California Dreamin': Popular Music and Place-Myths of California

Aspden, Ross

Abstract

In this thesis I develop a concept of southern California place-myths based on themes from a selection of popular songs from the earliest phase of California statehood (c. 1849) through the first half of the 1970s, examining the role that music plays in the representation of place and demonstrating how popular music has been instrumental in the mythmaking of southern California. I reveal that place-myths of California are established and interpreted through engagement with, and circulation of, images embodied in popular music and a variety of other media. While I consider the texts I have chosen as products of their historical and cultural contexts, I question the conception of myths as veils obscuring the realities which lie beneath, instead arguing that myths play a vital role in shaping our understanding of the world and our experiences within it. They hold communication value and become available for reinterpretation, adaptation, or transformation in new textual forms to suit contemporary contexts or to convey new messages. The early 1960s, the period of main focus in the thesis, is a significant period in southern California place-myths, when a particular leisured and youthful lifestyle shaped ideas about the state. Through an investigation of place-images, the components of broader place-myths, such as the beach and the California girl, I argue that popular music texts engage in dialogue with existing place-myths, which are then transformed for new contexts.

Citation

Aspden, R. (2024). California Dreamin': Popular Music and Place-Myths of California. (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Mar 15, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 27, 2024
• Award Date: Mar 26, 2024