Abstract
Abstract Nowadays, popular music artists from a wide range of cultures perform in English alongside other local languages. This phenomenon questions the coexistence of different languages within local music practices. In this article, I argue that we cannot fully understand this issue without addressing the sacred dimension of language in popular music, which entails two aspects: 1) the transitory experience of an ideal that challenges intelligibility, and 2) the entanglement with social norms and institutions. Further to which, I compare Latin hegemony during the Middle Ages and the contemporary French popular music, where English and French coexist in a context marked by globalisation and ubiquitous digital technologies. The case of the Middle Ages shows that religious control over Latin led to a massive unintelligible experience of ritual singing, which reflected a strong class divide and created a demand for music rituals in vernacular languages. In the case of contemporary French popular music, asemantical practices of language are employed by artists in order to explore alternative, sacred dimensions of language that challenge nationhood.
Highlights
The second edition of Live Nation’s Download Festival, one of the largest mainstream rock and metal festival in France, was held during the summer of 2017
The case of the Middle Ages shows that religious control over Latin led to a massive unintelligible experience of ritual singing, which reflected a strong class divide and created a demand for music rituals in vernacular languages
Certain researchers emphasise that France has a specificity in terms of lyrics evaluation, illustrated by the expression “text-based songs” [“chansons à texte”] as a superior category, and by the tendency of cultural commentators to focus their critique on lyrics (Marc; Looseley, “Outside Looking in: European Popular Musics, Language and Intercultural Dialogue”)
Summary
The second edition of Live Nation’s Download Festival, one of the largest mainstream rock and metal festival in France, was held during the summer of 2017. During the highly emotional and collective moments that are music festivals (St. John), the coexistence of English and French is generally perceived as natural or taken for granted, which reflects a certain degree of globalisation. John), the coexistence of English and French is generally perceived as natural or taken for granted, which reflects a certain degree of globalisation It has not always been the case, as illustrated by the numerous discussions over cultural imperialism and the active defence and promotion of the French language (in media and arts especially). When I attended the Download Festival, it was almost impossible to know where the bands were from without prior knowledge of them, as most of them performed in English
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