Cultural Studies Journal

Department of Communication Studies

Lawrence Grossberg, professor of communication studies, was one of the first American "rock and roll professors"—academics who argued that popular culture, and rock music in particular, were worth taking seriously. These companion books collect 20 years of Grossberg's writings.

"My job is to try to understand something as ordinary but also as profound as music," he says. "It's precisely what you take for granted that I want to challenge."

Early in his career, Grossberg studied in England, then brought back the English cultural-studies approach to teaching rock—as equal parts sociology, history, art appreciation, economics, and politics. It's not about analyzing the details of particular songs, he says, so much as studying them in context with our clothes, art, movies, and politics. He sees music as a window on people.

Gravelly voiced, his hair in a ponytail, Grossberg quotes Public Enemy , a rap group popular among young whites. "They've said of their music, `The more white kids listen to it, the blacker we try to get. And the blacker we get, the more white kids listen to it.' Why would white, middle-class kids identify with black, urban ghetto kids?"

Such questions reach beyond common stereotypes, Grossberg says. "I don't think the history of youth culture since World War Two has been told very well." It's been told, he says, mostly from the perspectives of only two groups—the leaders and the more extreme participants of certain movements.

For example, he says, the story of the 1950s has been told "as if rock and roll was really about Fonzie. Remember Fonzie?"

Sure, the "cool" high-school dropout on the sitcom "Happy Days"--slicked-back hair, leather jacket, rode a motorcycle.

"The truth is, most kids listening to rock were like Richie Cunningham," Grossberg continues. "They were cute little kids who wanted to grow up and get jobs. Some were friends with Fonzie, or with black kids. They were unintentionally breaking social rules. But they weren't out to start a revolution."

Their goal, Grossberg says, was much more modest—to forget for a while that each day is pretty much the same. "Rock and roll was about a dream where I could grow up, get married, have kids, and end up living a life that was not as boring as my parents'."

The title of Dancing in Spite of Myself alludes to music's power to distract us from the mundane, Grossberg says. "What rock music is about is that you dance in spite of the boredom of everyday life. Music invigorates people. If you're tired, and you dance anyway, it gives you energy. But if you stop dancing, then you're just kind of dead."

—Angela Spivey