THE EMERGENCE OF "AUTHENTIC ROCK'N'ROLL" AND THAI YOUTH IDENTITY: A REFLECTION OF MIDDLE-CLASS SUBCULTURE IN CONTEMPORARY BANGKOK

Abstract

This thesis aims to understand the emergence and the development of different rock scenes in contemporary Bangkok and to investigate the construction of identity inside Bangkok’s rock’n’roll subculture. Based on participant observation and semi-structured interviews with producers of music video, band members, musicians, and patrons of rock'n ' roll music in the subculture, this study demonstrates that the people involved in Bangkok’s rock’n’roll subculture are usually young middle class Thais and that their first significant encounter with the subculture happened during their time at university. By using an ethnomusicological approach and based on the concepts of subcultural capital by Thornton (1995), this study also focuses on how Thai youth constructed their middle-class identity through rock' n' roll musical activities and its surrounding contexts. The majority of participants in these music scenes were young university students beginning to appear in the 1980s with a desire to liberate them from parental identification with mainstream pop culture by searching for alternative forms of musical expression. In 2000, a number of pubs and restaurants were dedicated to hosting lively scenes of rock'n'roll music performances by international and Thai bands. Interview respondents expressed that their education and formation as musicians or professionals related to the media has given them the tools to develop not only their career as rock’n’roll musicians but also satellite activities related to the rock’n’roll subculture such as video and audio production, graphic design and tattooing among others. Bangkok’s rock’n’roll subculture has become a community in which the Do-it-Yourself attitude was taken a central role in the authentication of its members. In order to be regarded as an ‘authentic’ member of the subculture, it is imperative for participants to become involved in the daily activities of the subculture and to create subcultural products by themselves. Do-it-Yourself includes song writings, sound recordings, music video production, and concert promotions. The promotion and dissemination of subcultural products is done entirely by the participants of the subculture with the use of alternative media channels in order to oppose the hegemonic cultural content present in Thai mass media. These activities have shaped the participant’s identity by transforming their musical creativity and independence as a landmark to their moral principles and values of being ‘authentic’ among Bangkok’s rock’n’roll subculture members. In order to understand this concept of authenticity, three tools were developed to help comprehend how participants create their idea of authenticity. These tools include the first wave authentic, scene location indicators and musical family issues. The tools locate participants in important events in the history of the subculture, provide them with knowledge about the subculture and, help them distinguish perceived authentic from inauthentic musical genres among a specific musical scene. In order to sustain their lineage of rock’n’roll music subculture, members praise the value of maintaining their music community authentic by objecting commercial profits of music-making and temptations of selling out to capitalist corporation.