Taking Popular Music Seriously (Ashgate Contemporary Thinkers on Critical Musicology)

Taking Popular Music Seriously (Ashgate Contemporary Thinkers on Critical Musicology) Review

As a sociologist Simon Frith takes the starting point that music is the result of the play of social forces, whether as an idea, an experience or an activity. The essays in this important collection address these forces, recognising that music is an effect of a continuous process of negotiation, dispute, and agreement between the individual actors who make up a music world. The collection includes nineteen essays, some of which have had a major impact on the field, along with an autobiographical introduction.

The Holy Profane: Religion in Black Popular Music

The Holy Profane: Religion in Black Popular Music Review

" Winner of the 2004 ARSC Award for Best Research in Recorded Rock, Rhythm & Blues or Soul The Holy Profane explores the strong presence of religion in the secular music of twentieth-century African American artists as diverse as Rosetta Tharpe, Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Tupac Shakur. Analyzing lyrics and the historical contexts which shaped those lyrics, Teresa L. Reed examines the link between West-African musical and religious culture and the way African Americans convey religious sentiment in styles such as the blues, rhythm and blues, soul, funk, and gangsta rap. She looks at Pentecostalism and black secular music, minstrelsy and its portrayal of black religion, the black church, "crossing over" from gospel to R&B, images of the black preacher, and the salience of God in the rap of Tupac Shakur. Traditionally, west European culture has drawn distinct divisions between the secular and the sacred in music. Liturgical music belongs in church, not on pop radio, and artists who fuse the two are guilty of sacrilege. In the West-African worldview, however, both music and the divine permeate every imaginable part of life -- so much so that concepts like sacred and secular were entirely foreign to African slaves arriving in the colonies. The Western influence on African Americans eventually resulted in more polarization between these two musical forms, and black musicians who grew up singing in church were often lamented as hellbound once they found popular success. Even these artists, however, never completely left behind their West-African musical ancestry. Reed's exploration of this trend in African American music connects the work of today's artists to their West-African ancestry -- a tradition that over two-hundred years of Western influence could not completely stamp out.

I Hear America Singing: An Introduction to Popular Music

I Hear America Singing: An Introduction to Popular Music Review

The first edition of American Popular Music introduces the history and influence of American music within the broader context of American culture. It reveals how the history of American music connects to contemporary popular music through specific examples showing how past styles and performers have influenced current musical styles. Presents a balanced, accurate, and comprehensive portrayal of American popular music within a narrative, conversational style while discussing various musical styles and performers in a larger social and historical context that provides a larger perspective on American cultural history. The book relates the development of each musical genre to its historical period and places individual performers and styles within their larger social or artistic context. It includes numerous excerpts from literary works that reveal the tremendous influence popular music has had on American culture. It also presents over 300 photos and illustrations, including album covers, posters, sheet music illustrations, and song lyrics. An important reference for any reader interested in the history of American popular music.

American Popular Music: The Rock Years

American Popular Music: The Rock Years Review

Rock, country, pop, soul, funk, punk, folk, hip-hop, techno, grunge--it's all here. In American Popular Music: The Rock Years, Larry Starr and Christopher Waterman take readers on a fascinating journey through the rich historical and stylistic landscape of American rock. An abridged version of the authors' acclaimed American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MTV, this volume includes chapters 8-14 of the longer book along with new introductory and concluding chapters.
American Popular Music: The Rock Years traces the development of rock from its roots in the mid-1940s to its current state in the twenty-first century, integrating in-depth discussions of the music itself with solid coverage of the attendant historical, social, and cultural circumstances. It strikes a balance between musical analysis and social context, showing how rock and American culture have continuously influenced each other over time. Using well-chosen examples, insightful commentaries, and an engaging writing style, the authors highlight the contributions of diverse groups to the development of rock music, explain the effects of advancements in recording technology, and chronicle the growth of rock music as an industry. The book is enhanced by a rich illustration program; boxed inserts on significant individuals, recordings, and intriguing topics; and well-organized listening charts for recordings that are discussed in detail in the text. Remarkably accessible, American Popular Music: The Rock Years is ideal for introductory courses in the history of rock and roll and will encourage readers to become more critically aware listeners of rock music.