Tagged: popular music

Opinion

Can the revolution in the music industry tell us anything about the future of capitalism?

Christmas is coming. The John Lewis ad is out. Consumerist-bonkers-day Black Friday is around the corner, and as I write, hundreds of container ships are slowly inching their way across the seas from China to the West, bringing a cargo of all the things we are told we need this year. Toys-wise, apparently this year’s must-have presents include an “interactive Thunderbirds Tracy Island” and a “‘skate and sing’ remote control Elsa” (apparently she’s out of Frozen but, being childless, I...

Sociology of Culture

Grunge, Britpop, and the end of mass cultural movements

This year marks twenty years since 1994, a year that saw two key movements in western youth culture – the end of US grunge, marked by the suicide of Nirvana’s singer and songwriter Kurt Cobain, and the start of the Britpop, marked by the release of seminal albums Parklife by Blur, and Definitely Maybe by Oasis. Although these start/end points are rather arbitrary, the media love to create and discuss an anniversary: it is something they can plan for with...

Race & Ethnicity Studies / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Hip-Hop in Beijing

by bmckernan In the last few decades, authenticity has become an increasingly popular area of social research. While much of the published work within this area has focused on authenticity in regards to notions of self, a growing body of literature has emerged that has sought to examine the relation between authenticity and popular culture. Within this burgeoning field, David Grazian’s Blue Chicago is perhaps one of the most critically acclaimed works. In Blue Chicago, Grazian uncovers what precisely an...