can popular music achieve genuine political change?

Whether or not Popular music can achieve genuine change is debatable, but it is most definitely fear by some with a political context. Straw and Street stated that ‘pop becomes the expression of its political and social context’ an example of this could be shown by Billie Holiday’s rendition of strange fruit, a poem written by a Jewish teacher who saw a photo graph of lynching. This song was refused release on her label Columbia as they feared that its message was too powerful. Though never by itself Pop music is major ingredient in a politically influential stew, this is usually accompanied with ingredient such as moral panic. Stanley states moral panic as a condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests’ An example of this was when ‘Rave’ music such 808 State: Pacific 707: 1988, was linked to acid rave parties where many claimed the intake of illegal drugs was taking place and resulted in 1994 Criminal Justice Act, which essentially banned the play of ‘of music which had the traditional make up of ‘Rave’ music. Overall by itself pop music can not achieve genuine political change, but coupled with something else, it often does.