Affects, Indexes and Signs
Will Oldham and the Authenticity of the Voice in Popular Music
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7629141 |
|---|---|
| Authors | William Large (0000-0003-0447-5364, University of Gloucestershire Francis Close Hall Swindon Road Cheltenham GL50 4AZ UK) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 75-87 |
| Publication date | 2018-05-04 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Angelaki (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0969-725X • E-ISSN: 1469-2899 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0969725x.2018.1473928 |
| OpenAlex | W2807216857 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 3 |
Usually, when we determine the authenticity of a performer in popular music then we do so either through their biography or their inherence within a tradition. The question of authenticity then becomes one of betrayal. This article argues that there might be a unique way of approaching authenticity through affects, where authenticity is impersonal rather than personal. It uses the work of Pierre Schaeffer to describe the difference between indexes and signs on the one hand, and affects on the other, to develop a concept of abstract subjectivity, which is not the same as the individual. It explains abstract subjectivity through Will Oldham’s description of his performance. Finally, it compares this method of listening to popular music with Blanchot’s description of literature as free indirect discourse, speaking without a first person. It is abstract subjectivity that allows popular music to resist its own commodification, which is the very opposite of authenticity
Active listening · Aesthetics · Art · Betrayal · Biography · Commodification · Epistemology · Literature · Performing arts · Popular music · Sociology · Subjectivity · Music History and Culture · Poetry Analysis and Criticism · Psychology · Theatre and Performance Studies · Communication · Philosophy · Social Psychology
| Highly cited | No |
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