Brian Jones, Ph.D. 2015

Advisor: Mark Katz

Dissertation Title: Signifying DIY: Process-Oriented Aesthetics in 1990s Alternative Rock and Hip-Hop

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Dissertation Abstract:

The idea of a “do-it-yourself” (DIY) ethos has led a broad and ill-defined history through the 20th century and beyond. The ethos has remained central, however, to the aesthetic sensibilities of particular rock, punk, indie, and electronic genres—valorizing the role of the amateur and nurturing an egalitarian sense of empowerment by complicating or breaking down boundaries between production and consumption. In this dissertation, I examine how modes of aural signification in recorded rock can evoke DIY sensibilities. One of my central propositions is that DIY’s lasting contribution to rock culture lies not necessarily in its encouragement of egalitarian, participatory music scenes; but rather in fostering the production of rock records that sound and feel as though they came from such a scene. I refer to this latter phenomenon as signifying DIY—a type of aural signification in which the sound of a record foregrounds processual elements of its own production. For a listener, a rock recording that signifies DIY “shows the seams” of its construction—whether in the messy residue of interpersonal interaction during recording, seemingly spontaneous acts of technological experimentation, or lo-fi production values. We can consider DIY-oriented signification as inviting the listener to create a production myth—an imagined narrative that carries meaning and significance beyond its conveyance of simple fact. 

In this dissertation, after establishing a theoretical and analytical framework based on the principles described above, I will consider three major case studies to demonstrate salient aspects of DIY-oriented signification in mass-mediated rock. I focus on artists from the 1990s and early 2000s—a time when DIY-oriented alternative and indie genres found receptive listeners among broad spheres of popular music and culture. The first case study examines the music of Beck and the west coast lo-fi and indie music cultures in which he established himself. The second considers Jeff Tweedy and his band Wilco, examining the group’s broad shift from alt-country to an experimental, process-oriented aesthetic culminating in Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The experimental, punk, and indie scenes of Chicago in the 1990s provide the discursive and aesthetic backdrop for this analysis. The third case study focuses on the Flaming Lips, from their early years as a noisy, punk-oriented alternative band to their move toward media and sound experimentation in Zaireeka (1997) and The Soft Bulletin (1999). The group’s bizarre integration of punk, noise, pop, and prog sensibilities—all with a DIY emphasis on unorthodox spontaneity—provides a fascinating example of a band that moves among starkly different modes of DIY signification while maintaining a sense of experimental continuity. Overall, these case studies demonstrate a variety of ways that DIY aesthetics shape and influence the production and interpretation of mass-mediated rock.

Dr. Jones is currently an Assistant Professor of Music and Instructor in Bass at Eckerd College in western Florida. His research focuses on American popular and folk music.