CIDADES, Comunidades e Territórios

‘People Have the Power’: Songs of Resistance in Late Modernity

Ultimate bias. Memorabilia, K-pop and fandom identities

Abstract This article puts forward a sustained approach in the perception of the processes of construction of - individual and collective - meanings and identities in relation to the musical (sub)genre K-pop. Thus, contrary to the logic that emphasizes the loss of relevance of the CD, we tried to demonstrate that - as an object of memorabilia and musical consumption - it remains alive within the K-pop culture. In fact, not only the CD, but also other memorabilia items that emphasize the creation of visual and identity narratives, in the sense that they are seen as a means to establish, maintain and cement a relationship with the idol. Thus, in parallel to the fact that K-pop, as a musical genre, has a global character, it also highlights individual, regional and local aspects, mainly due to the variety of products that are produced, following a personalisation logic at the same time as we are facing a mass selling process. Thus, through the use of a qualitative methodology (Guerra, 2021; Pink, 2020), we intend to analyze the memorabilia items of seven Portuguese K-pop fans, in order to perceive the processes of identity creation, but also to denote the symbologies and meanings that are built around the items.

Resistance, protest and configurations of time, space and place in Herbs’ Pacific reggae songs

Abstract This paper begins by exploring the notions of resistance and protest in popular music. Although the terms have been used in Anglophone discussions of popular music for some hundred years, there is a tendency to treat them as synonymous. The paper draws on the work of David Laing (2003), who considers the distinction between protest songs and resistance songs, and also extends Barbara Harlow’s (1987) conceptualisation of resistance poetry to the similarly compressed discourse structures of popular songs. Framed by this exploration and by Mikhail Bakhtin’s theorisation of popular culture as “the privileged bearer of democratic and progressive values” (Hirschkop, 1987, p. 92), the paper presents an interpretive discourse analysis of the construction of social commentary, resistance and protest in the music of the band Herbs in Aotearoa New Zealand’s first Pacific reggae album, released in 1981. This investigation includes consideration of configurations of time/space and place relationships and the implications of these for meaning in three of Herbs’ songs, through the lens of Bakhtin’s (1981b) notion of the chronotope.

Musical Politics: Protest and Dissent in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract Popular songs play an important role in mobilising political campaigns by creating platforms for voices of protest and dissent in the discussion of significant issues that questions those in power. This research considers the role songs of protest and political dissent have played over the past 60 years of Aotearoa New Zealand’s postcolonial history. Political messages have been embedded in musical texts reflecting the region’s unique historical and cultural development, especially the positioning of its Pacific peoples (indigenous Māori and immigrants from other Pacific Islands) in issues and processes of political protest. In the 1960s and 1970s, when global human rights movements were gaining traction, in Aotearoa intense feelings over inequities and injustices manifested themselves in song. Māori land rights, sporting relations with the apartheid regime in South Africa and the programme of nuclear testing pursued by the French in the Pacific were all issues of major concern, provoking marches, occupations and boycotts. The social reforms and domestic processes experienced in the separation from Britain (1947) included a ‘coming out’ of difference and dissent and a ‘coming in’ of new cultural influences into the music industry by new waves of migration and the birth of the local recording industry (1960-1986). This case study features 17 representative recordings that cover a range of themes (racism, land rights, nuclear tests, climate change and political discontent) that attracted media attention and public debate. The results presented show how protest songs in Aotearoa continue to play an important role in mobilising political campaigns in the Pacific.

‘Dio$ No$ Libre Del Dinero’. Um ensaio acerca dos cruzamentos entre as retóricas pós-feministas e as indústrias (pós)culturais na obra de Rosalía

Resumo Este artigo tem como objetivo último discutir e perspetivar as formas pelas quais Rosalía, enquanto artista, aciona um conjunto ampliado de narrativas pós-feministas, não só nas suas letras, mas também nos seus videoclipes neste contexto de modernidade tardia. Assim, mantendo o princípio de que as retóricas pós-feministas são abrangentes e multifacetadas, foram analisadas quatro canções: “Malamente” (2018), “Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi” (2019), “Aute Cuture” (2019) e “Juro Que” (2020)1. Desta forma, intentámos aferir da(s) dualidade(s) que pauta o discurso artístico de Rosalía, indo, assim, ao encontro de uma dialógica entre as indústrias (pós)culturais e o discurso sociológico acerca dos objetos, narrativas e imagéticos criativos delas emergentes.

Abstract The ultimate aim of this article is to discuss and perspective the ways in which Rosalía, as an artist, triggers an expanded set of post-feminist narratives, not only in her lyrics, but also in her video clips in this context of late modernity. Thus, maintaining the principle that post-feminist rhetoric is comprehensive and multifaceted, four songs have been analysed: "Malamente" (2018), "Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi" (2019), "Aute Cuture" (2019) and "Juror Que" (2020). In this way, we intended to assess the duality(ies) that guide Rosalía's artistic discourse, thus meeting a dialogic between the (post)cultural industries and the sociological discourse about the objects, narratives and creative imagery emerging from them.

Intergenerational struggles and technological dramas of the neobakala music scene

Abstract In late modernity, Western societies undergo profound processes of change that lead to tensions between different social actors, which sometimes occur in intergenerational terms. This article explores these tensions in the field of music through the neobakala scene, which is composed of adults who have created a nostalgic discourse to establish a hierarchy with other musical scenes created by youngsters. The concepts of nostalgia and generation, therefore, will be key in articulating this text but both will be critically approximated, since the two assume a presence of memory in their constitution (that is not always backed by evidence). In this sense, this article, which also explores the past of the neobakala scene, claims memory as a field on its own, differentiated from nostalgia and as a source of criticism of it. On the other hand, in the analysis of this nostalgia, the neobakala scene and the same intergenerational struggles that occur in this late modernity, this article will pay special attention to the role of technological changes. To this end, the article will resort to the concept of remediation and, above all, that of "technological drama", which will allow us to observe a process of reintegration in which the neobakala subversive past ends up aligning itself with power in a context of expansion of digital technologies.

«Toda a minha vida fui Thug». A (des)construção do urbano através do rap

Resumo Até que ponto a música ou outras produções artísticas podem ser um meio de reconhecimento e de aprendizagem sobre um território? (Guerra, 2019a). Esta foi a questão inicial com que nos debatemos, pois apesar de sabermos de forma corroborada o papel e a relevância de géneros musicais como o rap e da cultura hip-hop no mundo artístico, começamos a questionar de que forma são abordados determinados conteúdos, partindo de influências musicais distintas e diversas, desde o rap ao trap, consoante as manifestações de (sub)géneros musicais (Frith, 1996; Lena & Peterson, 2008). Deste modo, o nosso foco incidiu numa análise das letras das músicas de treze artistas, com o intuito de perspetivar as mensagens líricas que são transmitidas, as diversas relações ou referências que possam ser feitas a contextos geográficos, mais concretamente bairros sociais, e concomitantemente perceber como é que estas produções são pautadas pelas posições de afirmação estereotipadas relativas à representação do artista gangster, às vivências e aos consumos desviantes. Como é que um país de pequena dimensão se posiciona, em termos de produção e consumo musical, face a estes processos de resistência (Johansson & Lalander, 2012; Guerra & Quintela, 2016) musical? Acima disso, tentamos compreender em que sentido os artistas alvo de análise ainda refletem nas suas produções artísticas temas como a exclusão, a violência, a criminalidade e outras questões. Trata-se de um artigo que procura enfatizar o papel das criações artísticas enquanto (re)produtoras de conhecimento relevante sobre as realidades sociais (Guerra, 2019a; Becker, 2007).

Abstract To what extent can music or other artistic productions be a means of recognition and learning about a territory? (Guerra, 2019a). This was the initial question with which we struggled, because despite knowing in a corroborated way the role and relevance of musical genres such as rap and hip-hop culture in the artistic world; this questioning focused on how certain contents are approached, starting from distinct and diverse musical influences, from rap to trap, according to the manifestations of musical (sub)genres (Frith, 1996; Lena & Peterson, 2008). In this way, our focus was on an analysis of the lyrics of thirteen artists' songs, in order to put into perspective, the lyrical messages that are transmitted, the various relationships or references that can be made to geographical contexts, more specifically social neighbourhoods, and concomitantly understand how these productions are guided by stereotypical affirmative positions concerning the representation of the gangster artist, the experiences and deviant consumption. How does a small-sized country position itself, in terms of music production and consumption, in relation to these processes of musical resistance (Johansson & Lalander, 2012; Guerra & Quintela, 2016)? Above that, we try to understand in what sense the artists targeted by the analysis still reflect in their artistic productions’ themes such as exclusion, violence, criminality and other issues. This is an article that seeks to emphasize the role of artistic creations as (re)producers of relevant knowledge about social realities (Guerra, 2019a; Becker, 2007).

“There is no love in SP”: Music, graffiti, and youth cultures in political protests in Brazil

Abstract This article aims to analyze how the articulations between two important aspects of youth culture, music, and graffiti, can inspire the emergence of political practices connected to the idea of activism in contemporary Brazil. As a case study, we analyzed the present dialogue between the graffiti “Mais amor por favor” and the song “Não Existe Amor em SP”, by rapper Criolo, as a potentializing element for the manifestation of collectives in the city of São Paulo at events of character that would signal a force of mobilization that would be even more highlighted in the so-called June Journeys, in 2013. Given this context, we emphasize that both music and street art can be intermediaries in the relationship between youth and territory in the resignification of daily life in large cities, functioning as a language capable of mediating the relationship between youth, territory, and politics. Under an activist orientation, this arrangement is a testament to the fact that such practices reinforce the capacity and power of the logics of on and offline mobilization that surround youth culture in the 21st century.

Rock’n’roll, drugs, stigmas and risks: An approach to the current state of affairs in Portugal

Abstract This article tries to explore the applicability of the epitome ‘Sex, drugs and rock’n’roll’ to the Portuguese social reality, particularly in the field of rock music. Rock music took its first steps in Portugal in the late 1950s/early 1960s, and from an early age, it has been associated with risky conducts, particularly linked to sex, alcohol, and the use of other licit and illicit substances. So, in the same way that happened in the Anglo-Saxon reality, this epitome encloses a vast process of moral panic production/reproduction in Portugal. Considering the absence of scientific research exploring the association between rock music, substance use and/or abuse and occasional and/or risky sexual conducts in Portugal, we consider it crucial to develop this approach. This article is based on factual and current data, particularly interviews from some protagonists of the Portuguese rock music scene.

Estética ou algo mais? O Neofolk como veículo de divulgação de ideário de extrema-direita

Resumo A música popular tem sido utilizada como meio para a mobilização política. São disso exemplo o folk americano, a chanson française ou a música de intervenção portuguesa dos anos 1960 e 1970 e as suas mensagens anti-guerra. O punk, hip-hop, rap ou Riot Grrrls, em décadas mais recentes, procuram também despertar consciências para questões raciais, de desigualdade de género ou de opressão patriarcal. Menos atenção tem sido dada à utilização da música pela extrema-direita como forma de promoção das suas ideias. O Neofolk tem sido apontado como um dos meios para divulgar ideologia desta índole, devendo-se muita dessa associação à estética usada por algumas bandas. O presente artigo visa clarificar se o recurso à simbologia e indumentária nazifascista por parte destes grupos é apenas uma questão estética ou algo mais. Com base na análise documental e metodologia netnográfica analisam-se entrevistas, vídeos de atuações ao vivo, músicas e álbuns de algumas das bandas que mais vezes são acusadas de procurarem esconder uma agenda política por detrás dos seus projetos musicais. Dá-se especial atenção às caixas de comentários relativos aos vídeos analisados, no sentido de perceber qual a perceção dos fãs perante a estética utilizada. A análise permite concluir que se verifica um certo pânico moral em torno das ligações do Neofolk à extrema-direita, embora seja possível concluir que alguns dos projetos analisados tendem, de facto, a fazer com que os fãs percecionem que se estão a defender ideias fascistas, como sucede no caso do marcial industrial, um dos subgrupos do industrial.

Abstract Popular music has been used as milieu for political mobilization. Examples of this are American folk, la Chanson Française or portuguese Música de Intervenção from the 60s and 70s and their anti-war messages. Punk, hip-hop, rap, or Riot Grrrls in recent decades have also sought to raise awareness of racial issues, gender inequality, or the patriarchal oppression of societies. Less attention has been paid to the use of music by the extreme right as a means of spreading their ideas. Neofolk has been pointed out as one of the means that is used to divulge fascist ideology, and much of this association is due to the aesthetics used by these bands. This article aims to clarify if the use of fascist symbology and clothing is only an aesthetic resource or something more. Doing document analysis and netnography we investigate interviews, videos of live performances and videos of songs and albums of some of the bands that are most often accused of trying to hide a political agenda behind their musical projects. Special attention is given to the commentary boxes related to the analyzed videos, in order to understand how the fans perceive the aesthetics used. The analysis leads to the conclusion that there is a certain moral panic around the Neofolk connections to the extreme right, although it is possible to conclude that some of the projects analyzed tend, in fact, to make fans believe that they are defending fascist ideas, as in the case of the Martial Industrial, one of the subgroups of Industrial music.

Being nomadic and overseas rappers. Construction of hybrid identity in Chinese hip-hop scene

Abstract This research aims to explore the function of intercultural communication of Chinese Rap music and the construction of hybrid identity, through discourse analysis methods: Narrative Semiotics, visual semiology, and sociolinguistics of globalization. The general context of the research is the development of global youth culture and Rap music as an intercultural formulation of local identities. Songs of two Chinese Rap groups are analyzed: Higher Brothers and Bohan Phoenix. In short, it attempts to scrutinize their use of Rap lyrics in order to promote the intercultural communication and construction of hybrid identity.

El Rey: Diario de un Latin King

Jóvenes y creatividad: Entre futuros sombrios y tempos de conquista

Outras estradas para andar com The Legendary Tigerman: Conversa com Paulo Furtado em abril de 2021

Viagens com guitarras ao alto: Conversa com Tó Trips em maio de 2021