09: The Music Issue

Introduction: Political Preferences, Not Taste Preferences

Charlie Bertsch
The range of musical interests reflected in this issue gives a good indication of both how many different sorts of musical pleasure are out there *and* how arbitrary taste-preferences are.

A Conversation About Bruce Springsteen

Joe Sartelle, Steven Rubio
Recently we decided to collaborate on an essay about Bruce Springsteen for this issue. What follows is our e-mail conversation about Bruce.

Look Into My Eyes and Hate Me: GG Allin, R.I.P.

Catherine Hollis
I'll confess: I was unaffected by GG's personal charisma, until I was sucked in by a picture of him, dead in his coffin.

Madonna's Revenge

Annalee Newitz
What Madonna has given to American culture, and culture throughout the world, is not a collection of songs; rather, it is a collection of images.

Milli Vanilli and the Scapegoating of the Inauthentic

Ted Friedman
Pop music hangs on to the folk-era image of the individual artist communicating directly to her or his listeners. Milli Vanilli became martyrs to this myth of authenticity.

Seattle Uber Alles

Joel Schalit, John Brady
The phenomenon of selling out has become big currency these days since the adoption of punk by the American culture industry.

Talking 'Bout Whose Generation

Brian Kassof
The Boomers' operating premise seems to be that if the culture of their youth was so 'groovy', that our generation will naturally come to accept it as the only worthwhile American mass culture.

Voices from the Collective

Letters from readers about past articles.