Morello and Mimesis: Genre Signifiers and Political Commentary

Murray, Samuel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1574-4929 (2022) Morello and Mimesis: Genre Signifiers and Political Commentary. In: 13TH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM “MUSIC IN SOCIETY”, 7th-10th December 2022, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Slideshow Morello and Mimesis_Sam Murray.pdf - Presentation Restricted to Repository staff only Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. Download (212kB) | Request a copy

Abstract / Summary

“Animal, vegetable, mineral, whatever – you name it and the man Morello will take out his guitar and mimic it.” (Guitar World, 2021). While the use of mimesis amongst guitarists is not necessarily an uncommon technique, it is often employed as a musical trick, or a novelty gesture intended to display a virtuosic mastery of the instrument. This paper argues that Morello uses mimesis in a much more nuanced and deliberate manner in order to communicate important aspects of his band’s musical and political identity to the listener.
By analysing musical examples taken from Morello’s guitar playing within the band Rage Against the Machine, this paper investigates how the specific sounds Morello chooses to imitate help situate the band contextually in terms of genre, epoch and geographical location. Furthermore, the role which these mimetic sounds play in reinforcing what LeVan described as the band’s “Militant Poetics” (2013) is examined.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Subjects:	Music > Instrumental Music Music > Musical Performance Music > Popular Music
Courses by Department:	Academy of Music & Theatre Arts > Music
Depositing User:	Samuel Murray
Date Deposited:	15 Apr 2024 13:54
Last Modified:	08 May 2024 09:33
URI:	https://falmouth-test.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/5387

Actions

View Item (login required)