Avant-garde across a Century: Erik Satie and Sonic Youth

Abstract

To help plot the trajectory of avant-garde music, we must consider musical artists of all genres and examine the similarities between these composers' artistic attitudes. In the most general terms, both Erik Satie and Sonic Youth straddled the lines of what is considered "high" and "low" art. Satie brought popular, common music from the cabarets of Montmartre into the more sophisticated concert halls of Paris. Sonic Youth brought new perspectives in sound from the most artistically obscure venues of downtown New York City to rock clubs and mainstream radio festivals across the United States. Essentially, Satie was influenced by "low" art and applied it to the creation of "high" art, and the members of Sonic Youth were influenced by "high" art and applied it to the creation of "low" art. In doing so, both artists created hybridized music, drawing from varied influences, and additionally, both artists' music will be considered ahead of its respective time for many years to come. Both artists achieved this partly by coming from similar artistic/musical environments, working closely with visual artists of their time, and directly influencing their peers who would eventually become better known. Overall, these two artists' contributions to the avant-garde are worth examining and comparing, both for their similarities and for what they have to contribute to the future of the avant-garde.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2006

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Montague, Eugene

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Degree Program

Music

Subjects

Arts and Humanities -- Dissertations, Academic; Dissertations, Academic -- Arts and Humanities; Avant garde (Aesthetics); Satie, Erik -- 1866-1925; Sonic Youth (Musical group)

Format

Print

Identifier

DP0022105

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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