Playing for Change

Although music is known to be part of the great social movements that have rocked the world, its specific contribution to political struggle has rarely been closely analyzed. Is it truly the 'lifeblood' of movements, as some have declared, or merely the entertainment between the speeches? Drawing on interviews, case studies and musical and lyrical analysis, Rosenthal and Flacks offer a brilliant analysis and a wide-ranging look at the use of music in movements, in the US and elsewhere, over the past hundred years. From their interviews, the voices of Pete Seeger, Ani DiFranco, Tom Morello, Holly Near, and many others enliven this highly readable book.

Rob Rosenthal, John E. Andrus Professor of Sociology at Wesleyan University, is the co-editor recently of Pete Seeger: In His Own Words.

Dick Flacks is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at University of California-Santa Barbara. His work focuses on roots and strategies of social movements and the American left Making History: The American Left and the American Mind (1988), the social psychology of political activism Beyond the Barricades (1989), and culture and social movements. He's produced a weekly radio program on music and politics since 1982.