Independent Popular Music and Dominant Culture; The Social Subject in the Themes of Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo’s (Tataloo) Works in 2020s

This article discusses the relationship between Iranian independent popular music and dominant culture. It discusses how Amir Hossein Maqsoudloo, nicknamed Tataloo, as a famous Iranian artist in 2010s, describes subjectivities in his works and whether this description reflects a neoliberalist subjectivity or not. Since there are controversies among sociologists about whether neoliberal policies are detectable in Iranian socio-economic structures, we analyze the themes of Tataloo’s 10 most listened tracks, which reveal two distinct themes, one compromising the dominant culture and the other contradicting it. Results show that Tataloo himself and the subjectivities he represents are both turbulent and condemned and rebuked by society, the government, and its critics.