Can popular music be a genuine force for political change?

There is a long history of popular music and politics, especially in the political expression of music. Through history we have heard songs which contain a very strong political theme throughout, however when we talk about the politics of music we don't necessarily mean music which sets about going against political institutions but a song which talks about some sort of struggle. Censorship has been a big problem is the music industry. Just as theatre, film and art can be censored, so are songs. In western democracies songs have been banned from receiving radio airplay due to their lyrical content by the radio stations or the government. Artists like Eminem have regularly had their music censored due to political reasons, along with Bob Marley's 'Stand up for your rights'. It is quite a complex subject to understand. The politics in music usually works through the clash of words and sound, or when the noise in music is the message.

Are blackness and whiteness useful concepts in the study of popular music?

The concept of black and white music is a very complicated area of study within popular music and there is no definite answer. Is there such a thing as black music? is it a particular genre or style which categorizes it as being black? is it because the majority of those who listen to it are black? these are all questions which to think about when discussing such a vast topic as this. Black music was formally known as 'race' music and it constituted a large ethnic minority of the United States. When l think about black music l do think there are several common features such as a call and response, blue notes, rhythm, harmony etc. Hip Hop and R n B is predominantly seen as black music. Artists such as R Kelly and Mary J Bilge popularized this fusion known as hip hop soul. Rap is another example of what some would consider to be black music. The whole concept of the 'gangster rap' became a major part of American music. Although it is seen as a black mans song (them rapping about their struggles and so on) there are nowadays white men who have succeeded tremendously in this particular genre. When talking about white music, what l personally associate white music, is with Country, folk and classical music. Not so much as in the performers but in the composers, where the majority are white. This is a complicated topic in the study of popular music and l do think its useful and it helps us understand the origins of particular styles of music and who we associate this music with, whether they are white or black.

Are youth subcultures genuine signs of revolt or simply the manifestation of style?

Youth subcultures are youth-based subcultures with distinct styles, behaviors and interests. According to subculture theorists, members of a subculture often signal their membership by making distinctive and symbolic tangible choices in, for example, clothing styles, hairstyles and footwear. Gender, ethnicity and social class are important to youth subcultures as they can be defined in terms of modes of expression or lifestyles. When we talk about youth subcultures what we are doing are categorizing and labelling people such as punks, ravers, hippies etc. Cohen argues that there are two main components of the lifestyle of such youth subcultures, which he terms 'plastic' (dress and music) and 'infrastructural' (argot and ritual). What he is saying is that the musical preferences of these groups were intimately connected to the nature of their lives. As l mentioned before class is important, and we can see throughout the years how youth subcultures are defined in class position. In the 1950's the youth subculture known as Teds were labelled as unskilled working class. In the 1960's Rockers and Mods were labelled as middle class to unskilled. In 1967 Rude boys were black underclass and Rastas and punks were once again black underclass with dreadlocks and the punks working class who enjoyed listening to punk rock. To a certain extent yes, l believe that youth subcultures are a genuine sign against rebellion, but at the same time l also believe that it it simply a group of people who share the same interest in music which are brought together and wish to express themselves in terms of what they wear.