Rock and Roll, Social Protest, and Authenticity

Kurt Torell is associate professor of philosophy at The Pennsylvania State University.

Introduction: "But the Man Can't Bust Our Music" (Columbia Records Print Ad, 1968) Chapter 1: The Nature and Origins of Rock and Roll Chapter 2: The Influence of Records Chapter 3: The Nature and Influence of Commercial Radio Chapter 4: Copyright, ASCAP, BMI, and Payola Chapter 5: The Folk "Revival" Chapter 6: Rock and Roll as Social Protest Chapter 7: Authenticity and Social Protest Chapter 8: Conclusion References

A serious academic analysis of the contradictions between rock's commercialism and its spirit of countercultural resistance. Writing in the tradition of Michael Lydon, Paul Hirsch, and Serge Denisoff, Torell connects the vexed marriage of authenticity and imitation in American popular culture to larger issues in western philosophy and art. This book reaches far beyond rock and social protest, too: important reading for those also interested in the commodification of folk, punk, and hip hop. -- Granville Ganter, Associate Professor of English, St. John's University Was rock music subversive? Conservatives certainly thought so, and the counterculture's spirit of rebellion can't be understood apart from its soundtrack. Yet as Kurt Torell shows, mainstream institutions, practices, and pressures shaped the production and consumption of rock music at every turn. What emerges from his study is a deep and productive tension between the media and the message. -- Peter Richardson, San Franscisco State University For decades, scholars, writers and listeners have argued about the theme of protest in popular music. Kurt Torell adds a fine and nuanced perspective to this enduring issue, providing an innovative, incisive, and timely analysis that will appeal to a wide range of readers in a variety of disciplines. -- Nicholas G. Meriwether, Center for Counterculture Studies