What is punk cabaret? An Attempt to Define and Exemplify the Phenomenon
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26485/ZRL/2020/63.4/10Keywords:
punk cabaret, Tiger Lillies, Amanda Palmer, song, sound semanticsAbstract
The aim of the paper is to present punk cabaret — a new musical phenomenon on the music scene of the English-speaking countries. The author briefly presents its main representatives and cultural contexts, which is followed by an attempt to define the constitutive features of the genre in its musical, performative, and textual aspects. The former consist of prominent vocals, displaying both lyrical finesse and raw, punk-inspired force, with scant accompaniment evoking circus music and pre-war cabaret. Performance, playing a significant role in the genre, adds campy aesthetics and vintage flair. The textual layer, in turn, is characterised by dark humour, moral irreverence, disrespect for the established aesthetic canon, and the orientation towards social margins. All these facets — auditory, visual, and textual — are considered as inseparably intertwined and mutually interrelated in a constant play of contextualisation and allusions, with sound playing a vital role in text interpretation.
References
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Discography
Discography entries are marked with ‘D’ followed, where necessary, by further marking with ‘a’, ‘b’ etc. for multiple releases of discography by the same author in a given year.
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Tiger Lillies, The (1994D), Births Marriages and Deaths, Misery Guts Music, CD.
— (1996D), The Brothel to the Cemetery, Misery Guts Music, CD.
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— (2008D), Freakshow, Misery Guts Music, CD.
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Tiger Lillies, The, Kronos Quartet (2003D), The Gorey End, Misery Guts Music, CD.
Video Material
Video material entries are marked with ‘V’ followed, where necessary, by further marking with ‘a’, ‘b’ etc. for multiple releases of video material by the same author in a given year.
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Evelyn Evelyn (2010V), Evelyn Evelyn [live in Antwerp], YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfOJlSVLa_E [access: 30.08.2019].
Tiger Lillies, The (2010V), The Tiger Lillies Freakshow [trailer], YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeuJoTs6MT8 [access: 24.08.2019].
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— (2019V), The Tiger Lillie’s performs “Gin” live at Joe’s Pub in New York City, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9JAfegr040 [access: 5.10.2020].
