The Inevitable BandstandIn the hands of the state, music is a political tool. The Banda de Msica del Estado de Oaxaca (State Band of Oaxaca, BME), a civil organization nearly as old as the modern state of Oaxaca itself, offers unique insights into the history of a modern political state. In The Inevitable Bandstand, Charles V. Heath examines the BMEs role as a part of popular political culture that the state of Oaxaca has deployed in an attempt to bring unity and order to