> I suspect that the efficacy of all of the
> various "top tens" has been progressively eroded over time as methods of
> copying music have progressed from the reel-to-reel tape of old to today's
> digital computer files.
True, although there is no reason to say that the current dominance of black artists would not be represented, if there _were_ some method of counting home taping, CD burning and file swapping.
> if the article's so-called "Dionysian revelry"
> of young people is actually centered around base, cruel and indulgent
> expressions of simple profanity and violence then that "same dance...same
> beat" action would be profoundly discouraging not "genuinely uplifting."
In
> this scenario, the mainstream kids (of all races) would seem to be
> congregating along the violent fringe of hip hop.
Few of the current chart toppers are really my of kind of music either, but to take the titles mentioned in the article as examples, 'Crazy In Love' is as the titles suggest a run-of-the- mill love song [ http://www.anysonglyrics.com/lyrics/b/beyonce/crazyinlove.htm ] "In Da Club" is, as the article suggests, run-of-the mill gangsta rap[ http://www.anysonglyrics.com/lyrics/number/50cent/indaclub.htm ] By which I mean it's non-politically correct in lyrical content, but not extremely violent, e.g. there is no expressed intent to murder or rape, as in other examples of the sub-genre. "Ignition" is a thinly veiled sexual metaphor in much the same way as a lot of 50s r&b and rock&roll was [ http://www.dapslyrics.com/song/i/Ignition.html ].
There were plenty of examples of ugly, self-destructive and bigoted themes from medieval and early modern European folk music (some of which are echoed still, e.g., in country & western and heavy metal lyrics) and these were also written in times when the cultures concerned were experiencing severe dispossession, poverty, disease, famine, exile, tyranny, etc. But of course, there was no mass media to give those songs a wider audience, and we prefer to remember "Scarborough Fair".
Regards,
Grant.