Music Is Power: Popular Songs, Social Justice, and the Will to Change (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781978808126)

Honorable Mention, 2019 Foreword INDIES Awards - Performing Arts & Music
Honorable Mention, Graphis 2021 Design Annual Competition​

Popular music has long been a powerful force for social change. Protest songs have served as anthems regarding war, racism, sexism, ecological destruction, and so many other crucial issues.

Music Is Power takes us on a guided tour through the past one hundred years of politically conscious music, from Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie to Green Day and NWA. Covering a wide variety of genres, including reggae, country, metal, psychedelia, rap, punk, folk, and soul, Brad Schreiber demonstrates how musicians can take a variety of approaches-- angry rallying cries, mournful elegies to the victims of injustice, or even humorous mockeries of authority--to fight for a fairer world. While shining a spotlight on Phil Ochs, Gil Scott-Heron, the Dead Kennedys and other seminal, politicized artists, he also gives readers a new appreciation of classic acts such as Lesley Gore, James Brown, and Black Sabbath, who overcame limitations in their industry to create politically potent music

Music Is Power tells fascinating stories about the origins and the impact of dozens of world-changing songs, while revealing political context and the personal challenges of legendary artists from Bob Dylan to Bob Marley.

Supplemental material (Artist and Title List): https: //d3tto5i5w9ogdd.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/24001955/Music_Is_Power_Supplementary_Artist_Title_List.doc


Author: Brad Schreiber
ISBN-10: 1978808127
ISBN-13: 9781978808126
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Language: English
Published: 11/21/2019
Pages: 238
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.10h x 5.90w x 0.90d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 07/01/2020