CFA: 90s Alternative and Philosophy

Call for Abstracts!

90s Alternative and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Heart-Shaped Box

Edited by Joshua Heter and Richard Greene

Abstracts are sought for a collection of essays on any philosophical topic related to 90s alternative rock which may also include a number of subgenres (e.g., grunge, indie rock, emo, 3rd wave punk & ska, pop punk, nu metal & rap-rock, brit-pop, shoegaze, industrial, neo-psychedelia, etc.)  to be published with McFarland & Co. Publishers Inc. Potential contributors may want to examine previous volumes from Heter and Greene: Punk Rock and Philosophy: Research and Destroy (2022) and Post-Punk and Philosophy: Rip it Up and Think Again (2024). Abstracts and eventual essays should be written for an educated but non-specialized audience (with an approximate length of 3,000 – 3,500 words). Potential topics include (but are not limited to)…

- What is “alternative” music? Is it the type of thing that can be defined? Or, do you just know it when you hear it? What exactly is it an “alternative” to?

- Can pop punk be good punk? Does the notion of pop punk even make sense?

- Why do we listen to such sad and depressing songs (e.g., like those in grunge and emo)?

- What does it mean to “sell out”? Is selling out inherently bad? Is being “indie” inherently good?

- What is nihilism (and should I be worried if I’m a nihilist)?

- What is the draw some people have to angry music like nu metal and rap rock? What was the root cause of the Woodstock 99 fiasco?

- Is it immoral to listen to songs with misogynistic lyrics?

- Tipper Gore, the Parents Music Resource Center, and the ethics of censorship and warning labels.

- What is authenticity, and does it make for better music?

- What are the values of Generation X, and are Gen-Xers set up to live the good life?

- What is irony, really?

- What is the moral significance of listening to (or creating) music that seems promote violence?

- Philosophical issues related to adolescence and growing up.

- Would the (more prominent) existentialists from the history of philosophy be into alt rock?

- What does it mean to say that a song is “introspective?” And, can introspection be justified? Or, should we remain skeptical?

- What is cynicism and what made it so prevalent in the 1990s?

- Is self-loathing ever rational?

- What is the philosophical significance of the DIY ethos of Lollapalooza?

- Is commercialism in art necessarily a bad thing?

- What is disillusionment, and is it (or can it be) a virtue?

- What is cultural appropriation (and is it always bad)? Is rap-rock a natural result of a healthy melting-pot society, or is it simply just a form of cultural appropriation?

- What is sincerity? What exactly is new sincerity? Is it a substantively unique thing?

- What are the ethics of (using, creating, and/or suing) Napster?

- Is it really better to burn out rather than to fade away?

- What makes for a good cover song?

- Who are the feminist icons of alternative rock in the 90s? What role did alternative rock play in feminist advances in the 90s and beyond?

Contributor Guidelines:

Mail abstracts (and any questions) to: [email protected].

1. Abstracts should be between 100 – 500 words.

2. Potential contributors must include a resume/CV for each author/coauthor.

3. Initial submissions should be made by e-mail as either a Word doc. or a PDF.

4. Deadlines:

Abstracts due by: November 18, 2024

First drafts due by March 2, 2025

Final drafts due by May 5, 2025

(Early submissions are encouraged and welcomed!)