Subverting America Since 1620
Popular Music Has Always Struck a Nerve. What’s It Doing Now?
Since the 1600s, music has been a battleground in American culture. The Puritans made dancing illegal and destroyed a rival colony that encouraged people to play, listen, and dance to music. In the second half of the 20th century, rock ’n’ roll was supposed to put an end to democracy. But today, the music most Americans listen to isn’t subversive. At an event co-presented by Occidental College at the Downtown Independent, a panel of people who think, write, and talk about music and culture discussed whether popular music is a …
