A multiparameter analysis of a select repertoire of British punk rock of the first wave, 1976-1979

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since 1979, the year in which British punk came to an end, it has enjoyed prominencein cultural studies, both in the United Kingdom and abroad. The majority of seriousacademic discourse on punk has dealt almost exclusively with the cultural significancethereof, taking into account its political stance, its fashion sense, its attitude towardsclass, and its legacy in Britain. Although there is a considerable amount of literaturewritten about punk rock, there have not yet been any publications that deal explicitlywith the music itself.Musicology has still not applied itself satisfactorily to popular music. Instead,musicologists use a variety of existing methods to analyse popular music, but withvarying degrees of success. It is important to have an applicable analytical method, butthe analyst must know where to find meaning in popular music first. In this thesis Iattempt to find the loci of meaning in punk rock in order to demonstrate the musicalsignificance of this extraordinary music.The study begins with an analysis of political and social conditions in postwar Britain,with particular reference to the emergence of punk as youth subculture. This is followedby a comparative discussion of existing approaches to popular music study (and theirrespective strengths and weaknesses), at the end of which Philip Tagg's multiparametermodel of analysis is identified as particularly satisfactory. This model is then used topay particular attention to the two major solidifications of popular music, namelystructure and transmission. Once the various loci of meaning in music as soundingobject, i.e. music in performance, have been identified, particular examples of punk rockare subjected to a set of parametric analyses according to an extensive checklist ofwhat Tagg calls parameters of musical expression, also taking into account aspectsof musical performance that cannot be captured by music notation. Based on thefindings of the multiparameter analyses of twenty-six punk songs, the thesis isconcluded with some general remarks regarding the misrepresentation of punk rock inthe existing literature.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University