Group Case Analysis

David Badillo, Breanna Biancardi, Lauren DelGenio, Lauren Eddings

Molloy College

MUS 1030 01

Professor Rampal

November 22, 2020

 The music press touches just about every piece of music we as consumers come in

contact with. The role of the music press is to sell music as a commodity and ascribe cultural

significance. Selling music as a commodity involves buying access to the music and merchandise

for the artists. Ascribing cultural significance involves tastemaking, gatekeeping for fans, and

feedback for record companies. The music press industry exists to influence the consumer. The

song “Perfect” by Alanis Morisette got many positive reviews in critiques of her album ​Jagged

Little Pill.​ Critiques are an important part of the music press industry and influence whether the

music is considered “good’ or “bad”. In a review by The A.V. Club, the author states “​Alanis

Morissette’s U.S. debut album, ​Jagged Little Pill​, was a cultural earthquake on par with

Nirvana’s ​Nevermind​ when it was released in June 1995.” Reviews like this one that are positive

affect consumers in a fiscal way. When reviews are positive, it makes consumers want to buy it

and consume its merchandise.

Dr. Turino explains in depth about habits, self and identity. Turino explains that when

you look at an individual, their cultures and identities are defined through the habits that they

display. People shape their culture and environment through their everyday habits. The root of

who someone is, is expressed through their experiences. Thus, their everyday habits coincide

with their experiences. Turino explains how this also relates to repetition of everyday life. This

relates to music in many different ways. Habits are essentially used to understand ourselves,

identity and culture. This includes thoughts and reactions and we repeat and how this has effect

on our past, present and future. We take in information from our environment, peers, reference

groups, etc. Repetition gives us a sense of stability. Certain habits we acquire are essential to

our life. Our habits feel natural to us, so it can be hard to break bad ones and add good ones into

our lives.
 A guitar player practices everyday, listens to new music to expand their knowledge of

guitar playing, they had to save up money for the guitar in the first place, they may pay to take

lessons, they listen to other guitar players, etc. This says that the guitar player worked to become

a guitar player. This occurrence did not happen overnight, it came from a habit and effort. This

says that they spent time practicing and dedicated themselves to the craft. This relates to self and

identity. When we are growing up, our parents or whomever raises us teaches us to do these

things. We develop these habits when we are learning throughout our life and it makes us create

an identity and shape us into who we are. When we look at this in music, we like certain types

of music based on who we are, where we come from, etc. We tend to like the same types of

things, which becomes a habit. Turino also explains how class and social life has an affect on

this as well. All in all, Turino wants his audience to recognize that our lives are shaped through

everyday occurrences and to step outside the box to see life from a different perspective.

Turino discusses self and identity to be part of the unitary framework for the concept of

habits. Contrary to how, in everyday life, we consider self and identity to be the same, Turino

sees them as two different entities.

According to Turino, “self compromises a body plus the total set of habits specific to an

individual that develop through ongoing interchanges of the individual with her physical and

social surroundings” (2008, p. 95). Identity is then described as “partial selection of habits and

attributes used to represent oneself to oneself and to others by oneself and by others” (Turino,

2008, p. 95). Therefore, self is an internal culmination of our habits that develop through changes

around us, while with identity, we pick and choose from habits and attributes what we want

others to see until it is only a partial mixture of our true self. Turino then defines habit as “a

tendency toward the repetition of any particular behavior, thought, or reaction in similar
circumstances or in reaction to similar stimuli in the present and future based on such repetitions

in the past” (2008, p. 95). The constant repetition of behavior, thought, and action involved with

habits shows that it is dynamic. If habits are dynamic and changeable, then the elements that

make up habits, self and identity, must also be malleable. And we know this is true based on

Turino’s definitions of self and identity. The best ways to evaluate the meanings of habits, self,

and identity in “Vienna” is to analyze its lyrics.

“Vienna” by Billy Joel is largely a song about taking a step back to see what is right in

front of you. The opening lyric of the song is “Slow down, you crazy child.” Young adults and

teenagers have a habit of being headstrong about their future while trying to rush through the

path to get there. “There’s a natural tendency to get complacent with what we have. The

anticipation of what you might get has a much more powerful pull” (Slotnick, 2013). Following

the same habits and routines everyday can become boring. As humans, we crave a certain

amount of adventure, especially when you’re younger and the world is new and exciting with

endless possibilities. But in “Vienna,” Billy Joel reminds us that our future will come and we

can't rush it. If we keep worrying about who we want to be in the future, we will lose track of

who we are in the present. Adventure will always be out there, but the present becomes the past

in an instant. It is important to take our time to enjoy the present so we can cherish and develop

our “self.”
 Question option by Lauren D:

How can we implement new habits that affect our everyday lives? How can we expand

our taste of music to artists that we normally wouldn’t listen to? These questions of habits and

expanding coincide with one another.

Question option by Lauren E:

How has the music press influenced you? Has there been music that you really liked but

were told not to? Likewise, is there music you shame listen to in secret that you would never tell

anyone you were a fan of?

Question option by Breanna B:

Is the music press as important to how we pick music as it was before the internet or

social media? What are the differences in what we consider music press now compared to then?
 References

“Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill Was a Powerful, DIY Feminist Statement.” ​Music,​ 5 May

2015,music.avclub.com/alanis-morissette-s-jagged-little-pill-was-a-powerful-179827966.

Slotnick, N. (2013, June 26). "Vienna Waits for You..." Retrieved November 23, 2020, from

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vienna-waits-for-you_b_3164027

Turino, T. (2008). ​Music as social life: The politics of participation​. Chicago, IL: University of

Chicago Press.