Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: The Sex Pistols' "I Wanna Be Me" Part I: Frameworks 1. Like a Rolling Stone 2. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood: Issues of Meaning 3. Heard It through the Grapevine 4. You've Really Got a Hold on Me: Paradigms Part II: Issues of Appropriation 5. All You've Got to Do Is Pick It Up 6. Don't Play That Song 7. Message in the Music 8. Speaking in Tongues Part III: Gender 9. Act Naturally 10. Cosi Fan Tutte Meets Tutti Frutti: Rock Performs Gender 11. Rebel Rebel: Proliferating Identities 12. Hello Stranger: Reaching the Uninitiated Notes Sources of Chapter Titles and Subheadings Index
From the Sex Pistols and Eminem to Bonnie Raitt and Ani DiFranco, rockers contribute to our cultural capital
Theodore Gracyk is Professor of Philosophy at Minnesota State University, Moorhead, and the author of Rhythm and Noise: An Aesthetics of Rock.
"I Wanna Be Me is a fine book that grapples with a number of contemporary debates about the cultural significance of rock music, as well as broader issues of interpretation of texts and artworks. It challenges some of the influential but extreme views that have dominated discussions of political identity in connection with art. Not everyone will agree with Gracyk at every stage. He is more comfortable with the mass art character of rock than are many culture critics. I applaud the book for taking strong, but considered stances on issues of interest within a number of fields." --Kathleen Higgins, Professor of Philosophy, The University of Texas at Austin, and author of The Music of Our Lives "With his knowledgeable and well-presented arguments, he challenges readers to reconsider the stereotypes that many modern titans of cultural studies have slapped on rock music... To its great credit, this book also convincingly counters the charges of Timothy Taylor (among others) that Paul Simon's use of South African music and musicians in creating his lauded Graceland is blatant neocolonialist cultural exploitation... This book belongs on the shelf of almost every academic library and will also be an outstanding asset to either popular music or cultural studies collections." --Library Journal "Theodore Gracyk brilliantly examines Rock as mass art and how it affects us by helping to mold our personal identities... [a]n excellent discourse on the subject. It is essential for anyone who cares about what they take in and what they take to heart as their own. A thoughtful and thought provoking read which is refreshing in the face of others on the subject which concentrate on the negative connotations of the music." --Rapport
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