Musical Scenes and Social Class: Debating Punk and Metal (Pop Music, Culture and Identity)

“In a fragmentation and large-scale social crisis context, this volume takes up the debate between punk and metal and class belonging, showing us the interrelations between practices and their determination by social belongings. A vital feature of the book is the demonstration of the self-renewal of punk and metal. The irreverence, resistance, and personification of subaltern and paradoxical identities portrayed here represent a step forward “ ―Paula Guerra, KISMIF Co-Convenor, University of Porto, Portugal Early analysts of both punk and metal have shown their continuing popularity for segments of the public who were often considered in the 1970s and 1980s as “losers of globalization” despite the level of fragmentation of these scenes, the diversity of their audiences’ backgrounds, and their constant evolution and re-invention. This volume aims to stimulate and contribute to debates on social class and economic and cultural change, on one side, and punk and metal, on the other, through international, contemporary and historical approaches, mainly focused on Britain and France. Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures List of Tables Chapter 1: Introduction: Social Class, Punk and Metal Defining Social Class Social Class, Punk and Metal Are Punk and Metal Really the Music of the Dominated or Marginalized? References Part I: Class Domination and Class Agency Chapter 2: Resistance Through Music: Exploring the Role of Class Fraction Appropriations and Alliances in the Subcultural Formation of Heavy Metal, Classic, Post and Present Introduction ‘The Fact of Class’: Putting Class Back into Subcultural Scene Studies The Importance of Music to the Meaning and Identity of Resistant Subcultures Fairies (Don’t) Wear (Bovver) Boots: Situating Sabbath in Subcultural Theory The Rise of the Skinheads: Exploring Popular Music and Subcultural Conflict Conclusion References Chapter 3: The Early Punk Scene in Brisbane, Australia, as a Site of Social and Postcolonial Rebellion Some Cultural History The Bjelke-Peterson State Government What Has this to Do with Punk? References Songs Cited Chapter 4: “Victory to the Miners!” Punk and the Miners’ Strike of 1984/85 in the UK Introduction Punk Support for the Miners’ Strike Punk’s Engagement with Politics Conclusion References Part II: Subcultures, Sub-genres and Social Class Chapter 5: “Rotting in the Suburbs”: Voicing Working-Class Deprivation in 1970s Northern Ireland Punk Songs “Alternative Ulster”: Punk in Northern Ireland Realist Punk: “There’s Nothing for Us in Belfast” Pop Punk: “Teenage Kicks” for the Deprived Conclusion References Selective Discography Chapter 6: Working Class and Middle Class in the Age of Brexit: Social Commentary by Contemporary Post-punk Bands Introduction Rock Music, Subcultures and Social Classes The Contemporary Post-punk Scene in Britain “Dark Days”: Poverty and Bleakness in the Working Class “Post-Northern, Voyeuristic”: Levelling-up Versus Class Tourism Working Class, Middle Class and Masculinity “Model Village”: Middle-Class Idiosyncrasies and Middle England Conclusion Bibliography Discography Chapter 7: Mapping Social-Class Divisions within Metal: Global Material Conditions, Disciplinary Priorities, Subgeneric Trends, and Stylistic Analyses Geographical Differences in Class Relationships to Metal Music Academic Discipline and Class: The Hegemonic Demographics of Music Theory and Analysis Music Analyses of Class-Based Aesthetic Differences in Metal Subgenres Conclusion References Part III: Evolving Audiences: Ageing, Gentrification, Feminization? Chapter 8: “‘We’re Dominated, So What’? We Don’t Give a F**K: Punk Stylistic Spaces, Social Classes and Political-Artistic Ageing” Methodology Sociological Portraits of Punks... A Politicized Practice From Predisposition to Disposition The Power of DIY for the Punk Band References Chapter 9: Sexual Violence in the Pit Introduction The Myth of Equality Going to Concerts Should Be Fun Methodology Sexual Violence Gets in the Way What Can We Do About It? Venue Training Safer Spaces Policies Bystander Intervention Conclusion References Chapter 10: Gentrifying Metal? The Evolving Gender and Social Class Characteristics of Metal Festival Audiences: A Statistical Study of the Hellfest Festival (France) Introduction: Gender and Social Class in Evolving French Metal Audiences The Choice of Hellfest and the History of Quantitative Surveys on the French Metal Scenes Our Quantitative Approach to Metal Audiences and Its Limitations Initial Survey Results Gender Average Age Socio-professional Categories Degree Level Most Represented Regions Discovery of the Hellfest Open Air Festival Most and Least Liked Metal Subgenres Evolution or Mutation Conclusion: Gentrifying Metal Audiences? An Agenda for Further Qualitative and Quantitative Studies References Chapter 11: Who Listens to “Metal for Girls”? Metal, Orchestra and Female Voices: Measuring the Reception of Symphonic Metal in France, Between Middle Class and Gender Introduction Methodology Results General Who Are the People Who Listen to Symphonic Metal? Symphonic Metal as the Favorite Subgenre People Who Like Symphonic Metal The Cultural Values of Symphonic Metal The “Big Three” of Symphonic Metal Specific Cultural Values, Beyond Gendered and Class Hierarchies The Stable Formal Rules of Symphonic Metal The Semiotic Rules of Symphonic Metal Conclusion References Index