Imaginary Cities: A Lens to Study Music Cultures and Music-Making Practices in L.A. Urban Contexts

Sebastien Darchen*, Damien Charrieras, John Willsteed

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary WorksRGC 12 - Chapter in an edited book (Author)peer-review

Abstract

The book’s overarching aim is to examine the city formed by urban music cultures, often in stark opposition to the commodified image of the city crafted by urban planners and associated urban stakeholders. For more than a century, Los Angeles (L.A.) has stimulated the imaginations of all sorts of artists and has been primary material in countless movies, TV series, novels, poetries, video games, and songs. This flow of cultural production constantly reconfigures urban imaginaries associated to L.A. This chapter delineates a methodological approach to studying underground music cultures in L.A., where the analysis of urban media in relation to music and urban spaces is connected to existing urban theory on L.A. It discusses the power of music in shaping our perception of the city and explores the relationship between music cultures and L.A., which are co-constitutive of a specific urban imaginary. This book covers the multiple dimensions of L.A.’s underground music cultures: song lyrics, album covers, the association of music and image (music videos) and their aesthetics, the imaginary soundscapes associated with urban digital worlds based on L.A., as well as the subjective city experiences by both artists and the underground music audience. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationUnderground Music Cultures and Music-Making in Los Angeles
Subtitle of host publication'Imaginary Cities'
EditorsSébastien Darchen, John Willsteed, Damien Charrieras
Place of PublicationCham
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
Chapter1
Pages1-20
ISBN (Electronic)978-3-031-75499-9
ISBN (Print)978-3-031-75501-9, 978-3-031-75498-2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2025

Publication series

NamePalgrave Studies in the History of Subcultures and Popular Music
ISSN (Print)2730-9517
ISSN (Electronic)2730-9525

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