Poetry, Rock ’n’ Roll, and Cinema in Turkey’s 1960s

Using developments in poetry, music, and cinema as case studies, this article examines the relationship between left-wing politics and cultural production during the long 1960s in Turkey. Intellectual and artistic pursuits flourished alongside trade unionism, student activism, peasant organizing, guerrilla movements. This article explores the convergences between militants and artists, arguing for the centrality of culture in the social movements of the period. It focuses on three revealing debates: between the modernist İkinci Yeni poets and young socialist poets, between left-wing protest rockers and supporters of folk music, and between proponents of radical art film and those of cinematic “social realism”.

Link Wray

This piece focuses on the musical and genre innovations of early rock n' roll guitarist, Link Wray. Given his Native American ancestry and physical disability, Wray is a difficult figure to place, though his material and embodied methods of making music prefigured other, more famous artists. The audio file reflecting on Wray suggests a more proper scope of his influence in an attempt to decolonize both the history of rock music as well as methods of multimodal and sound composition.

Fragments of a Queer Feminist Rock and Pop History in Vienna

The historical development of Viennese rock and pop music started with rock ’n’ roll in the 1950s, continued with beat music and the “dialect wave” in the late 1960s, punk in the 1980s, the popular Viennese electronic music scene in the 1990s, and is currently enjoying a renaissance of the “dialect wave.” Artists like the Rosée Sisters, Austria’s first all-female rock band founded in 1962, Topsy Girl, A-Gen 53, or SV Damenkraft were active in local music scenes. In retrospect, they are considered as exceptions in the historiography of Austrian popular music. This chapter discusses several feminist and queer artists and collectives in Austria, their position in popular culture, and in historical and geographical contexts. The author concentrates primarily on all-female bands, LGBTIQ+ artists, and queerpop projects to illustrate diverse approaches to music, feminism, and their position within the pop and rock music scenes in Vienna.

Sex, Bugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll: Insects in Music Videos

The appearance of insects in music videos was examined. The most common taxa observed were Lepidoptera, then Hymenoptera, with Coleoptera, Araneae, Diptera, and Orthoptera essentially tied for third most represented. Insect music videos have increased in frequency over time, probably as an artifact of industry growth. Swarms and infestations were common in insect videos (appearing in 26%), as were chimeric insectoid humans (19%), and, to a lesser extent, giant insects (5%), but not all of these representations were used to induce horror. Some insect music videos have garnered awards, and many of the songs associated with them have been very successful. There were many animated insect sequences, but also images of specimens that were sufficiently detailed to allow identification of the species. The insect groups observed reflect both positive and negative values. There is some indication that insects are not viewed in such a negative light as they once were, providing hope for improving attitudes of humans toward insects.