What started out as a hobby for Visiting Instructor in Political Science Jason Stonerook has turned into a published book. Stonerook recently published his first book, titled “Rock ‘N’ Politics: A State of the Union Address,” which examines the cultural connections between rock ‘n’ roll and political action.

As a self-professed “rock ‘n’ roll nerd,” the book gave Stonerook a chance to combine his passion for music and political science.

“In high school and college, exploring rock ‘n’ roll was a hobby,” said Stonerook. “I enjoyed all aspects of it: the politics, the history and the music.”

The conceptualization of the book began many years ago while Stonerook was a graduate student. In class he compared music to a political topic, and his professor encouraged him to write about the subject. He began writing essays about different artists and ideas, and now each essay comprises a chapter of the book.

The process of making the book was difficult, and Stonerook acknowledged how hard it is to get published. Agents must be hired to pitch the idea to publishing houses. While as many as seven agents were interested in his book, none of them made final offers.

Stonerook decided that he wanted his book to be on the shelves during an election year, when people are most interested in political thought. He decided to self-publish the book through iUniverse, a Web site for publishing. Although the book was published this year, it has been in the making for three years.

Each chapter is one essay, and contributes to an overall theme about music and politics, and Stonerook compared this organizational structure to the concept of an album.

“It is the same concept as an album is to rock ‘n’ roll,” said Stonerook. “The songs don’t tell a story from song to song, but each song contributes to a unifying theme. Each essay is building on a point, evolving the theme throughout the book.”

The book addresses the role of rock ‘n’ roll music over the past few decades and draws connections between the rock ‘n’ roll industry and the political trends of our country.

“The premise of the book is examining why rock ‘n’ roll has not been all that great for the past 10 years,” said Stonerook. “It looks at how the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll is intimately connected to the spirit of politics.”

Stonerook discusses how the revolutionary voice and the possibility of change that was in rock ‘n’ roll has been lost. He also critiques the loss of spirit in political and musical rebellion.

“It is a critique of rock ‘n’ roll and also a political critique: how politics has lost the political spirit, the ideas that the world is changeable,” said Stonerook. “And this is to our great detriment.”

The chapters include topics about Britney Spears and Madonna, John Mayer, Green Day and Nickelback, OutKast and 50 Cent. These chapters analyze the roles of individualism and popular taste in music as well as the undertones of each band or performer. Stonerook also looked at the popularity of ‘80s music.

“If it is bad, why do we still listen to it?” asked Stonerook. “It explores the idea of guilty pleasures.”

Ultimately, the book looks at the definitions of politics and addresses the paradox of rock ‘n’ roll also present in politics.

“It looks at how we define good music and good politics,” said Stonerook. “Rock ‘n’ roll challenges because it is popular and rebellious at the same time. This is the heart of the paradox, to understand how they can be both at the same time.”

This paradox also works in politics, as candidates must be popular enough to be elected but rebellious enough to do what is right and needed.

Like other books published by Luther professors, “Rock ‘N’ Politics” is available for sale in the bookstore, as well as Bookends and Beans, BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon.com.