This chapter traces the development of musical life in Vienna after 1933, when Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany, until 1999, when the post-war era was starting to cede to the multi-polar landscape of the twenty-first century, exposing ruptures, paradoxes but also continuities. It focuses on activities at the Vienna State Opera and at the Vienna Philharmonic, as well as on Leonard Bernstein’s relationship with musical institutions and individuals in the city.

This chapter addresses issues in genre classification of electronic dance music. The discussion is particularly focused on how the genre negotiation of the techno genre is shaped by socio-cultural contexts and processes as it developed from specific localities and spaces to current online community-building and tagging practices. After locating the research context in genre theory, the chapter first evaluates historical narratives of the development of techno and argues that genre histories and categories are forged by the dynamic between genre cultures and the music industry. The engagement with genre definitions in the online world is addressed through a case study of an automatic genre classification and clustering algorithm that predicts stylistic repertoires of techno labels on the music distribution platform Bandcamp. The discussion leads to an understanding of how user-generated folksonomies enable DJs and producers to destabilise industry-prescribed taxonomies while remaining distinct from dominant forms of techno.

Joe Strummer was no ‘ordinary Joe’. He was the most radical, politically aware and politically engaged performer of his peers. He prosecuted his politics with mass appeal, making him more successful in this task than any others from punk onwards. In 1969, radical folk singer Phil Ochs suggested any hope of revolution lay in ‘getting Elvis Presley to become Che Guevara’. Strummer came closer than any other to achieving this. Strummer understood music was a cultural battleground in the fight for social justice. For that, he will always be remembered. His legacy is a living one; it is one that seems to shine brighter the longer apolitical pop reigns. So this is the story of Strummer’s politics: what he thought, said, meant and did. Crucially, it is also the story of what impact he had. It is the story of his politics of radicalism, resistance and rebellion against the established order. It is the story of how one determined and talented individual made such a difference to the attitudes and behaviours of so many others. The study uses the framework of socialist realism to assess Strummer’s contribution and influence.

Having examined Strummer’s political influence using secondary sources, where little explanation and almost no substantiation were provided by those making ‘you changed my life’-type statements, this chapter turns to assess the primary data generated for this study. In doing so, it examines the self-reported evidence of influence on the basis of self-reported perceptions of Strummer and his politics. A key task is to examine whether his socialist period and his move to humanism were detected, and what impact these had. This chapter begins by examining the pilot study testimonies before analysing the full study testimonies. It finds that from amongst those giving testimony, Strummer’s socialist and radical influence was wide, deep and long-lived.

Strummer strayed from the radical road he previously set out upon, best exemplified by his stoutly held sense of socialism in the early to late 1980s. He did not become right wing, in favour of neoliberal individualism, but he did become disillusioned with the prospects for traditional left-wing politics and the collectivism used to pursue these politics. So this chapter begins by examining the predominant messages Strummer dispensed in the last years of his life, before considering his views of ‘new’ Labour, neoliberalism and the ‘new’ imperialism, along with his alternative of decentralised, small-scale, ethical capitalism. The transition from socialist to non-socialist is explained by the move in his personal disposition from certainty to uncertainty occasioning a reorientation. This leads to assessing his views on humanism, opinions, freedom and liberty, and his national identity.

This study provides the first extensive examination of Strummer’s politics and their influence, using a socialist realist framework. Strummer’s political significance stems from using music as a means to communicate radical ideals, which was shown in this study to have had significant influence. On this basis, it can be reasonably ventured he has been the most influential left-wing political musician in Western culture since the mid-1970s because his influence has breadth and depth in developing oppositional, including socialist, consciousness. This conclusion draws together the different threads of the previous chapters. What is noteworthy about this influence is that it has often been premised upon Strummer being perceived as more left wing than he actually was, highlighting that subjective judgements by followers were as important as what Strummer said and did.