Unapologetic Rihanna is music's harbinger of doom

Singer Rihanna performs live on stage as part of her 777 tour at The Forum on November 19, 2012 in London, England. (Getty Images)

Music critic and part-time University lecturer Jude Rodgers was among the journalists invited to hear Rihanna's latest album Unapologetic at a record company office. According to this detailed analysis on thequietus.com, it was an experience she found both enlightening and depressing.

"I worry how the simple momentum of provocation, without consideration for its consequences, isn't being questioned as the marketing machine grinds on," writes Rodgers.

It is not the music itself that concerns, so much as how it turns domestic violence into yet another marketing tool. "You wonder if anyone suggested lyrics like these were a bad idea," she writes. "You wonder if anyone's made sure that Rihanna is OK." Too much hand-wringing over a simple pop album? Or a timely reminder of the power of music on impressionable minds?