Liebert Misses Distinction Between Rock, Top 40 Music

To the editors:

I am writing to protest Hugh Liebert's column ("The American Invasion," Oct. 26), where he laments the way American Top 40 music has corrupted global culture. Indeed, Top 40 music is often idiotic and profoundly uninteresting; however, Liebert makes the mistake of conflating Top 40 with rock music in general. Top-40 is produced and promoted by a few profit-seeking major record labels like RCA, Columbia, and Warner Brothers, which release same-sounding music in hopes of discovering the next big hit. This "rock star" approach is deeply at odds with a more vital function of rock music, that of political, social and cultural protest. As Liebert observes, it's a shame that Germans have dropped Schubert to adopt Fiona Apple. However, the true shame is that Germans (and Americans, too) listen to the inane drivel pushed on MTV and Top 40 stations instead of listening to music which would express their frustrations or increase their sensitivity to beauty or pain. Rock music is as adept at this function as Schubert.

Nora B. Morrison '00

Oct. 28, 1999