Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: An online experiment tested for differences in the extramusical concepts that German listeners associate with hearing a few seconds of country, hip-hop, punk, or German folksy music. Country, hip-hop and punk are examples of international or “out-group” genres for German listeners, while German folksy music serves as an example of domestic “in-group” music. Results revealed significant differences between the genres in seven out of eight concepts measured: urban vs. rural culture, age, trustworthiness, expertise, attractiveness, friendliness, and political ideology. There was no significant difference in the eighth concept: ethnicity. Some differences between the genre stimuli were noted in mood valence, mood intensity, and listeners’ music identity/preference. Controlling for identity with the stimulus reduced the genre differences in trustworthiness to marginal significance. It also lowered the effect size for several other concepts, but they still remained statistically significant. In-group vs. out-group theory at a cultural level is proposed as an explanation for the differences in cognitive schemas for these genres.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Due to high firm concentration over the last century the American music industry has gone through cycles characterized by long periods of homogenized music production followed by brief periods of diversity. These cycles of production are detrimental to music as an art form and have been especially harmful to the music of marginalized groups. Scholarly work has argued that these cycles of production halted in the late 1970’s as large companies shifted to an open system of production. This allows larger companies to make money distributing while smaller companies help them easily adjust to changing musical tastes. This paper tests these conclusions by studying diversity in hip-hop (a genre born after the shift) over the last twenty years. Using data from in-depth interview with twenty-five key informants and a content analysis of lyrics for song charting tenth or higher with Billboard Music each year between 1983 and 2003(N=1453) I find no support for the argument that change in musical production has allowed for consistent diversity in modern music. Findings demonstrate that over the last two decades the numbers of consistent themes in hip-hop lyrics have decreased. Themes of race, collective identity, and political change have declined while themes of crime, negativity towards females, and party anthems have remained constant or risen. This indicates a consistent homogenization of music over time. Informant argue that homogenization results from industry participation, increasing white audiences, group action by artists, and active and conscious efforts by record executives. Implications of this homogenization are also addressed.

Supporting Publications:
Supporting Document

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Educational investments and returns differ by social strata. Minorities do not receive the same benefits of extra-curricular activities in education that whites receive. This work addresses inequality by examining music participation as it mediates student achievement in both early childhood and adolescence. We use two datasets, the ECLS-K and the NELS:88 to show ethnic differentiation in who receives music in school, out of school and a proxy of cultural capital, if parents attend concerts. Music participation affects Hispanic and Asian students differently than white and black students. But music participation measures have a great impact on reducing the black-white test score gap in both math and reading, though all minorities are shown to be disadvantaged in receiving music compared with white students.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 (9/11) have provoked various collective and personal responses in the US, whose meaning continues to be negotiated through time. This paper analyses two popular music albums released in 2002, which address the events of 9/11. The analysis engages with the question: How do these albums incorporate religious symbolism in formulating a response to 9/11? In exploring this question, the paper draws conclusions about the relationship between popular culture and religion within the context of collective crisis and suffering.

The paper is theoretically informed by constructivist and cultural studies frameworks and adopts an interpretive approach towards the analysis of the albums as cultural texts. Further, the analysis draws upon the scholarly debate on the increasingly blurred line between the sacred and the profane, as well as on the literature on media and religion. In addition to providing a close reading of the albums, the analysis seeks to contextualize its interpretations and situate them historically. The paper argues that the two albums represent two divergent forms of spiritual sensibility present in American society today. By implication, they express specific articulations of collectivity, while, at the same time, serving as sources for the construction of personalized meanings and identities.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Music is typically believed to have some relationship with politics and public opinion, but little research has quantified that relationship or offered testable hypothesis about causal mechanisms. In this paper, I address this issue by examining relationships between music preferences and political attitudes, using an original survey dataset (N=888). I show that discernible relationships exist between certain music preferences and political attitudes, and I argue that these are based on a reference-group mechanism rather than via the lyrical content of music. The results illuminate theoretical directions for conceptualizing music as a political phenomenon relevant to public opinion.