Insects in Rock & Roll Music

Abstract

Efforts to examine the influence of insects on popular culture, which form part of the field of culrural entomology, have spanned the me la of motion pictures (Mertins 1986, Berenbaum 1996a), animated movies (Leskosky and Berenbaum 1988), and cartoons (Dejong 1994). These studies have been used to determine which insect groups are best represented, and what human attitudes are expressed toward insects such as whether insects are viewed in a positive or negative light. One of the most pervasive media of popular culture is music. The music industry is worth tens of billions of dollars annually and includes a diversity of genres. Few Americans probably make it through a day without hearing a bit of popular music, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Unlike other media, music is essentially free. Because commercial advertising pays the cost of broadcasting, anyone with a radio can enjoy music with no subscription or admission fee. Because insects are represented in other media, one certainly would expect them to be well represented in popular music. Similarly, it would be expected that this representation would reflect attitudes of nonentomologists toward insects.

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