Rock Music from the Late 1960s to the Mid-1970s : a Lacanian intervention

Abstract

In rock music history, the period between the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the punk era saw the experimentation of the mid to late 1960s lead to the creation of several distinct subgenres and styles. Using Lacanian psychoanalysis and cultural theory, this thesis focuses on this often understudied and overshadowed period of rock music history with the aim of reassessing the value of some key critical debates to form a commentary on the music’s place in wider society. Following introductory arguments is an exploration of rock and Lacanian theory through four chapters. Chapter one introduces Lacanian theory through the lens of British blues and race. Chapter two focuses on the fantasy of progression as it relates to capitalist production and the psychoanalytic category of perversion, using the band Genesis. Chapter three explores David Bowie’s alter-egos and addresses questions of identity politics with an exploration of Lacan’s sinthome. Chapter four takes Lacan’s formulation of the death drive into a study of Hawkwind, highlighting the nature of drive and how this situates a music within a specific type of community. The thesis gives an account of an often-overlooked period in popular music history, furthers a critical musicology that considers popular music as a source of theoretical value and brings clarity to notions borrowed from psychoanalysis within music studies. Secondarily, the thesis presents a consistent version of Lacanian theory that will serve as a framework for further enquiries into psychoanalysis and music.