Populism and (Pop) Music

This book launches a proposal: to fill some empirical and theoretical gaps that presently exists in populism studies by looking at the potential nexus between populist phenomena and popular culture. It provides a detailed account of the multiple mechanisms linking the production of pop music (as a form of popular culture) to the rise and reproduction of populism. The authors use a case study of Italy to interrogate these mechanisms because of its long-lasting populist phenomena and the contextual importance of pop music. The book's mixed-methods strategy assesses three different aspects of the potential relationship between pop music and populist politics: the cultural opportunity structure generated and reproduced by the production of music, the strategies political actors use to exploit music for political purposes, and, crucially, the ways fans and ordinary citizens understand the relationship between pop music and politics, and subsequent debates and identities. Moving from the case study, the book in its last chapter offers a more general understanding of the associations between pop music and populism.

Provides a detailed account of the links between production of popular culture to the rise of populism Contributes to studies on populism and popular culture in Italy Uses a comparative approach and a cultural sociology perspective

Auteur

Manuela Caiani is Associate Professor in Political Science at the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, Italy.

Enrico Padoan is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences (DISPOC) of the University of Siena, Italy.

Contenu
1 Populism, Popular Culture and (Pop) Music: An Introduction.- 1.1 Why Study Populism and (Popular) Culture.- 1.2 Music and Politics.- 1.3 (Pop) Music and Populism: 'Mind the Gap'.- 1.4 Populism, Populisms: A Definition (and Its Boundaries).- 1.5 Populism and (Pop) Music Between Opportunities and Resources: Research Design.- 1.6 Our Case: Italy.- 1.7 Data and Methods.- 1.8 The Content of the Volume.- References.- 2 Populism and (Pop) Music: Multiple Opportunity Structures in Italy.- 2.1 Music-Market Opportunity Structure in Italy.- 2.2 Political Opportunities.- 2.3 Discursive-Cultural Opportunities.- 2.4 Conclusions.- References.- 3 Pop Music and Populist Messages.- 3.1 A Surprising Populist Hype in Contemporary Italian Pop Music.- 3.2 Musicological Group Analysis: 'Playing Italianness in Italian Pop Music'.- 3.3 Conclusions.- References.- 4 The Use of (Pop) Music by Populist Parties.- 4.1 Music at the Lega Events: Building a 'Partisan Culture' Through Music.- 4.2 Music atthe 5SM Events: A Different Process of Partisan Culture-Building.- 4.3 Conclusion: Different Populisms, Different Usages of Pop Music.- References.- 5 The Interactions Between Populist Actors and Popular Music in the Public Sphere.- 5.1 Average Italian Fan: Matteo Salvini and the Politicization of His Music Tastes.- 5.2 Salvini Versus Pop Artists: Flattering and Bullying.- 5.3 Pop Music Artists Versus Salvini: Reproducing the Populism/Anti-Populism Divide.- 5.4 Five Star Movement: Too Little Frivolous to Play Pop-Politics in a Credible Way.- 5.5 Between the Political Roles of Singers and Music Appropriation by Politicians: Voices from Experts.- 5.6 Conclusions.- References.- 6 Between Music and Politics: The Reception of ('Populist') Music by Fans and Citizens.- 6.1 'I Like Him Because He Got What He Wanted': Authentic, Rebel, 'Not Political' (i.e. Not Ideological or Partisan).- 6.2 Pop Artists and Politics in Fans' Daily Lives.- 6.3 Music as a Collective Ritual.- 6.4 Populists Seek the Vote of Those Listening to This Kind of Music: Cementing the Anti-Populist Populist Divide Through Pop Music.- 6.5 Music, Politics and Audiences: Conclusion.- References.- 7 Conclusion: Challenges and Opportunities of (Pop) Music for Populism.- 7.1 Music 'as Action': Speaking Out Versus Speaking As.- 7.2 Music as Action: 'Organizing'.- 7.3 Between Music and Politics (in Italy): Towards an Explanation?.- 7.4 Populism and Pop Music: Scientific Added Value and Some Normative Reflections.- References.