One of the staples of the Tutor2u Strong Foundations and Gradebooster tours is the music quiz that starts session 4, warming students up after lunch be getting them to think about sociological concepts that they can draw from specific songs. Needless to say, after two weeks, my brain starts racing with lots of alternatives to the selection that Duncan has made. To be fair, he has a far move expansive knowledge of music than I do, and he always hosts this part of the day… but it doesn’t stop me cringing at some of his music choices. Each to there own, but when you have an earworm of Pete Seegers, Billy Bragg or even the cast of High School Musical on a train home from London after two weeks of repetitive listening… It’s hard going. With that in mind, I’ve added some of my choices for music to accompany sociological thought to.

Listening closely turns these songs into case studies. They can be used to revise theory, build exam arguments, or spark class debate. Below, you’ll find short analytical notes linking lyric quotations to key sociological ideas so you can hear the social world – not just the soundtrack.

🎧 1. Common People – Pulp (1995)

• Year: 1995. Wikipedia+1
• Video link: Pulp – Common People (Official)

• Lyrics & theory: The lyric “You’ll never live like common people” critiques class tourism — the idea of the privileged imitating working-class life as a form of escapism. Using Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital, the song shows how working-class identity can be commodified: upper-class youths treat precarious poverty as a fashion statement, not lived adversity. Meanwhile, a Marxist reading emphasises that class is structural, not cosmetic: no amount of “slumming it for fun” removes real socioeconomic inequalities.

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2. Alright – Kendrick Lamar (2015)

• Year: 2015.
• Lyrics & theory: With the repeated line “We gon’ be alright”, the track becomes a collective proclamation of resilience in the face of racial oppression and systemic violence. From a perspective rooted in Critical Race Theory, it emphasises how racism isn’t just personal prejudice — it is woven into institutions, policing, economics. The song works as protest art: solidarity, identity, and resistance expressed musically — an anthem for marginalised communities asserting dignity and demanding structural change.

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3. The Message – Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five (1982)

• Year: 1982. (Hip-hop’s early social-realist classic.)
• Lyrics & theory: The lyric “Don’t push me ’cause I’m close to the edge” expresses the everyday strain of living in urban poverty & structural disenfranchisement. This can be understood through strain theory (e.g. Merton): where legitimate opportunities are blocked, individuals and communities feel pressure, alienation, and risk of social deviance. Marxist urban sociology would add: capitalism concentrates poverty and neglect in certain neighbourhoods, reproducing inequality — the song is testimony, not failure of will.

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4. Fake Plastic Trees – Radiohead (1995)

• Year: 1995.
• Video link: Official video / lyric versions available on YouTube.
• Lyrics & theory: The lyric “It wears her out” captures exhaustion under consumer-driven identity where appearance and consumption replace depth and meaning. Using Baudrillard’s theory of hyperreality and postmodern identity, Radiohead critiques how commodities—fashion, lifestyle, surface aesthetics that supplant authentic social bonds. In a Durkheimian sense it reflects anomie: individuals drift emotionally when traditional norms and communities weaken, replaced by artificial consumer norms that drain rather than sustain.

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5. Royals – Lorde (2013)

• Year: 2013.
• Lyrics & theory: The lyric “That kind of luxe just ain’t for us” rejects mainstream popular culture’s obsession with wealth, glamour and material prestige. From a postmodern consumption angle, Lorde exposes how media sells elite lifestyles as aspiration, normalising inequality. Baudrillardian hyperreality helps unpack how luxury becomes symbol rather than reality — an image to consume, not a life to live. It’s a critique of capitalist aspiration culture: identity doesn’t come from wealth, but values and autonomy.

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6. Killing in the Name – Rage Against the Machine (1992)

• Year: 1992.
• Video link: Official video / live performance versions on YouTube.
• Lyrics & theory: The lyric “Some of those that work forces are the same that burn crosses” draws a direct connection between institutional power (police, state) and historical racial violence. Through the lens of Althusser’s ‘repressive state apparatus’, the song argues that state institutions don’t just maintain order; they perpetuate systemic oppression. This isn’t rebellion for sale: it’s raw, confrontational resistance, refusing to be commodified, rejecting state hegemony rather than aestheticising anger.

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7. Fast Car – Tracy Chapman (1988)

• Year: 1988.
• Lyrics & theory: The line “I had a feeling I could be someone” captures the hope for mobility and escape from structural poverty; but the broader narrative shows how class immobility persists. In terms of Weber’s life chances, the song illustrates how social structures block opportunities, making ‘escape’ more dream than reality. Combining with social reproduction theory, Chapman’s lyrics show how poverty, responsibility and systemic inequality ensure many never break free – inequality isn’t just personal, but generational and structural.

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8. This Is America – Childish Gambino (2018)

• Year: 2018.
• Lyrics & theory: The repeated warning “Don’t catch you slippin’ up” reflects the perpetual surveillance and control experienced by racialised bodies in a state that criminalises them. From Critical Race Theory, it’s a commentary on how systemic racism, policing and media reinforce oppression. Paired with postmodern spectacle theory, the song shows how violence and suffering become entertainment — commodified horror that distracts from structural injustice. It forces listeners to see the reality behind the spectacle.

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9. Motorcycle Emptiness: Manic Street Preachers (1992)

• Year: 1992.
• Lyrics & theory: The lyric “Advertising slogans, truth” criticises a world where marketing replaces meaning: rebellion becomes a brand, identity a commodity. Drawing on Frankfurt School’s critique of the culture industry, the song shows how capitalism pacifies dissent by repackaging it as style. Combined with Durkheim’s anomie, it suggests that consumer culture provides brightness and choice — but leaves individuals spiritually empty, socially isolated, and emotionally alienated. The “motorcycle” becomes a metaphor for hollow freedom.

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10. Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana (1991)

• Year: 1991.
• Lyrics & theory: The lyric “Here we are now, entertain us” captures postmodern youth disillusionment and cynicism, where rebellion becomes demand for spectacle. Using subcultural theory (e.g. Hebdige) and Baudrillard’s simulation, the song critiques how genuine youth anger gets commodified into mass-market “grunge” fashion and aesthetics. Identity becomes fragmented, hollow slogans and style replace substance. Rather than authentic resistance, the song highlights how dissent can be sold – rebellion as product, not politics.