Pop Pagans Paganism and Popular Music

Paganism is rapidly becoming a religious, creative, and political force internationally. It has found one of its most public expressions in popular music, where it is voiced by singers and musicians across rock, folk, techno, goth, metal, Celtic, world, and pop music. With essays ranging across the US, UK, continental Europe, Australia and Asia, 'Pop Pagans' assesses the histories, genres, performances, and communities of pagan popular music. Over time, paganism became associated with the counter culture, satanic and gothic culture, rave and festival culture, ecological consciousness and spirituality, and new ageism. Paganism has used music to express a powerful and even transgressive force in everyday life. 'Pop Pagans' examines the many artists and movements which have contributed to this growing phenomenon.

Contributors List Foreword, Graham Harvey 1. Towards a Definition of Pagan Music, Donna Weston and Andy Bennett Part I Histories 2. Paganism and the Counter-culture, Andy Bennett 3. Paganism, Popular Music and Stonehenge, Rupert Till 4. Rememberings of a Pagan Past: Popular Music and Sacred Place, Donna Weston Part II Genres 5. Pagan Metal, Deena Weinstein 6. The Darker Shade of Pagan: The Emergence of Goth, Jason Pitzl-Waters 7. Paganism and the British Folk Revival, Andy Letcher Part III Performance 8. Dancing Paganism: Music, Dance and Pagan Identity, Douglas Ezzy 9. Total Solar Eclipse Festivals, Cosmic Spirituality and Planetary Culture, Graham St John 10. Techno-shamanism and the Economy of Ecstasy as a Religious Experience, Alan Nixon and Adam Possamai Part IV Communities 11. Sacramental Song: Theological Imagination in the Religious Music of American Pagans, Christopher Chase 12. The Rise of the Celtic Cyber-diaspora: The Influence of the "New Age" on Internet Pagan Communities and the Dissemination of "Celtic" Music, Narelle McCoy 13 Esoterrorism and the Wrecking of Civilization: Genesis P-Orridge and the Rise of Industrial Paganism, Christopher Partridge Notes Discography and Filmography Bibliography Index

Donna Weston is Head of Popular Music at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, Australia. Andy Bennett is Professor in Cultural Sociology in the Centre for Public Culture and Ideas, Griffith University, Australia.