music and youth identity

The concept of conspicuous consumption was raised in lectures in relation to Hip Hop , but I believe its relevance extends to nearly all youth oriented music movements. People in their teens and twenties are very occupied with identity. Although this came as no surprise, this observation was stated in a lecture for another paper I'm doing. With a whole generation so consumed with trying to place themselves in society, understand their relationship to the rest of the world, and at the same time often fearing complete individuality/difference; it is no wonder that a sort of cult culture around music has been embraced by young people for decades. These music movements are not just about sound, they can dictate friends, clothing, attitude, social activities and more. By choosing a music preference you can be choosing a whole life style. I say can because of coarse not all music taste leads to lifestyle dictation. I myself never 'belonged' to a music group as such. However I did always feel that this was almost an inadequacy of mine as a teenager. Aren't all teenagers meant to be in love with certain bands, have their posters on their bedroom walls, by the new CD on the first day of its release, line up for concert tickets for hours, and so on. My friends did all this and the fact that I didn't made me feel like I was a bit less of a 'real' teenager. It also seemed like I was missing out on the easy option of social navigation. Music can be an easy way to socially place yourself. If you like Hip Hop, you can buy the CDs, wear the Hip Hop encoded clothes, and through this you know that you're most likely be friends with other people just like you. It seemed like a way of having social security, a sure way of joining a team, almost buying an identity. I wonder how many young people are actually extremely passionate about their music genre of choice and how many are just buying the clothes, CDs etc, as a way of categorizing themselves? Of coarse young people are also going through a highly emotional and hormonal period of their lives so it is also understandable that there is a particular affinity with emotionally charged music at this time.