Can Music Build A New Social Order?

George Counts, noted 20th century educational philosopher, wrote that schooling could build a new social order.  In this order, we would become learned citizens who worked toward democratic and economic success.
But have Counts' schools been replaced with media as that paramount creator of social cement and happiness?  More importantly, the medium of music has a history of fulfilling that role. In the Depression Era, the folk music of Woody Guthrie was used by unions, President Roosevelt and the swelling masses of poor to evoke some hope in the American Dream.  "This Land Is Your Land" was more than just a song we learned in fifth grade music class; rather, it had a universal appeal as a plea to challenge yourself, and your country, to improve and fulfill.  This same notion was depicted in the Counterculture music of the Sixies.
One can argue that Hip Hop, Alternative and Country genres all possess these same qualities.  For in these difficult times, music can be our linkage to a new promise.

Music as Communication and Culture

Our taste in music defines us. It informs the way we dress, the way we talk and the way we view the world. Whether you like Kanye or Taylor, prefer Nirvana to Led Zeppelin or simply like all forms of music, you are not alone. Americans love their music and we will do anything to collect all versions of every song created by our beloved icons.
Just look at the new stereo and digital remix of the Beatles library and then add in the power of a videogame aimed at a video-proficient generation. This is not the Fab Four seen only on fading reels of the Ed Sullivan Show or the stark Black and White film of "A Hard Day's Night". No,it is the digital and dimensional world where aging Baby Boomers and youthful iPod-Google-DS experts converge and appreciate musical, cultural legends.
It is truly a new day in the life.