Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-2002

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Music

Major

Music

Major Professor

Leslie Gay

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the identity retained by the Irish cultural group despite homogenizing forces of the globalization process, such as global markets and communications. Specifically, I focus on Irish rock music and musicians to argue that Irish rockers participate in the global rock genre while still reflecting Irish culture. To discuss the characteristics within Irish rock music that "sound Irish," I use the concept of musical codes that signify Irishness to the listener. Even though the code of traditional Irish instruments suggests Irishness to both insiders and outsiders of Irish culture, most musical codes are distinguishable only to insiders. These culturally specific codes include vocal quality, echo, ornamentation, the Gaelic language, Irish accent, poetic language, and Irish topics. As part of the globalization process, the media produce and perpetuate generalizations about the Irish and influence the way the Western world perceives "lrishness." The media exoticize the Irish and their music through Hollywood descriptions and images in television programs and on compact disc covers that represent their culture as magical, mystical, spiritual, and ancient. As the media idealize the Irish, they often classify them by their ethnicity. Particularly, I compare how the media link the members of the Irish rock band U2 to their ethnicity and American artist Britney Spears to her nationality.1 The data suggests that Irish ethnicity is not considered the standard as it is accentuated by the media. Conversely, Spears' American nationality is rarely, and even then, only indirectly connected with her. In contradistinction to media representations, I discuss the ways the Irish define themselves and how they use symbols and cultural customs to create and sustain an "imagined community." As a product of lrish culture, Irish rock music has reflected many of these symbols and customs in its lyrics and music. Specifically, I focus on socializing, Bloody Sunday, the Rebellion of 1798, and Van Diemen's Land. In general, this study points out how the Irish define their own identity despite the influence of globalization, and more particularly, the media. Through these definitions, the Irish community is empowered against the external forces of globalization as they represent themselves within the global genre of rock.

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