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Music media are often studied for its content, specifically sex and violence. However, few studies have approached music media to investigate the overlap of this content, especially considering the current music streaming landscape. Our study explores the co-occurrence of violence, sexual content, and degrading terms toward women in music lyrics. In this content analysis, five coders coded lyrics of 781 stanzas of songs in the Hot 100 Billboard chart throughout 2017 for these three categories. We found that the most common category was sexual content (n = 222, 28.4%), followed by degrading terms toward women (n = 71, 9%), and violence (n = 55, 7%). Additionally, we conducted chi-square and odds ratio analyses, finding that the co-occurrence of violence and sexual content, violence and degrading terms toward women were all significant, while the co-occurrence of sexual content and degrading terms toward women was common but not significant. These results are concerning considering the heavy consumption of popular music among youth and young adults and the potential influence of such exposure. The findings imply that media literacy education may be beneficial for adolescents to recognize and question the gender stereotypic portrayals in music media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the fistfight in Showboat, through the Golden Age musical violence seen in Oklahoma! or West Side Story, and into grittier musicals of today such as Spring Awakening and Rocky, violence has been a pillar of musical theatre. In recent years, the form of violence in the musical has shifted as the audiences' aesthetic has demanded a more realistic representation of staged violence, leading to an evolution in the roles of the fight director, choreographer, and the music and/or vocal director. As these creative roles are redefined, stage violence will most certainly impact contemporary musical theatre professionals and should be of particular concern to those honing these skills within academic institutions. Addressing the need for specialized movement and vocal training would not require a complete overhaul to a curriculum already stretched to its hour-load capacity. In fact, most programs likely have the necessary pieces in place to make a positive impact. Ultimately, training the vocal and physical instruments to work synergistically allows the student to learn complementary information, while at the same time allowing them to focus on the mastery of vocal and physical skill sets on a cognitive, associative, and autonomous level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Music has become an object of study in Social Sciences, where its relationship with the type of society, in which its process of creation and consumption is framed, is emphasized. In this context, Latin American trap represents a field of study that allows to analyze the manifestations of violence against women. Objective Based on this idea, the general objective of this article is to analyze the manifestations of physical, psychological, sexual and gender violence against women in the lyrics of Latin American trap songs. Method In this qualitative research study, the Critical Discourse Analysis method was implemented, using the documentary review technique. The song sample consists of one hundred songs by the following trap artists: Anuel AA, Bad Bunny, Bryant Myers, Darell, Farruko and Noriel. Furthermore, the information was analyzed via hermeneutic triangulation, using the Atlas.ti 8 program. Results As part of the results, a large number of messages alluding to physical, psychological, sexual and gender violence against women are identified in the songs studied. Conclusions It is concluded that an articulated matrix of sexist oppression and a logic of violence against women predominate in the Latin American trap, and are assumed by the singers of the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In one of the few places in which musical experience is discussed in Spinoza's Ethics, it is used as a means of exemplifying the ways in which an entity, in itself, is not 'good or evil': it is neither, or both, depending on the relations into which it enters with other bodies. In this article, I consider what a Spinozist theory of musical power might entail. I argue that the particular, immanent and materialist notions of 'good' and 'bad' that can be found in Spinoza's work and are exemplified via music enable a departure from both 'aesthetic moralism' and 'aesthetic relativism'. With reference to contemporary discourses of musical violence, as well as Pauline Oliveros' praxis of Deep Listening, I assert that Spinoza makes space for music's ethico-affective ambivalence. Drawing attention to Spinoza's citation of deaf experiences of music, I also consider the extent to which a Spinozist model of musical power allows for 'auraldiversity'. In doing so, I aim to demonstrate the ways in which musical experience might exemplify some of the key tenets of Spinoza's thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The themes in popular music changed drastically over the last decade. One of the root causes of this change is the changes in socio-economic conditions of the region especially after green revolution. And these changes are reflective in the changes in popular culture and ethos of Punjab. The breakdown of traditional self-identity and community relations are mirrored in the themes of recent Punjabi songs. The new themes in songs reflects the cultural shift in Punjab. Earlier there were songs on birth and marriage, love, village lifestyle, songs of war and bravery, and songs glorifying legendary heroes of the past. But now these themes are replaced by new ones, pop music industry providing entirely new themes to its new audience because the ethos of traditional culture is becoming irrelevant to youth. The lyrics of last decade songs are become more explicit in their references to drugs, guns and violence, brands, celebration of Jatt dominance, and objectification of women. The present study explore the relationship of this music as a cultural commodity and its consumption by audience/ viewer ship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violence and murder have a strong cultural currency, the implications of which should be pursued by those with an interest in law and society, crime, and justice. Murder ballads are songs about death and killing with a history stretching back to the nineteenth century. Drawing out the major themes of this genre can help scholars gain a handle on how murder has been treated in popular culture, thereupon providing an enhanced understanding of the human condition. As an example of such examination, 2016 marked the twentieth anniversary of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’Murder Ballads, their most famous and, perhaps, defining album. More than any other Bad Seeds album,Murder Balladscaptures the essence of a band at its most comfortable in exploring the dark and the taboo: violence, killing, death. In producing a whole album on murder, the band left a calling card by which the wider public could define them. This article will explore the album by considering its key themes and, in so doing, reflect on the need to understand the use of murder in such popular music. The use of murder and death in popular music has not been properly studied, yet it offers potential social insight for several fields of study such as law, criminology, and psychology. In particular, little considered issues around the treatment of murder in popular culture such as humour are identified, while others that require greater attention such as attitudes to women are also given due consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This account departs from the focus and consensus on the centrality of song in pungwes for mass mobilisation during Zimbabwe's war for independence. It traces the less commented upon dystopian continuities between the usage of pungwe during the liberation war and the gukurahundi (1982-1987). It suggests that music is a mnemonic device through which experience is narrated, facilitating the storage, transfer and remembering of memory. It uses the song "Mai VaDhikondo" to position gukurahundi pungwes as sites of state-sanctioned mass violence against ethnic minorities. The song's reception and symbolism has morphed from the 1980s when it was composed for and sang by the Fifth Brigade and introduced to gukurahundi victims, to being recorded for public broadcast and becoming a hit with people who were oblivious and or indifferent to its gukurahundi usage in the mid-1990s, to the spirited 2012 campaign that stopped its remixing and rebroadcasting. The 2012 uproar lifted the veil of silence that shrouded public discussion about the Fifth Brigade's gukurahundi conduct. The history and reception of the song curates the memory of the gukurahundi. As a song that remains from the killing fields, "Mai VaDhikondo" embalms time and history as an unintended and undesignated requiem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay looks at moments of violence in Christian hymns. It analyzes chants used in the early modern struggle between Catholics and Protestants and in missionary movements which still can be found in contemporary hymnbooks. The article shows that the chants not only direct aggression against an outer enemy but also against the fiend within. As the German word 'Gewalt' means both 'violence' and 'power', the hymns oscillate between both meanings. The 'Gewalt' being praised in the hymns often self-reflectively addresses the chants' own violence and/or power as it is illustrated by a brief look at Heinrich von Kleist's novella Die heilige Cäcilie oder die Gewalt der Musik. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is concerned with the utility of violent rhetoric within the lyrics of dead prez specifically, and Hip-Hop culture generally. Rather than dismissing rappers as indecent, and therefore inconsequential, due to their violent rhetoric, I seek to determine whether their use of such rhetoric is a strategy to create and expand discursive space for a muted group that is traditionally denied such space. Using Frantz Fanon's theory of violence found in his seminal work The Wretched of the Earth (1963), I aim to gain further understanding of the ways in which violence may affect beneficial social change for oppressed and marginalized populations. This essay advances the study of communication and culture by arguing that the violent rhetorical constitution of dead prez's lyrics finds legitimacy through being used as a rhetorical tool of resistance to social oppression and social injustice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we engage with new cultural theories of class that have identified media representations of 'excessive' white heterosexual working-class femininity as a 'constitutive limit' of incorporation into dominant (middle-class) modes of neo-liberal subjectivity and Bourdieu's thesis that classification is a form of symbolic violence that constitutes both the classifier and the classified. However, what we explore are the implications of such arguments for those modes of white heterosexual working-class masculinity that continue to reproduce themselves in forms of overtly masculinist popular culture. We do so through a critical examination of the symbolic representation of the genre of heavy metal music within contemporary music journalism. Employing a version of critical discourse analysis, we offer an analysis of representative reviews, derived from a qualitative sample of the UK music magazine, New Musical Express (1999-2008). This weekly title, historically associated with the ideals of the 'counter culture', now offers leadership of musical tastes in an increasingly segmented, niche-oriented marketplace. Deploying a refined model of the inscription process outlined by Skeggs, our analysis demonstrates how contemporary music criticism symbolically attaches negative attributes and forms of personhood to the working-class male bodies identified with heavy metal culture and its audience, allowing dominant middle-class modes of cultural authority to be inscribed within matters of musical taste and distinction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current study discusses an approach of hard rock, in English, for high school students, from a multimodal perspective. The songs are analyzed in terms of their musicality and literariness and hard rock is considered a historically constituted complex cultural movement. The aesthetics of violence, present in the rock'n'roll scenario, specifically focused on the themes of drugs and alcohol abuse, is analyzed from the perspective of multiliteracies, for the development of teenagers' critical education. The paper is theoretically based on theory by Lévy (2010), Kress (2000) and Kalantzis and Cope (2000) for multiliteracy concepts and on Walser (1993) for the criticism on the musical language. Songs by the USA rock bands Metallica and Guns N'Roses are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essay discusses the ways in which the Mexican ballad form narcocorrido (drug ballad), a derivative of corrido music that is usually associated with drug trafficking, works to critique free market enterprise through its nostalgic discussions of violence. It is argued that the music, and the corrido itself, provide an understanding of the U.S.-Mexico border region based on norteño culture. Musical groups such as Los Tigres del Norte and performer El Komander (Alfredo Rios) are discussed.

The article discusses the American song "Strange Fruit." Composed by Abel Meeropol, a Brooklyn, New York high school English teacher, the song was most famously performed and recorded by the African American singer Billie Holliday. The song's narrative concerns the lynching of several African-American men in Indiana in August 1930. The author, following claims made by Jacques Attali, argues that the song makes an interesting case for the claim that music simulates the violence and death that made civilization possible.

The author discusses the ethics of listening and singing along to the song "Mind of a Lunatic" by the rap group Geto Boys. It is suggested that singing along to "Mind of a Lunatic" is a morally problematic mode of engagement, given the song's depiction of immoral and evil action, including rape, necrophilia, murder and kidnapping. The author argues that listening and singing along to the song is particularly problematic when it involves the enjoyment of evil, or more specifically, the enjoyment of imagining doing evil.

The article describes a teaching activity program for women's studies course in which first year students will analyze gendered violence in music video.

The article presents information on the dancehall s regarding dancehall reggae in Jamaica due to the association of the lyrics of the music with sexually demeaning, violent and homophobic acts. The impact of the lyrics is on the trade agreements and the entry of the musicians in the Caribbean. Information on the case law regarding the issue with respect to the role of the European Union law is also presented.

The article discusses rap and Hip Hop music, focusing on the existence of the theme of misogyny within the genre's lyrics. Topics including the representation of black men and women within the music as well as the impact of violent lyrics on white people's interpretations of black culture are examined. The article also presents a brief history of rap music in the U.S. and explores how the genre has been homogenized in order to appeal to mass audiences. Social aspects of musical genres, black male and female rappers, and Hip Hop culture are highlighted.

Oliver Mtukudzi is arguably one of the best musicians in Zimbabwe today. Beginning his recording career as early as 1975, with an album Stop after Orange, the seasoned musician sings about almost anything and everything that pertain to human life from politics, religion, economics and social. This essay examines the social aspects of Mtukudzi's music in relation to violence, particularly gender violence. Stemming from African culture, the assumption in his songs is that gender violence is stronger towards women, and this is due to the unbalanced power that exists between the African man and woman in most traditional societies. The thrust of this article is to unveil the concerns of the musician Mtukudzi and the lament of the woman and her children in the face of violence in the home. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Five decades of research have shown clear links between exposure to violent visual media and subsequent aggression, however there has been little research that directly compares the effects of exposure to violent visual versus auditory media, or which has experimentally tested the effect of violent song lyrics with musical ‘tone’ held constant. In the current study 194 participants heard music either with or without lyrics, and with or without a violent music video, and were then given the chance to aggress using the hot sauce paradigm. Musical tone was held constant across groups, and a fifth (control) group had no media exposure at all. Experimental groups, on average, were significantly more aggressive than controls. The strongest effect was elicited by exposure to violent lyrics, regardless of whether violent imagery accompanied the music, and regardless of various person-based characteristics. Implications for theories of media violence and models of aggression are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article focuses on the events of the Norwegian black metal scene in the early 1990s, a period in which violent aesthetics in metal music became explicitly and deliberately articulated to real acts of violence. Concentrating on the musical and criminal activities of the band Emperor, the author suggests that the group's success was, at least in part, the result of members' simultaneous promotion and disavowal of their involvement in violent crime. The case highlights not only how not all claims of a link between music and violence are entirely fabricated, but also the necessity of rethinking conventional approaches to music, violence and controversy, given the ongoing legacy of the events of the early 1990s within the contemporary black metal scene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the construction of meaning in episodes of violence which have come to dominate Mexican popular music, focusing on the story-telling song called the corrido. Although scholars have considered the multiple meanings of violence in the narrative songs, they have not given adequate attention to the character of the mujer brava, or “tough woman”. I begin by considering gender roles and codes of honor which historically developed in northern Mexico, in the region of the U.S./Mexico border. Next, the expression of machismo and marianismo as cultural patterns in popular corridos is illustrated and explained. Finally, the mujer brava is contrasted with the traditional conception of the submissive woman, as this character is aggressive and defends her honor against threats from men. The argument is developed that the mujer brava is not simply a woman who acts like a man, but who defends her honor with distinctly female forms of destructive power. Finally, I apply these insights to the appearance of the “mujer brava” in several narcocorridos. In these selected narcocorridos, the destructive power of a woman is used as a representation of the serrano or ranchero culture, in which gendered norms of honor and respect are considered to be more important than laws and political institutions. I argue that an understanding of gender norms helps to reveal the meanings of Mexico’s narco-insurgency, especially shedding light on why drug smuggling and drug-related culture are not deemed unethical by the audiences who enjoy narcocorridos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the theme of the "rude boy," slang for a colorfully violent member of the underclass, in Jamaican popular music. It focuses on the socio-political implications of urban criminality in the post-colonial context of mid-20th century Jamaican history. The development of Jamaican gangs is discussed, and it is noted that they did not become involved in inter-gang warfare until the post-colonial era. It is argued that they had originally been formed as protection against the depredations of unscrupulous colonial authorities, and later became aligned with various post-colonial political factions.

The aim of this paper is to show how "empirical violence" can be considered as the result of a deep fracture that occurs naturally in human life. A fracture, a lack of proportion or balance, that occurs when appears a fissure appears between the belief of what human life ideally should be and the ways and means that it takes for its development, between the fissures belonging to human existence and the solutions with which human life pretends to fill or solve those fissures, as a result of historical and cultural movements. "Empirical violence" occurs when this complex relationship leans more towards one of its sides, denying the other; when existence is conceived only on the realms of pure language or idealism, or when it is conceived only on the realms of corporality and nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's views on issues related to violence, sex and ethnicity in urban music video clips in Germany. According to the author, if one speaks about sexualized and sexual violence presentations in music videos, hip-hop and above all Gangsta Rap stand in the centre of criticism for their sexism, homophobia and their explicit willingness for violence.

This article comments on hip hop music and culture in the United States citing the death of Christopher Wallace also known as the Notorious B.I.G. Hip hop music has been known to depict violence and rap music has made the greatest contributions to the analysis of American society by elaborating the mechanics of envy and jealousy.

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Examines violent content in music videos in a sample of music television network Web sites. Levels and characteristics of violence in online music videos; Theories of media violence effects; Impact of online music videos as an emerging, interactive form of mass media programming.

Five experiments examined effects of songs with violent lyrics on aggressive thoughts and hostile feelings. Experiments 1, 3, 4 and 5 demonstrated that college students who heard a violent song felt more hostile than those who heard a similar but nonviolent song. Experiments 2-5 demonstrated a similar increase in aggressive thoughts. These effects replicated across songs and song types (e.g., rock, humorous, nonhumorous). Experiments 3-5 also demonstrated that trait hostility was positively related to state hostility but did not moderate the song lyric effects. Discussion centers on the potential role of lyric content on aggression in short-term settings, relation to catharsis and other media violence domains, development of aggressive personality, differences between long-term and short-term effects, and possible mitigating factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article is portraying violence in the lyrics from the debut album of one of the most significant Polish hip-hop groups. With the album Scandal, Molesta started the most distinct and influential trend in the Polish hip-hop, i.e. the so-called "street" hip-hop, formulating its key assumptions and contents. Violence appearing on this record is inseparably linked to the dichotomous vision of the social reality expressed by Molesta. This reality is divided into the privileged majority (i.e. "society") and the disadvantaged minority (i.e. "hooligans"), on behalf of which Molesta speaks. Violence here is both the cause of the division and its result. Three dimensions of violence can be distinguished - the first one is that of "society" toward "hooligans" conditioning and consolidating the division. This dimension has three aspects: economic and political violence, symbolic violence and the physical one. The second dimension is the violence of "hooligans" toward "society" - mainly toward the police. It has two aspects - assaults and various frauds. The third dimension is the internal violence within the world of "hooligans". violence as an element of the lifestyle, allowing extreme and strongly stimulating experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses issues on music containing profane or violent lyrics in the United States (US). Impact of violent music to the buying public; Examples of hyper-violent music released in the US; Legislative standards on violent music.

Analyzes the quintessential Southern music as epitomized by Lynyrd Skynyrd in relationship to a comparable rock music that northern origins, as represented by Bruce Springsteen, in terms of how violence is portrayed. Structural or social-structural variables in southern homicide; Lyrics of Skynyrd and Springsteen.