Lana E. Deist
COMM 342
Dr. T. Russell-Loretz
5/2/99
Alternative Music: The Rhetoric of Generation X
Music has always been the spokesperson for those who listen and perform it. From classical to rap, music has held the listeners enthralled by both its acoustic tones and the words of the lyrics reflect not only the writer’s feelings, but also the feelings of many human beings. From the rise of rock and roll in the 1950s, music has been categorized by genre. Since the rise of the Counterculture movement in the 1960s, music began to take it’s category by the nature of the music, lyrics and of the message behind the lyrics. For example, Peter, Paul & Mary were folk singers not only because their music was a blend of acoustic harmony, but because the lyrics made reference to subject matter that was “down home”. The Grateful Dead were not only classified in the rock genre but also identified with the protests of the Hippies during the middle and late 1960s. Disco, rap, punk all were categorized by sound but by the fans who bought the records and identified with the lyrical story within the music. This paper will attempt to look at how one such generation, Generation X, has been identified with a category of music with the rock genre, alternative music or alternative, and how the music’s lyrics rhetorically effect its given audience.
Background information
Just as music has been categorized, so have human beings. Humans are effected by the events of history that surround their existence; family life, historical events, and socio-economic class are factors in the “typing” of a generation. All generations are first classified by age group, usually by a span of given years, then historical events surrounding their formative years are engaged to further type the peer group. The “Baby Boomers” were the children born during the span of years between 1945 and 1964, the years following World War II and the Korean war, when the largest number of children were born during the 20th Century. Likewise, the children born between 1965 and 1977, who were the children of these Baby Boomers, would later become known as “Generation X”.
The Baby Boomers, like the generations that proceeded them, would come to use the music of the 1950s and 1960s to identify themselves through the period’s music and the lyrics of the songs. Generation X, or Gen. X, would come to be identified with a particular category of music within the rock genre known as alternative music.
First, to understand a generation’s name one must understand the circumstances behind the naming. The Baby Boomers were named after the literal event of their birth; they were the largest amount of children born in the American 20th Century. However, Gen. X was christened not at their birth, but only after they had reached a certain maturity. The name that now identifies the over 50 million American individuals born during the mid 1960s to late 1970s [1]. The first usage of the name was by a punk rock band in the early 1980s and later adopted by author Douglas Coupland for his book of the same title (Buck & Rembert). Coupland’s novel, published in 1991, portrayed a group of apathetic, “slacker” young adults who lived in the shadow of their Baby Boomer parents (Dwyer). The name therefore stuck to this generation, although it could not be uniformly stated that all members could be stereotyped into Coupland’s literary archetypes. This generation tends to be treated as outcasts, unable or unwilling to get a “real job”, willing to work menial jobs that are not taxing on the mentality of the highly educated individuals that pay minimum wage, and who are unable to find purpose in their lives.
This can also be said for the sub genre known as alternative or modern rock music. First identified in the mid 1980s as a subdivision, growing out of the urban punk movements. It has no strict definition, rather it is identified by the “feel” of the music (Farley). The lyrics of this music often touch on feelings of anger, despair, lust, confusion and love, usually as a reaction to the circumstances of growing up during the 1970s and 1980s (Farley). The lyrics are not however a call to action, such as the protests songs of the Hippies and Baby Boomers. The music is called “alternative” to describe the tactics used by the musicians to get their works released. Many shun the tradition path of attempting to get a mega record company deal and follow through with recording on small, independent labels. The sound of the alternative genre is as varied as the people who listen to the format the most ranging from the arty-rock sound of the Smashing Pumpkins, the folk-tinged Soul Asylum, the emotional abandonment and lost soul sound of Nirvana to the angrier-than-you feminist credo of Alanis Morissette (Farley). Many of the musicians of this sub genre are of the age group of Gen. X, compounding the connection between the music and the masses.
Music for the Masses: The Influence of Media on Generation X
Generation X has not only been identified with alternative music but they have embraced it. What has encouraged this embracement has been this generation’s adoption and influence of mass media. Gen. Xers will spend more waking moments watching, listening and interacting with media more than any other activity (Stepp). However, the Gen. Xer is not attracted to the traditional media such as newspapers and TV news but instead rely on newer formats of information. Much of this is due to the lack of attention these formats have given to the generation (Stepp). The internet and TV variety news shows like “Inside edition” not only gives the generation the sound bite of news required for their time-restricted lives but also offers entertainment.
Gen. X has been defined as a lost, detached, cynical and alienated by the traditional media. Coupland’s novel, Generation X, documents a group of twentysomethings who feel American culture and society has abandoned them, leaving them without heroes to look up to and giving them freedoms that have a negative effect (Horowitz). The trio of Andy, Dag and Claire attempt to escape the mainstream world, defined by the materialism of their parents (the Yuppie Baby Boomers) in order to achieve personal satisfaction and peace (Horowitz).
TV shows featuring this generation was almost nonexistent until the early 1990s. MTV, the music television network launched in 1980, was the first to cater to this coming of age generation of latch key kids from divorced families who’s history was defined by TV (Liebman, Star). Gen. X yearned for their personal problems to be solved in less than 30 minutes just like the sitcom families they watched on “Growing Pains” and “The Brady Bunch”.
Movies portrayed the generation as a group of good-hearted losers. Movies such as “Singles” and “reality bites” all include stereotypical archetypes of sloth ridden, talented individuals who were linked with intelligent, hard working young people. This duality of the generation has not only lead to further distrust of traditional media but also created a gap between the generation portrayed and the generation that runs traditional media.
The Internet has always been the media of youth. Young men and women who were outcasts and overcame the odds created computers and Internet. Gen. X was brought up with new technology, adopted it as their own vehicle and have achieved a high rate of success in the field of information technology. For Gen. X the Information Age was their new frontier and was primarily controlled by people of their own class.
Radio and music seemed to be the only “traditional” media that Gen. X cared and nurtured. By the mid 90s, this aging stay-at-home/wait for marriage generation had welcomed the format of alternative/modern rock (Russell; Jet v. 85 n.26 p.40; Nunziata).In 1997 the format attracted the highest percentage of adults age 18-34 of any other format at 72%. The format was particularly attractive to whites, evenly split between male and female listeners where about 50% were single and had some higher education (Broadcast & Cable p.81).
In 1996, the genre itself led in total US sales with 105 million units and was the only genre to post an increase from previous year’s sales. Radio stations answered this generation’s market cry by increasing alternative music play lists by 11.9%. Gen. X ranked music as the highest form of entertainment they had spent money on with 20% (Nunziata).
With these numbers traditional media and culture began to cater and embrace the prodigal sons and daughters of Generation X (Starr). Music festivals such as Lallapolooza, the HORDE tour, the Lillith fair and even the 20th Anniversary of the Baby Boomers Woodstock that featured alternative artists were picked up by corporate sponsorship. Some artists revolted but most grudgingly accepted their fates at the hands of the record executives (Starr; Farley).
More Than Words: The rhetorical implications of the lyrics of alternative music
But what attracts this generation to music? Using Kenneth Burke’s model, Gen. X seeks to end its alienation by finding identity through the actors of the dramatistic paradigm called life. Gen. Xers are looking for identity within themselves and externalize their ideals by identifying with others (Smith 322). As well, the group is attempting to find an object for its love, the original motive of identification (323). For Gen. X, they need a voice and find that voice not in them but in others, mainly through the words of alternative music artists. By observing the song lyrics of alternative music artists as vehicles of rhetoric Gen. X follows Burke’s model of using communication to establish identity.
Who Are You? : Alienation and Identification
According to Burke, humans use communication as a tool in the projection of the psyche in order to establish their persona. Every person uses communication, primarily through language, to identify himself or herself. For the Baby Boomers, their identity was established through the growing pains of history: they grew up during the height of the Cold War, the turbulence of the 1960s, the quest for fun during the 1970s and the monetary wealth and establishment achieved in the Go-Go 80s. Generation X, who at this time range in age from 21 to 35, have lacked this definition through history but instead define themselves through their personal, domestic experiences. As history bonded the members of the previous generation, the consequences of that history on the families and children of Generation X have bonded them together.
The vehicle used by Gen. X to bond is alternative music, most specifically though song lyrics. In establishing persona, Burke contends that humans choose either alienation or identification. Alienation deals with the feeling of division. Gen. X is by its experience divided, alienated from other generations. Within Burke’s alienation rhetoric is divided into two groups; one deals with the feeling of a person that they are better than others, the second is a feeling they are worse than others. In the lyrics of alternative music, the rhetoric leans toward the second part of this duality.
In Green Day’s “Longview”, the band from Southern California addresses this feeling of alienation. The speaker addresses the hopelessness of life, the lack of empathy of parents and a general apathy that has been labeled to Generation X. Instead of giving a hopeful model of action, Green Day accepts this label, encouraging the listener that motivation is useless in the face of adversity because the preconceptions of the generation are too deeply rooted in the minds of others to attempt to contest. The only relief from this life, according to the band, is masturbation, which can even get old for the lazy [See Appendix Section A: Lyrics Cited].
The Seattle-based Soundgarden further reflects this alienation of pity. In “The Day I Tried To Live,” writer/singer Chris Cornell reflects the hopelessness of a Gen. Xer who attempts to fight the system of oppression defines by the Baby Boomers against this generation, only to fall victim to the world.
“I woke the same as
any other day you know/I should have stayed in bed/The day I tried to win/I
wallowed in the blood and mud with/All the other pigs/And I learned that I was
a liar/Just like you”
Appendix Section A
This passage can be compared to Gen. X’s attempt to move into the real world. Most employers find the stereotype placed on the generation too much to overcome and Gen. X finds that in order to succeed you must bow to the current system, abandoning any beliefs they may have had in finding a place in the world.
Nirvana’s “Been A Son” further reflects this alienation. Dealing with the modern angst of an unwanted daughter and the expectations of parents, the lyrics of the late Kurt Cobain echo the scolding of a parent. The use of the repeated line “She should have . . .” tell of one person who fights the system, keeps her beliefs and is still scorned for her strength of character.
“She should have stood out in a crowd/She should have made her mother proud/She should have fallen on her stance/She should have had another chance/She should have been a son”
Appendix Section A
But
even through this alienation, Generation X finds its identity. The alienation
is the identity. The representation of oppression rings true throughout the
generation, allowing them to find unity in their personal plights. Once unity
has been achieved through identity, Burke believes that there is a second group
of dualities: substantial and consubstantial identity.
tiny
music . . . songs from the Vatican gift shop: Concretized and localized
substantial identification
Burke’s
theory on consubstantial identification is divided into two parts,
concretization and localization (Smith 324). Concretization attempts to
identify the speaker with an actual material object. By using a concrete object
as metaphor listeners can identify with the speaker, further strengthening the
speaker’s rhetoric. Two alternative musicians use these methods in order to
identify with the Generation X audience.
Pearl
Jam’s song “Wishlist” uses a series of concrete images that appeal to a
generation X member as a means of identification. The list of wishes reveals
the overwhelming wish of a generation for fulfillment of the self. All the
items are present in the Gen. X experience: ornaments on a Christmas tree, a
souvenir, a radio song, and a neutron bomb. By using these easily identifiable
objects, Pearl Jam’s lyricists Eddie Vedder and Stone Gossard give listeners
the intangible ideals of a wish for love and acceptance with actual items of
love and care.
In the
songs “Daughter” and “Better Man,” Pearl Jam uses objects to further identify
with the lives of Generation X women. “Daughter”
Works Cited
Appendix
Section A: Lyrics Cited
Green Day
Longview
Sit around and watch the tube, but nothing's on
Change the channels for an hour or two
Twiddle my thumbs just for a bit
I'm sick of all the same old shit
In a house with unlocked doors
And I'm fucking lazy
Bite my lip and close my eyes
Take me away to paradise
I'm so damn bored I'm going blind!!!
And I smell like shit
Peel me off this Velcro seat and get me moving
I sure as hell can't do it by myself
I'm feeling like a dog in heat
Barred indoors from the summer street
I locked the door to my own cell
And I lost the key
Bite my lip and close my eyes
Take me away to paradise
I'm so damn bored I'm going blind!!!
And I smell like shit
I got no motivation
Where is my motivation?
No time for the motivation
Smoking my inspiration
Sit around and watch the phone, but no one's calling
Call me pathetic, call me what you will
My mother says to get a job
But she don't like the one she's got
When masturbation's lost its fun
You're fucking lazy
Bite my lip and close my eyes
Take me away to paradise
I'm so damn bored
I'm going blind
And loneliness has to suffice
Bite my lip and close my eyes
I was slipping away to paradise
Some say, "quit or I’ll go blind."
But it's just a myth
Soundgarden
The Day I Tried To
Live
I woke the same as any other day
Except a voice was in my head
It said seize the day, pull the trigger
Drop the blade, and watch the rolling heads
The day I tried to live
I stole a thousand beggar's change
And gave it to the rich
The day I tried to win
I dangled from the power lines
And let the martyrs stretch
Singing
One more time around might do it
One more time around might make it
One more time around might do it
One more time around
The day I tried to live
Words you say never seem
To live up to the ones inside your head
The lives we make never seem
To ever get us anywhere but dead
The day I tried to live
I wallowed in the blood and mud with
All the other pigs
I woke the same as any other day you know
I should have stayed in bed
The day I tried to win
I wallowed in the blood and mud with
All the other pigs
And I learned that I was a liar
Just like you
Music: Cornell
Lyrics: Cornell
Nirvana
Been a Son
She should have stayed away from friends
She should have had more time to spend
She should have died when she was born
She should have worn the crown of thorns
She should have been a son (x4)
She should have stood out in a crowd
She should have made her mother proud
She should have fallen on her stance
She should have had another chance
She should have been a son (x4)
(Guitar solo)
She should have been a son (x4)
She should have stayed away from friends
She should have had more time to spend
She should have died when she was born
She should have worn the crown of thorns
Pearl Jam
Wishlist
I wish I was a neutron bomb, for once I could go off
I wish I was a sacrifice but somehow still lived on
I wish I was a sentimental ornament you hung on The Christmas tree,
I wish I was the star that went on top
I wish I was the evidence, I wish I was the grounds
For 50 million hands upraised and open toward the sky
I wish I was a sailor with someone who waited for me
I wish I was as fortunate, as fortunate as me
I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good
I wish I was the full moon shining off a Camaro's hood
I wish I was an alien at home behind the sun
I wish I was the souvenir you kept your house key on
I wish I was the pedal brake that you depended on
I wish I was the verb 'to trust' and never let you down
I wish I was a radio song, the one that you turned up
I wish... I wish...
Daughter
You guys ready...
Alone...listless...breakfast table in an otherwise empty room
Young girl...violins...center of her own attention
The, mother reads aloud, child, tries to understand it
Tries to make her proud
The shades go down, it's in her head
Painted room...can't deny there's something wrong...
Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me...
She holds the hand that holds her down
She will...rise above...ooh...oh...
Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me (2x)
Don't call me daughter, not fit to be
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me...
The shades go down (2x)
The shades go, go, go...
Better Man
Waitin', watchin' the clock, it's four o'clock, it's got to stop
Tell him, take no more, she practices her speech
As he opens the door, she rolls over...
Pretends to sleep as he looks her over
She lies and says she's in love with him, can't find a better man...
She dreams in color, she dreams in red, can't find a better man...
Can't find a better man (2x)
Ohh...
Talkin' to herself, there's no one else who needs to know...
She tells herself, oh...
Memories back when she was bold and strong
And waiting for the world to come along...
Swears she knew it, now she swears he's gone
She lies and says she's in love with him, can't find a better man...
She dreams in color, she dreams in red, can't find a better man...
She lies and says she still loves him, can't find a better man...
She dreams in color, she dreams in red, can't find a better man...
Can't find a better man (2x) Yeah...
She loved him, yeah...she don't want to leave this way
She feeds him, yeah...that's why she'll be back again
Can't find a better man (3x)
Can't find a better...man...
Ohh...ohh...
Uh huh... (5x)
Ohh...
Counting Crows
Long December
words & music by:
Adam F. Duritz
A long December and there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I can't remember the last thing that you said as you were leavin'
Now the days go by so fast
And it's one more day up in the canyons
And it's one more night in Hollywood
If you think that I could be forgiven...I wish you would
The smell of hospitals in winter
And the feeling that it's all a lot of oysters, but no pearls
All at once you look across a crowded room
To see the way that light attaches to a girl
And it's one more day up in the canyons
And it's one more night in Hollywood
If you think you might come to California...I think you should
Drove up to Hillside Manor sometime after two a.m.
And talked a little while about the year
I guess the winter makes you laugh a little slower,
Makes you talk a little lower about the things you could not show her
And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I can't remember all the times I tried to tell my myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass
And it's one more day up in the canyon
And it's one more night in Hollywood
It's been so long since I've seen the ocean...I guess I should
Pearl Jam
Do the Evolution
Woo.. I'm ahead, I'm a man
I'm the first mammal to wear pants, yeah
I'm at peace with my lust
I can kill 'cause in God I trust, yeah
It's evolution, baby
I'm at piece, I’m the man
Buying stocks on the day of the crash
On the loose, I'm a truck
All the rolling hills, I’ll flatten’ em out, yeah
It's herd behavior, uh huh
It's evolution, baby
Admire me, admire my home
Admire my song, here's my coat
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
This land is mine, this land is free
I'll do what I want but irresponsibly
It's evolution, baby
I'm a thief, I'm a liar There's my church, I sing in the choir: (hallelujah… hallelujah…)
Admire me, admire my home
Admire my song, admire my clothes
'Cause we know, appetite for a nightly feast
Those ignorant Indians got nothin' on me
Nothin', why?
Because, it's evolution, baby!
I am ahead, I am advanced
I am the first mammal to make plans, yeah
I crawled the earth, but now I'm higher
Twenty-ten, watch it go to fire
It's evolution, baby (2X)
Do the evolution
Come on, come on, come on
Alanis Morrisette
Perfect
Sometimes is never quite enough
If you're flawless, then you'll win my love
Don't forget to win first place
Don't forget to keep that smile on your face
Be a good boy
Try a little harder
You've got to measure up
And make me prouder
How long before you screw it up
How many times do I have to tell you to hurry up
With everything I do for you
The least you can do is keep quiet
Be a good girl
You've gotta try a little harder
That simply wasn't good enough
To make us proud
I'll live through you
I'll make you what I never was
If you're the best, then maybe so am I
Compared to him compared to her
I'm doing this for your own damn good
You'll make up for what I blew
What's the problem... why are you crying
Be a good boy
Push a little farther now
That wasn't fast enough
To make us happy
We'll love you just the way you are if you're perfect
Green Day
Good Riddance
(Time Of Your Life)
Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road.
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to do.
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why.
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time.
It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind.
Hang it on a shelf of good health and good time.
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial.
For what it's worth, it was worth all the while.
It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why.
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time.
It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
Smash mouth
Walking on the sun
It ain't no joke I'd like to buy the world a toke
And teach the world to sing in perfect harmony
And teach the world to snuff the fires and the liars
Hey I know it's just a song but it's spice for the recipe
This is a love attack I know it went out but it's back.
It's just like any fad it retracts before impact
And just like fashion it's a passion for the with it and hip
If you got the goods they'll come and buy it just to stay in the clique
Chorus
Twenty-five years ago they spoke out and they broke out
Of recession and oppression and together they toked
And they folked out with guitars around a bonfire
Just singin' and clappin' man what the hell happened
Then some were spellbound some were hellbound
Some they fell down and some got back up and
Fought back 'gainst the melt down
And their kids were hippie chicks all hypocrites
Because fashion is smashin' the true meaning of it
Chorus
It ain't no joke when a mama's handkerchief is soaked
With her tears because her baby's life has been revoked
The bond is broke up so choke up and focus on the close up
Mr. Wizard can't perform no godlike hocus-pocus
So don't sit back kick back and watch the world get bushwhacked
News at 10:00 your neighborhood is under attack
Put away the crack before the crack puts you away
You need to be there when your baby’s old enough to relate
CHORUS:
So don't delay act now supplies are running out
Allow if you're still alive six to eight years to arrive
And if you follow there may be a tomorrow
But if the offer's shun you might as well be walkin' on the sun