Histories and complexities
Popular Music History Writing and Danish Rock
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/pomh.v1i1.19Keywords:
Danish rock, popular music historiographyAbstract
The article deals with the few existing contributions to popular music historiography and discusses ways to develop these on the basis of contemporary musicology and ethnomusicology. Michelsen calls for a deconstruction of culturally homogenizing notions of history by sketching out a theoretical framework for investigating the actual cultural complexity lying behind historical representations. A “complexification” (which includes working with several concepts of music, regarding music cultures as continuously floating, and with an eye for the constant othering processes taking place) is necessary in order to avoid the traditional traps and canonizations of history writing's teleological narratives. The last part of the article is a preliminary discussion of how the rock–pop split affected Danish rock culture, questioning whether the split articulated by a hegemonic rock discourse actually had much influence on musicians’ and audiences' daily music lives, and pointing to the complexity of actual lived music culture.
References
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Anon. 2003. “Historiography.” Encyclopædia Britannica. http: // search.eb.com/eb/article?eu= 115326 (accessed September 26, 2003).
Arvidsson, Alf. 1997. “Var är kvinnorna i svensk rockhistoria? En essä kring genusperspektiv och historieskrivning” [“Where are the Women in Swedish Rock History? An Essay on Gender Perspective and History Writing”]. Svensk Tidsskrift för Musikforskning 1: 111–26.
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Belz, Carl. 1969. The Story of Rock. New York: Oxford University Press.
Bohlmann, Philip. 1997. “Fieldwork in the Ethnomusicological Past.” In Gregory F. Barz and Timothy J. Cooley, eds., Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology, 139–62. New York: Oxford University Press.
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Born, Georgina. 1995. Rationalizing Culture: IRCAM, Boulez, and the Institutionalization of the Musical Avantgarde. Berkeley, LA and London: University of California Press.
Born, Georgina, and David Hesmondhalgh. 2000. Western Music and its Others: Difference, Representation, and Appropriation in Music. Berkeley, LA and London: University of California Press.
Brito, Manuel Carlos de. 1997. “Round Table IV: Historiography.” Acta Musicologica 69.1: 22–23.
Chambers, Iain. 1985. Urban Rhythms: Pop Music and Popular Culture. London: Macmillan.
Charlton, Katherine. 2003. Rock Music Styles: A History. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 4th edn [1989].
Cohn, Nik. 1969. Pop from the Beginning. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Friedlander, Paul. 1996. Rock and Roll: A Social History. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Garofalo, Reebee. 2002. Rockin' Out: Popular Music in the USA. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2nd edn [1997].
Gendron, Bernard. 2002. Between Montmartre and the Mudd Club: Popular Music and the Avantgarde Chicago and London: Chicago University Press.
Gillett, Charlie. 1970. The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll. New York: Outerbridge & Dienstfrey.
Gramsci, Antonio. 1971. Selections from Prison Notebooks. London: Lawrence & Wishart.
Grolin, Carsten. 1965. “Mick Jagger i verdensklasse” (anmeldelse) [“Mick Jagger in the World League” (review)]. Ekstrabladet, March 27, 1965.
—1967. [cover notes for Hip]. Hall, Stuart. 1981. “Notes on Decontructing the ‘Popular’ .” In Raphael Samuel, ed., People’s History and Socialist Theory, 227–40. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Hatch, David, and Stephen Millward. 1987. From Blues to Rock: An Analytical History of Pop Music. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Laing, Dave. 1969. The Sound of Our Time. London and Sydney: Sheed & Ward.
Laursen, Carsten Michael. 1999. Top-Pop: Navne i dansk pop 1950–2000 [Top Pop: Names in Danish Pop 1950–2000]. Copenhagen: Lindhardt & Ringhoff.
Lilliestam, Lars. 1998 Svensk Rock: Musik, lyrik, historik [Swedish Rock: Music, Lyrics, History]. Göteborg: Bo Ejeby Förlag.
Lindberg, Ulf, Gestur Gudmundsson, Morten Michelsen and Hans Weisethaunet. 2000. Amusers, Bruisers & Cool-Headed Cruisers: The Fields of Anglo-Saxon and Nordic Rock Criticism. Århus: self published.
Michelsen, Morten. 2001. “ ‘Rytmisk musik’ mellem høj og lav” (“’Rhythmic Music’ Between High and Low”). Musik & forskning 26: 70–78.
Middleton, Richard. 1972. Pop Music and the Blues: A Study of the Relationship and its Significance. London: Gollancz.
—1990. Studying Popular Music. Milton Keynes and Philadelphia: Open University Press.
Nielsen, Hans-Jørgen. 1969. “I anledning af en skilsmisse” (avisartikel) [“On the Occasion of a Divorce” (newspaper article)]. Information, July 28, 1969.
Negus, Keith. 1996. Popular Music in Theory: An Introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Radano, Ronald, and Philip Bohlman. 2000. Music and the Racial Imagination. Chicago and London: Chicago University Press.
Regev, Motti (forthcoming). Popular Music and National Culture in Israel. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Roxon, Lillian. 1969. Rock Encyclopedia. New York: Grosset & Dunlap.
Stanley, Glen. 2003. “Historiography.” In L. Macy, ed., The New Grove Dictionary of Music Online. http://www.grovemusic.com (accessed September 26, 2003).
Starr, Larry, and Christopher Waterman. 2003. American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MTV. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Stuessy, Joe. 2003. Rock and Roll: Its History and Stylistic Development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 4th edn [1990].
Szatmary, David P. 2004. Rockin' in Time: A Social History of Rock-and-Roll. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 5th edn [1991].
Tomlinson, Gary. 1993. “Musical Pasts and Postmodern Musicologies: A Response to Lawrence Kramer.” Current Musicology 53: 18–24.
Treitler, Leo. 1999. “The Historiography of Music: Issues of Past and Present.” In Nicolas Cook and Mark Everist, eds., Rethinking Music, 356–77. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
Walser, Robert. 1993. Running with the Devil: Power and Madness in Heavy Metal Music. Hanover and London: Wesleyan University Press.
Wicke, Peter. 1998a. “ ‘Heroes and Villains’: Anmerkungen zum Verhältnis von Popmusik und Musikgeschichtsschreibung” [“’Heroes and Villains’: Remarks on the Relation between Pop Music and Music History Writing”]. In Nico Schüler, ed., Zu Problemen der “Heroen” – und der “Geie” – Musikgeschichtsschreibung. Hamburg: Bockel Verlag. I quote from the Internet version: http: // www2.hu-berlin.de/fpm/texte/wicke8.htm (accessed September 11, 2002).
—1998b. Von Mozart zu Madonna: Eine Kulturgeschichte der Popmusik [From Mozart to Madonna: A Cultural History of Pop Music]. Leipzig: Gustav Kiepenheuer Verlag.
Discography
Keld og the Donkeys. 1966. “Ved landsbyens gadekær” (single) [“By the Village Pond”]. HMV.
Reimar, Johnny. 1964. “Lille fregnede Louise” (single) [“Little Freckled Louise”]. Philips.
Steppeulvene. 1967. Hip (LP). Metronome.
Various. 2002. Piger, pop & pigtråd 1963–1968 (CD) [Girls, Pop, & Barbed Wire 1963–1968]. Frost Records.
Anon. 2003. “Historiography.” Encyclopædia Britannica. http: // search.eb.com/eb/article?eu= 115326 (accessed September 26, 2003).
Arvidsson, Alf. 1997. “Var är kvinnorna i svensk rockhistoria? En essä kring genusperspektiv och historieskrivning” [“Where are the Women in Swedish Rock History? An Essay on Gender Perspective and History Writing”]. Svensk Tidsskrift för Musikforskning 1: 111–26.
Baumgarten, Alexander Gottlieb. 1983. Meditationes philosophicae de nonnullis ad poema pertinentibus. Hamburg: Meiner [1735].
Belz, Carl. 1969. The Story of Rock. New York: Oxford University Press.
Bohlmann, Philip. 1997. “Fieldwork in the Ethnomusicological Past.” In Gregory F. Barz and Timothy J. Cooley, eds., Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology, 139–62. New York: Oxford University Press.
—1999. “Ontologies of Music.” In Nicolas Cook and Mark Everist, eds., Rethinking Music, 17–34. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
Born, Georgina. 1995. Rationalizing Culture: IRCAM, Boulez, and the Institutionalization of the Musical Avantgarde. Berkeley, LA and London: University of California Press.
Born, Georgina, and David Hesmondhalgh. 2000. Western Music and its Others: Difference, Representation, and Appropriation in Music. Berkeley, LA and London: University of California Press.
Brito, Manuel Carlos de. 1997. “Round Table IV: Historiography.” Acta Musicologica 69.1: 22–23.
Chambers, Iain. 1985. Urban Rhythms: Pop Music and Popular Culture. London: Macmillan.
Charlton, Katherine. 2003. Rock Music Styles: A History. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 4th edn [1989].
Cohn, Nik. 1969. Pop from the Beginning. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Friedlander, Paul. 1996. Rock and Roll: A Social History. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Garofalo, Reebee. 2002. Rockin' Out: Popular Music in the USA. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2nd edn [1997].
Gendron, Bernard. 2002. Between Montmartre and the Mudd Club: Popular Music and the Avantgarde Chicago and London: Chicago University Press.
Gillett, Charlie. 1970. The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll. New York: Outerbridge & Dienstfrey.
Gramsci, Antonio. 1971. Selections from Prison Notebooks. London: Lawrence & Wishart.
Grolin, Carsten. 1965. “Mick Jagger i verdensklasse” (anmeldelse) [“Mick Jagger in the World League” (review)]. Ekstrabladet, March 27, 1965.
—1967. [cover notes for Hip]. Hall, Stuart. 1981. “Notes on Decontructing the ‘Popular’ .” In Raphael Samuel, ed., People’s History and Socialist Theory, 227–40. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Hatch, David, and Stephen Millward. 1987. From Blues to Rock: An Analytical History of Pop Music. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Laing, Dave. 1969. The Sound of Our Time. London and Sydney: Sheed & Ward.
Laursen, Carsten Michael. 1999. Top-Pop: Navne i dansk pop 1950–2000 [Top Pop: Names in Danish Pop 1950–2000]. Copenhagen: Lindhardt & Ringhoff.
Lilliestam, Lars. 1998 Svensk Rock: Musik, lyrik, historik [Swedish Rock: Music, Lyrics, History]. Göteborg: Bo Ejeby Förlag.
Lindberg, Ulf, Gestur Gudmundsson, Morten Michelsen and Hans Weisethaunet. 2000. Amusers, Bruisers & Cool-Headed Cruisers: The Fields of Anglo-Saxon and Nordic Rock Criticism. Århus: self published.
Michelsen, Morten. 2001. “ ‘Rytmisk musik’ mellem høj og lav” (“’Rhythmic Music’ Between High and Low”). Musik & forskning 26: 70–78.
Middleton, Richard. 1972. Pop Music and the Blues: A Study of the Relationship and its Significance. London: Gollancz.
—1990. Studying Popular Music. Milton Keynes and Philadelphia: Open University Press.
Nielsen, Hans-Jørgen. 1969. “I anledning af en skilsmisse” (avisartikel) [“On the Occasion of a Divorce” (newspaper article)]. Information, July 28, 1969.
Negus, Keith. 1996. Popular Music in Theory: An Introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Radano, Ronald, and Philip Bohlman. 2000. Music and the Racial Imagination. Chicago and London: Chicago University Press.
Regev, Motti (forthcoming). Popular Music and National Culture in Israel. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Roxon, Lillian. 1969. Rock Encyclopedia. New York: Grosset & Dunlap.
Stanley, Glen. 2003. “Historiography.” In L. Macy, ed., The New Grove Dictionary of Music Online. http://www.grovemusic.com (accessed September 26, 2003).
Starr, Larry, and Christopher Waterman. 2003. American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MTV. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Stuessy, Joe. 2003. Rock and Roll: Its History and Stylistic Development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 4th edn [1990].
Szatmary, David P. 2004. Rockin' in Time: A Social History of Rock-and-Roll. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 5th edn [1991].
Tomlinson, Gary. 1993. “Musical Pasts and Postmodern Musicologies: A Response to Lawrence Kramer.” Current Musicology 53: 18–24.
Treitler, Leo. 1999. “The Historiography of Music: Issues of Past and Present.” In Nicolas Cook and Mark Everist, eds., Rethinking Music, 356–77. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
Walser, Robert. 1993. Running with the Devil: Power and Madness in Heavy Metal Music. Hanover and London: Wesleyan University Press.
Wicke, Peter. 1998a. “ ‘Heroes and Villains’: Anmerkungen zum Verhältnis von Popmusik und Musikgeschichtsschreibung” [“’Heroes and Villains’: Remarks on the Relation between Pop Music and Music History Writing”]. In Nico Schüler, ed., Zu Problemen der “Heroen” – und der “Geie” – Musikgeschichtsschreibung. Hamburg: Bockel Verlag. I quote from the Internet version: http: // www2.hu-berlin.de/fpm/texte/wicke8.htm (accessed September 11, 2002).
—1998b. Von Mozart zu Madonna: Eine Kulturgeschichte der Popmusik [From Mozart to Madonna: A Cultural History of Pop Music]. Leipzig: Gustav Kiepenheuer Verlag.
Discography
Keld og the Donkeys. 1966. “Ved landsbyens gadekær” (single) [“By the Village Pond”]. HMV.
Reimar, Johnny. 1964. “Lille fregnede Louise” (single) [“Little Freckled Louise”]. Philips.
Steppeulvene. 1967. Hip (LP). Metronome.
Various. 2002. Piger, pop & pigtråd 1963–1968 (CD) [Girls, Pop, & Barbed Wire 1963–1968]. Frost Records.
Published
2004-02-04
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Michelsen, M. (2004). Histories and complexities: Popular Music History Writing and Danish Rock. Popular Music History, 1(1), 19-36. https://doi.org/10.1558/pomh.v1i1.19
