Date of Award
10-2-2019
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Heritage Studies, Ph.D.
First Advisor
Deborah Chappel Daniel
Committee Members
Lauri Umansky; Lee Camp; Marcus Tribbett
Call Number
LD 251 .A566d 2019 E39
Abstract
With the September 2016 release of the American Band album, the Drive-By Truckers, a band formed in 1996, inserted themselves into discussions on politics like never before. In response to the media’s frequent question of, “What made you decide to get so political now?” the band—chiefly Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley—replied, “We have always been a political band.” This study aims to pinpoint what the band means by such a statement, first by analyzing the band’s previous albums; then by considering the band’s Southern, Bible-Belt background; and finally, by examining additional aspects of the band such as sonic qualities, genre, live performances, and fan community. To do so, I employ a theomusicological lens, a term coined by musicologist Jon Michael Spencer in the 1980s, and before that, a concept utilized by the late black liberation theologian James H. Cone as he compared and contrasted the Spirituals and the Blues. Using this lens, the discussion turns to the interrelatedness of what are often viewed as three entirely separate dichotomies: the sacred, the secular, and the profane. In examining the secular and even profane Drive-By Truckers theomusicologically, the possibilities of finding the sacred within secular and profane emerge. The purpose of my study is to explore ways in which the band’s “politics” align with those of Jesus, especially when considering the significance of the marginalized to both, and not only that, but to also contrast those politics with that of contemporary white, American, Protestant, evangelical churches. In the process of textual analysis, historical and cultural investigation, and ethnographic inquiry, I discovered that the Drive-By Truckers—unlike many and perhaps most contemporary white, American, Protestant, evangelical churches—attempt to foster, cultivate, and convey an ethos that places great significance on human agency, especially in the sense of what could be labeled social justice and lamenting.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Edwards, Vinson Lee, "Jesus, Popular Culture, and the Politics of the Margins: A Theomusicological Analysis of the Drive-By Truckers" (2019). Student Theses and Dissertations. 406.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/406
