Items related to Rocking The State: Rock Music And Politics In Eastern...
Of the many avenues for expressing dissident viewpoints in communist societies, rock music - with its broad appeal among young people - was one of the most effective. Although there were rock groups that sang the praises of communism, other groups struck the pose of "rock rebels," assailing the system through their ribald lyrics and raucous music. Communist regimes generally had a difficult time adjusting to rock music, and some, such as those in Czechoslovakia and Romania, never did accept the new genre. Others, such as the East German government, tried to control and monitor rock by requiring musicians and DJs alike to pass tests on Marxist ideology. Other strategies included censoring lyrics, record covers, and attire; insisting on haircuts for band members; and fussing about jewelry and other adornments worn by rockers. The authorities knew that although these bands could not overthrow the state, they could sing up a storm, and, indeed, rock the state.
Bringing together some of the world's leading authorities on rock music under communism, this book analyzes the rise of specific rock groups throughout Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, examining the broader social culture in which they operated and evaluating the political ramifications of their popularity.
Bringing together some of the world's leading authorities on rock music under communism, this book analyzes the rise of specific rock groups throughout Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, examining the broader social culture in which they operated and evaluating the political ramifications of their popularity.
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About the Author:
Sabrina P. Ramet is professor of political science at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway. She is the author of six other books, among them Whose Democracy? Nationalism, Religion, and the Doctrine of Collective Rights in Post-1989 Eastern Europe(1997) and Nihil Obstat: Religion, Politics, and Social Change in East-Central Europe and Russia(1998). She has also edited a dozen books, mostly about Eastern Europe and Russia.
From Publishers Weekly:
These 11 essays constitute what editor Ramet, who teaches international studies at the University of Washington, calls "the first scholarly attempt" to systematically address rock music in Eastern Europe and Russia. The wealth of information presented here should absorb specialists. Ramet asserts that rock was the beat behind the 1989 revolutions in Eastern Europe, and, indeed, the essays, most of which focus on a single country, show how music there is infused with politics. For example, in Czechoslovakia, Ramet writes, a 1976 trial of the group Plastic People of the Universe led to the drafting of the human rights document Charter 77. In East Germany, observes Olaf Leitner, rock music was the art most in conflict with the state. Though essays like Laszlo Kurti's on Hungarian rock lapse into academic jargon, they nevertheless, through analysis of song lyrics, show how musicians have constructed alternative views of sexual and social mores. Particularly intriguing are a 1989 interview with a Sarajevan musician who presciently predicted war and an essay on Dean Reed, an American actor/singer who became an East Bloc star, only to die mysteriously in East Berlin in 1986. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherWestview Press
- Publication date1994
- ISBN 10 0813317622
- ISBN 13 9780813317625
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages317
- EditorEDITOR *
- Rating
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