Pop Cult: Religion and Popular Music (review)

Mainstream religions have lost their influence in this fast-paced, postmodern society, and in Pop Cult, Rupert Till explores new modes of religious expression centred around popular music. Taking the form of what the author dubs "Pop Cults," these systems of belief have sprouted in the gap between the modern (namely, Christian) church and contemporary culture, offering a distinctly new framework for scholars of this area.

Till writes with an insider's take on the music industry. A senior lecturer in music at the University of Huddersfield, Till has critiqued, composed, created, or played most music forms. He has been a member of numerous bands, including specifically Christian ones, and has worked as a promoter in all levels of the music business. This insider pedigree works to give Till the credibility needed to parse through the murky world of the popular and the sacred.

It is the parsing that becomes central to the thesis of the book. Till intentionally uses the term "cult" in the title and throughout the book as his way to "recontextualize, reconstruct, redefine, redeem, and reclaim" (1) the word from its connotative cultural use. Within the culture, dominated by anti-cultic groups, the term tends to generate a sense of moral panic or outrage. The sociological term, new religious movements (NRMs), the author deems insufficient because it lacks the power of the cultural use of the term and conveys a sense of neutrality toward the subject. Till, then, attempts to use this research as a way of pulling the term "cult" out of the traditional moral panic—while still keeping the power of the word—and into a post-NRM era that provides "new ways of understanding and relating to one another . . . in the void left by the old religious movements" (191-192). The author keeps the moral panic, connotative sense of the term "cult" by repeatedly using the terms "brainwash" and "brainwashing" when describing pop cult activities. Although he notes early in the text that "others say that such brainwashing is a myth" (3), he uses "brainwash" and "brainwashing" to describe a range of activities within popular music groups, from music business marketing practices (72) to drug use (45) to the methods of heavy metal music (129). This continual use of terms that many in the field would describe as referencing a myth may limit the validity of the overall thesis.

The author asserts that popular music cultures fit within the framework of cult study because they fit the characteristics of a cult, including a focus around a person or group of people who are worshipped and/or who are seen as having a gift; requiring a high level of commitment among its adherents; figures that work behind-the-scenes to increase the cult's membership; and group activities employing forms of manipulative practices and modes of dress. But it is not just the classification that has allowed pop music cultures to be elevated to cultic status; postmodernity has given cults the ability "to challenge traditional religions for the allegiance of the populace" (10).

After establishing this framework, the author moves to apply it onto different music cultures. Fairly obvious cult movements centred around sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll personalities follow. Musicians' use of transgressive sexual practices and personas, with Madonna as the model, becomes a basis for sex cults. The promotion of drug use by stars and their fans, Till notes, is "perhaps the easiest section" (44) to align with a cult. The enigmatic Prince is central to a discussion of the cult of personality. While chapters on these particular movements seem obvious, the latter three areas of discussion focus on some overlooked areas that seem rich for additional research. Till's look at local music scenes, which engender pride in local communities among fans, seems to connect music fandom with civic devotion. Pop music's intriguing relationship with death—in its elevation of stars who have died, or in forms of heavy-metal music—allows devotees...