Rock & Roll: Does
it influence teens’ behavior?
(Continuation of article)
Male- vs.
female-appeal music
From conversations with
their friends and acquaintances, Roberts and Christenson
have concluded that most adults generally think of
adolescent music as all the same. Most don't seem aware
of the astonishing increase in music genres and subgenres
since they were young. Billboard now reports on more than
20 music charts, and the annual Grammy awards recognize
80 music categories. Yet even the industry does not
recognize as much fragmentation as youthful consumers
when they are asked about their music preferences.
This diversity and
selectivity are important, the authors say, because the
"symbolic environment" of genres varies and
adolescent preferences are linked to both individual and
group identity. "A kid whose tastes run to rap
artists such as Coolio or NWA probably thinks of himself
in different terms and associates with a different peer
group than one who prefers the pop sound of Mariah Carey
or Janet Jackson."
American adolescents
perceive a cluster of music grounded in the racial origin
of performers, they say, and also combine into one group
various music types of British origin, such as punk, new
wave and reggae. They also recognize "classic"
rock of the '60s and '70s as a category, heavy metal,
American hard rock, Christian music (including Christian
pop and black gospel), a combined jazz-blues grouping,
and a cluster of music the researchers call
"mainstream pop." College students and other
older adolescents make more distinctions than younger
ones.
Females and males differ
substantially in how much they like various categories,
with females showing more attraction to black music and
more dislike for hard rock and especially heavy metal.
The latter is not surprising, the researchers say, given
the harsh view of women in heavy metal lyrics.
Males generally like
mainstream pop less than females; males tend to think of
the music as "unhip" or "uncool." The
gender gap is so large in adolescent music tastes that
one researcher has suggested the industry simply dump its
elaborate pop music categories into "male
appeal" or "female appeal." The gender gap
holds for other ages also but perhaps is greater in
adolescence because the development of cross-gender
relationships is a new focus for that age group, the
authors say.
More recent surveys
suggest the race of performers is also important,
particularly among males and among youth from
lower-income homes. "The suburban white rap fan
(just as the rare urban black hard rock fan) is making a
conscious cultural choice and a strong personal
statement."
Generally, though,
differences in music taste are "not random or
idiosyncratic but shaped by social background and other
environmental influences." At the same time, the
researchers say, it's important to remember that
"popular music genres rarely express anything
resembling a coherent world view" and the themes of
songs are more varied than themes in other media.
For kids alienated from
the school culture who wish to project an image of
individualism and unconventionality, they say, just
hearing a song on commercial radio or MTV can be a reason
not to like it. "If the prom queen likes it, maybe
it is time to move on to something that smacks a bit less
of the mainstream," they wrote.
Age differences also exist
and lead to what the researchers call the Madonna
contradiction. "Despite Madonna's phenomenal
commercial success throughout her career, few college
freshmen will admit publicly to owning any of her
music." A great many Madonna albums are skeletons in
college students' bedroom closets at home, the
researchers suspect.
The authors are
particularly intrigued by rap music's crossover appeal,
an anomaly. Rap is extremely popular with white youth and
as popular with girls as boys, despite its misogynist and
hypermasculine nature. Part of its appeal, the authors
say, is for the body rather than the ear. Rap flourishes
as dance music and girls are more interested in dancing.
As "cultural tourists," suburban white girls
may distance themselves from the real meaning of rap
lyrics, while African American females who are often
repelled by the lyrics still enjoy dancing.
The authors are troubled
by one implication of white use of rap music. To the
extent it is the primary source of information about
African Americans and that music companies intentionally
distort the urban African American experience, "the
impact of crossover rap listening may be more to
cultivate negative racial stereotypes than to advance
cross-cultural understanding."
Less mainstream than rap
is heavy metal, a category that also draws criticism from
adult critics. Evidence suggests it appeals most to white
males. The peer group has a stronger hold on heavy metal
fans, and they have less respect for women than other
adolescents.
"However, if there is
a syndrome at work here, it is a 'troubled youth
syndrome,' not a heavy metal syndrome," the
researchers say. That is, adolescents who are troubled or
at risk in various ways tend to gravitate to heavy metal,
but most heavy metal fans are not on drugs, not in jail,
failing school or depressed.
Music taste and
school grades
The relationship between
academic success or failure and music taste may be very
important, the authors say. Studies indicate early school
achievement influences later music choices, not the other
way around. Lower school commitment is generally
associated with heavy metal, and in the view of at least
one British researcher they cite, low-achievers embrace
heavy metal as a "cultural solution" to their
low standing in the traditional school pecking order. The
music reinforces who one is and tells others what group
he or she belongs to.
Given this connection,
Christenson and Roberts urge adults to adopt a stance of
"respectful disagreement" with the negative
values they see in the music some adolescents favor. When
teachers and administrators stigmatize peer groups based
on music, "the wedge between these kids who,
after all, are often the ones who most need to be reached
and the mainstream school culture is driven even
deeper."
They finish their book
with comments on these 1974 lyrics by the Rolling Stones:
"I know it's only rock and roll, but I like
it."
"The Stones knew this
was a lie even as they sang it," Roberts and
Christenson say. "Then as now, it wasn't only rock
and roll, and kids didn't just like it, they loved it."
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