Notes on Introduction to Spanish Popular Music Studies

Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies

  • ISSN: 1463-6204 (Print), 1469-9818 (Online)

  • Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/cjsc20

  • Citing articles and DOI: Silvia Bermúdez & Jorge Pérez (2009)

    • Reference: DOI 10.1080/14636200902990661

    • Published online: 28 Jul 2009

  • Article views: 1588

  • Citing articles: 2

  • Full Terms & Conditions of access and use: https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=cjsc20

Introduction to Spanish Popular Music Studies

  • Historical Context:

    • In 1970, Manuel Vázquez Montalbán published Crónica sentimental de España, which provided a methodology for interpreting a variety of popular cultural products and practices such as:

    • Songs

    • Bullfighting

    • American films

    • Soccer

    • This allowed Spaniards to cope with the struggles of the 1940s, known as the "Years of Hunger," and the broader Franco dictatorship.

  • Focus on Identity and Music:

    • Vázquez Montalbán emphasized the role of music in helping people identify with specific songs, singers, and performances through the decades from the 1940s to the 1960s.

  • Social Function of Music:

    • In his chapter "Canciones y símbolos", Vázquez Montalbán states that:

    • Definition: “las canciones son esa razón de estética que más se presta a ser recreada a medias entre el que la emite y el que la recibe".

    • He explains further that:

      • Artistic Communication: "[el] hecho artístico comunicado y reactualizado en cada lectura, contemplación o audición, tiene en la canción la interesante faceta de que puede convertirse en un test sobre psicología colectiva y sobre el temple sentimental popular de toda una época".

    • This insight is echoed in the work of scholars such as Simon Frith, George Lipsitz, Richard Middleton, John Shepherd, Tia DeNora, and Roy Shuker since the rise of Popular Music Studies in the 1980s.

  • Development of the Field:

    • The creation of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM) in 1981 facilitated the discipline's establishment as an independent area of study.

    • The study of popular music in Spanish Cultural Studies lagged until recent contributions by scholars including Joan-Elies Adell, Héctor Fouce, Silvia Martínez, Ignacio Mejías, Antonio Méndez Rubio, Eduardo Viñuela, and Elena Rodríguez.

Theoretical Perspectives on Music

  • Vázquez Montalbán’s insights foreshadow theories posited by Roy Shuker in Understanding Popular Music, emphasizing meaning from complex interactions among:

    • Production Context: including state cultural policy

    • Textual Nature: the text and its creators

    • Consumer Context: consumers' spatial location

  • Contributions from Key Scholars:

    • Richard Middleton's Voicing the Popular highlights how music embodies and reinforces identities.

    • Tia DeNora argues that music is strongly tied to:

    • Mood: Emphasizing its connection to feelings and subjectivity.

    • Social Context: Music reflects and shapes collective memory, according to George Lipsitz in Footsteps in the Dark.

  • Inviting Analysis Across Contexts:

    • Articles in this issue explore specific musical texts or performers, factoring in contexts that influence music:

    • Economic

    • Cultural

    • Affective

    • Political

  • Understanding Historical Context:

    • Focus on Spanish popular music over the last forty years reveals significant insights about Spanish society from the dawn of democratic governance to the early 21st century.

    • This historical scope highlights a period marked by the Golden Age of Spanish Popular Music in the late 1970s and early 1980s, during which Spain emerged as a key player in the international music scene.

    • Innovations in musical styles, particularly influenced by Anglo-American culture, gained prominence due to the modernization of Spanish media and the music industry.

  • Advocacy for Broader Methodological Approaches:

    • The essays illustrate that a narrow, solely musicological analysis fails to capture the importance of popular music in society.

    • Key themes include:

    • Producer-Consumer Dynamics: The relationship between producers, musical texts, and their various contexts requires multi-faceted approach.

    • Emotion and Ideology: Investigating how music relates to emotional experience and reproduces or contests ideologies and power structures.

  • Musical Meaning as Social Construction:

    • David Brackett asserts that musical meanings are socially constructed and depend on power relations and emotional medium (reflected by De Nora).

Defining Popular Music

  • There is an ongoing debate among scholars about how to define and study popular music.

    • Simon Frith's Distinction:

    • Musicological Approach: Concentrated on sound and production qualities.

    • Content Analysis: Focused almost exclusively on lyrics.

    • Neither perspective fully addresses the multiple meanings produced by popular music; an interdisciplinary approach is advocated.

  • Working Definition of Popular Music:

    • Encompasses various musical styles disseminated via mass media, produced in capitalist modes of production, and accessible to the general public.

    • It aims at a broad audience rather than elite groups.

    • Recognition of non-commercial popular music also exists in contemporary Spain.

  • Impact of Technology:

    • Contributors note that technologies like iPods and YouTube have revolutionized music transmission and accessibility.

Articles Overview

  • Article by Pepa Novell:

    • Title: Cantautoras catalanas: de la nova cançó a la nova cançó d’ara. El paso y el peso del pasado

    • Focus: Evolution of nova cançó and Catalan identity from dictatorship times to the present, analyzing artists like Maria del Mar Bonet and Marina Rossell.

    • Discusses institutionalized promotion of Catalan identity through music, especially leading up to the 1992 Olympic Games.

  • Article by Kirsty Hooper:

    • Title: The Many Faces of Julio Iglesias: ‘Un Canto a Galicia’, Emigration and the Network Society

    • Focus: Analysis of the song "Un Canto a Galicia" and its reinterpretation within the network society, notably through YouTube.

    • Demonstrates how fluctuating national identities are reflected and redefined through musical exchange.

  • Article by Jorge Pérez:

    • Title: Driving with La Movida: The Rock ‘n’ Road Aesthetics of Loquillo’s Rock Ibérico

    • Focuses on the contributions of Loquillo within the celebrated but critiqued movida madrileña, emphasizing a rebellious rock aesthetic.

  • Article by Santiago Fouz-Hernández:

    • Title: Me cuesta tanto olvidarte: Mecano and the Movida Remixed, Revisited and Repackaged

    • Dissects how nostalgia for the movida is economically leveraged through new musical productions and marketing strategies.

  • Article by Christopher Paetzold:

    • Title: Singing Beneath the Alhambra: the North African and Arabic Past and Present in Contemporary Andalusian Music

    • Historical analysis of flamenco's evolution with focus on contemporary artists merging Arabic and Andalusian folk influences.

  • Article by José Colmeiro:

    • Title: Smells Like Wild Spirit: Galician Rock Bravú, between the ‘Rurban’ and the ‘Glocal’

    • Discusses the bravú movement and its influence on modern Galician identity, blending traditional elements with contemporary music forms.

  • Article by Benjamin Fraser:

    • Title: The Bergsonian Link Between Emotion, Music, and Place: From the ‘Motion of Emotion’ to the Sonic Immediacy of the Basque Band Lisabö

    • Proposes a non-representational understanding of music, focusing on the physical and emotional experience of music in the context of the Basque band Lisabö.

Conclusion and Future Directions

  • The collection aims to spark ongoing research and debate on Spanish popular music, highlighting its cultural complexities, social functions, and evolving identities.

  • Topics for future inquiry include:

    • The role of cantaoras in flamenco's vitality, the resurgence of copla by artists like Lola Flores and Isabel Pantoja, and the emergence of international artists such as David Bisbal and Enrique Iglesias.

    • Examination of feminist voices like Bebe, who resonate with diverse audiences.

  • The introduction aims to serve as both a starting point and an invitation for further scholarly exploration in this vibrant field.