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‘We are the Others’: A literary analysis of the rise, fall and resurrection of Ultima Thule’s Viking-rock
Jönköping University, School of Education and Communication, HLK, Communication, Culture and Diversity (CCD).ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8660-8620
2022 (English)In: Punk & Post Punk, ISSN 2044-1983, E-ISSN 2044-3706, Vol. 11, no 1, p. 7-33Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Viking-rock grew out of the diminishing Swedish punk scene in the early 1980s and is lyrically linked to British Oi! and the far-right ‘Rock against Communism’ (RAC) scene. Previous research on Viking-rock either emphasizes the genre as a cultural expression of the Swedish white power milieu of the 1990s or as a product of the skinhead subculture. However, critical analyses of Viking-rock lyrics are scarce. This study emphasizes the development of the Other, as expressed in the lyrics of Viking-rock flagship band Ultima Thule from the 1980s to the 2010s, in relation to the development of the political party the Sweden Democrats. The lyrics are analyzsed from a comparative literature perspective that draws upon both borealism and the concept of the subaltern as an anti-intellectual voice of power as well as the idea that long-lasting political change is preceded by cultural change. The results suggest that Ultima Thule’s lyrical Other has gone from vague to distinct characterization. Ultima Thule also makes use of self-victimization when confronting journalism and intellectualism, much like the Sweden Democrats’ own view of themselves as political outcasts. Ultimately, the lyrics toe the party line and describe nationalists as an outcast Other in an alleged, politically correct, discourse.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Intellect Ltd., 2022. Vol. 11, no 1, p. 7-33
Keywords [en]
Sweden Democrats; Ultima Thule; Viking-rock; borealism; comparative literature; the Other; the subaltern
National Category
Specific Literatures
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-54349DOI: 10.1386/punk_00109_1ISI: 001058780200002Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85128639799OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hj-54349DiVA, id: diva2:1588462
Available from: 2021-08-27 Created: 2021-08-27 Last updated: 2023-10-31Bibliographically approved

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Bradling, Björn

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