Introduction : "what's goin' on?" : studying popular music culture -- "Every 1's a winner" : music as a cultural industry -- "Pump up the volume" : music and technology -- "I'm just a singer" : making music and the success continuum -- "So you want to be a rock'n'roll star?" : auteurs and stars -- "Message understood"? : musical texts -- "It's just rock'n'roll to me" : genres, covers, and the canon -- "Shop around" : retail, radio, and the charts -- "U got the look" : film, television and MTV -- "On the cover of the Rolling Stone" : the music press -- "My generation" : audiences, fans, and collectors -- "Sound of our town" : subcultures, sounds and scenes -- "We are the world" : state music policy, globalization, and national identity -- "Pushin' too hard" : moral panics -- "Revolution" : social change, conscience rock, and identities -- Conclusion : "wrap it up".