Abstract
Based on recent concerns with the notion of authenticity and effective politics in contemporary popular culture and scholarship on culture, this essay uses a case study of the legal and popular controversy surrounding the Negativland recording, “The Letter ‘U’ and the Number ‘2’.” The analysis points to the organic development of alternative logics in the changing landscape of popular culture. Moreover, we point to the relationship between the “pastiche” style of the Negativland recording as a metaphor for authenticity and justice in postmodern rock culture.

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