National identity in music: The Beatles

National identity in music: The Beatles Evaluate depictions of Britishness in the songs of the Beatles and 1990s Brit pop groups and discuss the relation between politics and music. A feature that is evident in the music of the Beatles from 1966 on wards is the way in which they use representations of everyday British cultural life. Such representations are not contained to the latter of the Beatles work but do take on a much more important role in the way the music is formed and words are written. Tracks like Eleanor Rigby, A Day in the Life, Penny Lane and Polythene Pam are all connected by their distinctive British sound and context. The Small Faces and the Kinks were also bands that had a keen eye for writing about different aspects of the lower to middle-class British peoples lives in the 1960s. A resurgence of this type of writing appeared in the 1990s with such Brit pop groups as Blur, Pulp and Oasis portraying an ever-changing view of Britain. I will begin my discussion by briefly looking at what it means to be British and discuss the connections between music and national identity. I will then analyse how the Beatles developed a distinctly British sound by looking at their influences and then give examples of this sound by referencing the bands music. National Identity in music and what it means to be British What does it mean to be British? Freedom? Democracy? Trial by jury? Freedom of speech? Acceptance? Tolerance? White? It would seem that politicians were unaware of what it meant until it started to fall away from us and deteriorate. The national flag, the Union Jack or Union Flag, is not a proud flag that we as one nation unite under as the Americans do with the Star-Spangled Banner. A regulation was previously in place across government that meant the Union Jack could only be flown 18 fixed days a year on government buildings (The governance of Britain green paper 2007). A regulation now waved. The government for specific forms of the military reserves the flag. It is used by the Royal Navy and as a way to display the rank of admiral of the fleet, which is the reason why it is still illegal for a civilian ship to fly it. In war time Britain we were defined by our one nation joining together to fight for a common purpose. The common man was out fighting against an evil dictatorship. We had one of the most advanced Naval forces in the world bringing technology in Britain to the forefront and an outs tanding air force, which repelled an overwhelming German attack at the Battle of Britain. But in the 64 years since the end of world war two Britain has seen many changes in its cultural make up. America has had a very powerful influence over the music we listen to, the way we dress and eat and we seek to replicate their dominant cultural traditions (Mundy 1999). We have seen an influx in the number of immigrants coming to Britain to live and work. Injecting a little of their culture into our own. Furthermore, the industries such as the ship building in Glasgow and Liverpool, the shoe factories in Northampton and the steal works in Scunthorpe and Sheffield have all but disappeared. The traditions that shaped the country and gave it international acclaim and recognition have been lost to overseas countries that have the technology to produce it cheaper. I will revise the sociological aspects of our changing culture later and analyse whether British society has changed over the years and if this has made Brit Pop differ from music of the 1960s. For now I will touch upon music and national identity and the reasons for national patriotism. Music has long been a fundamental tool in the study and assembly of national identities. Its intricate framework has been studied in great depth. Possibly one of the most obvious ways in which music is amalgamated with national identity is the national anthem. It provides an opportunity for people to obtain a state of deep heart felt emotion towards their country and is used in Britain before various sporting events, before the Queens Christmas Message and in the event of a royal announcement or death. Perhaps the oldest form of national pride is found in folk music, commonly described as an accurate look at a way of life as it was or a life about to fade away. Richard Middleton explains the real meaning of folk music well. The Romantics, who originated the concept, often thought of the people in the sense of a national essence. Or and this later became more common they thought of a particular part of the people, a lower layer, or even class. Middletons thoughts therefore could be applied to Brit Pop. With the eighties at an end, Margaret Thatchers government leaving record unemployment rates of 3 million unemployed, factories closed and there were cuts in spending. Things looked bleak and it was hard for young people to get a job. In the nineties Brit Pop, backed by this 60s inspired form of pop/rock with the qualities of folk music, exploded onto the scene. Artists such as Damon Albarn from Blur were writing songs that echoed issues regarding the lower classes and once again music was recognizable as being British. It is vital to understand what this British sound consists of and more importantly where it came from and who pioneered it. I will now go on to discuss the Beatles development as British artists and their everlasting footprint on music. The Beatles developing a British sound The Beatles were the first of a selection of bands from the 1960s to start a movement called the British Invasion. The name British Invasion was invented by the press to describe British bands that travelled to America and made a name for themselves. This all began in 1964 with the appearance of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show but was continually used to describe many British bands who made a huge impact on the American music market. Namely the Rolling Stones, The Who, The Small Faces, The Yardbirds and The Kinks with the Beatles making the largest impact. The Beatles cannot be so neatly categorised as the archetypal British band, as their style is so eclectic and borrows from many different cultures. Early on in their career, the band had been mainly focused on writing songs about love and the loss of a love with not much indication of Britishness in the lyrics but there were a few facts that made their style stand out from their American competitors. One such fact is the accent the group sang with. In the early 1960s, radio was populated with simple two-minute pop songs from American artists like Elvis Presley and British artists who sounded American like Cliff Richard and the Shadows. However, Lennon and McCartney were singing songs like I Wanna Hold Your Hand with a British accent. The Beatles were different, fusing exciting melodies with classical harmonies and a guitar sound that was full bodied and dominant. This brand new sound was one that defined the British sound of the sixties. When one says sound of the sixties it really m eans the period from 1963-1970, the Beatles era. Between 1955 and 1963 would be described as the sound of the fifties (Zarecki 2007). The Beatles changed music to a point that a child growing up in the 60s would call the records of the 50s oldies, a word still used today to describe the same records (Wald 2009). The musical education the Beatles received can be traced back as far as the mid 1930s when Robert Johnson, kindly named the Grandfather of Rock n Roll, was recording the blues/rock tracks which would be an inspiration for artists like the Memphis born B.B. King who in turn was greatly admired by another king, Elvis Presley. Elvis forged the rock n roll sound of the fifties that the Beatles loved. They covered many songs by Chuck Berry and Little Richard during their time in Hamburg in the early 1960s. John Lennon is famously quoted as saying, Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadnt been Elvis, there would not have been The Beatles But there was more to the Beatles sound. Although most of their influences came from America, they were not a band trying to replicate the American sound. Harmonies that the band integrated into songs were reminiscent of early Motown records and the Everly Brothers provided a strong influence when it came to producing close harmonies, a technique where the notes of a chord are sang within a narrow range. Influences of the Beatles were not confined to what had come before them. Throughout their career they continued to remain open to new influences. Paul McCartney sites one of his favourite albums as the 1966 album Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys and talks about its importance over the idea for creating the Beatles 1967 album Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was Pet Sounds that blew me out of the water. I love the album so muchthat, I think, was probably the big influence that set me thinking when we recorded Pepper The Beatles were at the vanguard from 1966 onwards when music began to progress from the pop/rock love songs into something altogether more experimental and risky. Looking at the memoirs of Kate Paul (2000) makes it clear the significance art school training had on new artists, fashion and music. It was becoming more common for teenagers to attend Art School and this training is said to have shifted the thinking behind the writing of many bands and change British music forever. As musical ideas were changing so was the way people were thinking about art. Music and art were becoming more abstract and new and radical thinking was being poured into both. In 1961, a group of artists graduated from the Royal College of Art including David Hockey and Patrick Caulfield. This pair along with other young artists put the Pop Art style on the map. The style quickly became very popular and the artists involved in its production became fashionable celebrities receiving much notification in the pr ess. By 1968 for the very first time in the Twentieth Century, London had risen to become the world focus in art and Britain the focus for new and innovative art and music. Pop Art was not solely the reason for the popularity of the art scene in London. It was very diverse, and more artists were turning their hand to abstraction, which involved more gestural marks, block colours and interesting shapes. Sculpture also went through a great transformation in the sixties with sculptors such as Anthony Caro, whose interest in shape and colour came straight from America. Gone were the days of bronzed statues on plinths, now it was all about sheet metal and plastic arranged on the floor in amazing shapes. This environment of such an eclectic mix of artists and so much competition would have forced students to think in an original way. Just as artists were using new materials to create their work, musicians like the Beatles were using new instruments such as the Indian Sitar and using new t echniques like playing tape recordings in reverse to create never before heard sounds. George Martin often said that John Lennon would enter the studio every morning with the intent of sounding different to yesterday. John Lennon attended Liverpool Art College with friend and short term fifth Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe. John was always a disruptive pupil and continued to be through art school. Although John failed an annual exam and eventually dropped out of art school before his final year the impact it made would stay with him, encouraging him to push the boundaries and keep his music inspirational and contemporary. John always had a devoted interest in the art world, even deep into the Beatles experimental career. Their use of orchestral scores accompanied only by voice, three part harmonies and psychedelic arrangements would stand to become a major influence to Brit Pop bands. This entwined with the shifting context of the Beatles lyrics would shape the music of the late 60s and pr ove to be the very essence of what Brit Pop came to embody. The most noticeable example of this experimental and contemporary writing is found in the album Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Released in June 1967 Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band was a groundbreaking album that combined revolutionary engineering and musical techniques. It is believed to be the first concept album and also the first album to print the lyrics to the songs on the sleeve. All the songs on the album except possibly George Harrisons experimental Within you without you either lyrically or musically express a sense of British culture. Sgt Peppers is steeped in images of brass bands playing in bandstands, Punch and Judy, cream teas, donkey rides and naughty postcards. In When Im Sixty four, Paul McCartney gives us a description of what life can be like growing old in Britain. He talks of going for a drive on a Sunday, doing some gardening and renting a cottage in the Isle of Wight, If its not too dear. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite arouses clear images of the great British past time of the circus and also creates a joyous atmosphere with the merry go round sound playing along with the main organ melody. This effect was created when producer George Martin told engineer Geoff Emerick to splice up old Victorian tapes of organ music and throw them into the air. He was then ordered to piece the tapes back together in a completely random order to create an energetic looping sound (Martin 2008). The images Lennon and McCartney present in a lot of their songs make it hard for the listener to fully understand the content. Their writing would often stumble into the surreal, and perplexing words would be used to compliment the music. Some of their music however, seems to be more clear in the way it comments and often ridicules observations of ordinary British cultural life. In the final track on the Sgt Pepper album, A Day in the Life, this trait seems to be evident. The lyrics were inspired by two newspaper articles and contain many haunting but also some quite comical images. Within the song Lennon mentions three distinct British places, The House of Commons, Blackburn in Lancashire and the Royal Albert Hall. In the first verse John talks loosely about the death of Tara Browne the Guinness heir who died in a car crash. Lennon said, I didnt copy the accident. Tara didnt blow his mind out, but it was in my mind when I was writing that verse. The Line Theyd seen his face before/N obody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords refers to the British public turning what should be a solemn moment into some cheap excitement. Some people in the crowd may know the individual involved in the car crash as a face on television or in a newspaper but he is no more than that. The second verse came from a newspaper article concerning the state of the roads in Blackburn which Lennon jokes could fill the Albert Hall. This type of ironic and sarcastic view of Britain was commonly found in John Lennons writing. Andy Bennett writes, Tracks like A Day in the Life, are clearly meant to be seen, in part at least, as satirical commentaries on aspects of British society. Lennons descriptions of the slavish counting of the holes in the streets of Blackburn, andto the double life led by politicianswould appear not merely to poke fun at British society but also to criticize it. On the other hand, the song Penny Lane doesnt appear to criticize British culture but instead runs like a commentary of what can be seen. Penny Lane was written by Paul McCartney and released alongside Strawberry Fields Forever as a double-A side single in 1967. It was common practice to release singles that were not on the album at the time. George Martin always believed it wasnt fair to the public that singles should come from the album. The title Penny Lane came from a street in the bands hometown of Liverpool. Lennon and McCartney would often meet at Penny Lane Junction to catch a bus into the centre of town and had met up with friends around the area as teenagers. Penny lane is a study of the humdrum lives of people, evoking feelings of blissful memories and describing the ordinary sights and sounds of a suburban British neighbourhood. Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes/There beneath the blue suburban skies. During this line a brass section plays a small musical fill couple d together with McCartneys quaint English tone to create an altogether exultant sound. This song, different from A Day in the Life, has a strong feeling today of harking back to a happier and simpler Britain now lost and forgotten. The man who has popped into the barbers for a shave, the fireman who carries a picture of the queen in his pocket and the standard procedure of carrying an hourglass now seem long-gone. Its a song that takes the listener on a ride and brings up various emotions ranging from nostalgia to a pride of Britain during the piccolo trumpet solo and to laughter at the sexual slang of the time A four of fish and finger pie. The qualities found in both these Beatles songs can also be found in songs from other British bands from the 1960s. The Small Faces song Rene tells the unpleasant tale of a woman parading the quayside every night to welcome sailors from Kuala Lumpur who have docked with plenty of readies (ready money) to spend at the pub having a good time. Whil e Lazy Sunday rebels against the neighbours that complain when Steve Marriott and his friends play their music loud. The Small faces songs Rene and Lazy Sunday are both sung in ridiculously thick Cockney accents and seem almost to make fun of their London ancestry. The same examination can be made in the music of The Kinks who gave us their keenly observed satires A Well Respected Man and Dedicated Follower of Fashion (which lampooned the characters of Carnaby Street in swinging London). The contrast of Britpop In the early 1990s Britpop emerged fusing new British ideals with the pop music of the 1960s. The two main aims of Britpop were to drown out the electronic sound of the eighties and to react against the grunge sound of Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Britpop made British alternative rock mainstream and formed the foundations for a larger British cultural movement called Cool Britannia. This phrase, a pun on the patriotic song Rule, Britannia, was first used as a song title by the Bonzo dog Doo Dah Band in 1967. It emerged in the 1990s as the name of one of the company Ben and Jerrys ice cream flavours. The name came about through a competition the company were running. An American lawyer living in London named Sarah Moynihan-Williams won with her suggestion and recipe for Cool Britannia, which was in relation to the New Labour era. The media quickly picked up on this term, and seeing a young Prime minister in power and the fashionable nature of London at the time gave the idea new scope. Looking now at the representations of Britishness in the music of Britpop bands from the 1990s presents a different argument. The Beatles and other bands from the same era such as The Kinks and The Small Faces heavily influenced Brit Pop. Musical pioneers of the nineties such as Blur, Pulp and Oasis completely dropped the synthesizers and the electric drums of the eighties and began creating music with full guitars and raw drumming. The orchestral and brass band instruments were introduced once again to achieve the complete British sound of the 1960s. An example of this resurrection can be established through the Blur song Sunday Sunday. The song featured on the apt 1993 album Modern Life is Rubbish, features a trumpet solo that could easily have been found on any later Beatles track. The lyrics in the first verse read much like a social commentary with lines such as You read the colour supplement, the T.V. guide and Together the family round the table. Both bring to mind visions of a quiet ordinary Sunday at home with the family. The second verse however mentions a walk in the park where the writer meets a soldier who fought in both world wars and says, The England he knew is no more. Quite unlike the interpretation of a British Sunday morning the second verse takes a nostalgic look back with a conceivable chance of the soldier appearing as a metaphor for a Britain that used to be. Britpop resonated with a sound of the past. Singers and back up singers were producing exciting harmonies like the ones found on the Oasis record Cast no shadow. Artists were being commended for their song writing abilities and musical talent unlike the dry and dreary song-writing period of the eighties, which featured Duran Duran, Gary Newman and Depeche mode. The mod subculture of the 60s also became popular again. People began growing their hair with the Beatles various styles in mind. Jarvis Cocker from the band Pulp used to wear suits which echoed the mod style. The Whos manag er Pete Meaden famously described modism saying, Modism, mod living, is an aphorism for clean living under difficult circumstances Not everyone believed that Britpop reminisced of a past idea of Britishness. Some suggested that bands crafted an entirely new image altogether, focusing on an attitude based not on a nostalgic Carry On Mr Kipling Britain, but a Britain that you will recognise as the one you live in (Jones 1994). Undoubtedly the song Girls and Boys which is performed in front of a club 18-30s holiday backdrop with its subject matter of casual sex is one which is more contemporary rather than the wistful longing for old England found in Sunday Sunday. Also, Oasiss accounts of throwing up on a Sunday and their wild views that cigarettes, alcohol and drugs are a remedy for a dull, ordinary life may have appealed to the young generation of the 1990s but it was miles apart from the Beatles idealized and glamorized version of Britain. It appears that this type of topical writing is in the minority and more songs relate to similar representations conjured up by the Beatles in the 1960s. There is another are a that is imperative to study when analysing depictions of Britain and that is the view created through the music video. The Beatles and the Birth of the Music Video One main important difference in the way in which music is presented in the 1990s is the availability of the music video, which further enhances depictions of Britishness. The Birth of the music video may to some be credited to the band Queen. In November 1975 due to tour commitments they could not appear on Top of The Pops and so produced a video to promote their new single Bohemian Rhapsody. But as much as a decade before, the Beatles were generating videos to be broadcast on television shows all over the world. In 1996, with the release of the Beatles Anthology film box set, George Harrison received an interview and in relation to the promotional video made for the song Rain he made the statement: So I suppose, in a way, we invented MTV Now that the music video is fast becoming an art form in itself it is interesting to analyze how Lennon and McCartneys influence on the British social commentary style of writing transposed into video format. I will begin by analysing the reflection of Britain the Beatles achieved through their use of video and the reasons for them depicting society in this way, then I will compare this to the music videos in the 1990s. The first Beatles film was released in 1964 entitled A Hard Days Night. With prospects of an accompanying soundtrack album, the film was released as a way to make more money from the bands growing success. As Bob Neaverson said: The project was initially envisaged by the American-owned company as little more than another low budget exploitation picture which would capitalize on the groups fleeting success with the teenage market No matter which way it is looked at, the decision to release a Beatles film came about because of a money making business deal. Although it turned out much more was achieved than simply money. Director Richard Lester broke rules that had been associated with the pop music format since the 1950s. To begin, one of the opening scenes is filmed in an unconventional train carriage, a setting with no musical connection. His use of free hand documentary filming not only added excitement and energy but also made the viewer feel as if he or she were in the film closely interacting with the band. This made the Beatles able to be shown as the guys next-door, seemingly unaffected by fame, instead of fictional characters. Whereas realism had already been established in British films through the working class genre known as kitchen sink drama with films like The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) and A Taste of Honey (1961), A Hard Days Night was the first music video to incorporate thi s into its style and content. This working class image was an important factor that shone through the films of the Beatles. In a time when all well-known artists were predominantly imported, any British act doing significantly well was a joy. The bands natural working class attitudes coupled together with their down to earth, oblivious out look on fame only endeared them to the British public who Neaverson says, upheld them as symbols of the new social mobility and classlessness of sixties Britain. In this sense, this approach broke down barriers and was vital to the modernization of British national identity in the 1960s. Having looked at how the Beatles became symbols for a cultural shift I will now investigate how music videos in the 1990s adapted the skills that Richard Lester put into practice and decide if the substance of the video is similar to that of Lennon and McCartneys writing. One such video that involves strong British connotations is Park Life by Blur. It is a song that lyrically documents parts of British life with examples including being wakened by the dustmen, cups of tea and feeding the pigeons. Although these are very banal actions the visuals found in the video take on a different, more contemporary feel. In the video actor Phil Daniels plays a creepy door-to-door double-glazing salesman driving around in his Ford Granada Coupe Mk1. It seems at times that the video is not related to the song until the rapid images of British life the row of terraced houses, the red post boxes, the arrival of the ice cream van and the playful nature of the band meeting up with friends in 90s style attire spinning each other in a trolley crop up. In many ways the video resonates with a feeling not to dissimilar from Penny Lane, which I mentioned earlier. This parallel is continued through the use of characters in the video the man with the four King Charles dogs, the fat man in the shirt and braces, the jogger and the couple sprawled across their sports car with their names printed above the drivers and passengers window. These are visually very interesting characters and like McCartneys fireman; banker and nurse could easily be fantastic characters in a book of British cultural life. The Park Life music video is obviously based around actual everyday encounters experienced by Damon Albarn that have been tweaked to appear more surreal much the same format as the lyrics take on in the song. Using Pop Music to Promote Political Interests Popular music has long been associated with showing dissatisfaction or opposition with the government and the government has always shown an interest in securing for itself a stake in the management of powerful bands. Conversely, today in China, leader Hu Jintao has spoken out frequently about building a harmonious society. He has great power and influence over the media, mainly monitoring everything that is broadcast on the radio. The governments ideas to create harmony are through censorship of the media. All music heard on Chinese radio consists of love songs or upbeat ballads. These gentle songs are not damaging to Chinas image of a stable and harmonious country. Pop and Pop/Rock songs where politics, rebellion and casual sex are the themes are disregarded for fear of a revolution. The state cannot completely censor music they find harmful, although they do have complete ownership of all broadcasting media giving them a loophole through which they can have the majority rule. Chin ese people believe the popular music they hear on the radio all sounds the same and if youve heard one song you know them all. Even musicians asked to submit songs for the Olympic games in Beijing were too worried to write anything with fear of going against the state policies. In this example the state is controlling the music. They are keeping a lid on the pot of society to prevent the revolution inside over spilling. In addition something that is so carefully prohibited may incite curiosity within youths of any culture and a notion to rebel will ensue. An example of this use of music to revolt was apparent in Germany during world war two. If music can be said to be associated with nationalism and national identity then it can also be criticized for supposed destabilization of the nations culture. During world war two, young German music fans sought after the British and American way of life and defined themselves through the music of Swing. Although they were not an organised political opposition group, they refused the culture of National Socialism. The group made such an impact in 1941 that the Gestapo violently repressed them and police ordered anyone under the age of 21 to stay out of dance bars (Whiteley, Bennett and Hawkins 2005). Whether a connection is made as a shared goal for public popularity or a way to manipulate or even to revolt, music and politics have a bond. Throughout the 1960s and again in the 1990s political groups created a connection with pop stars of the time. In 1965, current Prime Minister Harold Wilson showed he was in touch with the younger generation by awarding the Beatles with the honour of an MBE. It proved a popular move with young people. This move did however spark some controversy. Protestors and picketers who had received the award for military service showed their displeasure towards Harold Wilson but there were too few of them to make any real impact. Attackers thought it a clever and crafty plan to solicit votes for the next years general election but defenders argued the fan base of the Beatles were generally under the age of 21, too young to vote at the time. In any case, bestowing an MBE on the Beatles showed that Harold Wilson was a modern leader willing to embrace new ideas and be part of a contemporary Britain that culturally, the Beatles were helping to shape. A year later George Harrison would write the song Taxman as a retort to the 95% super taxes introduced by Harold Wilson and even included a harmony within the song incorporating his name. John Blacking argues that, Cultural politics, the use of culture and the arts to promote political interests, invariably exploits and contains the power of music to restrict political argument. It diverts attention from the real political issues or simply asserts the hegemony of its promoters (Blacking) On the other hand, not all people would agree with John Blackings statement. Some believe that in the right hands music can open up avenues and make people pay attention to various issues. Khaver Siddiqi would argue that, In an era where politics uses as many avenues it can to reach the people, it is ultimately the words of song and rhyme that will attract the attention more, than speeches ever will. (Siddiqi 2009) This thought can be put into practice if we look at the issues of race in the 1960s. In 1968 James Brown wrote a song called Say it Loud (Im Black and Im Proud) that become a very successful black power anthem. It was a racially chaotic period during the 1960s and this song filled black Americans with pride. This elevated Brown to the status of icon and also made him the face for a movement that shaped the 1960s. In 1997, after a period of predominantly conservative power in Britain, a new Prime Minister was elected, Tony Bl