Once upon a time, music did not carry “Explicit” warning labels. Then something happened in 1985, one of those moral panics that periodically sweep the U.S. The panic in this case was “porn rock,” the nickname given to racy or violent music that became the subject of Congressional hearings. Tipper Gore, wife of Senator Al Gore, had bought her 11-year-old daughter the album “Purple Rain.” The movie and accompanying album by Prince had come out the year prior, both becoming mega hits. But when Tipper Gore heard the song “Darling Nikki,” which describes a woman masturbating to a magazine in a hotel lobby, she was appalled.
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Inverse magazine ran an interesting article on ancient lore and how warriors intimidated their enemies using music and sound as weapons. Author Adrienne Mayor compiled the information while researching her book Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs. For thousands of years, armies have used these techniques to unnerve their opponents and gain the upper hand. Continue reading →
In Music: A Subversive History, Ted Gioia makes the case that music has challenged cultural norms throughout the ages. This constant reinvention not only helps music flower artistically but facilitates cultural change. What frightens the establishment in one generation gets embraced (and often co-opted) by the establishment a generation or more later. Gioia calls this force “creative destruction.” Music helps tear down walls, liberating society from arbitrary codes designed to control behavior. Tracing this pattern through four thousand years of history, Gioia shows how the force of change usually originates in outsiders and marginalized groups. I like the description from the dust jacket: “Music is essential reading for anyone interested in the hidden sources of music’s timeless power, from Sappho to the Sex Pistols to Spotify.” 
In the introduction to his book “The Show That Never Ends: The Rise and Fall of Prog Rock,” David Weigel points out that rock critics have traditionally heaped praise on punk rock while disparaging progressive rock. I’ve noticed this tendency, too, over the years. Yes, prog rock could sometimes be pretentious and bloated. But you could equally criticize punk for being crude and simplistic. Weigel aims to correct this imbalance by telling the story of prog rock.