Subcultures or Neo-Tribes? Rethinking the Relationship between Youth, Style and Musical Taste

Abstract

Despite the criticisms of subcultural theory as a framework for the sociological study of the relationship between youth, music, style and identity, the term `subculture' continues to be widely used in such work. It is a central contention of this article that, as with subcultural theory, the concept of `subculture' is unworkable as an objective analytical tool in sociological work on youth, music and style - that the musical tastes and stylistic preferences of youth, rather than being tied to issues of social class, as subculture maintains, are in fact examples of the late modern lifestyles in which notions of identity are `constructed' rather than `given', and `fluid' rather than `fixed'. Such fluidity, I maintain, is also a characteristic of the forms of collective association which are built around musical and stylistic preference. Using Maffesoli's concept of tribus (tribes) and applying this to an empirical study of the contemporary dance music in Britain, I argue that the musical and stylistic sensibilities exhibited by the young people involved in the dance music scene are clear examples of a form of late modern `sociality' rather than a fixed subcultural group.

Defining “drinking culture”: A critical review of its meaning and connotation in social research on alcohol problems

“…On the other hand, there are subcultures or social worlds where becoming a member is to a considerable extent a matter of choice and style -cultural entities such as rap or house music aficionados, graffiti artists, skateboarders or athletic ''jocks'', to cite some social worlds which have been studied (e.g. Bennett, 1999;Eckert, 1989;Thornton, 1995;Hall & Jefferson, 1976). However, ''choice'' and ''assigned characteristics'' are often both involved: for instance in their fieldwork interviews with young people in the UK, McCulloch et al (2006, p. 539) show how ''young people's subcultural styles and identities are closely bound up with social class'', which is largely assigned.…”

“…Moore, 2004;Straw, 1991), and ''neo-tribes'' (e.g. Bennett, 1999) are among the array of terms used to describe cultural entities below the level of the culture as a whole, with each term offering a different meaning and frame of reference for ''sub-entities''. In general, ''subculture'' (and related terms such as ''contraculture'' or ''counterculture'') are used to refer to relatively holistic cultural entities that engross a good deal of members' lives and times and which often provide a master identity for members.…”

Music as Water: The Functions of Music from a Utilitarian Perspective

“…This function is concerned with "socialising" and "belonging" (Bennett, 1999), "social utility" (Laiho, 2004), and "social actualisation" (Packer & Ballantyne, 2010). The function concerns individuals using music within group scenarios as a means to establish and maintain interpersonal relationships.…”

Metal DIY: Dominasi, Strategi, dan Resistensi

“…Kritik atas konsep subkultur CCCS tersebut melahirkan studi-studi di bawah label "post-subkultur" yang berupaya untuk 'membaca' realitas kehidupan subkultur melalui sudut pandang yang lain (Bennett 1999;Muggleton 2000;Bennett dan Kahn-Harris 2004). Pada dasarnya post-subkultur bukan merupakan rumusan konsep teoretis tunggal yang baru, karena itu studi-studi post-subkultur menggunakan dasar perspek-tif yang beragam.…”