Rock My Religion / Dan Graham
From Electronic Arts Intermix:
"Rock
My Religion
is a provocative thesis on the relation between religion and rock
music in contemporary culture. Graham formulates a history that
begins with the Shakers, an early religious community who practiced
self-denial and ecstatic trance dances. With the "reeling and
rocking" of religious revivals as his point of departure, Graham
analyses the emergence of rock music as religion with the teenage
consumer in the isolated suburban milieu of the 1950s, locating
rock's sexual and ideological context in post-World War II America.
The music and philosophies of Patti Smith, who made explicit the
trope that rock is religion, are his focus. This complex collage of
text, film footage and performance forms a compelling theoretical
essay on the ideological codes and historical contexts that inform
the cultural phenomenon of rock `n' roll music.
Original
Music: Glenn Branca, Sonic Youth. Sound: Ian Murray, Wharton Tiers.
Narrators: Johanna Cypis, Dan Graham. Editors: Matt Danowski, Derek
Graham, Ian Murray, Tony Oursler. Produced by Dan Graham and the
Moderna Museet."
It
goes without saying that reading a literal transcript of Rock My
Religion without the sounds and images presented in the video does
not do justice at all to the original, and the only reason
for me to transcribe Dan Graham's video was to offer those who have
difficulties reading the on-screen texts or hearing the spoken
narration a companion towards
a better understanding and appreciation of this influential and
important work.
I
am aware of the fact that Rock My Religion has been published as an
essay in Graham's currently out-of-print 1994 'collection of writings
and projects' of the same name, which, unfortunately, I have never read. (See MIT
press for further reference) This transcript has been a labour of
love and I very much welcome any corrections or additions, such as a
timeline, or descriptions of on-screen sound and images.
-Sebastiaan
Schlicher, Berlin, October 2010
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