Matt Teresi Presenter Week of October 27th

Matthew Teresi

As one of the presenter scheduled for the 27^th, my articles were:  "Punks not Dead…" and "Eminiem's Construction of Authenticity"

My first article , "Punks Not Dead…"  focuses on the Punk Rock genre of music, and the fan base that originated with the entire genre of music in the latter 1970's and early 1980's.  It explores a set of males from that fan base/subculture.  The study focuses on males aging from 35 to 53.  Geographically, the area being studied is Kent, England, where much of the Punk genre had originally began.  The study did lack the female aspect of the fan base, as the author stated that female subjects that fit the context of an "aging punk" were simply unfindable.

Looking at the segment of the base of fans, the study found that changes in the outward dress and appearance were typically toned down.  The attitudes and feelings associated with the "punk experience" was largely undiminished.  The interviewees did however have an evolving set of ideas about how to express their punk sensibilities.  Ranging from working class to middle class, the subjects had a generally toned down appearance.  They no longer had the extreme style of dress, or hairstyles, although their style might have reminiscent traits of the punk look, they were scaled back from the typical extreme look of their youth.  Their look was replaced by what was termed a general "punk ethos".

Activity in the subculture was rated as being active by attending at least one punk event of some sort per month.  Although consideration was given to the new modes of activity in the "scene".  In particular, the "trans-scene" and "virtual scene" were understood to be a factor in involvement.

Communicating with the younger punk fans was studied, and the general idea was that of a mentor.  The older fan typically would stay away from the mosh pits, and stay back enjoying the spectacle of the punk show.  Interaction with the younger, ska-punk fans was seen as a passing of the punk knowledge onto the younger generation of fans.

 

 

The second article, "Eminem's Construction of Authenticity" focused on Eminem's rise of popularity, and his overall state of being to legitimize his music, and act as a true "rap" artist.  Asserting that rap music has become the dominant form of popular music in today's music scene, the article shows Eminem's progressive and relentless lyrics and style of "gangster rap" is part of his construction of this authenticity. 

Background is spent discussing the origins of the East Coast/ West Coast system of rap music, and association with one scene or the other is important to establish a foothold in the rap scene.  Eminem is classified as a "West Coast" rapper, even in light of his Detroit upbringing, because of his association to Dr. Dre as his producer.

Issues including Eminem's lyrics, and use of violent graphic language is dealt with.  The article looks at the frequency and highly violent nature of his music.  One table illustrates the occurances of particular violent acts described in Eminem's lyrics.  The findings show that his use of graphic violent descriptions of various acts are more frequent than most other rap artists in the genre.

 The article also addresses the fact that Eminem is white.  Although it would seem to be an obvious issue in the genre of rap music, the article spends a lot of time dealing with this issue.  Legitimacy of being a true rap artist that is white is discussed, and concludes that Eminem addresses this in a direct way that is effective in acknowledging this and dispensing with the idea that it may delegitimize his work.  Interestingly the article also points out that Dr. Dre's choice in picking Eminem as his successor was probably due to the fact that consumers of rap music were predominantly white (approximately 75%).

The conclusion is that Eminem has successfully navigated his quest to be seen as a legitimate, and authentic rap artist.  It also speculates that Dre and Eminem also have successfully created an acceptable construction of a white rap artist to cater to the largely white consumer base of the rap genre of music.