Wiseman-Trowse, N. J. B. (2014) Repackaging national identity: Nick Drake's posthumous Englishness. Paper presented to: PopLife: The Value of Popular Music in the Twenty First Century, The University of Northampton, 06-07 June 2014. (Unpublished)
| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Abstract: | While the cult singer-songwriter Nick Drake has, since his tragic death in 1974, become synonymous with a certain type of quintessentially English pastoral romanticism, his slim body of recordings presents a more complex picture. While American and European idioms can be found in his music, and an ambivalent relationship to modernity articulated through his lyrics and cultural positioning, the imagining of an English cultural identity via Drake has largely been achieved after his death. This paper explores the way in which Nick Drake’s catalogue has been exploited posthumously, by his record company, his family’s estate, and by the media more broadly. Through the repackaging of Drake’s material, the development of an extended iconography and the presentation of songs released only after his death, Nick has come to stand for an imaginary conciliation between the counterculture and an English Establishment, a conciliation that, while imaginary and mythological, might be of value to his listeners today. |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | PopLife, conference, Nick Drake, Englishness, popular music, packaging |
| Subjects: |
M Music and Books on Music > ML Literature on music > ML3800 Philosophical and societal aspects of music > ML3916 Social and political aspects of music M Music and Books on Music > ML Literature on music > ML3469 Popular music |
| Creators: | Wiseman-Trowse, Nathan J B |
| Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: | University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Faculty of Arts, Science & Technology |
| Date: | 7 June 2014 |
| Date Type: | Presentation |
| Event Title: | PopLife: The Value of Popular Music in the Twenty First Century |
| Event Dates: | 06-07 June 2014 |
| Event Location: | The University of Northampton |
| Event Type: | Conference |
| Language: | English |
| Status: | Unpublished |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Related URLs: | |
| URI: | http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/6743 |
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