Bent out of Shape from Society's Pliers

About the Book

This volume of articles covers a wide range of artists in the world of popular music including Bob Dylan, the Doors, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Johnson, Tracy Chapman, Lou Reed, and The Rolling Stones. Wells looks at the lyrics, themes, and issues from a sociological point of view, examining the content of their songs against the backdrop of modern society. Many of these artists write and sing about a sense of loss, alienation, and frustration with the American socio-economic system. In addition, the volume shows how these artists use creative language to communicate a sense of the grotesque, absurd, disharmony, and dread in the lives of the characters in their songs.

About the Author

Dr. John D. Wells has been a Professor of Sociology at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia, since the late seventies, specializing in the Sociology of Popular Culture. Dr. Wells has published numerous articles on the relationships between blues, folk, and rock ?n roll artists and American society. He has also written two novels, The Plague Year and The Barfly Boys.