Just Like Hendrix: Whiteness and the Online Critical and Consumer Reception of Rock Music in the United States, 2003–2013

Abstract

Based on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of 385 rock album reviews, this article investigates (i) to what extent ethno-racial boundaries are (re)produced and/or contested in the critical and consumer reception of rock music in the United States between 2003 and 2013 and (ii) to what extent (semi-)professional reviewers and consumer-reviewers differ from each other regarding ethno-racial classifications in their reception of rock music. Albums by nonwhite artists tend to receive lower evaluations than those by white artists, particularly when reviewed by consumer critics. Although both types of reviewers often ignore talking about race—echoing a color-blind ideology—(semi-)professional critics are more explicit and color-conscious regarding nonwhite participation in rock music. Furthermore, five different mechanisms are employed by reviewers as a part of ethno-racial boundary work: (i) ethno-racial comparisons, (ii) inter-genre comparisons, (iii) positive ethno-racial marking, (iv) negative ethno-racial marking, and (v) minimization.

Notes

¹ An f-test (ANOVA) was conducted using the five groups in the original scale variable. Although the mean differences are substantial, the results fail to go below a p-value of 0.05 because the sample sizes of the nonwhite categories are too small as compared to the much bigger all-white group in the sample (especially when splitting the data file to create a discrepancy between (semi-)professional and consumer critics).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health: [Grant Number 123-4567]; The Warren Foundation: [Grant Numbers 190914, 220914].