The Resisting Muse: Popular Music and Social Protest

Peddie (English, West Texas A&M U.) assembles 14 essays on protest music, taking the perspective that this music is in a complex dialogue with its audiences, and focusing on music after 1975. Essays analyze the reasons for a relatively small number of protest songs; the cyclical nature of their appearance; music by Michelle Shocked and Billy Bragg; political involvements of pop stars like Bono; hip hop; race and class; and gender in rap. Also covered are reggae, Australian Aboriginal music, music from the Black Country area of the West Midlands, heavy metal, the Pacific Northwest independent music scene in the 1980s, gothic music, and the failure of protest in rock 'n' roll. Contributors are in a broad range of fields including music, English, history, and communication and are from the US, Australia, and the UK. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)