This article examines an enduring question raised by subcultural studies: how youth culture can be challenging and transgressive, yet ‘fail’ to produce wider social change. This question is addressed through a case study of the black metal music scene. The black metal scene flirts with violent racism, yet has resisted embracing outright fascism. The article argues that this is due to the way in which music is ‘reflexively antireflexively’ constructed as a depoliticizing category. It is argued that an investigation of such forms of reflexivity might explain the enduring ‘failure’ of youth cultures to change more than their immediate surroundings.

(Translation: youth culture always becomes more about socialization and buying products to socialize about, thus loses all impetus. Punk. Hippies. Death metal. Black metal. Techno. All failed, all for the same reason: popularity became greater than ideology. The crowd took over.)

Full PDF text:
http://ecs.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/7/1/95.pdf

hmm--that was a fairly interesting read

I wonder what Kahn-Harris thinks of the Blues scene

blah blah blah

So what genre hasnt failed?

To proclaim that it failed requires that there be a specific goal.

It's just music.

If it's just music, why does music communicate meaning?

That's the dumbest fucking thing I've heard all day, yet it's so popular many people are saying it.

my question is who gives a shit? most of the musicians involved in the original black metal scene make heavy progressive rock now anyway.

Dead accomplished his goal

Aim for the star kiddies!

A genre or artistic movement is bigger than its members...

STOP THINKING IN TERMS OF PERSONALITY AND OWNERSHIP
THERE'S A WORLD OUT THERE

infoterror said:

I guess it really does not matter being that every false empire crumbles and dies. All the essay reports do not amount to shit in the grand scheme of things. Watch it burn and if you happen to survive after shit really hits the fan Kill and Claim this world as yours

black metal is a sub genre of a bigger picture...HEAVY METAL...and that has NOT failed

infoterror said:

and you're the one claiming that a genre of music can "fail"...i didn't realize it was on a quest to begin with...as long as people are expressing themselves through it, it will never fail

that's what the beauty of music is

the more you know

what? ...canada sucks!

Black Metal Has'nt Failed!

i think that anything trying to stay underground will enivatebly get popular, because people will start wondering whats so special that it has to be kept a secret. if black metal bands come out and are like hey, lets get really popular really fast, people won't want them to, and therefore they'll be underground again, use reverse pshycology on mtv...... i bet it'd work

Black Metal only failed when you realized your favorite bands had been left behind.

BLACK METAL ACHIEVED NOTHING
EXCEPT AMUSING SOME FOOLS
AS WE CAN SEE BY RESPONSES HERE

MAYBE YOU SHOULD FIND MUSIC
THAT GLORIFIES MASTURBATION
THEN YOU WILL (FOR ONCE) NOT FAIL.

Yeah, I don't like some of the facist shit that SOME of it may have. I'm with the whole "anti-christianity" or anything monotheistic. But it's good music.

Black Metal=good music. Goal achieved ass whipe. Hear that? it's a breakdown. go pick up some change!

YIP AND YAP IF YOU WANT BUT
AT THE END OF THE DAY
BLACK METAL CHANGED NOTHING

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