Distant Music: Recorded Music, Manners, and American Identity

• Other Authors: Attaway, Jacklyn (authoraut)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Study and teaching
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-5315

This thesis discusses Derrida's theory of Hauntology, establishes a theoretical framework for an analysis of the hauntological aesthetic in recorded music, and explores the hauntological aesthetic in reference to Victorian spirit photography and contemporary recorded music of producer-musicians such as Greg Ashley, Jason Quever, Tim Presley, and Ariel Pink. By describing and analyzing the recorded music of said producer-musicians, this thesis reveals how aesthetically hauntological recorded music expresses American anxieties concerning the effects of changing technologies and cultural transitions. In effect, this thesis shows how American ideologies operate as "ghosts," and how one can better interpret and understand these core values by combining aesthetics and history through the medium of recorded music. === A Thesis submitted to the American and Florida Studies Program in the Department of Humanities in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. === Fall Semester, 2012. === November 5, 2012. === Hauntology, Phonograph, Political Theory, Recorded Music, Sound, Spirit Photography === Includes bibliographical references. === Barry J. Faulk, Professor Directing Thesis; Neil Jumonville, Committee Member; Jerrilyn McGregory, Committee Member.