Toby Manning's "Mixing Pop and Politics" offers a Marxist analysis of popular music's evolution, tracing its connection to social and political shifts. The book examines how various genres, from rock and roll to hip-hop, have reflected and challenged prevailing ideologies. Manning explores the interplay between music as a commodity and a tool for rebellion, highlighting the tensions between artistic expression and capitalist forces. The book's detailed historical scope provides a comprehensive understanding of music's role in shaping societal narratives. Ultimately, "Mixing Pop and Politics" presents a nuanced perspective on the complex relationship between music, politics, and culture.
From rock & roll to contemporary pop, Mixing Pop and Politics: A Marxist History of Popular Music (Repeater, 2024) is a timely and original exploration of popular music’s role in shaping our society. Told through a Marxist lens, Toby Manning traces the last seventy years of political and social upheavals through its most iconic US and UK-based music.
Mixing Pop and Politics examines the connections between popular music and political ideology and explores themes like the liberation of rock ’n’ roll, containment of girl groups, defiance of glam, resignation of soft rock, the communal spirit of disco, and the individualism of 1980s pop. Spanning the early 1950s to today, the book reveals how music—from doo-wop to hip-hop, punk to crunk, and grunge to grime—has both reflected and resisted the political forces of its time.
Toby Manning is the author of The Rough Guide to Pink Floyd (2006) and John le Carré and the Cold War (2018).
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New Books in Critical Theory