Timothy White

In 1999 a concert was held to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the Woodstock Festival. The show was marked by a variety of problems, including a riot on the last night and reports of numerous sexual assaults. In the following selection, Timothy White, an author and the editor—in—chief of Billboard, contends that the misogynistic lyrics of many of the festival's performers encouraged the attacks on women. According to White, lyrics cannot make people do right or wrong, but they can encourage their listeners to act on certain feelings. He concludes that the media need to report on the problem of violent lyrics and not let such songs be treated as a joke.