‘Wear Clogs and just Act Normal’: Defining Collectivity in Dutch Domestic Music Concerts

Abstract

The last few decades have seen a surge in the consumption of locally produced popular music in the West. Domestic music – music made by national artists and sung in the national language – has gained increasing popularity, specifically within the lower to middle-class segments of the native population. This article uses the Dutch music genre levenslied to explore this growing trend. From a neo-Durkheimian perspective, we can assume the presence of collective effervescence – a shared intensified mood drawn from collective assembly. However, it is less clear how this collectivity is brought about and experienced. In other words, what are the requirements for this state of effervescence to occur? Looking not only at the totems these concertgoers celebrate but also the established symbolic boundaries, can help us understand how the group defines itself, adding to our knowledge of the rise in popularity of domestic music. We interviewed 20 concertgoers about their experience of these concerts. The analysis finds that the establishment of collectivity is influenced by three symbolic boundaries: (1) intercultural, (2) interclass, and (3) intraclass. Through the negative othering of ethnic monitories – those considered socially higher, and those considered morally lower than themselves – the audiences of these concerts glorify a very narrow image of Dutchness, obtaining a sense of self-worth through the celebration of an idealized national image rooted in nostalgia. The increasing popularity of levenslied concerts (and domestic music more generally) can, therefore, be understood in relation to broader societal changes and connected with a ‘squeezed middle’ class, clinging to tradition and their declining social position.

Defying Predatory Capital: Embracing Beauty, Resisting Ugliness, and Striving for Freedom

“…Many of them highlight how they have been called names such as "corny" or "boring", which constitute direct attacks on their attractiveness. Other scientific research has previously seen that peer interactions describing classical music with disdainful words has a negative influence on the development of taste towards this music (Vandenberg et al, 2020). The previously mentioned CDD is also present, therefore, in the area of music taste.…”

“…Therefore, there are many educational actions aiming at offering a critical view of such songs and showing alternatives (Díez-Gutiérrez, 2021). Nevertheless, it is already known that, if it is not done through the language of desire (Rios-González et al, 2018), many of these alternative music not promoted by predatory capital may be seen as boring, convenient, or even snobbish, but not exciting (Vandenberg et al, 2020). If language of desire is attributed by the predatory capital to music promoting ugliness and this discourse ends up penetrating peer groups in schools, it is very likely that music promoting ugliness will shape the taste of many young people; in fact, peer interaction does play a role in music taste and consumption (Castro & Rezende, 2023).…”

Put Your “Hand Emotes in the Air:” Twitch Concerts as Unsuccessful Large‐Scale Interaction Rituals

“…Unsuccessful interaction rituals, on the other hand, lower individual confidence and can leave a participant emotionally drained. While the idea that all interaction is negotiated within a "market" is debated (e.g., Rawls 1989), acknowledging that certain interactions result in an increase of emotional energy is fruitful, specifically when looking at events characterized by high Durkheimian solidarity, such as live music events (Collins 2004;Horsfall 2013;Liebst 2019;Vandenberg et al 2021a). Collins (2004Collins ( , 2020 uses his interaction rituals model interchangeably for both large-scale interaction (e.g., concerts, political rallies, football games, and religious rituals) and small-scale interaction (e.g., intimate conversation).…”

“…Unsuccessful interaction rituals, on the other hand, lower individual confidence and can leave a participant emotionally drained. While the idea that all interaction is negotiated within a “market” is debated (e.g., Rawls 1989), acknowledging that certain interactions result in an increase of emotional energy is fruitful, specifically when looking at events characterized by high Durkheimian solidarity, such as live music events (Collins 2004; Horsfall 2013; Liebst 2019; Vandenberg et al 2021a).…”

“…The artist shouting “put your hands up in the air” into the crowd may seem like a trivial formality, but it is in these moments—where participants coordinate “bodily micro‐rhythms and emotions” (Collins 2004:47)—that a state of collective effervescence can be reached. This collective emotion is arguably one of the aspects that makes live music so attractive (Collins 2004; Collins 2020; Liebst 2019; Vandenberg, Berghman, and Van Eijck 2021).…”