AVANT ROCK'S HYBRID GENEALOGY: "ORIGINS," "BRIDGES," AND "MERGERS" ACROSS THE HIGH ART/LOW ART DIVIDE

Abstract

<p>Genres develop as historical narratives are created: the narrative pinpoints certain</p> <p>bands and "eras" as markers of the style. In the case of avant rock, the narrative</p> <p>repeatedly relies on a language of "hybridity." This language forms the foundation for</p> <p>how the bands influential to the avant rock genre are interpreted and discussed by critics,</p> <p>biographers, and fans. The introduction suggests "origins" for the high artllow art</p> <p>discourse that carries over into the avant rock discourse. Chapter Two examines the</p> <p>associations between the Velvet Underground and influential members of the avant garde</p> <p>art world, such as Andy Warhol, John Cage, and La Monte Young. These interactions in</p> <p>turn feed the high artllow art narrative that makes the Velvet Underground an appropriate</p> <p>"point-of-origin" band for avant rock. Chapter Three examines the avant garde</p> <p>background of some of the Sonic Youth band members, and the band's interactions with</p> <p>avant garde composers such as Glenn Branca. The band's position as a "Ieader-in-crisis"</p> <p>also relies heavily on a high art/low art hybrid narrative in order to position Sonic Youth</p> <p>as the "resolution" between high art/low art rivalries. The final chapter shifts focus to the</p> <p>present discussion surrounding early twenty-first century bands, looking at how the</p> <p>discourse is shaped around bands that fall into the avant rock category, and how the</p> <p>discourse fluctuates in the process of carving out new categories, even as genealogies are</p> <p>repeatedly invoked to support the existing genres.</p>