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Science Explains the Difference Between ‘Camp’ and ‘Kitsch’

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For those unsure about the sometimes-misunderstood difference between ‘Kitsch’ and ‘Camp’, Dr. Freya Jarman, who is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Music at the University of Liverpool, UK, provides a concise definition:

“Camp enjoys and glorifies its own awfulness where kitsch doesn’t realise it.”

Dr. Jarman researches how ‘camp’ works, musically. See, for example: ‘Notes on Musical Camp’, in: The Ashgate Research Companion to Popular Musicology, ed. Derek B. Scott. (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2009), 189-203, which cites this 1969 performance by (the late) Liberace:

Unfortunately, another reference-video cited in the paper, Charlotte Church – Don’t Rain On My Parade appears to be damaged, so instead, with the definition above in mind . . .

Here is an Improbable mini-cornucopia of possible camp / kitsch renditions which might serve as a starting point for comparisons along the lines of – Camp? Kitsch? Neither? Both?

  • Deee-Lite – Groove Is In The Heart
  • Queen – I Want To Break Free
  • Cliff Richard – Bachelor Boy
  • Pet Shop Boys – Go West
  • Rammstein – Seemann
  • The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band – Canyons Of Your Mind
  • Boney M – Daddy Cool
  • Bee Gees – Stayin’ Alive
  • Lang Lang – Schubert Standchen (Serenade)
  • Mick Jagger & David Bowie – Dancing In The Street
  • Robbie Williams – You Know Me
  • Kenneth Williams – The Marrow Song (Oh! What a Beauty!)
  • Katy Perry – California Gurls (featuring Snoop Dogg)
  • This article originally appeared on Improbable Research.

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