Music is Power : : Popular Songs, Social Justice, and the Will to Change / / Brad Schreiber.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Rutgers University Press Complete eBook-Package 2020
• VerfasserIn: Schreiber, Brad,
• Place / Publishing House: New Brunswick, NJ : : Rutgers University Press, , [2019]; ©2020
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (252 p.) :; 5 color photographs, 13 B-W photographs

Popular music has long been a powerful force for social change. Protest songs have served as anthems regarding war, racism, sexism, ecological destruction and so many other crucial issues. Music Is Power takes us on a guided tour through the past 100 years of politically-conscious music, from Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie to Green Day and NWA. Covering a wide variety of genres, including reggae, country, metal, psychedelia, rap, punk, folk and soul, Brad Schreiber demonstrates how musicians can take a variety of approaches— angry rallying cries, mournful elegies to the victims of injustice, or even humorous mockeries of authority—to fight for a fairer world. While shining a spotlight on Phil Ochs, Gil Scott-Heron, The Dead Kennedys and other seminal, politicized artists, he also gives readers a new appreciation of classic acts such as Lesley Gore, James Brown, and Black Sabbath, who overcame limitations in their industry to create politically potent music Music Is Power tells fascinating stories about the origins and the impact of dozens of world-changing songs, while revealing political context and the personal challenges of legendary artists from Bob Dylan to Bob Marley.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction -- 1. Musical Workers of the World Unite: Joe Hill, Woody Guthrie, and Pete Seeger -- 2. There for More Than Fortune: Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan -- 3. Caged Artists: Lesley Gore, Janis Ian, and P. F. Sloan -- 4. Parody and Poetry: Tom Lehrer; Peter, Paul and Mary; and The Smothers Brothers -- 5. Psychedelicate Situations: Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd -- 6. Reason and Blues: Marvin Gaye and The Temptations -- 7. Say It Loud, We’re Blocked but Proud: James Brown and Curtis Mayfield -- 8. Hard Rock Turns Metallic: The Who and Black Sabbath -- 9. More Than a Working-Class Hero: John Lennon and The Beatles -- 10. Out of Place and In Your Face: The Dead Kennedys and The Sex Pistols -- 11. Word: Gil Scott-Heron and Grandmaster Flash -- 12. Global Music Consciousness: Bob Marley and Peter Gabriel -- 13. Weird, Funny, Smart, Angry: Frank Zappa versus Everyone -- 14. Rap, Not Hip-Hop: NWA and Public Enemy -- 15. Weapons of Mass Deconstruction: Dixie Chicks and Green Day -- Epilogue: Music Is Power -- Acknowledgments -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author