ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book offers a particular perspective on contemporary popular music cultures and scenes in the United States, not approaching them only through sound and discourse, but primarily through place and space. It focuses on houses, venues, social spaces, and cultural geographies, in order to examine how American do-it-yourself (DIY) communities constitute themselves in their social and spatial environment. The chapter addresses several different aspects of place and space as related to the community-building and music-making efforts of American DIY communities. It shows how in the general climate of the lack of appropriate public spaces and non-commercial venues in the United States, the access to alternative music venues via DIY method emerges as the basic material foundation in this regard.
