Whose riot? Collective memory of an iconic event in a local music scene

Abstract

The application of memory studies to music scenes has so far had a material focus, favouring places and objects. This article critically examines the role of an iconic event in scene identity, through a case study of the ‘Cybernana’ music festival, hosted by Brisbane community radio station 4ZZZfm in 1996 and marked by what has been characterised, alternately, as an audience riot and a police riot. Based on ethnographic research and analysis of cultural texts it is shown that, against official findings and wider disinterest, there exists an intergenerational counter-memory of Cybernana as an iconic event, within a politicised narrative that defines both the radio station and the local music scene. The factors involved in constructing this iconicity are considered, including the role of media. This mediated, cultural memory provides a narrative frame for individual experiences, through which people locate themselves within the scene and reaffirm its collective identity.