University of Sussex
Browse

File(s) under permanent embargo

'Time and distance are no object': holiday records, representation and the nostalgia gap

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 19:56 authored by Richard Elliott
Whether temporally or spatially focussed, nostalgia results from a division between what is longed for and the moment of longing. This article examines this “nostalgia gap” alongside the analogous gap found in representation. The relationship is highlighted via an analysis of “holiday records”, a genre of recordings that became prevalent in the 1960s. The genre intersects with the more familiar genres of exotica, mood music, easy listening and ambient, but is distinguished by its emphasis on a particular form of spatial reminiscence and imagination. Using the example of “April in Portugal”, a song that started life as a Portuguese fado and subsequently became an international hit and mood music staple, I address a set of questions that illustrate the nostalgia gap. What is being remembered or imagined in the song? Can we distinguish between described and prescribed nostalgia? How is saudade, the specifically Portuguese “grammar of nostalgia”, related to nostalgic languages found on other holiday records?

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

Volume!

ISSN

2117-4148

Publisher

Editions Melanie Seteun

Issue

1

Volume

11

Page range

131-143

Department affiliated with

  • Music Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2015-05-13

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2015-05-12

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC