Listening to the unconscious : adventures in popular music and psychoanalysis

"What happens in our unconscious minds when we listen to, produce or perform popular music? The Unconscious - a much misunderstood concept from philosophy and psychology - works through human subjects as we produce music and can be traced through the music we engage with. Through a new collaboration between music theorist and philosopher, Smith and Overy present the long history of the unconscious and its related concepts, working systematically through philosophers such as Schopenhauer, psychoanalysts such as Freud or Lacan, to theorists such as Deleuze and modern Post-humanists. The theories offered are vital to follow the psychological complexity of popular music, demonstrated through close readings of individual songs, albums, artists, genres, and popular music practices. Among countless artists, Listening to the Unconscious draws from Prince to Sufjan Stevens, from Robyn to Xiu Xiu, from Joanna Newsom to Arcade Fire, from Joy Division to LCD Sound System, each of whom offer exciting inroads into the fascinating worlds of our unconscious musical minds. And in return, theories of the unconscious can perhaps takes us deeper into the heart of popular music"-- Provided by publisher What happens in our unconscious minds when we listen to, produce or perform popular music? The Unconscious – a much misunderstood concept from philosophy and psychology – works through human subjects as we produce music and can be traced through the music we engage with. Through a new collaboration between music theorist and philosopher, Smith and Overy present the long history of the unconscious and its related concepts, working systematically through philosophers such as Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, psychoanalysts such as Freud and Lacan, to theorists such as Deleuze and Kristeva. The theories offered are vital to follow the psychological complexity of popular music, demonstrated through close readings of individual songs, albums, artists, genres, and popular music practices. Among countless artists, Listening to the Unconscious draws from Prince to Sufjan Stevens, from Robyn to Xiu Xiu, from Joanna Newsom to Arcade Fire, from PJ Harvey to LCD Sound System, each of whom offer exciting inroads into the fascinating worlds of our unconscious musical minds. And in return, theories of the unconscious can perhaps takes us deeper into the heart of popular music. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Part 1 Core Concepts 1 Charting Three Freudian Hypotheses with Pop Music: 2 Freud, Music, and the Psychological Condition 3 Bright Eyes (and Friends), and The Antlers Meet Jacques Lacan Part 2 Adventures in Popular Music and Psychoanalysis 4 Phallocentrism, Sexuation, and the Chora: 5 The Death Drive and Unconscious Production 6 “Do You Want To Be the Ebb of This Great Tide?”: 7 S & M and Pop Perversion 8 Polly Jean Harvey Asks, “Is This Desire [Enough]?” Glossary of psychoanalytic terms Bibliography Index "An examination of the unconscious as it relates to popular music and the first truly interdisciplinary book on philosophy and popular music with equal weight given to each discipline"-- Provided by publisher