History without royalty? Queen and the strata of the popular music canon

Abstract

Although canon formation has been discussed in popular music studies for over a decade, the notion of what constitutes ‘the popular music canon’ is still vague. However, considering that many scholars resent canon formation due to the negative effects canons have exerted on other academic fields, analysis of canon formation processes in popular music studies seems desirable: awareness of these processes can be a valuable tool for scholars’ assessment of how their academic choices contribute to canon formation. Based on an examination of the reception history of Queen in the popular mainstream, music criticism and academia, this article argues that a universally valid popular music canon does not exist and that canon formation in popular music is based on the same criteria as in the ‘high’ arts, i.e. transcendence, historical importance and ‘greatness’, although the latter is replaced by ‘authenticity’ in the popular music context. While canons can be theorised in various ways, a model that distinguishes between canonic strata according to listeners’ relationship to music is particularly useful as it reveals the relative importance of the three canonic criteria within different strata and how they are applied.

Over the Flop. Queen’s Album Hot Space (1982) and the Sways of Disappointment

“…For the purposes of this study, it is sufficient to note that the elements of funk and disco were all traditionally socially and politically charged through their rootedness in marginalized (sub)cultures in ways that were in clear conflict with rock. Queen's image as authentic rockers had already been suffering before from an overly generous interpretation of the glam elements they relied on 30 , but the new album, now finally led to the following dilemma:…”

“What’s Going On é o Sgt. Pepper’s da soul music”: autonomia, cânone e valor numa lista de maiores álbuns da música

“…Para Desler (2013), o artista canônico é aquele que opera sob: a) transcendência na moda e mudanças socioculturais (testing of time); b) importância histórica (influência em artistas contemporâneos e futuros artistas); c) grandiosidade (valor artístico imanente), classificando trabalhos como obras-primas e atestando genialidade e imortalidade (DESLER, 2013, p. 387). A autora trabalha ainda com o conceito de três tipos canônicos: o acadêmico, o crítico e o mainstream.…”

“The Show Must go On”: 1980s Music Videos, Moral Panics, and AIDS

“…My understanding of the period is above all informed by historians such as Gaar (2002), Nekola (2013), Sanneh (2022), andWeeks (2018). Accounts for moral panics are mainly based on Gustafsson & Arnberg (2013), using Cohen (1972). In combining these approaches, the article aims to explain how music videos from the period 1978-1992 both caused moral panics about sex and questioned conservative values.…”

“…The mid-1980s was clearly a time of moral panics. Cohen's (1972) model of this phenomenon illustrates how self-proclaimed experts identified a supposed threat, appointed misusers, selected victims, and identified offenders referred to as "Folk Devils". It also explains the calls for legal action, reliance on hearsay, and focus on symptoms rather than on causes (Gustafsson & Arnberg 2013: 20f).…”