Sponsor
Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning
First Advisor
Gerald Sussman
Date of Publication
1-1-2010
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Urban Studies (M.U.S.)
Department
Urban Studies and Planning
Language
English
Subjects
Music -- Social aspects -- Oregon -- Portland, Alternative rock music -- Social aspects -- Oregon -- Portland, Cultural landscapes -- Oregon -- Portland, Popular culture -- Oregon -- Portland
DOI
10.15760/etd.126
Physical Description
1 online resource (vi, 142 p.), col. maps
Abstract
Portland has a rich, active, and fluid music culture which is constantly being (re)created and (re)defined by a loose network of local musicians who write, record, produce, promote, distribute, and perform their music locally (and sometimes regionally, nationally, and internationally) and local residents, or audiences, who engage in local musical practices. Independent ("indie") local music making in Portland, which is embedded in DIY (do it yourself) values, creates alternative cultural places and landscapes in the city and is one medium through which some people represent themselves in the community. These residents not only perform, consume, promote, and distribute local music, they also (re)create places to host musical expressions. They have built alternative and democratic cultural landscapes, or culturescapes, in the city. Involved Portlanders strive to make live music performances accessible and affordable to all people, demonstrating through musical practices that the city is a shared space and represents a diversity of people, thoughts, values, and cultural preferences. Using theoretical tools from critical research about the economic, spatial, and social role of cultures in cities, particularly music, and ethnographic research of the Portland music scene, including participant observations and in-depth interviews with Portland musicians and other involved residents, this research takes a critical approach to examining ways in which manifestations of independent music are democratic cultural experiences that influence the city's cultural identity and are a medium through which a loosely defined group of Portlanders represent their cultural values and right to the city. In particular, it focuses on how local musical practices, especially live performances, (re)create alternative spaces within the city for musical expressions and influence the city's cultural landscapes, as well as differences between DIY independent music in Portland and its commodified forms and musicians and products produced by global music industry.
Rights
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/4714
Recommended Citation
Ball, Rebecca Elizabeth, "Portland's Independent Music Scene: The Formation of Community Identities and Alternative Urban Cultural Landscapes" (2010). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 126.
https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.126
Comments
Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning