Eric Drott uses the marker ‘elusive’ not pejoratively like Raymond Aron, but rather to point to the hope that the events of May '68 triggered; ‘elusive’ suggests simply that May '68 itself has ‘disappeared behind all it has come to symbolize’ (p. 20). Before the symbolic, the myths, however, came the ideas and values communicated through, among other mediums, music. Music was an integral part of the events of May '68 – from the singing of ‘L'Internationale’ at the Sorbonne, to the students and faculty at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique demanding a reorganisation of their outmoded curriculum, to Dominique Grange's hard-hitting protest songs. Music became political while simultaneously engaging with politics.
Music and the Elusive Revolution explores some of the complex relations between music and politics and looks at ‘May’68 and the long shadow it cast over French culture and society’ (p. 9). A guiding premise of this book, Drott argues, is that ‘different kinds of music, performed or conceptualized in different social contexts, engage politics in different ways’ (p. 4). In an attempt to untangle the layers of this political engagement, Drott examines the relationship between genre and identity, the cultural and political function of music as well as the ways in which genre mediates political expression. Further, he unearths the qualities that are often treated as inherent to a genre itself, analysing where those qualities originate rather than passively accepting them, and in so doing reminding us that musical genres are relational terms, and musical and political alliances are extremely fragile. A principal aim of this volume, then, ‘is to explore what happens when political cultures and genre cultures intersect’ (p. 8).
The book is divided into five main chapters: the first two are situated in May '68 while the final three focus on case studies of Free Jazz, Pop and Contemporary Music, taking a broader view, ‘examining how the politicisation of musical life continued to reverberate through various genre communities during the course of the “long 1970s”’ (p. 16).
‘Music and May '68’ transports us to the heart of the events, revealing the importance of music and its political and cultural function. The history of ‘L'Internationale’ is traced, comparing it with ‘La Marseillaise’, and contextualising. it as both sign and signifier. Drott looks at the aims of CRAC (Comité révolutionnaire d'agitation culturelle) in attempting to revolutionise the figure of the artist, and the perplexing questions of ‘what constituted revolutionary art?’ and ‘beyond producing “engaged” works, was there anything artists could do as artists that would have a tangible impact?’ The musicians’ strike shifted the focus to the production of art rather than its reception, while the disruptions at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique point to an opening up of the definitions of music.
‘Genre and Musical Representations of May’ comprises an analysis of three musical figures: Dominique Grange, Léo Ferré and Evariste. While Ferré is widely known in non-francophone circles, the inclusion of the lesser known Grange and Evariste here by Drott is very welcome. Grange's protest songs, Ferré’s anarchist chanson and Evariste's humorous ‘pop’ songs allow Drott to examine the role that genre plays in mediating political expression. In this chapter we also see some excellent examples of close textual analysis of song, treating both music and lyrics with equal weight, and deftly illustrating how the two work together to form meaning.
The three case studies that form Chapters 3–5, ‘Free Jazz in France’, ‘La Cause du Pop’ and ‘Contemporary Music, Animation, and Cultural Democratization’, follow a similar pattern in that they all chart how the genre in question ‘responded to the upheavals of May’ (p. 110) through an examination of discourse surrounding the genre from practitioners, fans, critics and political players. Specifically, ‘Free Jazz’ focuses on jazz criticism, ‘La Cause du Pop’ on the rock music festival and ‘Contemporary Music’ on cultural policy and animation musicale.
This book is a very welcome addition to the growing body of works on French and francophone music. While some of Drott's arguments could be better served through more subtle contextualisation (pop/rock; chanson, etc.), his analyses readily demonstrate how to situate music within wider cultural and political arenas. Importantly, this book speaks to the collaborative potential of the field of French popular music – a field that naturally resides in an interdisciplinary space. It showcases how to analyse musical texts and, through its emphasis on genre, reveals the complex relationships between music and politics that continue to be highly relevant today.
