Title
The Americanist Imagination and Real Imaginary Place in Czech Bluegrass Songs
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-1-2017
Description
During their long history of Americanism, Czechs have inscribed “real imaginary” elements of Americana on their environment, laying a foundation for the current interest in bluegrass music. Czech articulations of this imagined “Amerika” in translated, newly created, and recontextualized songs reveal a playful ambiguity. Czechs have cultivated bluegrass through a sense of place that contains traces of Americanness, blurring the boundaries between what is American and what is Czech. With humor and hard work, Czech bluegrassers shape a sense of place through their performance of songs in which U.S. music becomes part of the European landscape.
Citation Information
Bidgood, Lee. 2017. The Americanist Imagination and Real Imaginary Place in Czech Bluegrass Songs. Popular Music and Society. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/03007766.2017.1302210 ISSN: 0300-7766