Abstract
This paper examines rock music, the dominant youth and music culture of the later twentieth century, as an object of social scientific inquiry, with a focus on the analysis of the relatedness of individual belief systems and social structure.
Rock has gone beyond its origins of being simply a style of music art, and has come to be supported as an expression of a certain spirit and life-style. In addition its essence has been variously defined such as that 'rock is rebel music', 'destructive art' or 'commercialized entertainment music'. In this paper we take up those views of its essence as an object of analysis, and consider the process whereby the rock product is created through the combination of a number of positions, each of which brings its own unique view of the essence of rock.
Pierre Bourdieu's champ theory is used in this paper (along with some personal interpretation) for a smooth theoretical exposition. By 'the “champ” of rock' we refer to the ideal typical space that is constructed by those who have a common interest in what is known as 'rock', and who continuously act to discriminate between 'what is rock' and 'what isn't rock', producing a piece of work every time. We emphasize an explanation of the social structure of the agents of the “champ” of rock, and of the dynamism that this gives rise to. Finally a general-purpose model will be constructed based on these considerations. This will aim to provide one perspective for a general and multi-faceted appreciation of the relatedness of society and music.
