"Anything But Heavy Metal" ... - Bethany Bryson

On p.894, Bryson notes that "What is surprising is that country and gospel music are two of the three most favored genres among the general population, while they are the two genres most likely to be rejected by tolerant respondents." Yet, she equates education and political tolerance as being associated with decreased overall exclusiveness, but caveat to that, it's patterned in a specific way that seems to cast off genres like country and gospel as the pursuits of uncultured, enclaved Philistines. Might the country and gospel genres visible ideological associations with Christian Evangelism be responsible for this? What else could account for their seemingly purposeful exclusion from the tolerant crowd's pool of acceptable genres?

Craig Morgan's uplifting hit, "That's What I Love About Sunday" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgyVKUJYHNk I figured this may be a case in point as to what Bryson is referring to.

"Understanding Audience Segmentation"... - Richard A. Peterson

It's interesting that Peterson concludes elite taste "is no longer defined simply as the expressed appreciation of the high art forms and a corresponding moral disdain of, or patronizing tolerance for, all other aesthetic expressions."(252) In situating this comment within a 21st century context(YouTube, mashups, mixtapes, the iCulture), what are some specific examples of this union between revered, high art and pop culture? (ex. The Grey Album - Beatles/JayZ)

"Changing Highbrow Taste"... - Richard A. Peterson, Roger M. Kern

Peterson and Kern seem to chalk up the erosion of rigid, exclusionary cultural affinities to an "increasingly global world managed by those who make their way, in part, by showing respect for the cultural expressions of others."(906) But is cultural omnivorism really about respect and this "elective affinity between today's new business administrative class and omnivorousness" or does it simply tie back into one of the many narratives of this course discussed throughout the semester: In order for the dominant groups to maintain their position, they have to neutralize the threat posed by movements coming from within the dominated classes by reappropriating them within a consumer-culture context...a la The Gap using The Ramones in TV ads, etc. In light of this, wouldn't it render the supposed element of "respect" in cultural omnivorism moot?