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Black Sound, Sonic Emotion, and Racist Violence in Lovecraft Country

Year 2023, , 78 - 92, 30.06.2023
https://doi.org/10.33906/musicologist.1074259

Abstract

This article addresses race and inequality through the horror sci-fi genre and the musical landscape of two episodes of Misha Green’s TV series Lovecraft Country (2020). Moral responsibilities are mediated throughout the series via sonic culture; through analysis of the series’ aurality, focus is on the sonic reimagining and resignifying of two episodes: Episode One (E1) “Sundown” and Episode Five (E5) “Strange Case.” The unique blend of sci-fi and Cthulhu Mythos adds an additional layer of horror when situated against the backdrop of the racial realities of African Americans in the 1950s and guides the viewer to experience the familiar horror trope by disrupting the ways we experience sound in TV viewing. The soundtrack produces and thematises different sonic emotions and the result is a 21st-century representation of the 1950s: one that reframes racial inequalities of the time for contemporary sensibilities, while actively using the past as raw material for a new present. In this analysis of historical injustices of Black culture through sonic emotion, this article provides a demonstration on how Lovecraft Country engages with race, gender, and sonic culture while embracing the rich tapestry of Black sound by disrupting narratives, challenging racial temporalities, and inviting change.

Thanks

Special thanks to Lisa Barg and Dr Jonathan Sterne.

References

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  • Simone, Nina, and Cleary, Stephen. (2003). I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press.
  • Soloski, Alexis. (2020, August 7). Gods, monsters and H.P. Lovecraft's Uncanny Legacy. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/arts/television/hp-lovecraft.html
  • Stahler, Kelsea. (2020, October 19). “Every Song from 'Lovecraft Country' & One Very Important Speech.” Every Song from Lovecraft Country Season 1 Soundtrack, Retrieved from https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/08/9963453/lovecraft-country-soundtrack-songs- list-season-1. <Accessed 01 December 2021>
  • Starr, Larry, and Waterman, Christopher Alan. (2007). American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to Mp3. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Standley, Fred L. and Pratt, Louis H. (Eds) (1989). Conversations with James Baldwin. Literary Conversations Series. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
  • Stoever, Jennifer Lynn. (2016). The Sonic Color Line: Race and the Cultural Politics of Listening. New York. New York University Press.
  • Wald, Gayle. 2007. Shout, Sister, Shout!: The Untold Story of Rock-And-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Boston: Beacon Press.
Year 2023, , 78 - 92, 30.06.2023
https://doi.org/10.33906/musicologist.1074259

Abstract

References

  • Anderson, William. (2019). "Ntozake Shange’s for Colored Girls who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf: Style & Theme." SchoolWorkHelper. https://schoolworkhelper.net/ntozake-shanges-for-colored-girls-who-have-considered-suicide-when-the-rainbow-is-enuf-style-theme/ [Accessed 12 December 2021]
  • Baldwin, James, et al. (10.11.1962). “James Baldwin: Letter from a Region in My Mind.” The New Yorker, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1962/11/17/letter-from-a-region-in-my-mind. [Accessed 15 November 2021]
  • Baldwin, James; Troupe, Quincy Terkel; Studs Lester, Julius and Goldstein, Richard. (2014). James Baldwin: The Last Interview and Other Conversations. Brooklyn: Melville House.
  • Brennan, Summer. (2019, March 20). “Sex, power, oppression: why women wear high heels.” The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/mar/20/sex-power-oppression-why-women-wear-high-heels. [Accessed 15 December 2021]
  • Brooks, Daphne. (2021). Liner Notes for the Revolution: The Intellectual Life of Black Feminist Sound. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
  • Diverlus, Rodney; Hudson, Sandy and Ware, Syrus Marcus (Eds.) (2020). Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada. Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada: University of Regina Press.
  • Doyle, Patrick. (13.10.2020). “'Lovecraft Country' Music Supervisor Shares Her Exclusive Playlist.” Rolling Stone, Retrieved from https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv- features/lovecraft-country-music-soundtrack-playlist-1062406/. [Accessed 11 December 2021].
  • Eidsheim, Nina Sun. (2019). The Race of Sound: Listening, Timbre, and Vocality in African American Music. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
  • Foussianes, Chloe. (2020, September 14). Lovecraft Country's Wunmi Mosaku Thinks Ruby Wasted an Opportunity. Retrieved from https://www.townandcountrymag.com/ [Accessed 2nd November 2021]
  • Loewen, James W. (2005). Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism. New York: NY. New Press.
  • Green, Misha and Peele, Jordan (Creator). (2020). (Series 1, episode 1-10. [TV series episode]. Peele, Jordan; Misha, Green; Abrams, J.J.; Carraro, Bill; Knoller, David; Stephenson, Ben; Demange, Yann (Executive Producers), Lovecraft Country. HBO Retrieved from https://www.hbo.com/lovecraft-country [Accessed 01 October - 15 December 2021].
  • Genius. (2021, 14.09.2020) Lovecraft Country Composers Raphael Saadiq & Laura Karpman on Scoring the Series | For The Record. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am7ZW3D_w-g&t=293s.
  • Lowers, Erin. [Accessed on 10 December 2021). “Cardi B Invasion of Privacy.” Exclaim! Retrieved from https://exclaim.ca/music/article/cardi_b-invasion_of_privacy.
  • MacInnes, Paul. (2011, 13 June). "J Dilla dies". The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/13/j-dilla [Accessed on 24 December 2021].
  • Ruff, Matt. (2016). Lovecraft Country: A Novel. First Harper Perenial edition, [Media tie-in edition] edn. New York: Harper Perennial.
  • Murphy, Ryan and Falchuk, Brad. (Creators). (2015). 0 (2011, October 5). Season 8, Episode 1 [TV series episode]. Murphy, Ryan and Falchuk, Brad (Executive Producers), American Horror Story. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. [Accessed 15 October - 10 December 2021].
  • Seibert, Brian. (2019, October 9). “'For Colored Girls' Is a Choreopoem. What's a Choreopoem?” The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/09/arts/dance/for-colored-girls.html. <Accessed 03 December 2021>
  • Simone, Nina, and Cleary, Stephen. (2003). I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press.
  • Soloski, Alexis. (2020, August 7). Gods, monsters and H.P. Lovecraft's Uncanny Legacy. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/arts/television/hp-lovecraft.html
  • Stahler, Kelsea. (2020, October 19). “Every Song from 'Lovecraft Country' & One Very Important Speech.” Every Song from Lovecraft Country Season 1 Soundtrack, Retrieved from https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/08/9963453/lovecraft-country-soundtrack-songs- list-season-1. <Accessed 01 December 2021>
  • Starr, Larry, and Waterman, Christopher Alan. (2007). American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to Mp3. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Standley, Fred L. and Pratt, Louis H. (Eds) (1989). Conversations with James Baldwin. Literary Conversations Series. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
  • Stoever, Jennifer Lynn. (2016). The Sonic Color Line: Race and the Cultural Politics of Listening. New York. New York University Press.
  • Wald, Gayle. 2007. Shout, Sister, Shout!: The Untold Story of Rock-And-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Boston: Beacon Press.
There are 24 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Music
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Kirsten Catriona Hawson 0000-0001-8618-1647

Publication Date June 30, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023

Cite

APA Hawson, K. C. (2023). Black Sound, Sonic Emotion, and Racist Violence in Lovecraft Country. Musicologist, 7(1), 78-92. https://doi.org/10.33906/musicologist.1074259