Date of Award
2020
Document Type
Open Access Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Stonecoast
First Advisor
John Florio
Second Advisor
Debra Marquart
Third Advisor
Justin Tussing
Abstract
Through a series of concert reviews, album reviews, and personal essays, this thesis tracks a musical memoir about the transition from a childhood growing up in a sheltered Connecticut suburb to young adulthood working in New York City, discovering relationships and music scenes that shape the narrator's sense of identity as well the larger culture he finds himself in. The essays touch upon the development of personality in aspects that reveal the roots of the narrator's political views, his interest in sports, existential beliefs about free will and theoretical physics, the human condition in the 21st century, and his search for love and companionship. Behind these themes plays a soundtrack of music which the narrator uses to guide himself by, connecting his story to songs through deep analysis of the theory behind them. New York City presents itself as a world of opportunity as the narrator settles into adulthood. The ability to experience the live music scene and encounter a cast of individuals whose personalities announce themselves above the din of the crowd. The city also poses its own challenges with the daily grind, the messiness inherent in so many people existing in such proximity.
Recommended Citation
Margid, Tyler Scott, "Off-Beats and Cross Streets: A Collection of Writing about Music, Relationships, and New York City" (2020). Stonecoast MFA Theses and Capstones. 135.
https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/stonecoast/135
