McClary, Susan. "Same As It Ever Was: Youth Culture and Music." Microphone Fiends. 1994: 29-40. Brown University Library, Providence, RI. 25 Jan. 2009.
McClary argues that music is a "technology of the body" [33], meaning that the music we listen to affects our body experiences (by causing an emotion or making us dance in particular ways) and then shapes our view of the world. Social formations and constructs evolve due to various new musical movements, and those in power resist new forms of music in order to maintain their established dominance over the majority. Furthermore, McClary suggests that music's appeal to the body breaks social constructs such as race, by using the example "In the Midnight Hour" by Wilson Pickett, which took a beat from a group of African-Americans and spread its popularity to many Americans, who found the beat and tune dance-worthy, regardless of the color of their skin.
The church is an example of a dominant authority that has resisted new forms of music due to the fact that they cause "bodily pleasures" - what other groups in power opposed new, different musical styles?
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ReplyDeleteI believe that the church is a good example of a dominant authority, though to be fair I think it should be noted that the church resists new forms of just about anything. Perhaps more revealing is to trace different forms of popular music and how they have been treated in schools, first at the university level, then through elementary. Perhaps the schools do not oppose new styles directly, but certainly might be resistant to them. When were the first courses on Modernism? Where were the first jazz courses? At what point did popular music enter the Western canon and who were its proponents? Though the church certainly stands as an omnipresent authority, I think the schools are socially formative institutions that might be slightly more susceptible to evolving cultural ideologies.
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