Popular Culture Review Vol. 3, No. 2, August 1992 | Page 75

"Where Everybody Knows Your Name"

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with this kind of music are for talk and people feel more free to talk
if they're not overly concerned about being hit on." Naturally the
sound level was low. In sum the relation of sound and culture for the
quiet, friendly get together may be characterized as low, respectful of
personhood, nonprovocative and relatively hidden during discourse.
This last point is important. The music was a backdrop, not
something at the forefront of attention.
Order of Music. The order of music was more important for
people who made the louder rock and roll tapes. The order was also
idiosyncratic to what they expected or wanted to happen at their
parties. Most said that they would intermingle what has been
identified in the present report as a "party song" with other songs. In
other words, they would rarely make a tape exclusively with party
songs on it; variety was important for maintaining a spirited party
mood. The other kinds of songs hosts would put on a party tape
usually reflected their personal interest or favorite performer. Hosts
felt that if a song they chose by personal preference might be less
popular at a party, they also knew that most guests would expect a
favorite song next on the tape; thus they placed one or two stronger,
more familiar songs after personal preferences to gratify their guests.
The order of music on tapes made for the smaller and quieter
parties with friends had little to do with tempo or with creating and
sustaining a frenetic party mood. Creating a mood was still
important, but the mood most often had nothing to do with wildness
or sexual behavior. An observation made many times was most
telling: Hosts wanted to give their guests a novel experience with the
music; they often made sure that some if not all the music on the tape
was something their guests had not heard previously. Partiers at
larger, more raucous parties also did not talk about rock and roll party
songs while the same persons did talk about music when they
attended the quieter, more intimate, friendly get togethers.
Interpretation
In general, hosts wanted their guests to have fun and enjoy
themselves. They knew that the wrong kind of music might drive
away and annoy their guests or kill the party mood they most
desired. Beer bash music invited rowdiness and the relaxation of
sexual mores so guests could easily invent ways to meet and perhaps