ABSTRACT
Particular genres of popular music have sparked controversy and opposition, both upon their emergence and sporadically since: rock ‘n’ roll in the mid-1950s, psychedelic rock in the late 1960s, disco and punk in the 1970s, heavy metal and gangsta rap in the 1980s, and rave culture in the 1990s, to name only the better known early examples (see Winfield and Davidson, 1999). Criticism has been variously on the influence of such genres on youthful values, attitudes, and behaviour through the music’s (perceived) sexuality and sexism, nihilism and violence, obscenity, black magic, and anti-Christian nature.
