Music

Apparently Listening To Rock N’ Roll Makes White People Racist

Published

12 years ago

March 7, 2012

A study from the University of Minnesota is claiming that white people who listen to rock music are more likely to have racist tendencies that those who don’t. And my “bullshit meter” has just gone through the roof.

Let’s take a look at how this study was performed, shall we? The researchers took 138 students and told them that they were conducting a study on how funds should be distributed in college over several ethnic organizations. Let me get something clear right off the bat: I know how these studies work and deliberate misleading is totally okay in my book. Like, 100%, that’s fine, no worries.

After telling these kids what their purpose was, they made them sit in a waiting room while music played in the background for seven minutes. The researchers varied the music from Top 40 artists such as Akon and Gwen Stefani and rock and roll artists such as Bruce Springsteen and White Stripes. They even had “white power” groups such as Bound For Glory and Prussian Blue playing.

Those who listened to the Top 40 artists spread the money evenly amongst the ethnic organizations. Those who listened to rock and roll placed more money into white organizations. And that right there is their proof. Check below for my issues.

1) Who are your participants?

All we know is that there were 138 participants. We don’t know their age, their background, their own ethnicity, or anything. These are just 138 blank slates according to this paper, which is complete horse shit! Such subtleties can drastically affect this kind of study. And yet no mention is made of this.

2) Prussian Blue is rock? Really?

If you’ve never heard of this group, it’s two sisters who sing pro-Neo-Nazi hymns. The thing is, they’re not rock and roll. If anything, they’re folk-country. And yet the associate professor labelled them as “radical white power rock”. Sorry, but that type of ignorance gives me the right to have some skepticism regarding your study and the information you accumulated to get it going.

3) Your methods

The study doesn’t say whether or not these participants had to do the study a few times over the different genres to prove their “racist” beliefs. If each participant had to go through the study several times, then I’d be more inclined to lend validity to your claim. However, it doesn’t look like this was done.

4) Your findings are based on the wrong theory

So, because the people who listened to rock put more money into white organizations, you jump to the conclusion that rock and roll made them racist? How about you consider the fact that they already had those feelings and the music had nothing to do with making them come out. Basically, what I’m saying is that if you’re a racist, it’s not because rock music made you that way. Your upbringing and your own personal beliefs took care of that.

From what I’m reading, and unfortunately it’s not the actual study itself, this study seems like a poorly done, rushed attempt vendetta against rock music. My level of skepticism is quite high for this.

But what are your thoughts? Do you think there is any validity to this study? Leave your opinions in the comments below!

Got any thoughts/questions/concerns for Jonny B.? Shoot him a message on Twitter!

Related Topics:I call total BS Racism Rock Study What a sham

JonathanBarkan

Managing editor/music guy/social media fella of Bloody-Disgusting

Click to comment

Music

“He Walks By Night” – Listen to a Brand New John Carpenter Song NOW!

Published

1 week ago

April 9, 2024

John Squires

It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.

“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.

“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…