Music reviews and criticism Books

Book SynopsisThis collection of essays addresses recent and historical changes in the ways in which listening has been conceived as a cultural agency and act. It argues that listening, by emancipating from an essentially implied, passive-receiving, and subjected position, has become an explicit factor in culture and the object of proactive collective and individual politics.Trade Review"Thresholds of Listening intervenes into an extraordinarily wide range of subjects, ranging from masochism and torture at one extreme to Cage and Kafka at the other. Chapters zoom by at high speed, covering enormous ground and wrestling on all fronts with music's potential value as a transformative biopolitical praxis. The level of scholarship is excellent, and van Maas's cast of contributors includes stellar names alongside emerging scholars. This is less a book about listening to music than a virtuosic inquiry into the relationships between listening, hearing, sound, and space and an investigation of the limits of the human body." -- -Anthony Gritten Royal Academy of Music "Clearly the scholarship that underpins Thresholds of Listening is generally very thorough and 'experimental,' which tests conventional understandings of scholarship. Given its unique qualities, I would rate this book as an important contribution that will be useful across a number of disciplines, from musicology and music theory to philosophy and literary theory, but also touching upon certain strands of science." -- -Kenneth Gloag Cardiff UniversityTable of ContentsContents Introduction Sander van Maas 1. The Auditory Re-turn (The Point of Listening) Peter Szendy 2. Dear Listener ...: Music and the Invention of Subjectivity Lawrence Kramer 3. Scenes of Devastation: Interpellation, Finite and Infinite Sander van Maas 4. Positive Feedback: Listening Behind Hearing David Wills 5. Antennas Have Long Since Invaded Our Brains: Listening to 'the Other Music' in Friedrich Kittler Melle Kromhout 6. Movement at the Boundaries of Listening, Composition, and Performance Jason Freeman 7. The Biopolitics of Noise: Kafka's 'Der Bau' Anthony Adler 8. Torture as an Instrument of Music John Hamilton 9. Stop it, I Like it! Embodiment, Masochism and Listening for Traumatic Pleasure Robert Sholl 10. Sounds of Belonging: Accented Writing in Jean Rhys's Good Morning, Midnight Liedeke Plate 11. Back to the Beat: Silent Orality in Young Hae Chang Heavy Industries Kiene Brillenburg Wurth 12. The Discovery of Slowness in Music Alexander Rehding 13. Negotiating Ecstasy: Electronic Dance Music and the Temporary Autonomous Zone Andrew Shenton Notes List of Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"To the now of the point, Heidegger opposes the ecstasy of time. For the past of the point, Deleuze substitutes becoming without history. Both, Peter Szendy objects, are but different ways of punctuating. Cuts, blows, silences, blanks: these stigmata are all irreducible, as are punctuation marks in a text. From ontology to linguistics, from learned treatise to comic book, the grace of this fascinating text brings being back to the infinity of its cut." -- -Catherine Malabou Kingston University "Peter Szendy's brilliant reflections on the punctuation of experience make for a magnificent composition: a new philosophy of the sensible focused on how one feels oneself feeling, and an investigation of 'how one makes a point' philosophically and emotively. Never before have exclamation points, dashes, interrogatives, full stops, and quotation marks been treated so existentially; never before has the musicality of existence been so keenly tied to its notation; never before has the distance between points been used so effectively as a measure of life-span. In the "pows!" and "blams" of comic-book blows, glimmers of political violence come into focus. This is an amazing work of philosophy, aesthetics, media, and critique!!!" -- -Emily Apter New York UniversityTable of ContentsStigmatology From the Rubrica to the Smiley, A Portable History The Point of (No) Monument, or Tristram's Cut (Un)pointings P.S.: On Restitching (Lacan vs. Derrida) Phrasing, Or the Holes in Meaning The Dotted Lines of Auscultation Monauralisms, Or the Bubble of Quotation Marks Punctum Saliens, or the Salient Point The Point of the Overcast Stitch Ekphrasis General Chatter Punctuation and Politics, Or the Dot Above the I Final Survey

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Book SynopsisFailures to listen or mishearings can be a matter of life and death. Shattering Biopolitics elaborates the intimate and complex relation between life and sound in philosophy, political theory, and sound-art.Table of ContentsList of Abbreviations | ix Prologue | 1 1 Shatter | 7 Excursus 1: Calculation and Stricture in Mendi + Keith Obadike’s Numbers Station | 38 2 The Rhythm of Life | 49 Excursus 2: Lawrence Abu Hamdan’s Phonetic Border-Crossings | 91 3 Mouth(piece) | 100 Excursus 3: Sharon Hayes’s Addresses | 145 4 A Use of Ears | 158 Excursus 4: The Drive to Listen in Ultra-red’s Militant Sound Investigations | 191 Acknowledgments | 207 Notes | 209 Selected Bibliography | 233 Index | 243

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Book SynopsisCritical essays and studies reflecting the latest thinking on two major figures in 20c music.In this Festschrift for Donald Mitchell, the foremost authority on the life and works of Gustav Mahler and Benjamin Britten, distinguished composers, scholars, colleagues and friends from around the world have written on aspects of these two composers closest to Mitchell's heart, producing a volume which not only reflects some of the latest thinking on this pair of remarkable figures in the music of our century, but which also pays full tribute to the impact of Mitchell's own work on these composers over the last fifty years. The volume includes the fullest bibliography of Mitchell's writings yet compiled.Table of ContentsPart 1 On Mahler: Mahler and Viennese Modernism, Paul Banks; Gustav Mahlers sprache, Herta Blaukopf; Mahler and the BBC, Asa Briggs; Gustav Mahler - memories and translations, Peter Franklin; Mahler and the New York Philharmonic - the truth behind the legend, Henry-Louis de la Grange; Vestdijk on Mahler, 1924-69, Eveline Nikkels; Mahler on Stamps, Gilbert Kaplan; Mahler and self-renewal, Colin Matthews; in search of Mahler's childhood, David Matthews; a new transition - pages from the Third Movement of Mahler's Ninth Symphony, Edward R. Reilly; the song of the Earth - some personal thoughts, Peter Sculthorpe; Mahler the factual, Erwin Stein; Mahler and Pfitzner - a parallel development, John Williamson. Part 2 On Britten: from No to Nebuchadnezzar, Mervyn Cooke; Britten and his fellow composers, David Drew; a (Far Eastern) note on "Paul Bunyan", Somsak Ketukaenchan; the key to the parade, Oliver Knussen; notes on a theme from "Peter Grimes", Ludmila Kovnatskaya; the making of Auden's "Hymn for St Cecilia's Day", Edward Mendelson; Edinburgh diary 1968, Kathleen Mitchell; towards a genealogy of "Death in Venice", Christopher Palmer; Venice, 1954, Myfanwy Piper; on the sketches for "Billy Budd", Philip Reed; "Abraham and Isaac Revisited" - reflections on a theme and its inversion, Eric Roseberry; not all the way to the tigers - Britten's "Death in Venice", Edward W. Said; Donald Mitchell as publisher - a personal recollection, Peter du Sautoy; writing and copying - a superficial survey of Benjamin Britten's music, Rosamund Strode; along the knife-edge - the topic of transcendence in Britten's musical aesthetic, Arnold Whittall; a bibliography of Donald Mitchell's writings, Maureen Buja.

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Book SynopsisHistoric accounts and new material illuminate the creation, early history and artistic intentions of Britten's first opera.The premiere of Peter Grimes on 7 June 1945 announced the emergence of the first great composer of opera in English since Purcell. Surviving documents offer evidence of the complex interaction of differing ideas about the possible shape and content of the new work, most notably the composition draft, which these essays are particularly concerned to illuminate. They juxtapose historic material with fresh studies: three items written by members of theteam involved in the 1945 production are set alongside specially-commissioned articles, with the three-fold intention of presenting the views of some of the creators of the opera, outlining the work's early history, and offeringcontemporary perspectives on its historical context and its message.Professor PAUL BANKS is Research Development Fellow at the Royal College of Music.Contributors: PAUL BANKS, PHILIP BRETT, BENJAMIN BRITTEN, ERIC CROZIER, DONALDMITCHELL, PETER PEARS, PHILIP REED, ROSAMUND STRODE. Packed away in its pages is a very large amount of new information. TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT A fitting tribute to the opera's enduring international stature, and undoubtedly [a] significant achievement in Britten studies. MUSIC AND LETTERSTrade ReviewPacked away in its pages is a very large amount of new information. TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT A fitting tribute to the opera's enduring international stature, and undoubtedly [a] significant achievement in Britten studies. * MUSIC AND LETTERS *Table of ContentsPreface - Paul Banks Peter Grimes (1965) - Eric Crozier

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Book SynopsisInvestigation into the influence of Eastern music on Britten's composition.Benjamin Britten's interest in the musical traditions of the Far East had a far-reaching influence on his compositional style; this book is the first to investigate the highly original cross-cultural synthesis he was able to achieve through the use of material borrowed from Balinese, Japanese and Indian music. Britten's visit to Indonesia and Japan in 1955-6 is reconstructed from archival sources, and shown to have had a profound impact on his subsequent work: the techniques of Balinese gamelan music were used in the ballet The Prince of the Pagodas (1957), and then became an essential feature of Britten's compositional style, at their most potent in Death in Venice(1973). The No drama and Gagaku court music of Japan were the inspiration for the trilogy of church parables Britten composed in the 1960s. The precise nature of these influences is discussed; Britten's sporadic borrowings from Indian music are also fully analysed. There is a survey of critical responses to Britten's cross-cultural experiments. Dr MERVYN COOKE lectures in music at the University of Nottingham.Trade ReviewFor anyone wanting to get to grips with Britten's music and his eclectic compositional style - crucial reading. * MUSIC AND LETTERS *Fascinating and persuasive blend of documentary and critical study. * MUSICAL TIMES *An intelligent and detailed study. * THE JAPAN SOCIETY *Table of ContentsList of illustrations viii List of musical examples on compact disc x Acknowledgements xi Glossary of Indonesian and Japanese terms xiii 1 Making Tonic and Dominant Seem like Ghosts 1 2 Britten and Colin McPhee 23 3 Bali 50 4 The Prince of the Pagodas 90 5 Japan 112 6 From No to Church Parable: the Evolution of Curlew River, 1956-64 130 I The No Theatre 130 II Sumidagawa and the Curlew River libretto 137 III Curlew River and the dramatic style of No 153 IV Curlew River and European mediaeval drama 160 V The musical style of Curlew River: No and Gagaku 165 7 The Later Church Parables 190 I The Burning Fiery Furnace 190 II The Prodigal Son 205 8 Stylistic Synthesis: Death in Venice 220 9 The Composer and his Critics 245 Bibliography 259 Index 272

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Book SynopsisThe theoretical and musical background to the relationship between the piano and orchestra in Mozart's concertos.The interactive relationship between the piano and the orchestra in Mozart's concertos is an issue central to the appreciation of these great works, but one that has not yet received serious attention, a gap which this new study seeks to remedy by exploring the historical implications and hermeneutic potential of dramatic dialogue. The author shows that invocations of dramatic dialogue are deeply ingrained in late-eighteenth-century writings on instrumental music, and he develops this theme into an original and highly positive view of solo/orchestra relations in Mozart's concertos. He analyses behavioural patterns in the concertos and links them to theoretical discussion oflate-eighteenth-century drama and to analogous relational development in Mozart's operas Idomeneo, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni.Mozart's piano concertos emerge afresh from this new approach as an extraordinary medium of Enlightenment, as significant in their way as the greatest late-eighteenth-century operatic and theatrical works. SIMON P. KEEFE is James Rossiter Hoyle Chair of Music, University of Sheffield.Trade ReviewKeefe's book unites concepts from eighteenth-century music theory, drama, opera, and instrumental music in an illuminating matrix. Closely focused ... this masterly study will expand every reader's appreciation of Mozart's most original genre. NOTES [Andrew Willis] This closely written and thoroughly researched study adds much to our appreciation of the concept of dramatic dialogue in Mozart's mature piano concertos ... What Keefe does offer us is fascinating ... His book is of value in that the higher meaning of these subtle works is often obscure [...] he does much to make it clearer. INTERNATIONAL PIANO A lucid, enthusiastic study, carefully documented, and on the whole wearing lightly the author's hugely impressive learning - he knows the works intimately, and is also very well informed about more general considerations. PETER BRANSCOMBE The book has a great deal to offer ... an impressive accomplishment. -- David Breitman * MOZART SOCIETY OF AMERICA NEWSLETTER *Table of ContentsHeinrich Christoph Koch's Commentary on the Late-Eighteenth-Century Concerto: Towards an Understanding of Dialogue, Drama and Solo/Orchestra Relations in Mozart's Piano Concertos

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Book SynopsisA study of the British contribution to film music, detailing the idiosyncracies of British film, and showing how the differences between it and Hollywood affected composers on both sides of the Atlantic.Jan Swynnoe's study is concerned with the special British contribution to film music, detailing how the idiosyncracies of British film, and of the British character, set it apart from its Hollywood counterpart. She shows how the differences between the two industries in all aspects of film making variously affected composers on both sides of the Atlantic.In the mid 1930s, when film composers in America were perfecting the formulae of the classical Hollywood score, film music in Britain scarcely existed; within a year or so, however, top British composers were scoring British films. How this transformation was brought about, and how established British concert composers, including Vaughan Williams and Arnold Bax, faced the challenge of the exacting and often bewildering art of scoring for feature film, is vividly described here, and the resulting scores compared with the work of seasoned Hollywood composers. JAN SWYNNOE researched the material on which her book is based over several years, at the same time pursuing her musical life as pianist, percussionist and composer.Trade ReviewThis acute and entertaining book will be indispensable for film-music buffs and enthusiasts for British music generally. Swynnoe writes out of deep knowledge and love of the subject. BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE A timely and persuasive critical work on British film scoring, the book makes a significant contribution to a subject which has been largely neglected. ALBION An extremely interesting book on a subject which has barely begun to be explored in detail.. Equally valuable as a contribution to the cartography of the lost continent of British music as it is to that of British cinema. * JOURNAL OF BRITISH CINEMA & TELEVISION *Table of ContentsDifferences between British aand American films - a historical perspective; formulae in the classical Hollywood score; a comparison between British and American composers in their approach to film scoring; British composers' use of themes for narrative development; Arnold Bax's musico-dramatic treatment of "Oliver Twist"; three other first attempts at feature film scoring - "49th Parallel", "The Halfway House" and "Blue Scar"; dialogue scoring of British films of the 1930s; the impact of the Second World War on British films, and developments in dialogue scoring in the 1940s; a look at some British films scored by foreign composers; the decline of British cinema in the 1950s and the consequences for British film scores.

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Book SynopsisCovers much of the acoustics a student needs, without mathematics or scientific background.Choice Outstanding Academic Title A survey of intervals and scales, tone pitch, loudness and time in Western music raises many questions about the hearing mechanism and throws doubt on the conventional role of harmonics. James Beament's account of how musical sounds are coded by the ear and the brain's processing units, provides answers to most of these questions. It concludes that music started with simple instruments which voices imitated, and that the need to know sound direction determined the characteristics of hearing. This book will interest students, practising musicians and music psychologists, and assumes no scientific knowledge. The late ProfessorSir JAMES BEAMENT was a distinguished scientist and musician, who taught and examined music students at Cambridge University.Trade ReviewInformed by a broad expertise comprehending all of the disciplines for which human hearing is pertinent. Beament['s] model for the hearing of music...is not only the most speculative section of the book but also the most brilliant. Recommended warmly... it should find a niche in virtually every college, university and professional music library. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsPart 1 Preliminaries. Part 2 Aural archaeology. Part 3 Hearing selects intervals. Part 4 The beguiling harmonic theory. Part 5 The imitating voice. Part 6 Hearing simultaneous pitches. Part 7 Patterns in harmony. Part 8 Loudness: the basic dynamic scale. Part 9 Music through the hearing machine. Part 10 A sense of direction. Part 11 Time and rhythm. Part 12 Conclusions.

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Book SynopsisEdited from unpublished material after the author's death, this book is of great importance to anyone with an interest in Scotland's musical history.This collection of studies presents unpublished material from the book Isobel Woods Preece was planning at the time of her death. It contains articles published by her and extracts from her dissertation on the Carvor Choirbook. There are also newly written chapters on medieval chant and polyphony by Warwick Edwards and on the music of the Reformed Church by Gordon Munro. Both scholarly and accessible, this work will be of importance to all with an interestin Scotland's Christian musical heritage. ISOBEL WOODS PREECE (1956-1997) was a major pioneer within Scottish music research. A graduate of the University of Glasgow, she subsequently become a Rotary International Graduate Fellow at Princeton University, where she wrote her doctoral dissertation under the supervision of Margaret Bent. She held the posts of lecturer, and later senior lecturer, in the Music Department at the University of Newcastle, where she was greatly respected as a scholar, teacher, administrator, conductor and performer.

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Book SynopsisPresents for the first time the complete surviving correspondence of the outstanding Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos [1887-1959], one of the most colourful figures in twentieth-century music.This complete edition of the letters of the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, collected for the first time in any language, details his stay in the Paris of the 1920s, his work in Brazil and the 1930s and `40s and his international travels as conductor of his own music. The letters also discuss commissions for ballets, concertos and other works. Lisa M. Peppercorn, who knew Villa-Lobos, is the acknowledged expert on the life and music of this colourful figure, and she gives a detailed commentary on the events giving rise to the letters. A chronology gives a detailed account of Villa-Lobos' life, which is thoroughly illustrated with photographs of the persons and places associated with Villa-Lobos, facsimiles of works and concert programmes, and so on. The letters thus form a guide to the most productive years of his life.

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Book SynopsisThis first volume of a projected two volume study of the music of John Jenkins concentrates exclusively on his consorts for viols.John Jenkins (1592-1678) was both the most prolific and most esteemed of English composers between the death of Byrd and the rise of Purcell. During his long life he was employed as a resident musician in East Anglian noble households and became a court musician to Charles II in his later years.This is the first in a two-volume study of Jenkins and his music. It presents a biographical introduction to the composer then concerns itself exclusively with the superb consorts for viols which dominate the early part of the composer's career. It is profusely illustrated with music examples and discusses virtually every work in this form. ANDREW ASHBEE is an internationally renowned expert on C17th English instrumental music, has edited a number of volumes of music from the period, and is an author, broadcaster and lecturer.Trade ReviewAshbee's...scholarship is exemplary and his book is easy to read...an extremely important contribution to our knowledge of English music of the seventeenth century, and will no doubt be the standard work on Jenkins for some time to come. * LUTE SOCIETY JOURNAL *One could not have a more sure-footed guide. * JOURNAL OF THE VIOLA DA GAMBA SOCIETY *

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Book SynopsisThe first comprehensive selection of Szymanowski's writings to be published in English, containing all the most important of the composer's essays and interviews.Karol Szymanowski [1882-1937] is now widely acknowledged to be the most important Polish composer since Chopin. He was also a considerable thinker on musical topics: the role of music in society, the goal of musical education, thepurpose of criticism, the nature of Romanticism, the hallmarks of national identity - indeed, he was passionately concerned with the emergence of the Polish voice in music, and the role of Chopin in particular. Szymanowski on Music is the first comprehensive selection of his writings to be published in English. It contains all the most important of the composer's essays and interviews, throws light on the trying conditions under which he was obliged to work in the 1920s and '30s, especially in education, and gives perceptive assessments of the work of some of the major composers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries - Wagner, Strauss, Stravinsky, Ravel, Satie and others - and the trends they embodied. A number of pieces of a more biographical nature are also included. Overall it provides, in the words of the translator Alistair Wightman, `abundant evidence of the breadth and depthof Szymanowski's personal culture, and at the same time a telling demonstration of his search for an all-embracing humanistic synthesis'. Dr Wightman faces his pioneering translations from Szymanowski's Polish originals with an extensive introductory essay that places his literary activities in the context of his life and career. This book will be a vital element in the rediscovery of the music of one of the twentieth century's most appealing composers.

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Book SynopsisThis second volume of Brian's writings shows him to have been one of the most perceptive commentators on contemporary music in the twentieth century.In this second volume of selections from his journalism, written over four decades between 1907 and 1946, the maverick English composer Havergal Brian [1876-1972] directs his enquiring mind at the music being composed in France,Germany, Italy and elsewhere, while he and his British contemporaries were fighting to establish new music at home. Richard Strauss figures prominently among the composers discussed, beginning with reviews of Hallé and Queen's Hall concerts in 1907 and 1910. But even Strauss was not treated as lavishly as another whose music clearly fascinated Brian deeply: Arnold Schoenberg. From Gurrelieder to the Violin Concerto, Brian emerges as one of Schoenberg's most sympathetic and understanding champions among the English critical fraternity in the inter-War period. Other composers featured include Bartók, Berg, Busoni, Debussy, Dohnányi, Dukas, Glazunov, Grieg, Hindemith, Kilpinen, Lehár,Mahler, Messager, Puccini, Rachmaninov, Ravel, Respighi, Shostakovich, Sibelius, Sousa, Stravinsky, Szymanowski, Tailleferre and Varèse - as well as figures now obscure such as Alfred Bruneau, August Bungert, César Géloso and Wilhelm Kienzl. Malcolm MacDonald's introductions and annotations provide the background to each piece and cast light on Brian's more obscure references.Trade Review[E]ine... wichtige Veröffentlichung, gerade weil man einen durch Musikjournalismus gefilterten Blick auf das Musikleben der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts, vor allem der 30er Jahre erhält. Die * MUSIKFORSCHUNG *A fascinating read. * THE DELIAN *This second volume of Brian's writing...makes for tantalising reading...What Malcolm MacDonald's meticulously annotated volume shows is the work of a highly intelligent commentator...at the critical vanguard. [Editor's Choice] * CLASSICAL MUSIC [Editor's Choice] *A body of writing second to none for its insight into the musical world of the earlier twentieth century, as one of its most pertinent commentators saw it.music journalism such as Brian's is a salutary reminder of what ought to be possible. * INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW *MacDonald's editing is up to its usual high standards - his footnotes alone make fascinating reading. * AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE *[B]oth a work of scholarship and an important historical source for an understanding of the British music of the early 20th century. * ELGAR FOUNDATION *This is a golden treasury of fascinating journalism from a period in British musical history that can easily be bypassed when leaping from Elgar to Britten and beyond, and penned by a writer of great skill, broad musical perception and understanding, and above all the insights of a remarkable composer. * MUSIC & VISION DAILY *

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Book SynopsisThe first systematic assessment of the symphonic style of the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu [1890-1959], tracing the evolution of his musical language and including detailed analyses of all six symphonies.Over the past few decades the music of the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959) has enjoyed a slow but steady rise in popularity, and his six symphonies, written between 1942 and 1953, have now been recorded many times; concert performances are on the increase, too. But Martinu and the Symphony is not only the first book in English intended to help the music-lover to a deeper understanding of these glorious works - it is by far the most comprehensive work on the subject in any language. Each Symphony is examined in turn, the analyses revealing what makes each creation so individual yet also so clearly part of a close-knit family of works and identifying the elements of his melodic, harmonic and instrumental style which produce Martinu's very personal vibrant and organic symphonic manner.Martinu and the Symphony is illustrated with almost 200 musical examples, taken not only fromthe Symphonies but also from his other works for large orchestra. His path to symphonic mastery is examined in unprecedented detail: attention is at last paid to the early orchestral works which, although largely unperformed andunpublished even now, afford fascinating glimpses of the composer to come. A study of the late triptychs The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca and The Parables rounds out this appraisal of Martinus enthralling symphonic and orchestral legacy.Trade ReviewCrump quotes with approval Martinu's injunction to composers to 'be wary of false magnitude' [...]. He has evidently taken that injunction to heart and applied it to his own writing, and in the process he has produced an engaging book that should do much to enhance the esteem of a unique and treasurable corner of the symphonic repertory. * MUSIC & LETTERS *Crump provides... a sequence of magnificently enlarged programme essays that will surely resonate with the composer's admirers and also provoke wider interest. ... [Crump's] passion is infectious. * TLS *Crump's comprehensive investigation of Martinu's symphonic legacy is a particularly welcome occasion. ... [the author's] musical descriptions provide a personal perspective that acts as a counterweight to the more formal analysis. This dual approach seems perfectly suitable, and indeed reflects the music of Martinu itself. * MLA NOTES *This is the first book in English on this topic intended to help the music-lover to a deeper understanding of the Symphonies and orchestral music of Martinu. The author identifies the elements of his melodic, harmonic and instrumental style which produce Martinu's very personal vibrant and organic symphonic manner. The book is illustrated with almost 200 musical examples, taken not only from the Symphonies but also from Martinu's other works for large orchestra. * MUSIC WEB INTERNATIONAL *Dans la langue de Shakespeare (quoique dans un style facilement abordable), Michael Crump nous invite à une exploration très pédagogique des ouvres symphoniques du maître de Poliuka. [...] Crump livre également -en trois chapitres séparés- une brillante synthèse analytique sur le style mélodique, l'harmonie et l'art de l'orchestration de Martinu [...] Cet ouvrage trouve une place de choix dans la bibliothèque des admirateurs de Martinu. * CRESCENDO *[A] major study of his music, based round his set of six Symphonies, is to be welcomed in the wake of the anniversary of his death. Michael Crump really knows his Martinu, and he obviously wants to share his enthusiasm with us [...] handsomely produced. * MUSICAL POINTERS *

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Book SynopsisThe correspondence of the composer-pianists Percy Grainger [1882-1961] and Ronald Stevenson [b. 1928], together with Stevenson's writings on Grainger and two interviews with Stevenson.In 1957 the Australian-American composer Percy Grainger, then 75 and in failing health, received a letter from another pianist-composer, the young Ronald Stevenson, writing from his home in West Linton, below Edinburgh. That firstcontact - requesting Grainger's reminiscences of Ferruccio Busoni, with whom he had studied - led to an exchange of 32 letters over the four years before Grainger's death in February 1961. The two men soon found that, despite their 46-year age-difference, they had many affinities. Both were pianists of staggering abilities and composers who combined a love for folk-music and working-class art with an aesthetic that proposed a `world music' to include the farthest reaches of humanity. Both made an art of piano transcription of a wide variety of works and were champions of little-known music and composers. And both revered the work of Walt Whitman, that great poet of inclusivity,the pioneering spirit and the open road. This book presents both the complete Grainger-Stevenson correspondence and Ronald Stevenson's many articles and lectures on Grainger and his music, edited by Teresa Balough, whosetwo interviews with Stevenson open and close the volume - which includes a CD of a lecture-recital on Grainger that Stevenson presented in Grainger's home in White Plains, New York, in 1976.Trade ReviewThis is a welcome addition to the Grainger literature in this fiftieth anniversary of his death. [...] there is much to enjoy and to think about from the pen and voice of a very fine composer [...] reflecting and illuminating our understanding of Grainger. [...] the book is beautifully produced, with many attractive and revealing illustrations. * DELIUS SOCIETY JOURNAL *Comrades in Art is a highly entertaining portrait of two composers: Percy Grainger and Ronald Stevenson. ... [A] must have for the Grainger enthusiast. The book is attractive in organization and content... . Comrades in Art is more than just the correspondence between two composers. It is a study of the music of Grainger and its place in music culture through the eyes of a scholarly admirer. * TEMPO *Ronald Stevenson proves himself an eloquent Grainger devotee, in his writings, in interview with Teresa Balough, and on the accompanying CD, noting the connection between Grainger and Busoni, the shared devotion he had to Whitman, and delight in Kipling. Stevenson is clearly a pianist in the Grainger manner, robust and forthright. It is a joy. * MUSIC & VISION DAILY *The subsequent, if short, correspondence ranged widely and they discovered common interests, folk music and the poetry of Walt Whitman among them. Perhaps Grainger's most astonishing claim is that he was the real pioneer in most aspects of modern music. [...] There is a lot of material available about Grainger and this unabashed tribute is a complement to that. And we get to make closer acquaintance with Ronald Stevenson along the way. * FANFARE *Fascinating and entertaining reading...The men correspond with a style and grace that seems remote in this e-mail age....Reading these letters...will have you fired up about two under-appreciated musical free-thinkers. * SCOTSMAN *

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Book SynopsisHans Keller's text and Milein Cosman's vibrant illustrations combine to produce a unique and enlightening book on Stravinsky.Stravinsky the Music-Maker is the third incarnation of a book that has been greeted with superlatives on each previous appearance. Hans Keller and Milein Cosman collaborated down the decades of their married life, Keller'spen analysing music, Cosman's catching its makers at work. Stravinsky was a source of fascination for them both, and their Stravinsky at Rehearsal appeared in 1962, to be expanded, two decades later, as Stravinsky Seen and Heard. Stravinsky the Music-Maker offers the most generous compilation of their work yet: it includes Keller's complete articles on Stravinsky, written between 1954 and 1980, and augments Cosman's celebrated prints and drawings with a number not previously published. The introduction, by the composer Hugh Wood, sites the Keller-Cosman partnership in the framework of the British musical life they enriched.HANS KELLER (1919-85) fled Austria in1938 and became a commanding critical voice in British music journalism and on the BBC from the end of the war until his death. He is the author of numerous books, many illustrated by his wife Milein Cosman, including Criticism (Faber), The Great Haydn String Quartets (Dent), Essays on Music (CUP), Jerusalem Diary, Film Music and Beyond and Music and Psychology (all Plumbago). A critic of insight and integrity throughout his life, he remains a powerful influence to this day.Trade ReviewOne writer and musicologist who embarked upon a deep study of the essence of Stravinsky, was the great Hans Keller - a Viennese intellectual who became a cultural Svengali at the BBC in the 1960s [...] This extremely well-produced, well-organised book [is] a fitting tribute, both to the critic and his composing hero. [...] what undoubtedly 'lightens the load' of this Stravinsky treasury, are the many curious and engaging illustrations from the pen of Keller's wife, the artist Milein Cosman. [...] Cosman's work provides the ideal epilogue to this survey of a great man's life. * QUARTERLY REVIEW *Now there is more than ever to provide insight into the variety, profundity, breadth and genius... of Stravinsky's work. It's meticulously-produced, well-indexed, closely annotated and referenced. ... [a] useful and recommendable book which you should certainly consider adding to your collection if you are interested in Stravinsky's work at all. * CLASSICAL.NET *

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Book SynopsisAn anthology of the writings of the English composer William Alwyn [1905-85].The English composer William Alwyn was not only one of the most versatile creative figures of his age, writing music for the concert hall, recital room, operatic stage and film screen; he was also a virtuoso instrumentalist and conductor, the teacher of some of the most important composers of the succeeding generation, and the founder of a number of influential music committees such as the Composers' Guild of Great Britain. Alwyn was a gifted writer, too,alive to literature and art - especially pre-Raphaelite painting, on which he was an authority - as well as to music, and Composing in Words presents his most important writings: the autobiographical essay Winged Chariot; the diary, Ariel to Miranda, in which he chronicled the composition of his Third Symphony; an extract from Early Closing, Alwyn's reminiscences of his Northampton childhood; and essays on film music, and on other composers, among them Elgar, Bax and Puccini.Trade ReviewCertainly, Composing in Words offers much to the reader curious about the man and ideas behind the film and concert scores. Yet it is also to be recommended to those who want to know more about British music of this period, and about those who contributed to it. * MUSIC AND LETTERS *Admirably presented and edited...there's certainly something for everyone, and the wide interests and erudition of William Alwyn are impressively displayed. * GRAMOPHONE *A rewarding collection. * CHOICE *The reader will be impressed by the presentation of this volume...the editor has not imposed himself on the text, but has allowed Alwyn's voice to come through both loud and clear. It is a book that is essential and will long be in demand as research in William Alwyn and exploration of his music continues over the coming years. * MUSIC WEB INTERNATIONAL *

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Book SynopsisThe first English language discussion of the life and music of this twentieth century Norwegian composer.The Norwegian composer Ludvig Irgens-Jensen (1894-1969) was one of the towering creative figures of his native land, although his dignified and powerful music does not receive the attention its quality deserves, either at home orabroad. The success of his dramatic symphony Heimferd (Homecoming) in 1930 brought him national fame, but the post-War triumph of modernism, coupled with his personal modesty, pushed Irgens-Jensen's tonal music into the shadows: its contrapuntally based textures and its modally tinged harmonies were seen as things of the past. But a growing number of recordings is revealing him as one of the most distinguished and distinctive voices in twentieth-century music, a figure of international importance who wrote music of striking nobility and strength of purpose - with some meltingly lovely melodic lines. Arvid O. Vollsnes' Ludvig Irgens-Jensen: The Life and Music of a Norwegian Composer is the first discussion in English of this profoundly decent man and his life-enhancing music. A review of the original Norwegian publication of this book in Aftenposten, the main Norwegian daily paper, described it as 'a gripping biographical portrait. As well as Irgens-Jensen's life we get a broad picture of Norwegian musical life from the 1920s to his death in 1969'. A CD of extracts from Irgens-Jensen's works has been prepared to accompany the English edition, providing readers with an introduction to his highly individual and immediately appealing sound-world.Trade ReviewThis is thorough and solid first biography and Vollsnes is a passionate advocate of his subject. Beryl Foster's translation . . . is clear and nuanced. * GRAMOPHONE *Vollsnes . . . gives Irgens-Jensen's work the scholarly scrutiny it deserves, in the full context of the composer's eventful life. Extensive appendices, a discography, an index, and an accompanying music CD round out this superb resource especially recommended for music scholars and college library collections. * MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW *

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Book SynopsisA guide to the origins and music of Szymanowski's exquisitely beautiful opera King Roger.Karol Szymanowski (1881-1937), the most important Polish composer after Chopin, wrote only two operas, the second of which, King Roger, completed in 1924, is a masterpiece. After decades of neglect this magnificent work hasbegun to receive more attention around the world, and this first extended study of King Roger investigates its origins, uncovers its ideology, examines its music and documents its history. The book opens with an outline of the role the theatre played in Szymanowski's career, from his early operetta, Lottery for Husbands, and the rousing ballet panotmime, Harnasie, based on legends from the Polish highlands. Intracing the evolution of King Roger from conception to completion, Alistair Wightman, one of the leading Szymanowki scholars, examines the contribution of the co-librettist, Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz, and serveys the various strands which make up its ideology, from Euripides The Bacchae and Plato Phaedrus and The Symposium to works by Pater, Nietzsche, Merezhkovsky and Micinski. He charts Szymanowski's fascination with the historical background of the opera, the world of the twelfth-century ruler of Norman Sicily, Roger II (1095-1154). Szymanowski's own novel, Efebos, written in 1918-19 and only partially preserved offers intriguing parallels with hisopera. ALISTAIR WIGHTMAN has written extensively about Polish music of the early twentieth century and his translation, Szymanowski on Music was published by Toccata Press in 1999.Trade ReviewWightman writes with a deep love of the opera...Valuable for marshalling so much material on King Roger in relatively few pages, this book is an inspiring read. -- John Allison * BBC MUSIC *This impressive book delves deep into the opera, relating its composition from idea to completion, discusses its ideology . . . and its performance history . . . richly detailed. * AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE *

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Book SynopsisThe story of singer Norman Platt's life in music and the rise and fall of the renowned Kent Opera Company.Norman Platt was seized by music at the age of five as a boy in industrial Lancashire, played professionally at the age of nine and made music in one form or another until his death in 2004. He sang in the choirs of King's CollegeCambridge and St Paul's Cathedral, was a founder member of the legendary Deller Consort and toured with Britten's English Opera Group. He was a principal at Sadler's Wells and broadcast regularly with the BBC. Yet, as theTimes obituarist wrote, "Norman Platt was probably as famous for his battles to save Kent Opera in the 1980's as he was founding the company in the first place in 1969. His was a long and thankless battle against the ArtsCouncil, which had decided by the end of the 1980's that the country had one opera company too many. Unfortunately his outspoken attacks on funding policies made him enemies in high places, which left the company vulnerable when the axe fell."Making Music, warmly received on publication in 2001, is the story of Norman Platt's life in music. At its heart is the story of the Kent Opera, which featured conductor Roger Norrington, directors likeJonathan Miller and Nicholas Hytner, and singers of the calibre of Jill Gomez and Felicity Palmer. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in the realities of the arts in the modern world.Trade ReviewWe now have from the Kent Opera's guiding light this well-written and evocative chronicle of its all-too-brief existence. -- Alan Blyth * GRAMOPHONE *This is the story of a small, seditious miracle...His story is deeply troubling but strangely inspiring. It is not a denunciation but a profession of faith. -- Michael Oliver * INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW *To read [this book] is to be reminded of Platt's uncanny ability, genius even, for spotting and enabling talent. -- Rodney Milnes * THE TIMES *

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Book SynopsisThe ancient dragon Federigo il Barbarossa, more commonly known as Fred, reminisces about the good old days when he and his cohorts ruled the world, before, alas, they got above themselves and were slapped down, permanently as it turned out. During their abandoned spree, he and his fellows created creatures at will, sometimes to help out and some just because they could: the griffin, the opinicus, the basilisk, the hydra, the unicorn, the Pegasus, the questing beast, She that lives in Ness, and others. Richly illustrated with 45 stunning black and white drawings. MICHAEL MCCARTHY was a recognised expert in the field of ecclesiastical heraldry.

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Book SynopsisIn this wide-ranging and accessible survey of American labour songs, Ronald D. Cohen chronicles the history behind the work songs of cowboys, sailors, hoboes, and others, as well as the singing culture of groups ranging from the Industrial Workers of the World to Pete SeegerTrade Review"Recommended."--Choice"As entertaining to read as it is comprehensive. . . . Performers and collectors will relish the additional bonus of a 250-songbook bibliography. Recommended."--Sing Out!"Work and Sing is the product of exhausting and skillful scholarly labor, and it is something to sing about. Fascinating and definitive."--David Hajdu, music critic for The New Republic"Music was the universal language that brought workers together no matter what their backgrounds or native tongues. Ronald D. Cohen tells this story better than anyone in Work and Sing, capturing the diversity and power of these songs and celebrating the people who made them."--Ted Gioia, author of Work Songs

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Book SynopsisGoing beyond merely explaining how the artists in these genres achieved their peculiar effects, he presents challenging new analyses of telling craft details which help students and scholars come to know more fully this bold age of aesthetic extremism.Trade ReviewScholarly and impressive... Such a thorough consideration of the interconnectedness of modernism illuminates how truly revolutionary this artistic movement was. ChoiceTable of ContentsList of IllustrationsIntroduction. Modernist TransvaluationI. Two Originary Texts1. Baudelaire and Symbolism2. Nietzsche and the DionysiacII. Isms3. Impressionism4. Expressionism5. Futurism6. Cubism7. Abstractionism8. Primitivism9. Imagism10. Neoclassicism11. Dadaism12. Surrealism13. Aestheticism14. Corporealism15. Totalizing Art16. Communism, Fascism, and Later ModernismEpilogue. The End of Modernism?Notes

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Book SynopsisThe first book to critically examine the legacy of pop superstar Mariah Carey. When it comes to Mariah Carey, star power is never in doubt. She has sold hundreds of millions of albums and cut more chart-topping hits than any other solo artistever. And she has that extraordinary five-octave vocal range. But there is more to her legacy than eye-popping numbers. Why Mariah Carey Matters examines the creative evolution and complicated biography of a true diva, making the case that, despite her celebrity, Carey's musicianship and influence are insufficiently appreciated. A pioneering songwriter and producer, Carey pairs her vocal gifts with intimate lyrics and richly layered sonic details. In the mid-1990s, she perfected a blend of pop, hip-hop, and R&B with songs such as Fantasy and Honey and drew from her turbulent life to create the introspective masterpiece Butterfly. Andrew Chan looks beyond Carey's glamorous persona to explore her experience Trade ReviewIn expansive prose . . . , Chan proves that despite a smooth-edged commercial exterior, Carey’s style “foregrounds the ways singing can activate something irrational and untamed within us.” It’s a satisfying tribute to a dynamic and influential singer. * Publishers Weekly *Required reading for Lambs worldwide: In Why Mariah Matters, Andrew Chan looks beyond Mariah Carey’s undeniable glamour and incredible five-octave vocal range to examine the diva to explore her life as a mixed-race woman in music, her adventurous forays into gospel and house music, and her appeal to multiple generations of queer audiences. * NYLON *Why Mariah Carey Matters makes the case for Mariah Carey’s place in the pantheon of great musical artists and it’s hard to disagree with its central argument, that for all her accolades, mainstream success and her over-the-top camp persona, we have overlooked the nuance and artistry underneath. * The Queer Review *[Andrew Chan strikes] an elegant balance of tone and writing as a critic, a reporter, and a memoirist all at once . . . when Carey’s effect on audiences poses a phenomenological hurdle, he spins illuminating personal narratives only to then pivot towards rigorous close-readings of her lyrics, voice, and performances worthy of Barthes’s Mythologies. * The Millions *Chan's beautiful descriptions of Carey's songs, lyrics, and performances aid in the difficult task of bringing sound to life solely through words...An excellent look at a great artist. Readers will likely find themselves YouTubing the Carey performances described in this book. * Library Journal *Chan gives nuance in Carey’s work, persona, and legacy...Across 168 pages, Chan humanizes Carey’s world renowned impact in music, also connecting the artist’s poignant lyrics and five-octave singing delivery to his experiences as a queer Chinese-American. * NYLON *What stands out the most about this book is the intimacy of the author’s writing. . .Chan’s focus stays fixed on Carey’s extraordinary voice, her metamorphosis from ambitious ingenue into a showbiz heavyweight and the impact her music has on legions of loyal lambs, the latter of which is most poignantly displayed in the final passages of the book. * Xtra Magazine *Table of Contents 1. A Call to Worship 2. What a Voice Means 3. Other Sounds, Other Realms 4. Out of the Chrysalis 5. Between Laughter and Lament 6. Back at Number 1 7. A Timeless Diva Through Time Acknowledgments Notes

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Book SynopsisEncompassing a career spanning six decades, Is It Still Good to Ya? sums up the career of legendary rock critic and longtime Village Voice stalwart Robert Christgau, whose album and concert reviews, essays, and reflections on his career tackle the whole of pop music, from Louis Armstrong to M.I.A..Trade Review "You either love Christgau or you don’t, but his cantankerous, affectionate, cut-to-the chase reviews and essays over the past 50 years have defined music journalism, and this collection offers an opportunity to re-read the best of the self-proclaimed Dean of American Rock Critics." -- Henry Carrigan * No Depression *"At a moment when music criticism seems less empowered for being more fragmented, Christgau still offers an informed, authoritative perspective, self-aware regarding cultural aging and mortality, not stodgy but wry. A vital chronicler of rock's story, several decades on." * Kirkus Reviews *"The self-proclaimed dean of rock criticism is now in his 70s, and his ongoing influence is felt wherever thoughtful music writing is valued. This collection of work spanning 1967–2017 highlights his omnivorous taste, showing Christgau to be just as comfortable reflecting on Woody Guthrie, Sam Cooke, and the Spice Girls as he is on Radiohead, Mary J. Blige, or Youssou N’Dour." -- Steve Futterman * Publishers Weekly *"These pieces from a preeminent critic will reward a wide swath of music fans who will perhaps be provoked to discuss the mosaic that is popular music in the 20th and early 21st centuries." -- James Collins * Library Journal *"Gleeful flurries of verbal shadow-boxing make this a book which can be enjoyed for the writing alone. . . . His curiosity and sass remain un­diminished at the age of seventy-six and his own musical preferences acknowledge no frontiers." -- Lou Glandfield * TLS *"Though Christgau is best known for his pithy, graded Consumer Guide blurbs, this monumental tome collects his longer essays on both essential figures in popular music and his own pet favorites, at least a few of which he’ll convince you deserve to be considered essential themselves. Buy two copies—one to throw angrily across the room, one as a reference." -- Keith Harris * City Pages (Minneapolis) *"A treasure trove of the most incisive, witty pop music reviews and commentary ever committed to print." -- Ken Tucker * Fresh Air *"This is complicated work, but for a dean it’s plenty fun, and joy to dip into or explore in depth, both for full appreciations and single lines. Offering some tips for 'growing better ears' on the book’s first page, he suggests you 'spend a week listening to James Brown’s Star Time.' The ensuing pages will keep you listening and thinking for many, many more weeks besides." -- Mark Athitakis * Critical Mass blog *"If the New Journalism movement of the early '60s sought to remove the never-wholly-real concept of objectivity from news reporting, so too did Christgau and his Village voice colleagues remove it from music writing. In fact, that's why this collection is such a worthy read even for those who haven't read much Christgau over the years. You may or may not be compelled to seek out the music he writes about, or you may wholeheartedly disagree with his assessment of that music, but you will enjoy the way he writes about it. Music is personal for him—it's personal for all of us, really—and he writes like it is, only with way more erudition than a common Facebook post." -- Mark Reynolds * Popmatters *"Christgau is . . . one of America’s sharper public intellectuals of the past half century, and certainly one of its most influential—not to mention one of the better stylists in that cohort. Fun is a big part of why." -- David Cantwell * The New Yorker *"One of Christgau’s greatest strengths is that he relentlessly keeps up with the times. At least seven or eight presidents ago, Christgau was already the indispensable guide to the Ramones, Talking Heads, and Parliament Funkadelic. Now he’s even more necessary, the only critic who can sift through new pop from Africa and Egypt and nudge us in the right direction. To paraphrase Dylan, Christgau was older then, and he’s younger than that now." -- Allen Barra * National Book Review *“The reason I was attracted to Christgau in the first place was that his writing was better than that of any other music critic…. ‘A f***ing tour de force,’ Christgau concluded of a 1974 Earth, Wind and Fire album, and the same punchy summary could be applied to [this] absorbing collection.” -- Dai Griffiths * Popular Music *Table of ContentsIntroduction. Robert Christgau's Greatest Hits: Volume UUU 1 Prologue. Good to Ya, Not for Ya: Rock Criticism vs. the Guilty Pleasure 9 I. History in the Making Ten-Step Program for Growing Better Ears 19 Dionysus in Theory and Practice 19 B.E.: A Dozen Moments in the Prehistory of Rock and Roll 27 Let's Get Busy in Hawaiian: A Hundred Years of Ragged Beats and Cheap Tunes 34 Rock Lyrics Are Poetry (Maybe) 42 "We Have to Deal With It": Punk England Report 48 Rock 'n' Roller Coaster: The Music Biz on a Joyride 65 Not My Fault, Not My Problem: Classic Rock 76 A Weekend in Paradise: Woodstock '94 81 Staying Alive: Postclassic Disco 96 Harry Smith Makes History: Anthology of American Folk Music 103 Getting Their Hands Dirty: Michael Azerrad's Our Band Could Be Your Life 107 A Month on the Town 111 U.S. and Them: Are American Pop (and Semi-Pop) Still Exceptional? And by the Way, Does That Make Them Better? 120 What I Listen for in Music 130 II. A Great Tradition Pops as Pop: Louis Armstrong 135 Not So Misterioso: Thelonious Monk 140 First Lady of Song: Billie Holiday 149 Folksinger, Wordslinger, Start Me a Song: Woody Guthrie 154 Caring the Hard Way: Frank Sinatra: 1915-1998 159 Like Ringing a Bell: Chuck Berry: 1926-2017 161 Unnaturals: The Coasters with No Strings Attached 165 Black Elvis: Same Cooke 172 Tough Love: Etta James 176 The Excitement! The Terror!: Miles Davis's '70s 181 Sister, Oh Sister: Kate and Anna McGarrigle 185 Two Pieces About the Ramones: 1901. Ramone2. Road to Ruin Nevermore: Nirvana 196 A Long Short Story: The Go-Betweens 200 Generation Gaps: The Spice Girls 204 Ooh, That Sound: The Backstreet Boys 206 Tear the Sky Off the Mother: 'N Sync 207 The World Is His Boudoir: Prince 208 Two Pieces About Aretha Franklin: 2091. Queen of Pop2. Familiar and Fabulous Two Pieces About Bob Dylan: 2141. Dylan Back: World Goes On2. Secrets of the Sphinx Ain't Dead Yet: Holy Modal Rounders 220 How to Survive on an Apple Pie Diet: John Prine 221 The Unflashiest: Willie Nelson 225 III. Millennium Music from a Desert Storm 231 Ghost Dance 238 The Moldy Peaches Slip You a Roofie 241 Attack of the Chickenshits: Steve Earle 245 Facing Mecca: Youssou N'Dour 249 Three Pieces About M.I.A1. Burning Bright2. Quotations from Charmin M.I.A.3. Right, the Record IV. From Which All Blessings Flow Full Immersion with Suspect Tendencies: Paul Simon's Graceland 259 Fela and His Lessers 267 Vendant l'Afrique 270 Dakar in Gear 275 A God After Midnight: Youssou N'Dour 278 Franco d Mi Amor 279 Forty Years of History, Thirty Seconds of Joy 285 Tribulations of St. Joseph: Ladysmith Black Mambazo 289 Music from a Desert War 292 V. Postmodern Times Growing by Degrees: Kanye West 301 The Slim Shady Essay: Eminem 303 Career Opportunity: The Perceptionists 314 Good Morning Little School Girl: R. Kelly 316 Master and Sacrament: Buddy Guy 319 The Commoner Queen: Mary J. Blige 321 A Hot Little Weirdo: Shakira 323 What's Not to Like?: Norah Jones 326 No-Hope Radio: Radiohead 330 Rather Exhilarating: Sonic Youth 334 Adult Contemporary: Grant McLennan: 1958-2006 337 Titan. Polymath. Naturalist: Ray Charles: 1930-2004 338 He Got Us: James Brown: 1933-2006 339 Old Master: Bob Dylan 342 Estudando Tom Zé 343 Gypsy Is His Autopilot: Gogol Bordello 349 Triumph of the Id: Lil Wayne 353 Brag Like That: Jay-Z 357 Paisley's Progress: Brad Paisley 362 Smart and Smarter: Vampire Weekend 367 The Many Reasons to Love Wussy 372 Hearing Her Pain: Fiona Apple 377 Firestarter: Miranda Lambert 381 Monster Anthems: Lady Gaga 384 Dancing on Her Own: Robyn 388 Three More Pieces About M.I.A.: 393 1. Spread out, Reach High: M.I.A.'s Kala 2. Illygirl Steppin Up 3. Spelled Backwards It's "Aim" The Unassumingest: Lori McKenna 400 VI. Got to Be Driftin' Along Who Knows It Feels It: Bob Marley 407 Shape Shifter: David Bowie: 1947-2016 411 The Most Gifted Artist of the Rock Era: Prince: 1958-2016 414 Forever Old: Leonard Cohen: 1933-2016 416 Sticking It in Their Ear: Bob Dylan 419 Don't Worry About Nothing: Ornette Coleman 420 Sensualistic, Polytheistic: New York Dolls 421 Index 425

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Book SynopsisIn this generous collection of book reviews and literary essays, Robert Christgau shows readers a different side to his esteemed career with reviews of books ranging from musical autobiographies, criticism, and histories to novels, literary memoirs, and cultural theory.Trade Review"[A] substantial collection of nearly 100 eclectic, thought-provoking, and idea-laden book reviews. . . . [Christgau's] range of topics is impressive, and his references are prolific. These sprightly, highly opinionated 'adventures of an autodidact' reveal Christgau to be a highly literate, astute, and discerning book critic." * Kirkus Reviews *"Christgau mostly writes on books by or about notable musicians, though he hits other cultural touchstones too, such as George Orwell’s 1984. It’s in these nonmusic pieces that Christgau is most successful, shifting focus from his encyclopedic music-industry knowledge to the nuances of language. His essay on books about the 2008 financial crisis is a highlight." * Publishers Weekly *"There are few critics working today with the life-long commitment, focus, and curiosity of Robert Christgau. Book Reports doesn't scan the over half-century of the man's work, and that's what makes it all the more impressive. He's still searching, still pulling volumes from the shelves, looking at new or old ideas, cracking open the spines of preconceived notions all in the service of taking just one more look before walking away with the promise of yet another return." -- Christopher John Stephens * Popmatters *"For Christgau fans and anyone seeking thought-provoking musings on books and music." -- Melissa Engleman * Library Journal *"One reads Christgau for Christgau as much as for the subject of his work." -- Jeff Tamarkin * Mojo *"Though Christgau partisans have the most to gain from this collection, it’s also good for anyone looking for an accessible way into his extensive oeuvre." -- Chad Comello * Booklist *"Christgau is . . . one of America’s sharper public intellectuals of the past half century, and certainly one of its most influential—not to mention one of the better stylists in that cohort. Fun is a big part of why." -- David Cantwell * The New Yorker *"Though not everyone will agree with Christgau’s views (this reader certainly did not), all readers will likely appreciate his style and approach and the depth of his knowledge about a broad range of popular music. Those curious about popular music may find Christgau's style aggressive at times, but that is exactly the point; Christgau pushes the reader to think. Seasoned readers will discover that Christgau questions authors in a way that encourages one to evaluate a book at a deeper level. In short, this is a great read for fans, critics, and scholars alike." -- T. R. Harrison * Choice *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments xiii Introduction 1 I. Collectibles The Informer: John Leonard's When the Kissing Had to Stop 11 Advertisements for Everybody Else: Jonathan Lethem's The Ecstasy of Influence 14 Democratic Vistas: Dave Hickey's Air Guitar 17 II. From Blackface Minstrelsy to Track-and-Hook In Search of Jim Crow: Why Postmodern Minstrelsy Studies Matter 23 The Old Ethiopians at Home: Ken Emerson's Doo-Dah! 40 Before the Blues: David Wondrich's Stomp and Swerve 43 Rhythms of the Universe: Ned Sublette's Cuba and Its Music 46 Black Melting Pot: David B. Coplan's In Township Tonight! 49 Bwana-Acolyte in the Favor Bank: Banning Eyre's In Griot Time 56 In the Crucible of the Party: Charles and Angelilki Keil's Bright Balkan Morning 59 Defining the Folk: Benjamin Filene's Romancing the Folk 64 Folking Around: David Hajdu's Positively 4th Street 67 Punk Lives: Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain's Please Kill Me 70 Biography of a Corporation: Nelson George's Where Did Our Love Go? 72 Hip-Hop Faces the World: Steven Hager's Hip Hop; David Toop's The Rap Attack; and Nelson George, Sally Banes, Susan Flinker, and Patty Romanowski's Fresh 75 Making Out Like Gangsters: Preston Lauterbach's The Chitlin' Circuit, Dan Charnas's The Big Payback, Ice-T's Ice, and Tommy James's Me, the Mob, and Music 80 Money Isn't Everything: Fred Goodman's The Mansion on the Hill 86 Mapping the Earworm's Genome: John Seabrook's The Song Machine 89 III. Critical Practice Beyond the Symphonic Quest: Susan McClary's Feminine Endings 97 All the Tune Family: Peter van der Merwe's Origins of the Popular Style 100 Bel Cantos: Henry Pleasant's The Great American Popular Singers 102 The Country and the City: Charlie Gillett's The Sound of the City 109 Reflections of an Aging Rock Critic: Jon Landau's It's Too Late to Stop Now 115 Pioneer Days: Kevin Avery's Everything Is an Afterthought and Nona Willis Aronowitz's (ed.) Out of the Vinyl Deeps 117 Impolite Discourse: Jim Derogatis's Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, Richard Meltzer's A Whore Jus Like the Rest, and Nick Tosches's The Nick Torches Reader 123 Journalism and/or Criticism and/or Musicology and/or Sociology (and/or Writing): Simon Firth 129 Serious Music: Robert Walser's Running With the Devil 137 Fifteen Minutes of . . . : William York's Who's Who in Rock Music 139 The Fanzine Worldview, Alphabetized: Ira A. Robbins's (ed.) Trouser Press Guide to New Wave Records 140 Awesome: Simon Reynolds's Blissed Out 143 Ingenuousness Lost: James Miller's Flowers in the Dustbin 147 Rock Criticism Lives: Jessica Hopper's The Fist Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic 151 Emo Meets Trayvon Martin: Hanif Abdurraquib's They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us 156 IV. Lives in Music Inside and Out Great Book of Fire: Nick Tosches's Hellfire and Robert Palmer's Jerry Lee Lewis Rocks! 163 That Bad Man, Tough Old Huddie Ledbetter: Charles Wolfe and Kip Lornell's The Life and Legend of Leadbelly 169 The Impenetrable Heroism of Sam Cooke: Peter Guralnick's Dream Boogie 171 Bobby and Dave: Bob Dylan's Chronicles: Volume One and Dave Van Ronk's The Mayor of MacDougal Street 178 Tell All: Ed Sanders's Fug You and Samuel R. Delany's The Motion of Light in Water 180 King of the Thrillseekers: Richard Hell's I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp 185 Lives Saved, Lives Lost: Carrie Brownstein's Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl and Patti Smith's M Train 189 The Cynic and the Bloke: Rod Stewart's Rod: The Autobiography and Donald Fagen's Eminent Hipsters 194 His Own Shaman: RJ Smith's The One 199 Spotlight on the Queen: David Ritz's Respect 201 The Realist Thing You've Ever Seen: Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run 205 V. Fictions Writing for the People: George Orwell's 1984 213 A Classic Illustrated: R. Crumb's The Book of Genesis 217 The Hippie Grows Older: Richard Brautigan's Sombrero Fallout 222 Comic Gurdjieffianism You Can Masturbate To: Marco Vassis' Mind Blower 224 Porn Yesterday: Walter Kendrick's The Secret Museum 225 What Pretentious White Men Are Good For: Robert Coover's Gerald's Party 230 Impoverished How, Exactly? Roddy Doyle's The Woman Who Walked into Doors 236 Sustainable Romance: Norman Rush's Mortals 237 Derrnig-Do Scrapping By: Michael Chabon's Telegraph Avenue 240 Futures by the Dozen: Bruce Sterling's Holy Fire 245 YA Poet of the Massa Woods: Sandra Newman's The Country of Ice Cream Star 248 A Darker Shade of Noir: The Indefatigable Walter Mosley 252 VI. Bohemia Meets Hegemony Épatant le Bourgeoisie: Jerrold Seigel's Bohemian Paris and T. J. Clark's The Painting of Modern Life 263 The Village People: Christine Stansell's American Moderns 278 A Slender Hope for Salvation: Charles Reich's The Greening of America 280 The Lumpenhippie Guru: Ed Sanders's The Family 285 Strait Are the Gates: Morris Dickstein's Gates of Eden 289 The Little Counterculture That Could: Carol Brightman's Sweet Chaos 293 The Pop-Boho Connection, Narrativized: Bernard F. Gendron's Between Montmarte and the Mudd Club 297 Cursed and Sainted Seekers of the Sexual Century: John Heidenry's What Wild Ecstasy 301 Bohemias Lost and Found: Ross Wetzsteon's Republic of Dreams, Richard Kostelanetz's SoHo, and Richard Lloyd's Neo-Bohemia 304 Autobiography of a Pain in the Neck: Meredith Maran's What It's Like to Live Now 309 VII. Culture Meets Capital Twentieth Century Limited: Marshall Berman's All That Is Solid Melts into Air 315 Dialectical Cricket: C. L. R. James's Beyond a Boundary 320 Radical Pluralist: Andrew Ross's No Respect 323 Inside the Prosex Wars: Nadine Strossen's Defending Pornography, Joanna Frueh's Eroctic Faculties, and Lara Kipnis's Bound and Gagged 327 Growing Up Kept Down: William Finnegan's Cold New World 331 Jesus Plus the Capitalist Order: Jeff Sharlet's The Family 334 Dark Night of the Quants: Ten Books About the Financial Crisis 338 They Bet Your Life: Four Books About Hedge Funds 345 Living in a Material World: Raymond Williams's Long Revolution 350 With a God on His Side: Terry Eagleton's Culture and the Death of God, Culture, and Materialism 369 My Friend Marshall: Marshall Berman's Modernism in the Streets 374 Index 381

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Book SynopsisEncompassing a career spanning six decades, Is It Still Good to Ya? sums up the career of legendary rock critic and longtime Village Voice stalwart Robert Christgau, whose album and concert reviews, essays, and reflections on his career tackle the whole of pop music, from Louis Armstrong to M.I.A..Trade Review "You either love Christgau or you don’t, but his cantankerous, affectionate, cut-to-the chase reviews and essays over the past 50 years have defined music journalism, and this collection offers an opportunity to re-read the best of the self-proclaimed Dean of American Rock Critics." -- Henry Carrigan * No Depression *"At a moment when music criticism seems less empowered for being more fragmented, Christgau still offers an informed, authoritative perspective, self-aware regarding cultural aging and mortality, not stodgy but wry. A vital chronicler of rock's story, several decades on." * Kirkus Reviews *"The self-proclaimed dean of rock criticism is now in his 70s, and his ongoing influence is felt wherever thoughtful music writing is valued. This collection of work spanning 1967–2017 highlights his omnivorous taste, showing Christgau to be just as comfortable reflecting on Woody Guthrie, Sam Cooke, and the Spice Girls as he is on Radiohead, Mary J. Blige, or Youssou N’Dour." -- Steve Futterman * Publishers Weekly *"These pieces from a preeminent critic will reward a wide swath of music fans who will perhaps be provoked to discuss the mosaic that is popular music in the 20th and early 21st centuries." -- James Collins * Library Journal *"Gleeful flurries of verbal shadow-boxing make this a book which can be enjoyed for the writing alone. . . . His curiosity and sass remain un­diminished at the age of seventy-six and his own musical preferences acknowledge no frontiers." -- Lou Glandfield * TLS *"Though Christgau is best known for his pithy, graded Consumer Guide blurbs, this monumental tome collects his longer essays on both essential figures in popular music and his own pet favorites, at least a few of which he’ll convince you deserve to be considered essential themselves. Buy two copies—one to throw angrily across the room, one as a reference." -- Keith Harris * City Pages (Minneapolis) *"A treasure trove of the most incisive, witty pop music reviews and commentary ever committed to print." -- Ken Tucker * Fresh Air *"This is complicated work, but for a dean it’s plenty fun, and joy to dip into or explore in depth, both for full appreciations and single lines. Offering some tips for 'growing better ears' on the book’s first page, he suggests you 'spend a week listening to James Brown’s Star Time.' The ensuing pages will keep you listening and thinking for many, many more weeks besides." -- Mark Athitakis * Critical Mass blog *"If the New Journalism movement of the early '60s sought to remove the never-wholly-real concept of objectivity from news reporting, so too did Christgau and his Village voice colleagues remove it from music writing. In fact, that's why this collection is such a worthy read even for those who haven't read much Christgau over the years. You may or may not be compelled to seek out the music he writes about, or you may wholeheartedly disagree with his assessment of that music, but you will enjoy the way he writes about it. Music is personal for him—it's personal for all of us, really—and he writes like it is, only with way more erudition than a common Facebook post." -- Mark Reynolds * Popmatters *"Christgau is . . . one of America’s sharper public intellectuals of the past half century, and certainly one of its most influential—not to mention one of the better stylists in that cohort. Fun is a big part of why." -- David Cantwell * The New Yorker *"One of Christgau’s greatest strengths is that he relentlessly keeps up with the times. At least seven or eight presidents ago, Christgau was already the indispensable guide to the Ramones, Talking Heads, and Parliament Funkadelic. Now he’s even more necessary, the only critic who can sift through new pop from Africa and Egypt and nudge us in the right direction. To paraphrase Dylan, Christgau was older then, and he’s younger than that now." -- Allen Barra * National Book Review *“The reason I was attracted to Christgau in the first place was that his writing was better than that of any other music critic…. ‘A f***ing tour de force,’ Christgau concluded of a 1974 Earth, Wind and Fire album, and the same punchy summary could be applied to [this] absorbing collection.” -- Dai Griffiths * Popular Music *Table of ContentsIntroduction. Robert Christgau's Greatest Hits: Volume UUU 1 Prologue. Good to Ya, Not for Ya: Rock Criticism vs. the Guilty Pleasure 9 I. History in the Making Ten-Step Program for Growing Better Ears 19 Dionysus in Theory and Practice 19 B.E.: A Dozen Moments in the Prehistory of Rock and Roll 27 Let's Get Busy in Hawaiian: A Hundred Years of Ragged Beats and Cheap Tunes 34 Rock Lyrics Are Poetry (Maybe) 42 "We Have to Deal With It": Punk England Report 48 Rock 'n' Roller Coaster: The Music Biz on a Joyride 65 Not My Fault, Not My Problem: Classic Rock 76 A Weekend in Paradise: Woodstock '94 81 Staying Alive: Postclassic Disco 96 Harry Smith Makes History: Anthology of American Folk Music 103 Getting Their Hands Dirty: Michael Azerrad's Our Band Could Be Your Life 107 A Month on the Town 111 U.S. and Them: Are American Pop (and Semi-Pop) Still Exceptional? And by the Way, Does That Make Them Better? 120 What I Listen for in Music 130 II. A Great Tradition Pops as Pop: Louis Armstrong 135 Not So Misterioso: Thelonious Monk 140 First Lady of Song: Billie Holiday 149 Folksinger, Wordslinger, Start Me a Song: Woody Guthrie 154 Caring the Hard Way: Frank Sinatra: 1915-1998 159 Like Ringing a Bell: Chuck Berry: 1926-2017 161 Unnaturals: The Coasters with No Strings Attached 165 Black Elvis: Same Cooke 172 Tough Love: Etta James 176 The Excitement! The Terror!: Miles Davis's '70s 181 Sister, Oh Sister: Kate and Anna McGarrigle 185 Two Pieces About the Ramones: 1901. Ramone2. Road to Ruin Nevermore: Nirvana 196 A Long Short Story: The Go-Betweens 200 Generation Gaps: The Spice Girls 204 Ooh, That Sound: The Backstreet Boys 206 Tear the Sky Off the Mother: 'N Sync 207 The World Is His Boudoir: Prince 208 Two Pieces About Aretha Franklin: 2091. Queen of Pop2. Familiar and Fabulous Two Pieces About Bob Dylan: 2141. Dylan Back: World Goes On2. Secrets of the Sphinx Ain't Dead Yet: Holy Modal Rounders 220 How to Survive on an Apple Pie Diet: John Prine 221 The Unflashiest: Willie Nelson 225 III. Millennium Music from a Desert Storm 231 Ghost Dance 238 The Moldy Peaches Slip You a Roofie 241 Attack of the Chickenshits: Steve Earle 245 Facing Mecca: Youssou N'Dour 249 Three Pieces About M.I.A1. Burning Bright2. Quotations from Charmin M.I.A.3. Right, the Record IV. From Which All Blessings Flow Full Immersion with Suspect Tendencies: Paul Simon's Graceland 259 Fela and His Lessers 267 Vendant l'Afrique 270 Dakar in Gear 275 A God After Midnight: Youssou N'Dour 278 Franco d Mi Amor 279 Forty Years of History, Thirty Seconds of Joy 285 Tribulations of St. Joseph: Ladysmith Black Mambazo 289 Music from a Desert War 292 V. Postmodern Times Growing by Degrees: Kanye West 301 The Slim Shady Essay: Eminem 303 Career Opportunity: The Perceptionists 314 Good Morning Little School Girl: R. Kelly 316 Master and Sacrament: Buddy Guy 319 The Commoner Queen: Mary J. Blige 321 A Hot Little Weirdo: Shakira 323 What's Not to Like?: Norah Jones 326 No-Hope Radio: Radiohead 330 Rather Exhilarating: Sonic Youth 334 Adult Contemporary: Grant McLennan: 1958-2006 337 Titan. Polymath. Naturalist: Ray Charles: 1930-2004 338 He Got Us: James Brown: 1933-2006 339 Old Master: Bob Dylan 342 Estudando Tom Zé 343 Gypsy Is His Autopilot: Gogol Bordello 349 Triumph of the Id: Lil Wayne 353 Brag Like That: Jay-Z 357 Paisley's Progress: Brad Paisley 362 Smart and Smarter: Vampire Weekend 367 The Many Reasons to Love Wussy 372 Hearing Her Pain: Fiona Apple 377 Firestarter: Miranda Lambert 381 Monster Anthems: Lady Gaga 384 Dancing on Her Own: Robyn 388 Three More Pieces About M.I.A.: 393 1. Spread out, Reach High: M.I.A.'s Kala 2. Illygirl Steppin Up 3. Spelled Backwards It's "Aim" The Unassumingest: Lori McKenna 400 VI. Got to Be Driftin' Along Who Knows It Feels It: Bob Marley 407 Shape Shifter: David Bowie: 1947-2016 411 The Most Gifted Artist of the Rock Era: Prince: 1958-2016 414 Forever Old: Leonard Cohen: 1933-2016 416 Sticking It in Their Ear: Bob Dylan 419 Don't Worry About Nothing: Ornette Coleman 420 Sensualistic, Polytheistic: New York Dolls 421 Index 425

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Book SynopsisIn this generous collection of book reviews and literary essays, Robert Christgau shows readers a different side to his esteemed career with reviews of books ranging from musical autobiographies, criticism, and histories to novels, literary memoirs, and cultural theory.Trade Review"[A] substantial collection of nearly 100 eclectic, thought-provoking, and idea-laden book reviews. . . . [Christgau's] range of topics is impressive, and his references are prolific. These sprightly, highly opinionated 'adventures of an autodidact' reveal Christgau to be a highly literate, astute, and discerning book critic." * Kirkus Reviews *"Christgau mostly writes on books by or about notable musicians, though he hits other cultural touchstones too, such as George Orwell’s 1984. It’s in these nonmusic pieces that Christgau is most successful, shifting focus from his encyclopedic music-industry knowledge to the nuances of language. His essay on books about the 2008 financial crisis is a highlight." * Publishers Weekly *"There are few critics working today with the life-long commitment, focus, and curiosity of Robert Christgau. Book Reports doesn't scan the over half-century of the man's work, and that's what makes it all the more impressive. He's still searching, still pulling volumes from the shelves, looking at new or old ideas, cracking open the spines of preconceived notions all in the service of taking just one more look before walking away with the promise of yet another return." -- Christopher John Stephens * Popmatters *"For Christgau fans and anyone seeking thought-provoking musings on books and music." -- Melissa Engleman * Library Journal *"One reads Christgau for Christgau as much as for the subject of his work." -- Jeff Tamarkin * Mojo *"Though Christgau partisans have the most to gain from this collection, it’s also good for anyone looking for an accessible way into his extensive oeuvre." -- Chad Comello * Booklist *"Christgau is . . . one of America’s sharper public intellectuals of the past half century, and certainly one of its most influential—not to mention one of the better stylists in that cohort. Fun is a big part of why." -- David Cantwell * The New Yorker *"Though not everyone will agree with Christgau’s views (this reader certainly did not), all readers will likely appreciate his style and approach and the depth of his knowledge about a broad range of popular music. Those curious about popular music may find Christgau's style aggressive at times, but that is exactly the point; Christgau pushes the reader to think. Seasoned readers will discover that Christgau questions authors in a way that encourages one to evaluate a book at a deeper level. In short, this is a great read for fans, critics, and scholars alike." -- T. R. Harrison * Choice *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments xiii Introduction 1 I. Collectibles The Informer: John Leonard's When the Kissing Had to Stop 11 Advertisements for Everybody Else: Jonathan Lethem's The Ecstasy of Influence 14 Democratic Vistas: Dave Hickey's Air Guitar 17 II. From Blackface Minstrelsy to Track-and-Hook In Search of Jim Crow: Why Postmodern Minstrelsy Studies Matter 23 The Old Ethiopians at Home: Ken Emerson's Doo-Dah! 40 Before the Blues: David Wondrich's Stomp and Swerve 43 Rhythms of the Universe: Ned Sublette's Cuba and Its Music 46 Black Melting Pot: David B. Coplan's In Township Tonight! 49 Bwana-Acolyte in the Favor Bank: Banning Eyre's In Griot Time 56 In the Crucible of the Party: Charles and Angelilki Keil's Bright Balkan Morning 59 Defining the Folk: Benjamin Filene's Romancing the Folk 64 Folking Around: David Hajdu's Positively 4th Street 67 Punk Lives: Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain's Please Kill Me 70 Biography of a Corporation: Nelson George's Where Did Our Love Go? 72 Hip-Hop Faces the World: Steven Hager's Hip Hop; David Toop's The Rap Attack; and Nelson George, Sally Banes, Susan Flinker, and Patty Romanowski's Fresh 75 Making Out Like Gangsters: Preston Lauterbach's The Chitlin' Circuit, Dan Charnas's The Big Payback, Ice-T's Ice, and Tommy James's Me, the Mob, and Music 80 Money Isn't Everything: Fred Goodman's The Mansion on the Hill 86 Mapping the Earworm's Genome: John Seabrook's The Song Machine 89 III. Critical Practice Beyond the Symphonic Quest: Susan McClary's Feminine Endings 97 All the Tune Family: Peter van der Merwe's Origins of the Popular Style 100 Bel Cantos: Henry Pleasant's The Great American Popular Singers 102 The Country and the City: Charlie Gillett's The Sound of the City 109 Reflections of an Aging Rock Critic: Jon Landau's It's Too Late to Stop Now 115 Pioneer Days: Kevin Avery's Everything Is an Afterthought and Nona Willis Aronowitz's (ed.) Out of the Vinyl Deeps 117 Impolite Discourse: Jim Derogatis's Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, Richard Meltzer's A Whore Jus Like the Rest, and Nick Tosches's The Nick Torches Reader 123 Journalism and/or Criticism and/or Musicology and/or Sociology (and/or Writing): Simon Firth 129 Serious Music: Robert Walser's Running With the Devil 137 Fifteen Minutes of . . . : William York's Who's Who in Rock Music 139 The Fanzine Worldview, Alphabetized: Ira A. Robbins's (ed.) Trouser Press Guide to New Wave Records 140 Awesome: Simon Reynolds's Blissed Out 143 Ingenuousness Lost: James Miller's Flowers in the Dustbin 147 Rock Criticism Lives: Jessica Hopper's The Fist Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic 151 Emo Meets Trayvon Martin: Hanif Abdurraquib's They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us 156 IV. Lives in Music Inside and Out Great Book of Fire: Nick Tosches's Hellfire and Robert Palmer's Jerry Lee Lewis Rocks! 163 That Bad Man, Tough Old Huddie Ledbetter: Charles Wolfe and Kip Lornell's The Life and Legend of Leadbelly 169 The Impenetrable Heroism of Sam Cooke: Peter Guralnick's Dream Boogie 171 Bobby and Dave: Bob Dylan's Chronicles: Volume One and Dave Van Ronk's The Mayor of MacDougal Street 178 Tell All: Ed Sanders's Fug You and Samuel R. Delany's The Motion of Light in Water 180 King of the Thrillseekers: Richard Hell's I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp 185 Lives Saved, Lives Lost: Carrie Brownstein's Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl and Patti Smith's M Train 189 The Cynic and the Bloke: Rod Stewart's Rod: The Autobiography and Donald Fagen's Eminent Hipsters 194 His Own Shaman: RJ Smith's The One 199 Spotlight on the Queen: David Ritz's Respect 201 The Realist Thing You've Ever Seen: Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run 205 V. Fictions Writing for the People: George Orwell's 1984 213 A Classic Illustrated: R. Crumb's The Book of Genesis 217 The Hippie Grows Older: Richard Brautigan's Sombrero Fallout 222 Comic Gurdjieffianism You Can Masturbate To: Marco Vassis' Mind Blower 224 Porn Yesterday: Walter Kendrick's The Secret Museum 225 What Pretentious White Men Are Good For: Robert Coover's Gerald's Party 230 Impoverished How, Exactly? Roddy Doyle's The Woman Who Walked into Doors 236 Sustainable Romance: Norman Rush's Mortals 237 Derrnig-Do Scrapping By: Michael Chabon's Telegraph Avenue 240 Futures by the Dozen: Bruce Sterling's Holy Fire 245 YA Poet of the Massa Woods: Sandra Newman's The Country of Ice Cream Star 248 A Darker Shade of Noir: The Indefatigable Walter Mosley 252 VI. Bohemia Meets Hegemony Épatant le Bourgeoisie: Jerrold Seigel's Bohemian Paris and T. J. Clark's The Painting of Modern Life 263 The Village People: Christine Stansell's American Moderns 278 A Slender Hope for Salvation: Charles Reich's The Greening of America 280 The Lumpenhippie Guru: Ed Sanders's The Family 285 Strait Are the Gates: Morris Dickstein's Gates of Eden 289 The Little Counterculture That Could: Carol Brightman's Sweet Chaos 293 The Pop-Boho Connection, Narrativized: Bernard F. Gendron's Between Montmarte and the Mudd Club 297 Cursed and Sainted Seekers of the Sexual Century: John Heidenry's What Wild Ecstasy 301 Bohemias Lost and Found: Ross Wetzsteon's Republic of Dreams, Richard Kostelanetz's SoHo, and Richard Lloyd's Neo-Bohemia 304 Autobiography of a Pain in the Neck: Meredith Maran's What It's Like to Live Now 309 VII. Culture Meets Capital Twentieth Century Limited: Marshall Berman's All That Is Solid Melts into Air 315 Dialectical Cricket: C. L. R. James's Beyond a Boundary 320 Radical Pluralist: Andrew Ross's No Respect 323 Inside the Prosex Wars: Nadine Strossen's Defending Pornography, Joanna Frueh's Eroctic Faculties, and Lara Kipnis's Bound and Gagged 327 Growing Up Kept Down: William Finnegan's Cold New World 331 Jesus Plus the Capitalist Order: Jeff Sharlet's The Family 334 Dark Night of the Quants: Ten Books About the Financial Crisis 338 They Bet Your Life: Four Books About Hedge Funds 345 Living in a Material World: Raymond Williams's Long Revolution 350 With a God on His Side: Terry Eagleton's Culture and the Death of God, Culture, and Materialism 369 My Friend Marshall: Marshall Berman's Modernism in the Streets 374 Index 381

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Book SynopsisRobin James examines how twenty-first-century conceptions of sound as acoustic resonance shape notions of the social world, personhood, and materiality in ways that support white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.Trade Review“Through skillful and perceptive negotiations among diverse theoretical paradigms and material practices, Robin James articulates a bold thesis about the shift from the visual character of modernity articulated by Foucault to the sonic episteme characteristic of twenty-first-century biopolitical neoliberalism. In James’s hands, the sonic episteme becomes a diagnostic tool as well as an all-embracing metaphor of the way the new regime of neoliberal biopower works, its modes of governmentality, and its production of excluded groups. An outstanding book.” -- Ewa Plonowska Ziarek, author of * Feminist Aesthetics and the Politics of Modernism *“The Sonic Episteme is a fascinating exploration of the problems of neoliberalism and the biopolitical that attends to the ways sound has come to be an object of study. Robin James asks readers to refuse the privileging of any one sense experience by examining the ways what she calls the sonic episteme is a part of neoliberal thought, not a break from it. The Sonic Episteme is about the practice of alternatives to the social order in thought and its epistemological possibilities rather than the search for alternatives emerging from the already given epistemological horizon and thrust of Western thought. As such, James offers a way to think sound studies, race, and material cultures together.” -- Ashon T. Crawley, author of * Blackpentecostal Breath: The Aesthetics of Possibility *"James is an insightful philosopher and sharp cultural critic drawing comparisons between musical phenomena such as compression and the loudness wars, and the damages wreaked by neoliberal market economics." -- Karen D. Tregaskin * The Wire *"What makes The Sonic Episteme an impressive accomplishment is its academically acceptable reliance on Philosophy combined with a crucial gesture, beyond Philosophy’s purview, to commercially successful pop music, which has the potential to present a crucial something else." -- Jeff Heinzl * Spectrum Culture *"This extensive assemblage of source texts generates unexpected and often striking conclusions. Most valuably, James organises crucial texts at the intersection of sound studies and critical race studies, proffering their diverse methodologies as alternatives to the techniques of post-democratic perceptual coding. For those interested in the consequences of frequency modeling and the broader project of approaching philosophy through sound, The Sonic Episteme presents a bold . . . foray into the rich territory of neoliberal sonic representation." -- Madeline Collier * Sound Studies *“Robin James’s The Sonic Episteme is an incredibly provocative, well-argued, well-written, and necessary study of popular music and neoliberalism. It will surely be of interest to those in philosophy, popular music studies, sound studies, cultural studies, and Black studies.” -- Elliot H. Powell * Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism *“With The Sonic Episteme, James intervenes upon sound by asking us to think more critically, inclusively, and ethically with and about it.... [Its] topical and methodological breadth makes it a productive and useful addition to the field of popular music studies.” -- Kate Galloway * Journal of Popular Music Studies *“Robin James’ latest book is a compelling and rewarding showcase of her ability to use music and sound as a means to interrogate an array of contemporary philosophical, political, cultural and scientific perspectives.... By aggregating vernacular and non-elite ways of knowing, as expressed through a range of music and sound practices, she has succeeded in developing credible and coherent alternatives.” -- Matthew Lovett * Popular Music *"The Sonic Episteme promises to be an important addition to graduate syllabi and should push music scholars and practitioners to see how our ideas about the nature of sound might hamper our efforts to reshape the places, settings, and institutions where we make music." -- Alexandra M. Apolloni * Journal of the Society of American Music *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Introduction 1 1. Neoliberal Noise and the Biopolitics of (Un)Cool: Acoustic Resonance as Political Economy 23 2. Universal Envoicement: Acoustic Resonance as Political Ontology 51 3. Vibration and Diffraction: Acoustic Resonance as Materialist Ontology 87 4. Neoliberal Sophrosyne: Acoustic Resonance as Subjectivity and Personhood 126 5. Social Physics and Quantum Physics: Acoustic Resonance as the Model for a "Harmonious" World 158 Conclusion 181 Notes 185 Bibliography 227 Index 239

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Book SynopsisThe contributors to Playing for Keeps examine the ways in which musical improvisation can serve as a way to negotiate violence, trauma, systemic inequality, and the aftermaths of war and colonialism.Trade Review“Casting an eye on the world of improvisation, Playing for Keeps is a major corrective to the latent ethnocentrism of improvisation studies and shifts the field's focus in a revolutionary way. The volume challenges readers to think more carefully and critically about the status of improvisation in various traditional cultural contexts and the intersection of those contexts found in contemporary society. A smart, decisive statement on globalism and improvisation.” -- John Corbett, author of * Vinyl Freak: Love Letters to a Dying Medium *"This is a rewarding project that is already extended by a special edition of the Journal Critical Studies In Improvisation and is to be further extended in a companion book now in progress." -- Phil England * The Wire *"A major academic achievement, Playing for Keeps: Improvisation In The Aftermath is an enlightening examination of different manifestations of improvisation, their transforming possibilities, and of the ethics of listening." -- Ian Patterson * All About Jazz *"I was deeply touched by the description of your experience of our visit to Ramallah and the camps together. I would sincerely hope that your book will be read by more than the academics and intelligentsia, it’s very important." -- John McLaughlin"Playing for Keeps collects critical, thoughtfully selected on how musical improvisation can respond to and through trauma. . . . Case studies in this collection illustrate global improvisatory practices, framing them as solutions to encounters with difference that have failed in the past. These solutions seem especially timely for a world reckoning with dual crises: racism and disease. Each case study testifies to improvisation’s power to maintain and restore dignity through dialogic exchanges of creative response to horrific injustices, exchanges that facilitate co-creation of new community identities with an eye toward nurturing rather than perpetuating destruction. . . . Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals." -- S. Schmalenberger * Choice *“With beautifully written individual chapters on different musical events and communities, and each writer’s interpretation of improvisation in their research topic, [Playing for Keeps] is significant as a collection of essays, and builds upon the growing field of interdisciplinary critical research on improvisation.” -- Rebecca Zola * Jazz Perspectives *“[Playing for a Keeps] is a beacon of hope in times of crisis and will continue to be a reference point as the aftermaths of current crises persist in the years to come. The authors all outline ways in which improvisatory musics—and, more fundamentally, improvisation itself—can help those who suffer through and navigate crises and, afterward, salve the psychological wounds of the survivors.” -- Mike Ford * Current Musicology *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Playing for Keeps: An Introduction / Daniel Fischlin and Eric Porter 1 1. manifesto / Matana Roberts 25 2. The Exhibition of Vandalizim: Improvising Healing, Politics, and Film in South Africa / Stephanie Vos 29 3. The Rigors of Afro/Canarian Jazz: Sounding Peripheral Vision with Severed Tongues / Mark Lomanno 55 4. "Opening Up a Space That Maybe Wouldn't Exist Otherwise" / Holding It Down in the Aftermath / Vijay Iyer in conversation with Daniel Fischlin and Eric Porter 81 5. Experimental and Improvised Norths: The Sonic Geographies of Tanya Tagaq's Collaborations with Derek Charke and the Kronos Quartet / Kate Galloway 94 6. Nina Simone: CIVIL JAZZ! / Randy DuBurke 121 7. Free Improvised Music in Postwar Beirut: Differential Sounds, Intersectarian Collaborations, and Critical Collective Memory / Rana El Kadi 129 8. Street Concerts and Sexual Harassment in Post-Mubarak Egypt: Tarab as Affective Politics / Darci Sprengel 160 9. Improvisation, Grounded Humanity, and Witnessing in Palestine: An Interview with Al-Mada's Odeh Turjman and Reem Abdul Hadi / Daniel Fischlin 191 10. Silsulim (Improvised "Curls") in the Vocal Performance of Israeli Popular Music: Identity, Power, and Politics / Moshe Morad 250 11. Three Moments in Kī Hō`alu (Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar): Improvising as a Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) Adaptive Strategy / Kevin Fellezs 275 12. From Prepeace to Postconflict: The Ethics of (Non) Listening and Cocreation in a Divided Society / Sara Ramshaw and Paul Stapleton 300 Contributors 325 Index 331

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Book SynopsisThe contributors to Playing for Keeps examine the ways in which musical improvisation can serve as a way to negotiate violence, trauma, systemic inequality, and the aftermaths of war and colonialism.Trade Review“Casting an eye on the world of improvisation, Playing for Keeps is a major corrective to the latent ethnocentrism of improvisation studies and shifts the field's focus in a revolutionary way. The volume challenges readers to think more carefully and critically about the status of improvisation in various traditional cultural contexts and the intersection of those contexts found in contemporary society. A smart, decisive statement on globalism and improvisation.” -- John Corbett, author of * Vinyl Freak: Love Letters to a Dying Medium *"This is a rewarding project that is already extended by a special edition of the Journal Critical Studies In Improvisation and is to be further extended in a companion book now in progress." -- Phil England * The Wire *"A major academic achievement, Playing for Keeps: Improvisation In The Aftermath is an enlightening examination of different manifestations of improvisation, their transforming possibilities, and of the ethics of listening." -- Ian Patterson * All About Jazz *"I was deeply touched by the description of your experience of our visit to Ramallah and the camps together. I would sincerely hope that your book will be read by more than the academics and intelligentsia, it’s very important." -- John McLaughlin"Playing for Keeps collects critical, thoughtfully selected on how musical improvisation can respond to and through trauma. . . . Case studies in this collection illustrate global improvisatory practices, framing them as solutions to encounters with difference that have failed in the past. These solutions seem especially timely for a world reckoning with dual crises: racism and disease. Each case study testifies to improvisation’s power to maintain and restore dignity through dialogic exchanges of creative response to horrific injustices, exchanges that facilitate co-creation of new community identities with an eye toward nurturing rather than perpetuating destruction. . . . Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals." -- S. Schmalenberger * Choice *“With beautifully written individual chapters on different musical events and communities, and each writer’s interpretation of improvisation in their research topic, [Playing for Keeps] is significant as a collection of essays, and builds upon the growing field of interdisciplinary critical research on improvisation.” -- Rebecca Zola * Jazz Perspectives *“[Playing for a Keeps] is a beacon of hope in times of crisis and will continue to be a reference point as the aftermaths of current crises persist in the years to come. The authors all outline ways in which improvisatory musics—and, more fundamentally, improvisation itself—can help those who suffer through and navigate crises and, afterward, salve the psychological wounds of the survivors.” -- Mike Ford * Current Musicology *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Playing for Keeps: An Introduction / Daniel Fischlin and Eric Porter 1 1. manifesto / Matana Roberts 25 2. The Exhibition of Vandalizim: Improvising Healing, Politics, and Film in South Africa / Stephanie Vos 29 3. The Rigors of Afro/Canarian Jazz: Sounding Peripheral Vision with Severed Tongues / Mark Lomanno 55 4. "Opening Up a Space That Maybe Wouldn't Exist Otherwise" / Holding It Down in the Aftermath / Vijay Iyer in conversation with Daniel Fischlin and Eric Porter 81 5. Experimental and Improvised Norths: The Sonic Geographies of Tanya Tagaq's Collaborations with Derek Charke and the Kronos Quartet / Kate Galloway 94 6. Nina Simone: CIVIL JAZZ! / Randy DuBurke 121 7. Free Improvised Music in Postwar Beirut: Differential Sounds, Intersectarian Collaborations, and Critical Collective Memory / Rana El Kadi 129 8. Street Concerts and Sexual Harassment in Post-Mubarak Egypt: Tarab as Affective Politics / Darci Sprengel 160 9. Improvisation, Grounded Humanity, and Witnessing in Palestine: An Interview with Al-Mada's Odeh Turjman and Reem Abdul Hadi / Daniel Fischlin 191 10. Silsulim (Improvised "Curls") in the Vocal Performance of Israeli Popular Music: Identity, Power, and Politics / Moshe Morad 250 11. Three Moments in Kī Hō`alu (Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar): Improvising as a Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) Adaptive Strategy / Kevin Fellezs 275 12. From Prepeace to Postconflict: The Ethics of (Non) Listening and Cocreation in a Divided Society / Sara Ramshaw and Paul Stapleton 300 Contributors 325 Index 331

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Book SynopsisIn Songbooks, critic and scholar Eric Weisbard offers a critical guide to books on American popular music from William Billings''s 1770 New-England Psalm-Singer to Jay-Z''s 2010 memoir Decoded. Drawing on his background editing the Village Voice music section, coediting the Journal of Popular Music Studies, and organizing the Pop Conference, Weisbard connects American music writing from memoirs, biographies, and song compilations to blues novels, magazine essays, and academic studies. The authors of these works are as diverse as the music itself: women, people of color, queer writers, self-educated scholars, poets, musicians, and elites discarding their social norms. Whether analyzing books on Louis Armstrong, the Beatles, and Madonna; the novels of Theodore Dreiser, Gayl Jones, and Jennifer Egan; or varying takes on blackface minstrelsy, Weisbard charts an alternative history of American music as told through its writing. As Weisbard demonstrates, thTrade Review“Entertaining scholarship! Entertaining criticism! What a revelation! Eric Weisbard is one of those rare writers who understands that in mirroring the music it addresses, literary analysis should provide pleasure as well as insights. With great verve, Songbooks provides both.” -- David Ritz, co-composer, “Sexual Healing”“Embracing the fact that there's no hearing any music without mediations of crosstalk, mythography, humbug, gatekeeping, and taste war, Eric Weisbard's exuberant and encyclopedic history of music writing delivers two and a half centuries of vernacular bounce—sheets of sound, if you will. Heroic, acutely discerning, compulsively readable, and bound to be enduringly useful.” -- Eric Lott, author of * Black Mirror: The Cultural Contradictions of American Racism *“Eric Weisbard is the rare critic who can pair a deep, intersectional, and breathtakingly intelligent survey of music writing with the nuance and joy of someone who has actually done the strange, difficult work of parsing sound on paper. Songbooks is an extraordinary look at how we try to make sense of the music that buoys and destroys us. It made me rethink what criticism can do, what music can do, and how both can change our lives.” -- Amanda Petrusich, author of * Do Not Sell at Any Price: The Wild, Obsessive Hunt for the World’s Rarest 78 rpm Records *"Weisbard reshuffles the canon, paying close attention to Black, gay and other voices that have often been pushed to the margins. . . . He doesn’t penetrate his subjects so much as hurl himself at them and bounce off, like a bird smacking into a window. Weisbard falls to the ground, dusts himself off, then counts the intellectual change that’s fallen from his pockets." -- Dwight Garner * New York Times *"Weisbard’s comprehensiveness means he may introduce many music fans to works they might not know otherwise. . . . A valuable literature review of American pop. . . ." * Kirkus Reviews *"Weisbard’s book will be required reading for all music critics and journalists." -- Henry Carrigan * No Depression *"Could you perchance use an overview of everything that’s been thought in the 50-plus years since rock critics turned popular music journalism into an intellectually and for a while economically viable enterprise? Songbooks is it, only it goes back a lot further—two and a half centuries. . . . An inspiring, provocative vision of the many ways popular music matters." -- Robert Christgau"Songbooks is the kind of book you keep picking up and dipping into for the rest of your life." -- Michaelangelo Matos * Rock and Roll Globe *"Weisbard's book is a valuable resource for those who are interested in researching and learning more about the history of American popular music." -- Kristine Dizon * European Journal of American Studies *"In 500-some pages that read like 200 — the writing is fluid, playful, funny, tough, fast on the eye — Weisbard lightly packs more critical judgment and original phrase-making into each of his two- or three-page chapters than most scholars can manage in 50. This is a literary history of American popular music, but it’s also a map of the country so many other writers have marked out. . . . Songbooks is a great reference book, but before and after that it’s a funhouse." -- Greil Marcus * Chronicle of Higher Education *"Songbooks is a Herculean achievement of both research and tribute, a book that excavates and illuminates the intellectual history that it promises and so much more." -- Jack Hamilton * Journal of Popular Music Studies *"... Serious students of American popular music will find the book a strong introduction to the literature and scholarship that have defined American popular music. Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty." * Choice *"On more than one occasion, I was reminded of late-night conversations I have enjoyed at popular music conferences – witty, erudite, entertaining debates, in which a variety of connections and comparisons, explanations and opinions compete for attention, often straying from the original topic. . . . [T]he essays here illuminate the diverse histories and circumstances of popular song. In that regard, the essays here are not unlike the musics of the past two centuries to which they refer: revelatory, confusing, dynamic, irritating, rewarding, ephemeral, unexpected, disruptive and always provocative." -- Ian Inglis * Popular Music *"[Weisbard's] task, distilling the American music experience into under 600 pages, is ambitious, and his efforts to incorporate a broad range of titles are noteworthy and commendable. . . . Weisbard’s expertise, passion, and knowledge are undeniable." -- Gregory Stall * Library Journal *"As a valuable resource for scholars of popular music, Songbooks should encourage more writers to enter the discussion. Eric Weisbard has now provided a guidebook to the sometimes chaotic but always vital conversation in popular music studies." -- Leigh H. Edwards * American Literary History *"Songbooks takes us on a fascinating journey through an alternative American popular music history, written not just by experts, but by people usually at the fringes – women, people of color, practitioners, and non-academics. Reading this book from start to finish will give one the best overview of this journey, but the book is perhaps better enjoyed by just dipping in and skipping around as time or interest permits. This book is recommended for all readers interested in popular music and for library collections of popular music." -- Mary Huisman * Music Reference Services Quarterly *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 Part I: Setting the Scene First Writer, of Music and on Music: William Billings: The New-England Psalm-Singer, 1770 20 Blackface Minstrelsy Extends Its Twisted Roots: T.D. Rice, "Jim Crow," c. 1832 22 Shape-Note Singing and Early Country: B.F. White and E.J. King, The Sacred Harp, 1944 25 Music in Captivity: Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave: 1853 26 Champion of the White Male Vernacular: Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, 1855 28 Notating Spirituals: William Francis Allen, Charles Pickard Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison, eds., Slave Songs of the United States, 1867 30 First Black Music Historian: James Trotter, Music and Some Highly Musical People: The Lives of Remarkable Musicians of the Colored Race, 1878 32 Child Ballads and Folklore: James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, 5 vols., 1882-1898 33 Women Not Inventing Ethnomusicology: Alice Fletcher, A Study of Omaha Indian Music, 1893 35 First Hit Songwriter, from Pop to Folk and Back Again: Morrison Foster, Biography, Songs and Musical Compositions of Stephen C. Foster, 1896 39 Americana Emerges: Emma Bell Miles, The Spirit of the Mountains, 1905 44 Documenting the Story: O.G. Sonneck, Bibliography of Early Secular American Music, 1905 45 Tin Pan Alley's Sheet Music Biz: Charles K. Harris, How to Write a Popular Song, 1906 47 First Family of Folk Collecting: John A. Lomax, Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads, 1910 50 Proclaiming Black Modernity: James Weldon Johnson, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, 1912 52 Songcatching in the Mountains: Olive Dame Campbell and Cecil Sharp, English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, 1917 54 Part II: The Jazz Age Stories for the Slicks: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Flappers and Philosophers, 1920 62 Remembering the First Black Star: Mabel Rowland, ed., Bert Williams, Son of Laughter, 1923 64 Magazine Criticism across Popular Genres: Gilbert Seldes, The Seven Lively Arts, 1924 67 Harlem Renaissance: Alain Locke, ed., The New Negro: An Interpretation, 1925 69 Tin Pan Alley's Standards Setter: Alexander Woollcott, The Story of Irving Berlin, 1925 71 Broadway Musical as Supertext: Edna Ferber, Show Boat, 1926 74 Father of the Blues in Print: W.C. Handy, ed., Blues: An Anthology, 1926 76 Poet of the Blare and Racial Mountain: Langston Hughes, The Weary Blues, 1926 78 Blessed Immortal, Forgotten Songwriter: Carrie Jacobs-Bond, The Roads of Melody, 1927 80 Tune Detective and Expert Explainer: Sigmund Spaeth, Read 'Em and Weep: The Songs Your Forgot to Remember, 1927 82 Pop's First History Lesson: Isaac Goldberg: Tin Pan Alley: A Chronicle of the American Popular Music Racket, 1930 84 Roots Intellectual: Constance Rourke, American Humor: A Study of the National Character, 1931 85 Jook Ethnography, Inventing Black Music Studies: Zora Neale Hurston, Mules and Men, 1935 87 What He Played Came First: Louis Armstrong, Swing That Music, 1936 90 Jazz's Original Novel: Dorothy Baker, Young Man with a Horn, 1938 94 Introducing Jazz Critics: Frederic Ramsey Jr. and Charles Edward Smith, eds., Jazzmen, 1939 95 Part III: Midcentury Icons Folk Embodiment: Woody Guthrie, Bound for Glory, 1943 104 A Hack Story Soldiers Took to War: David Ewen, Men of Popular Music, 1944 106 From Immigrant Jew to Red Hot Mama: Sophie Tucker, Some of These Days, 1945 108 White Negro Drug Dealer: Mezz Mezzrow and Bernard Wolfe, Really the Blues, 1946 110 Composer of Tone Parallels: Barry Ulanov, Duke Ellington, 1946 111 Jazz's Precursor as Pop and Art: Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis, They All Played Ragtime: The True Story of an American Music, 1950 114 Field Recording in the Library of Congress: Alan Lomax, Mister Jelly Roll: The Fortunes of Jelly Roll Morton, New Orleans Creole and "Inventor of Jazz," 1950 118 Dramatizing Blackness from a Distance: Ethel Waters with Charles Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 1951 120 Centering Vernacular Song: Gilbert Chase, America's Music, 1955 122 Writing about Records: Roland Gelatt, The Fabulous Phonograph: From Tin Foil to High Fidelity, 1955 124 Collective Oral History of Document Scenes: Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff, eds., Hear Me Talkin' to Ya: The Story of Jazz as Told by the Men Who Made It, 1955 127 The Greatest Jazz Singer's Star Text: Billie Holiday with William Dufty, Lady Sings the Blues, 1956 129 Beat Generation: Jack Kerouac, On the Road, 1957 133 Borderlands Folklore and Transnational Imaginaries: Américo Paredes, "With His Pistol in His Hands": A Border Ballad and Its Hero, 1958 136New Yorker Critic of a Genre Becoming Middlebrow: Whitney Balliett, The Sound of Surprise: 46 Pieces on Jazz, 1959 141 Part IV. Vernacular Counterculture Blues Revivalists: Samuel Charters, The Country Blues, 1959; Paul Oliver, Blues Fell This Morning: The Meaning of the Blues, 1960 148 Britpop in Fiction: Colin MacInnes, Absolute Beginners, 1959 151 Form-Exploding Indeterminacy: John Cage, Silence, 1961 153 Science Fiction Writer Pens First Rock and Roll Novel: Harlan Ellison, Rockabilly [Spider Kiss], 1961 155 Pro-Jazz Scene Sociology: Howard Becker, Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance, 1963 159 Reclaiming Black Music: LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka), Blues People: Negro Music in White America, 1963 159 An Endless Lit, Limited Only in Scope: Michael Braun, "Love Me Do!": The Beatles Progress, 1964 162 Music as a Prose Master's Jagged Grain: Ralph Ellison, Shadow and Act, 1964 167 How to Succeed in . . .: M. William Krasilovsky and Sidney Schemel, This Business of Music, 1964 169 Schmaltz and Adversity: Sammy Davis Jr. and Burt Boyar, Yes I Can, 1965 171 New Journalism and Electrified Syntax: Tom Wolfe, Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby, 1965 173 Defining a Genre: Bill C. Malone, Country Music, U.S.A.: A Fifty-Year History, 1968 175 Swing's Movers as an Alternate History of American Pop: Marshall and Jean Stearns, Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance, 1968 177 Rock and Roll's Greatest Hyper: Nik Cohn, Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom, 1969/1970 182Ebony's Pioneering Critic of Black Pop as Black Power: Phyl Garland, The Sound of Soul: The Story of Black Music, 1969 184 Entertainment Journalism and the Power of Knowing: Lillian Roxon, Rock Encyclopedia, 1969 185 An Over-the-Top Genre's First Reliable History: Charlie Gillett, The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll, 1970 187 Rock Critic of the Trivially Awesome: Richard Meltzer, The Aesthetics of Rock, 1970 188 Black Religious Fervor as the Core of Rock and Soul: Anthony Heilbut, The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times, 1971 190 Jazz Memoir of "Rotary Perception" Multiplicity: Charles Mingus, Beneath the Underdog, 1971 193 Composing a Formal History: Eileen Southern, The Music of Black Americans, 1971 194 Krazy Kat Fiction of Viral Vernaculars: Ishmael Reed, Mumbo Jumbo, 1972 196 Derrière Garde Prose and Residual Pop Styles: Alec Wilder, American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900–1950, 1972 198 Charts as a New Literature: Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Records, 1955–1972, 1973 201 Selling Platinum across Formats: Clive Davis with James Willwerth, Clive, Inside the Record Business, 1975 203 Blues Relationships and Black Women's Deep Songs: Gayl Jones, Corregidora, 1975 205 "Look a the World in a Rock 'n' Roll Sense . . . What Does That Even Mean?": Greil Marcus, Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music, 1975 207 Cultural Studies Brings Pop from the Hallway to the Classroom: Hall and Tony Jefferson, eds., Resistance Through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-War Britain, 1976 211 Life in Country for an Era of Feminism and Counterculture: Loretta Lynn with George Vecsey, Coal Miner's Daughter, 1976 214 Introducing Rock Critics: Jim Miller, ed., The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll, 1976 216 Patriarchal Exegete of Black Vernacular as "Equipment for Living": Albert Murray, Stomping the Blues, 1976 219 Reading Pop Culture as Intellectual Obligation: Roland Barthes, Image—Music—Text, 1977 221 Paging through Books to Make History: Dean Epstein, Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War, 1977 223 Historians Begin to Study Popular Music: Lawrence Levine, Black Culture and Black Consciousness: Afro-American Folk Thought from Slavery to Freedom, 1977 225 Musicking to Overturn Hierarchy: Christopher Small, Music, Society, Education, 1977 226 Drool Data and Stained Panties from a Critical Noise Boy: Nick Tosches, Country: The Biggest Music in America, 1977 229 Part V: After the Revolution Punk Negates Rock: Julie Burchill and Tony Parsons, The Boy Looked at Johnny: The Obituary of Rock and Roll, 1978 236 The Ghostwriter behind the Music Books: Ray Charles and David Ritz, Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story, 1978 240 Disco Negates Rock: Andrew Holleran, Dancer from the Dance, 1978 242 Industry Schmoozer and Black Music Advocated Fills Public Libraries with Okay Overviews: Arnold Shaw, Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm and Blues, 1978 245 Musicology's Greatest Tune Chronicler: Charles Hamm, Yesterdays: Popular Song in America, 1979 247 Criticism's Greatest Album Chronicler: Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the '70s, 1981 248 Rock's Frank Capra: Cameron Crowe: Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Story, 1981 251 Culture Studies/Rock Critic Twofer!: Simon Frith, Sound Effects: Youth, Leisure, and the Politics of Rock'n'Roll, 1981 252 A Magical Explainer of Impure Sounds: Robert Palmer, Deep Blues, 1981 255 Feminist Rock Critic, Pop-Savvy Social Critic: Ellen Willis, Beginning to See the Light: Pieces of a Decade, 1981 257 New Deal Swing Believer Revived: Otis Ferguson, In the Spirit of Jazz: The Otis Ferguson Reader, 1982 259 Ethnomusicology and Pop, Forever Fraught: Bruno Nettl, The Study of Ethnomusicology: Twenty-Nine Issues and Concepts, 1983 260 Autodidact Deviance, Modeling the Rock Generation to Come: V. Vale and Andrea Juno, eds., RE/Search #6/7: Industrial Culture Handbook, 1983 263 The Rolling Stones of Rolling Stones Books: Stanley Booth, The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones, 1984 266 Finding the Blackface in Bluegrass: Robert Cantwell, Bluegrass Breakdown: The Making of the Old Southern Sound, 1984 268 Cyberpunk Novels and Cultural Studies Futurism: William Gibson, Neuromancer, 1984 269 Glossary Magazine Features Writer Gets History's Second Draft: Gerri Hirshey, Nowhere to Run: The Story of Soul Music, 1984 272 Theorizing Sound as Dress Rehearsal for the Future: Jacques Attali, Noise: The Political Economy of Music, 1977; Translation 1985 274 Classic Rock, Mass Market Paperback Style: Stephen Davis, Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zepplin Saga, 1985 275Love and Rockets, Signature Comic of Punk Los Angeles as Borderland Imaginary: Los Bros Hernandez, Music for Mechanics, 1985 277 Plays about Black American Culture Surviving the Loss of Political Will: August Wilson, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, 1985 280 Putting Pop in the Big Books of Music: H. Wiley Hitchcock and Stanley Sadie, eds., The New Grove Dictionary of American Music, 1986 282 Popular Music's Defining Singer and Swinger: Kitty Kelley, His Way, The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra, 1986 284 Anti-Epic Lyricizing of Black Music after Black Power: Nathaniel Mackey, Bedouin Hornbook, 1986 288 Lost Icon of Rock Criticism: Lester Bangs, Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung, 1987 290 Veiled Glimpses of the Songwriter Who Invented Rock and Roll as Literature: Chuck Berry, Chuck Berry: The Autobiography, 1987 292 Making "Wild-Eyed Girls" a More Complex Narrative: Pamela Des Barres, I'm with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie, 1987 294 Reporting Black Music as Art Mixed with Business, Nelson George, The Death of Rhythm & Blues, 1988 295 Sessions with the Evil Genius of Jazz: Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe, Miles: The Autobiography, 1989 298 Part VI: New Voices, New Method Literature of New World Order Americanization: Jessica Hagedorn, Dogeaters, 1990 308 Ethnic Studies of Blended Musical Identities: George Lipsitz, Time Passages: Collective Memory and American Popular Culture, 1990 310 Ballad Novels for a Baby Boomer Appalachia: Sharyn McCrumb, If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O, 1990 312 Pimply, Prole, and Putrid, but with a Surprisingly Diverse Genre Literature: Chuck Eddy, Stairway to Hell: The 500 Best Heavy Metal Albums in the Universe, 1991 314 How Musicology Met Cultural Studies: Susan McClary, Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality, 1991 318 Idol for Academic Analysis and a Changing Public Sphere: Madonna, Sex, 1992 320 Black Bohemian Cultural Nationalism: Greg Tate, Flyboy in the Buttermilk: Essays on Contemporary America, 1992 324 From Indie to Alternative Rock: Gina Arnold, Route 666: On the Road to Nirvana, 1993 326 Musicology on Popular Music—In Pragmatic Context: Richard Crawford, The American Musical Landscape, 1993 330 Listenign, Queerly, Wayne Koestenbaum, The Queen's Throat: Opera, Homosexuality, and the Mystery of Desire, 1993 332 Blackface as Stolen Vernacular: Eric Lott, Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class, 1993 334 Media Studies of Girls Listening to Top 40: Susan Douglas, Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media, 1994 338 Ironies of a Contested Identity: Peter Guralnick, Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley, 1994 339 Two Generations of Leading Ethnomusicologists Debate the Popular: Charles Keil and Steven Feld: Music Grooves: Essays and Dialogues, 1944 344 Defining Hip-Hop as Flow, Layering, Rupture, and Postindustrial Resistance: Tricia Rose, Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America, 1994 346 Regendering Music Writing, with the Deadly Art of Attitude: Evelyn McDonnell and Ann Powers, eds., Rock She Wrote: Women Write about Rock, Pop, and Rap, 1995 348 Soundscaping References, Immersing Trauma: David Toop, Ocean of Sound: Aether Talk, Ambient Sound and Imaginary Worlds, 1995 348 Sociologist Gives Country Studies a Soft-Shell Contrast to the Honky-Tonk: Richard Peterson, Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity, 1997 354 All That Not-Quite Jazz: Gary Giddins, Visions of Jazz: The First Century, 1998 355 Jazz Studies Conquers the Academy: Robert G. O'Meally, ed., The Jazz Cadence of American Culture, 1998 357 Part VII: Topics in Progress Paradigms of Club Culture, House and Techno to Rave and EDM: Simon Reynolds, Energy Flash: A Journey through Rave Music and Dance Culture, 1998 368 Performance Studies, Minoritarian Identity, and Academic Wildness: José Esteban Muñoz, Disidentification: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics, 1999 372 Left of Black: Networking a New Discourse: Mark Anthony Neal, What the Music Said: Black Popular Music and Black Public Culture, 1999 375 Aerobics as Genre, Managing Emotions: Tia DeNora, Music in Everyday Life, 2000 377 Confronting Globalization: Thomas Turino, Nationalists, Cosmopolitans, and Popular Music in Zimbabwe, 2000 378 Evocations of Cultural Migration Centered on Race, Rhythm, and Eventually Sexuality: Alejo Carpentier, Music in Cuba, 2001 (1946) 382 Digging Up the Pre-Recordings Creation of a Black Pop Paradigm: Lynn Abbott and Doug Seroff, Out of Sight: The Rise of African American Popular Music, 1889–1895, 2002 386 When Faith in Popular Sound Wavers, He's Waiting: Theodor Adorno, Essays on Music, ed. Richard Leppert, 2002 388 Codifying a Precarious but Global Academic Field: David Hesmondhalgh and Keith Negus, eds., Popular Music Studies, 2002 391 Salsa and the Mixings of Global Culture: Lise Waxer, City of Musical Memory: Salsa, Record Grooves, and Popular Culture in Cali, Colombia, 2002 393 Musicals as Pop, Nationalism, and Changing Identity: Stacy Wolf, A Problem Like Maria: Gender and Sexuality in the American Musical, 2002 396 Musical Fiction and Criticism by the Greatest Used Bookstore Clerk of All Time: Jonathan Lethem, Fortress of Solitude, 2003 399 Poetic Ontologies of Black Musical Style: Fred Moten, In the Break: The Aesthetics of the Black Radical Tradition, 2003 401 Rescuing the Afromodern Vernacular: Guthrie Ramsey Jr., Race Music: Black Cultures from Bebop to Hip-Hop, 2003 402 Sound Studies and the Songs Question: Jonathan Sterne: The Audible Past: Cultural Origins of Sound Reproduction, 2003 404 Dylanologist Conventions: Bob Dylan, Chronicles: Volume One, 2004 405 Two Editions of a Field Evolving Faster Than a Collection Could Contain: Murray Forman and Mark Anthony Neal, eds., That's the Joint! The Hip-Hop Studies Reader, 2004, 2012 410 Revisionist Bluesology and Tangled Intellectual History: Elijah Wald, Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues, 2004 412 Trying to Tell the Story of a Dominant Genre: Jeff Chang, Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation, 2005 415 Refiguring American Music—And Its Institutionalizations: Josh Kun, Audiotopia: Music, Race, and America, 2005 419 Country Music Scholars Pioneer Gender and Industry Analysis: Diane Pecknold, The Selling Sound: The Rise of the Country Music Industry, 2007 423 Where Does Classical Music Fit In?: Alex Ross, The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century, 2007 426 Poptimism, 33 1/3 Books, and the Struggles of Music Critics: Carl Wilson, Let's Talk about Love: A Journey to the End of Taste, 2007 429 Novelists Collegial with Indie Music: Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad, 2010 432 YouTube, Streaming, and the Popular Music Performance Archive: Will Friedwald, A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers, 2010 437 Idiosyncratic Musician Memoirs—Performer as Writer in the Era of the Artist as Brand: Jay-Z, Decoded, 2010 438 Acknowledgments 443 Works Cited 447 Index 513

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Book SynopsisMarcus Boon explores music as a material practice of vibration that emerges from a politics of vibration and which constructs a vibrational space of individual and collective transformation.Trade Review"The boldest aspect of Boon's argument . . . is his move to the level of ontology—to the nature of being or reality itself. For him music's social and racial significance operates not at the level of social codes or experience, but as an intervention in how reality itself is organised: 'music does tell us something about being.' His framework certainly allows a place for aspects of music-making that usually get screened out of modern criticism: its religious power, its role in many cultures' sense of the world's structure. . . ." -- Dan Barrow * The Wire *Table of ContentsIntroduction. Music as a Cosmopolitical Practice 1 1. Lord’s House, Nobody’s House: Pandit Pran Nath and Music as Sadhana 29 2. The Drone of the Real: The Sound-Works of Catherine Christer Hennix 75 3. Music and the Continuum 125 4. Slowed and Throwed: DJ Screw and the Decolonization of Time 179 Coda. July 2, 2020 227 Acknowledgments 231 Notes 235 Bibliography 255 Index 269

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Book SynopsisPROSE Award- Music and Performing Arts Category WinnerA framework for understanding the deep archive of Black performance in the digital eraIn an era of Big Data and algorithms, our easy access to the archive of contemporary and historical Blackness is unprecedented. That iterations of Black visual art, such as Bert Williams's 1916 silent film short A Natural Born Gambler or the performances of Josephine Baker from the 1920s, are merely a quick YouTube search away has transformed how scholars teach and research Black performance. While Black Ephemera celebrates this new access, it also questions the crisis and the challenge of the Black musical archive in a moment when Black American culture has become a global export. Using music and sound as its primary texts, Black Ephemera argues that the cultural DNA of Black America has become obscured in the transformation from analog to digital. Through a cross-reading of the relationship between the digital era and culture produced in the prTrade ReviewCovers, citations, and samples spill over the boundaries of form and technology in order to differently reveal the irrepressible, transformative Black archive. Neal displays his archeological talents in demonstration of Black music's ability to return, to sustain, and to answer. Vibrating with relation, Black Ephemera reveals the fact of Black genius and the dense possibility of Black forever through those wise and committed enough to listen * Shana L. Redmond, author of Everything Man: The Form and Function of Paul Robeson *A majestic study of the idea and practice of Black archives. As Mark Anthony Neal analyzes the sonic, digital, literary, and visual, he unveils the power of Black maroon archives, which preserve the opacities, sonic disruptions, and glimpses of possibility that are not meant to be consumed. Black Studies needs this brilliant analysis of the uncontainable wind of Black culture, the wind that blows through open windows. * Margo Natalie Crawford, author of Black Post-Blackness: The Black Arts Movement and Twenty-First-Century Aesthetics *In Black Ephemera, Neal conducts an impressive symphony of memory work. The digital frontier transformed what an archive looks like, how it functions, where it lives, and who gets access to it … As chapters diverge in theme and latitude, the book assumes the feel of a mixtape. There’s one on the pioneering Memphis record label Stax. There’s another chapter on the distillation of Black women’s trauma through pop culture, and one about how collective Black mourning is produced, shared, and preserved digitally. The whole is an impressive totem, and guide, to the importance of holding on to things forgotten in our haste to the future. * Wired *Black music is part of the cultural fabric of society, and Neal offers critical insights into how one can think and learn about it. Valuable for artists, archivists, and historians as well as music students and enthusiasts. -- J. T. Pekarek, Indiana University Northwest * CHOICE *

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Book SynopsisLEO SMITH—cellist, journalist, composer, and teacher—was one of the most picturesque and frequently idolized artists on the Canadian scene. His career spanned the years between the old music and the new, between the time when artistic education was private and the time when people fasten their cultural hopes on public education and government funds, between the last days when white gloves were worn to drawing room musicales and the days when men dash to recitals without ties. Throughout this period, Leo Smith not only composed and performed for the public, but carried his public with him into the new era. His history, then, provides a changing picture of the Canadian cultural scene through one of the most formative periods in the country's social history. To the crowds at large popular concerts such as the Toronto Proms, this elderly, contented musician represented the epitome of the music maker. In his music, Leo Smith bridged the gap between the old orthodoxies and

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Book SynopsisMaryland, My Maryland was one of the most popular Confederate songs during the American Civil War, yet its story is full of ironies that draw attention to the often painful and contradictory actions and beliefs that were both cause and effect of the war. James A. Davis illuminates the incongruities underlying this Civil War anthem and what they reveal about patriotism during the war.Trade Review"Maryland, My Maryland is a strong and important contribution to the field of Civil War history and hopefully will inspire others to take up their own microhistory research to shed more light on the most divisive period in US history."—David K. Graham, H-CivWar"Davis gives us some useful and often insightful observations about life, society, and popular culture during the war, and is at times quite amusing. Maryland, My Maryland is a good read for anyone with an interest in the Home Front during the war, or in American musical history, and, of course, in the still unfinished issues that brought about the war."—A. A. Nofi, Strategy Page"Moving chronologically through the Civil War years, Davis's book meticulously explores the song's origins, reception, use, and reuse, detailing the tension between the nation's love of a good melody and its conflicting ideas of what constitutes a good cause."—Stephanie Dunson, Journal of Southern History“James Davis sheds light on a crucial but understudied dimension of the conflict: the role of music in inspiring devotion to the causes for which both sides fought. He demonstrates an impressive command of the historical and musicological sources necessary to make his analysis persuasive.”—Michael W. Schaefer, professor of English at the University of Central Arkansas and author of A Reader’s Guide to the Short Stories of Stephen Crane “Once again Davis has approached the familiar subject of music in the Civil War with a remarkably fresh take on one of the era’s most popular songs. His latest contribution raises the level of academic inquiry and will stimulate new investigations into broader contexts for music that has often been mentioned but seldom taken seriously.”—Candace Bailey, professor of musicology at North Carolina Central University and author of Music and the Southern Belle: From Accomplished Lady to Confederate Composer“Davis’s historical acumen is impressive, and, combined with his knowledge of musicology, style, phrasing, and other numerous features of song-making, the reader is treated to a multidimensional view of the song. Maryland, My Maryland is not only readable; it is very enjoyable, even a page-turner. Davis is able to write to both the layman and the scholar without making either of them feel that they are trespassing on foreign ground. Anyone interested in the Civil War—really anyone who cares about the subject—will find great treasures in it.”—Randal Allred, professor of English at Brigham Young University–HawaiiTable of Contents Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction: Patriotic Music and the Civil War 1. Maryland and the Coming of War: Bargain Patriotism and the Need for an Anthem 2. Spring 1861: The Pratt Street Riot and the Birth of a Song 3. “Maryland, My Maryland”: Lyrics, Music, and Publication 4. Fall 1861: The Cary Invincibles, Flags, and Symbolic Patriotism 5. Spring 1862: Marylanders, the Military, and Regionalism 6. Summer 1862: Tropes, Class, and the Rise of an Anthem 7. Fall 1862: Antietam and the Battle of Parodies 8. Spring 1863: pows, Civilians, and Military Patriotism 9. Summer 1863: Gettysburg, Slavery, and the Patriotism of Sacrifice 10. Fall 1863: Women, Hospitals, and Diverging Audiences 11. 1864: Monocacy and the Victory of Song over State 12. 1865: Performing Patriotism and Nostalgia after Appomattox Epilogue: “Maryland, My Maryland” after the War Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisStands as both a remarkable biography of J. Frank G.Boom (1920-1953) and a recovery of his incredible contribution to blues scholarship. Wim Verbei tells how and when the Netherlands was introduced to African American blues music and describes the equally dramatic and peculiar friendship that existed between Boom and jazz critic and musicologist Will Gilbert.

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Book SynopsisParticipates in the creation of the postmillennial Bob Dylan by exploring three central records of the twenty-first century - ""Love and Theft"" (2001), Modern Times (2006), and Tempest (2012) - along with the 2003 film Masked and Anonymous, which Dylan helped write and in which he appears as an actor and musical performer.

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Book Synopsis“Is there jazz in China?” This is the question that sent author Eugene Marlow on his quest to uncover the history of jazz in China. Marlow traces China's introduction to jazz in the early 1920s, its interruption by Chinese leadership under Mao in 1949, and its rejuvenation in the early 1980s with the start of China's opening to the world under Premier Deng Xiaoping.

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Book SynopsisThroughout his life, Louis Armstrong tried to explain how singing with a barbershop quartet on the streets of New Orleans was foundational to his musicianship. Creating the Jazz Solo shows that Armstrong understood exactly the relationship between what he sang and what he played, and that he he was singing through his horn.

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Book SynopsisThroughout his life, Louis Armstrong tried to explain how singing with a barbershop quartet on the streets of New Orleans was foundational to his musicianship. Creating the Jazz Solo shows that Armstrong understood exactly the relationship between what he sang and what he played, and that he he was singing through his horn.

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Book SynopsisIn this groundbreaking volume, Laurent Cugny examines and connects the theoretical and methodological processes that underlie all of jazz. Jazz in all its forms is researched and analysed by performers, scholars, and critics. This book is required reading for any serious study of jazz.

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