The Transcendences of Listening to Music: How Listening to Bob Dylan Moves His Fans

The theoretical starting point for my article is the concept of transcendence in the writings of Thomas Luckmann and Alfred Schutz. Schutz describes a continuing flow of transcendences of the immediate lifeworld. Luckmann speaks of three levels of transcendence: the ‘little transcendences’ of an awareness of time and space, the ‘intermediate transcendences’ of an awareness of the social dimension, and the ‘great transcendences’, an awareness of dimensions beyond life and death. I add a distinction, central to music, between cognitive awareness and the emotional dimension. I apply this framework to a discussion among Bob Dylan fans of their experiences in listening to Dylan. The material is derived from a Swedish online discussion forum. Examples of both cognitive and emotional transcendence at all three levels are discussed, with particular focus on references to religious traditions in describing experiences of Dylan’s music.