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Introduction

This is a slimmed-down version of my proposal for my final year independent study undergraduate course which was written in May 1999.

I will be continuing with this project after the end of my university course with the aim of getting the results published.

My project will investigate the relationship between gender and interest or involvement in avant-garde or experimental music. Audiences of avant-garde artists are almost exclusively male, as are the readers of publications that focus on this genre of music. In my study I would like to formulate and investigate possible reasons why this is the case, and will focus particularly upon the career of the avant-garde artist, Captain Beefheart, due to his particular relevance to this study (outlined below).

Objectives

Initially I will attempt to collect and analyse some simple data relating to gender and interest in avant-garde music. This will provide an indication of the correctness of the general assumptions concerning women’s interest in experimental music. I already have access to data regarding gender, age and occupation of over 100 individuals via the Internet. The respondents are all members of an on-line discussion list that I manage, discussing the work of the avant-garde artist Captain Beefheart. I will also consider and outline some of the factors that may affect the reliability of this data, for example, gender differences regarding Internet use.

My study will focus in detail primarily upon one experimental artist, Captain Beefheart, as well as containing a more general overview of the avant-garde, due to his specific relevance to the subject of the study.

Captain Beefheart originally emerged from a blues / jazz background but rapidly developed what is commonly regarded as being one of rock music’s few truly original bodies of work. Beefheart was particularly ‘pro-women’ and specifically tried to attract women into his audience. The women characters that appeared in his music were always very strong individuals, and portrayed in a positive, challenging and progressive way. These characters do not conform to standard stereotypes of femininity, and are often depicted as having ‘larger-than life’ personalities and presence, for example:

'Well, one night she go to drinking / Got out and shot up the town / I'll be damned if she didn't bring an airplane down’

(from Long Neck Bottles on Clear Spot, 1972)

However, his audiences were almost entirely male, and still remain so to this day, with women fans extremely rare. At the time this troubled Beefheart who went on a mission to attract women to his audiences, proclaiming that he was ‘singing for women’. In the words of Bill Harkleroad, guitarists in Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band:

‘…he decided that lyrically almost everything was going to be about women. It was a very conscious attempt to try and get through to the other half of a potential audience that we were leaving out.’

(Bill Harkleroad, 1998, 111)

He failed.

I would like to investigate the possible reasons why Beefheart failed to get women to listen to his message and music, despite it being so pro-women. In what ways was his message incompatible with feminist thought? Can we draw any parallels between Beefheart’s audience and that of the avant-garde in general? Why did this issue concern Beefheart in the first place?

I do not wish to concentrate solely on Captain Beefheart, but also to take a more generalised approach to women and avant-garde music and consider possible barriers to involvement. Do women tend to approach music from a different perspective from men? Mavis Bayton outlines the different approaches of male and female musicians in her essay ‘How Women Become Musicians’, believing that women tend to become involved in performing music from a stricter, classical background than men which may well hinder woman’s ability to improvise. Improvisation is an important part of most experimental music, and thus women are more likely to have to ‘re-learn’ or forget what they already know (Frith & Goodman, 1998, 238-257).

I would also like to look at forms of cultural experimentation other than just music. Are women more attracted to avant-garde literature, film or performance art than they are to music? It is important to consider whether women’s disinterest is unique to musical experimentation to give a better understanding of the nature of the disinterest and the possible underlying causes. It would be relevant to consider the problems and difficulties that faced Yoko Ono as a female performance artist in a largely male dominated genre.

Gender differences regarding membership of subcultures, and attachment to role models or idols may well have an affect upon women’s interest in avant-garde music and so should be explored in this study. Do women look for different qualities in their heroes or heroines from men? Is the need for membership of a subculture, which the avant-garde clearly is, any different between the sexes?

In Feminine Endings, Susan McLary takes a feminist approach to examining the structure of music. It would be important to consider her arguments that ‘climactic music’ is ‘orgasmic, male centred and sexist’ (Watson, 1996, 48). She considers that women musicians who produce ‘male’ climactic music are merely selling out to the male dominated music business. Is it possible to identify gender-specific traits in music, and how does this affect an audience’s understanding of the music? Is there an inherent quality in experimental music that is likely to alienate the female listener? I would like to consider the strengths and weaknesses of McLary’s argument and her concept of a culturally perceived ‘sexist’ quality to sound and music.

In addition to that learned with regard to the research which will go into this project, actually conducting and organising the project itself will also be a rewarding experience. I have never had to manage an independent project with specific goals and deadlines such as this before, and will gain useful experience regarding time-management, conducting interviews, project planning and project implementation. I am very much looking forward to this opportunity.

Bibliography

• Andrew Blake, The Land Without Music.
• W C Bamberger, Riding Some Kind Of Unusual Skull Sleigh: On The Arts Of Don Van Vliet, Alap Editions, Michigan, 1999.
• Frith & Goodman (eds), On Record, Routledge, London, 1998.
• Simon Frith, Performing Rites, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1998.
• Bill Harkleroad, Lunar Notes – Zoot Horn Rollo’s Captain Beefheart Experience, SAF Publishing, Middlesex, 1998.
• Tony Herrington (ed), Invisibe Jukebox, Quartet Books, London, 1998.
• Andreas Huyssen, After The Great Divide, Macmillan Press, London, 1988.
• Lisa Lewis (ed), The Adoring Audience, Routledge, London, 1992.
• Susan McLary, Feminine Endings.
• Angela McRobbie, Feminism & Youth Culture.
• Simon Reynolds & Joy Press, Sex Revolt.
• Simon Reynols, Blissed Out
• Susan Rubin Suleiman Subversive Intent: Gender, Politics and the Avant-Garde, Harvard, 1990.
• Roger Sabin (Ed), Punk Rock: So What?, Routledge, London, 1999.
• Sarah Thornton, Club Cultures, Polity, Cambrifge, 1995.
• David Toop, Oceans Of Sound.
• Ben Watson, The Negative Dialectics Of Poodle Play, Quartet Books, London, 1994.
• Jon Weiner, Come Together, Faber and Faber, London, 1995.
• Sheila Whitley (ed), Sexing The Groove.

If you can help out at all with any suggested adition to my bibliography please drop me a line. If you were a member of the Magic Band, or are a female fan of their music and would be happy to be interviewed please also get in touch as I'd be very pleased to hear from you. My e-mail address is graham@beefheart.com.