Julie Rios

10/27/14

The article "Resistance Under The Blacklight: Exploring The Use Of Music In Two Exotic Dance Clubs" by Danielle Egan, discusses how exotic dancers use music as a way of resistance. For example, if an owner does not approve of their music the dancers will sometimes manipulate their regulars to request it for them. They do this by using affection and false romance. They create somewhat of an alliance, telling their customers that it is their song and the owner wont let her dance to their song, prompting the customer to request it. This form of resistance is based on rules the owners have placed on them in order to control their musical freedom while they dance. Another way the show resistance is to pay their deejays extra in tips to play their songs anyways and then paying the fines later to their owners for breaking the rules. The article uses quotes from dancers saying how important their music is to them while they dance and will dance to what they want regardless of restrictions. Some dancers reappropriate their music. For example, one dancer named serenity dances to Madonna songs that are about love, affection, and loyalty and covertly used them as a message of power. "The women I dance to are strong women. Nobody gives Madonna shit. So although these songs are kind of gushy. . . . I think they are by strong women who kick ass. And so I feel like a kick ass woman." The dancers also used their music to express their feelings that they could not express. One dancer would dance to Tupac and another to Smashing Pumpkins and use the lyrics to express their frustrations on issues in the clubs. Overall, dancers felt that their music was imperative to them in order to secure their creative freedom.

 

Punk's Not Dead: The Continuing Significance of Punk Rock for an Older Generation of Fans

 

This article took a different approach on the usually studies of the punk lifestyle on younger audiences and focuses on the older generations of punk fans, especially focusing on fans who've been followers since the 1970's. The author used interviews with 15 older punk fans to conduct his study. The article conveys how the punk lifestyle is attractive to youth because of its rebellious lifestyle that resists social norms, for example moshing "aggressive dancing" that involves slamming into other people is a way of rebelling against normal dancing. However, the author was interested in older punk fans that still live this lifestyle. Most participants of the this genre older than their twenties are usually musicians, promoters, and, writers, or etc who are participating on a creative level. The study discovered that most older fans do not engage in the lifestyle as actively as they did when they were younger, but instead continue to be fans because they just refused to let go of their youth. It also discovered many former fans identify themselves as ex fans: ex rockers, ex punks insinuating that they have let go. Some fans are somewhat still able to be active in the local scene while others are not based on responsibilities such as family and jobs that limit their time and money. Therefore they participate through other ways such as using Internet media.  Research showed that older fans grew out of their punk appearance also, most no longer had a punk hairdo and feel like they have "paid their dues" by having that appearance when they were younger. Older punk fans feel like instead of trying to prove their unique lifestyle through dramatic styles and rebellious behavior, they now see it as an identity that does not require all of those things.