldn’t make it into my essay unless I was able to provide a contextual framework via a review of relevant literature (don't forget that I have provided a list of recommended readings in a previous post, which are divided into categories: industry, technology, video, charts, copyright, politics, textual analysis, gender, postmodernism, Australia, as well as several genres; note also that those categories are fluid and can, and most probably will, bleed into each other)

b) It is also not a compilation of stuff you copied and pasted from Wikipedia. Sigh.


For further help, please see the previous posts ‘Essay hints, tips and cheat codes’ and ‘Another essay tip’.

Please indicate on the cover sheet whether or not you require detailed comments, as some students never bother to pick up their essays. If you just want a mark, please let me know.

All written assessment items should be presented with a cover sheet. Details to be shown on the cover sheet include name, student number, course title, course code, assignment topic, date and time submitted. Cover sheets can be downloaded from

here

Ensure that course code and tutor’s name (Cory Messenger) are clearly marked.

The general essays submission box is outside the School of Music Office, Room 429, Level 4, Zelman Cowen Building (not in the Michie Building).

Good luck, and don't be afraid to impress me.