ABSTRACT

Made in the Low Countries: Studies in Popular Music serves as a comprehensive and thorough introduction to the history, sociology, and musicology of twentieth and twenty-first century popular music of the Dutch-speaking region comprising the Netherlands and Flanders as a region of federal Belgium. The volume consists of essays by leading scholars and publicists in this field, and covers the major issues, genres, and contexts of popular music. Each essay provides adequate context so readers understand why the issue or genre under discussion is of lasting significance to this transnational region. The book first presents a general description of the history and background of popular music made in the region, followed by essays that are organized into four thematic sections: I: Framing and Facilitating; II: Creation and Curation; III: Close Encounters; IV: Changes and Choices.

part I|48 pages

Framing and Facilitating

chapter 1|10 pages

Futile Dutchness or Idiosyncratic Transnationalism

Homemade Pop, National Identity, and Global Culture

chapter 2|12 pages

The Zone in Between

The Principled Realm of Alternative Mainstream in Flanders

chapter 3|10 pages

Upstart Among the Arts

The Rise of Rock into the Dutch Subsidy System

chapter 4|12 pages

Mixing Multiple Tracks

Migration, Diaspora, and Transcultural Music in Flanders

part II|44 pages

Creation and Curation

chapter 5|10 pages

Broken Circle Rebound

New Regionalism and Vernacular Indie-Folk

chapter 6|12 pages

From Thrash to Cash

Forging and Legitimizing Dutch Metal

chapter 7|10 pages

Crossover Collectivities and Electronic Samples

Jazz’s Popularization in the Digital Era

chapter 8|10 pages

This Must Be Belgium

Roots, Progress, and Legacy of New Beat

part III|40 pages

Close Encounters

chapter 9|10 pages

“The Windmill’s Turning”

Lifecycle of a Signature Song for Holland

chapter 10|8 pages

Knocking on Heaven’s Door

Golden Earring Before and After the “Dutch Invasion”

chapter 11|10 pages

Rock ’n’ Roll in the Land of Sex and Drugs

Life and Legacy of Herman Brood

chapter 12|10 pages

“Sanomi” v. “Shalalie”

Showing Off Difference at the Eurovision Song Contest

part IV|44 pages

Changes and Choices

chapter 13|10 pages

“We Too Are Specimens of Homo Sapiens”

Holebi Culture Between Agitprop and Pop

chapter 14|10 pages

Pirates of the North Sea

Introduction and Impact of Commercial Pop Radio

chapter 15|10 pages

State of Independents

Small-Scale Production in a Globally Connected Place

chapter 16|10 pages

A Critical Choice

The Language of Lyrics as an Issue of Genre and Era

chapter |10 pages

Coda

A Tiny Dot—Some Foreign Awareness of Popular Music Made in the Low Countries