Page 124 - Cultural Studies A Practical Introduction

108 Music

cannot do in certain places. Music challenges those rules by creating pleas-
ure and diffusing it across social boundaries – a tendency made more
emphatic by digital music players. A capitalist society especially demands

that we work in a disciplined fashion for others for their profit (the motto
of the society being “ Never have so many worked so hard so that so few
could enjoy themselves so much ” ), but music gives everyone access to a
certain degree of pleasure even if they are not on the wealth - magnet end
of the social pyramid.
Think of all the different ways you encounter music in your daily life.
You may be jarred awake by a radio alarm clock playing a roaring metal
song; transform your walk through campus from a mundane ritual to a
cinematic adventure by selecting a soundtrack from your iPod; notice a
barely perceptible romantic ballad staving off uncomfortable silence as you

shop at the supermarket; flip on the television and see Bruce Springsteen ’ s
anti - war protest song “ Born in the USA ” being played at a political rally
celebrating America ’ s latest military action; go to a college party, where
people writhe to hip hop songs about the brutality of street life; and ease
your way into sleep with some ambient music by Brian Eno. In the latter
part of the twentieth century, music evolved from being something people
consciously chose to experience in clearly defined contexts such as con-

certs, dances, or ceremonial events to something that pervades nearly our

every waking moment, and influences at an almost subliminal level our
emotional responses to the phenomena with which we ’ re confronted in all
aspects of our daily lives. Music makes arguments without seeming to do
so. Or, more accurately, human agents use music to persuade us to think
and act in particular ways. There is purpose and design behind the music
we hear in offi ces, in stores, on commercials, and at social gatherings. It is
intended to send a message: “ Get to work, ” “ Buy this, ” or “ You are one of

us. ” When analyzing music ’ s social function, we must always remember
that no use or production of music is arbitrary or accidental, and that all
engagements with music have effects that resonate beyond the fl eeting
moment of the listening encounter.
For instance, music is one of the primary ways by which we create and
maintain our identities, our sense of who we are and how we fit into the

world. We often choose to associate with other people based on shared
tastes in particular musical performers or genres and the ideologies they
represent. The formation of individual and group identities around music
is often a source of apprehension, and sometimes hysteria, among author-
ity figures. This unease is particularly intense when a new style of music,