Not our ‘Dunedin sound’: Responses to the historicisation of Dunedin popular music

Popular Music ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-207
Author(s):  
Oli Wilson ◽  
Michael Holland
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Popular Music ◽  
Music Industry ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Musical Identity ◽  
Music Scene ◽  
The City ◽  
Indie Music ◽  
Musical Heritage ◽  
Power And Influence

AbstractThe music that was produced in Dunedin, New Zealand, during the 1980's occupies a unique place in the global indie music canon. In writing about this supposed ‘Dunedin sound,' critics and scholars alike have fixated on the city's remoteness: it is believed to be distant from metropolitan centres of music industry power and influence, and consequently supported a subversive and democratised local music scene. This article explores the implications of the ongoing historicisation of Dunedin's popular music scene along these lines, and highlights the ways in which the valorisation of the city’s musical heritage obstructs problematic power dynamics that impact the way young musicians in the city express place and musical identity. Our research applies an embedded participatory ethnography to unpack the ideological positions occupied by contemporary local musicians, and to critique factions within the contemporary musical scene in the city.

Kiwi rock: popular music and cultural identity in New Zealand

Popular Music ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Shuker ◽  
Michael Pickering
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Popular Music ◽  
Commercial Success ◽  
Music Scene ◽  
History Of ◽  
Comprehensive History

The New Zealand popular music scene has seen a series of high points in recent years. Published in 1989 were John Dix's labour of love, Stranded in Paradise, a comprehensive history of New Zealand rock'n'roll; an influential report by the Trade Development Board, supportive of the local industry; and the proceedings of a well-supported Music New Zealand Convention held in 1987 (Baysting 1989). In the late 1980s, local bands featured strongly on the charts, with Dave Dobbyn (‘Slice of Heaven’, 1986), Tex Pistol (‘The Game of Love’, 1987) and the Holiday Makers (‘Sweet Lovers’, 1988) all having number one singles. Internationally, Shona Laing (‘Glad I'm Not A Kennedy’, 1987) and Crowded House (‘Don't Dream It's Over’, 1986) broke into the American market, while in Australia many New Zealand performers gathered critical accolades and commercial success.

The promotional state ‘after neo-liberalism’: ideologies of governance and New Zealand's pop renaissance

Popular Music ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Scott ◽  
David Craig
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Popular Music ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Music Industry ◽  
The State ◽  
Institutional Policy ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Labour Government ◽  
Liberal Ideology ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis article responds to Frith and Cloonan's (2008) call for researchers considering the relationship between the state and popular music to analyse more closely the ideologies of governance that undergird music policy. Building on Cloonan's ‘promotional state’ and drawing on recent New Zealand experience, this paper shows how New Zealand's Labour government (1999–2008) developed policies to support the export of ‘Kiwi’ pop which requires a reconsideration of state music policy as interventions in the market. The work of the New Zealand Music Commission in generating and coordinating working partnerships with diverse music industry actors illustrates emerging forms of ‘after neo-liberal’ ideology and governance, wherein state-related actors and musicians each and together adapt to market arrangements through supply side, social inclusion and new institutional policy settings and modalities. This article offers points of comparison to types of ideological and governing/institutional formations we can expect to see emerging in promotional states elsewhere.

The city that was creative and did not know

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giacomo Bottà
Keyword(s):  
Popular Music ◽  
New Left ◽  
Industrial Heritage ◽  
Creative Cities ◽  
Music Scene ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Urban Level ◽  
Creative Capital ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The City

This article explores the relation between popular music and creative cities through the example of Manchester between 1976 and 1997. The formation of a local music scene is analysed through the notion of urban creative milieu stating its historical debt to the city industrial heritage; place-images produced by the local popular music scene are analysed as visual, aural and lyrical productions. The article examines the consolidation of the considered local popular music scene through bottom-up and autonomous projects and the regeneration of some areas of Manchester. It looks at the role of the 'New Left' municipality, its difficulties in recognizing the city's creative capital and its attitude towards the production and consumption of popular music. The conclusions present some general reflections on the Manchester legacy and its significance for a definition of creativity at the urban level.

scholarly journals In Search of ‘Authentic’ Yugoslav Rock: The Life and Afterlife of Bijelo Dugme

2017 ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Petrov
Keyword(s):  
Popular Music ◽  
Media Studies ◽  
Hard Rock ◽  
Music Industry ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
The West ◽  
The Public ◽  
Rock Band ◽  
Music Scene ◽  
Popular Music Industry

In this article I address the ways in which rock band Bijelo Dugme (White Button) has become one of the symbols of the former Yugoslavia, by analyzing its activities and reception, both in the Yugoslav and the post-Yugoslav periods. Starting from 1974, when its first album was released, Bijelo Dugme gained high popularity and drew the attraction of the public due to its specific sound and image. Being between the East and the West, Yugoslavia’s popular music scene was constantly focused on searching for a kind of music that would epitomize the ‘authentic’ Yugoslav music. The folk-influenced hard rock sound (so-called shepherd rock) was recognized as such a feature and it soon became one of the symbols of Yugoslav culture itself, making Sarajevo one of its epicenters. I here argue that the band appears to be a Yugoslav symbol since (1) its active years coincide precisely with the period in Yugoslavia that was marked with relevant changes, beginning with its 1974 constitution and ending with its disintegration; (2) it is regarded as a feature representing one of the most important successes of the country’s popular music industry; and (3) it has had a specific ‘afterlife’ that sheds light on the ways culture in the Yugoslav era is perceived currently. Article received: May 1, 2017; Article accepted: May 8, 2017; Published online: September 15, 2017Original scholarly paperHow to cite this article: Petrov, Ana. "In Search of ‘Authentic’ Yugoslav Rock: The Life and Afterlife of Bijelo Dugme." AM Journal of Art and Media Studies 13 (2017): 43-59. doi: 10.25038/am.v0i13.182

The networked state: New Zealand on Air and New Zealand’s pop renaissance

Popular Music ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Scott
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Popular Music ◽  
Music Industry ◽  
Third Way ◽  
Labour Government ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Arts And Culture ◽  
Commercial Radio ◽  
State Agents ◽  
Popular Music Industry

AbstractWhen New Zealand’s ‘third-way’ Labour government came to power in 1999 it placed a greater policy and funding emphasis on the arts and culture. Like other ‘promotional states’ (Cloonan 1999) the Labour government sought to support the domestic popular music industry through a voluntary radio quota. Drawing on qualitative research, this article describes the ways in which the state, through New Zealand on Air, negotiates and leverages domestic popular music artists onto commercial radio. In this process, state agents mobilise social networks to ‘join-up’ commercially appropriate artists to radio programmers. The success of this programme is based upon state agents developing an institutional isomorphism with existing music industry practices. Even so, popular music makers contest New Zealand on Air’s sympathetic policy settings by citing forms of institutional exclusion.

New Zealand popular music, government policy, and cultural identity

Popular Music ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Shuker
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Popular Music ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Hip Hop ◽  
Music Industry ◽  
Success Story ◽  
Labour Government ◽  
Popular Music Industry

AbstractThe New Zealand popular music industry has recently undergone impressive growth, and is poised to make a significant international impact. Two aspects of this newly privileged position are examined. First, broadly sketching twenty years of developments, I argue that Government willingness to get behind the local industry, especially the role of the post-2000 Labour Government, is a crucial determinant of the present success story. Secondly, I consider the debated relationship between local music and New Zealand cultural identity, with particular reference to two prominent musical styles: Kiwi ‘garage’ rock, and Polynesian-dominated local rap, reggae and hip-hop-inflected music. I argue that the local must not be overly valorised, and that it is necessary to distinguish between ‘local music’ as a cultural signifier and locally made music, with both worthy of support.

Prime Ministers

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Weller
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Prime Ministers ◽  
Power And Influence

Prime ministers dominate, but still lose office. Why? This chapter explores the conundrum that infests debates on the prime ministers’ power and influence. It examines the ambiguous and uncertain institutional environment with its scope for initiatives and choices. It rejects normative notions of what prime ministers should do and illustrates that accusations of excessive power and ambition have been thrown at prime ministers from the very beginning. It identifies the strategy of the book: to compare institutional arrangements in four Westminster systems—Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand—to see how prime ministers have chosen to define their role. It proposes tests for assessing prime ministers and for judging their performance and options.

The Jewish Population of Tennessee

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Maslon
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Popular Music ◽  
Jewish Population ◽  
Music Industry ◽  
Major Power ◽  
Sheet Music ◽  
Early Music ◽  
Music Publishers ◽  
Popular Music Industry

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the first way that the imprimatur of Broadway reached consumers was through the immense distribution of colorful and tuneful sheet music. Early music publishers learned quickly that associating a song with a Broadway show such as the Ziegfeld Follies, Broadway personalities such as Al Jolson and Fanny Brice, or Broadway composers such as Victor Herbert gave that tune a special identity that increased its popularity. In addition, music publishers, such as Max Dreyfus, were major power brokers in the popular music industry, yielding the ability to make a song into a hit, and continued to be influential through the first half of the twentieth century.

scholarly journals Spatial Distribution of Lichens in Metrosideros excelsa in Northern New Zealand Urban Forests

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 170
Author(s):  
Gladys N. Benitez ◽  
Glenn D. Aguilar ◽  
Dan Blanchon
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Lichen Species ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Breast Height ◽  
Lichen Community ◽  
The North ◽  
The City ◽  
Lichen Flora

The spatial distribution of corticolous lichens on the iconic New Zealand pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) tree was investigated from a survey of urban parks and forests across the city of Auckland in the North Island of New Zealand. Lichens were identified from ten randomly selected trees at 20 sampling sites, with 10 sites classified as coastal and another 10 as inland sites. Lichen data were correlated with distance from sea, distance from major roads, distance from native forests, mean tree DBH (diameter at breast height) and the seven-year average of measured NO2 over the area. A total of 33 lichen species were found with coastal sites harboring significantly higher average lichen species per tree as well as higher site species richness. We found mild hotspots in two sites for average lichen species per tree and another two separate sites for species richness, with all hotspots at the coast. A positive correlation between lichen species richness and DBH was found. Sites in coastal locations were more similar to each other in terms of lichen community composition than they were to adjacent inland sites and some species were only found at coastal sites. The average number of lichen species per tree was negatively correlated with distance from the coast, suggesting that the characteristic lichen flora found on pōhutukawa may be reliant on coastal microclimates. There were no correlations with distance from major roads, and a slight positive correlation between NO2 levels and average lichen species per tree.

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