Music reviews and criticism Books

Book SynopsisHe is known as the Mark Twain of American songwriting, a man who transformed the everyday happenings of regular people into plainly profound statements on war, industrialization, religion, and the human condition. Marking the 50th anniversary of the album's release, John Prine chronicles the legendary singer-songwriter's Middle American provenance, and his remarkable ascent from singing mailman to celebrated son of Chicago.Illegal Smile, Hello in There, Sam Stone, Paradise, Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore, Far from Me, Donald and Lydia, and Angel from Montgomery are considered standards in the American Songbook, covered by legions of Prine's peers and admirers. Through original interviews, exhaustive research, and incisive commentary, author Erin Osmon paints an in-depth portrait of the people, places, and experiences that inspired Prine's landmark debut.After exploring his roots in rural Western Kentucky and suburban Maywood, Illinois, the book takes readers oTrade ReviewErin Osmon’s new book on John Prine, his eponymous 1971 debut, is a gift for fans of the plainspoken singer and this career-making album. * Chicago Reader *Osmon writes about the history of Prine's musical beginnings right up to when his debut was released and how the importance of that record has grown, establishing Prine as one of America's great songwriters. * BETA - Wisconsin Public Radio *Extensively researched while economically written, you couldn’t ask for a better literary guide to an Americana classic. * Spectrum Culture *Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments 1. Ten Miles West 2. Down by the Green River 3. We Come for to Sing 4. A Winning Hunch 5. The Singing Mailman 6. And Then He Has You 7. The Earl 8. The Best Damned Songwriter 9. The Bitter End 10. Thinking and Feeling 11. Midwestern Mindtrips Notes Bibliography

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Book SynopsisFrom the ashes of Nirvana, Dave Grohl rose as a one-man band with a self-titled album: The Foo Fighters. Now, 25 years on, and with a rock solid outfit that includes Nate Mendel (bass), Taylor Hawkins (drums), Chris Shiflett (guitar), Pat Smear (rhythm guitar) and latest addition, Rami Jaffee (keyboards) - The Foo Fighters are revelling in the success of their ninth studio album, Concrete and Gold. Paying homage to the band's enduring longevity, The Foo Fighters: The Band that Dave Made is a comprehensive look at a career that boasts six, million-selling albums, eleven Grammies and hit stadium rock anthems such as "Learn to Fly", "Best of You" and "Everlong". Fully Illustrated, this handsome biography from acclaimed rock writer, Stevie Chick, is a fitting tribute to a band born out of the "nicest guy in rock's" single-minded vision and now one of the planet's biggest rock groups.Trade Review'There are many Foo Fighters biographies on the market. But this exhaustive coffee-table book by music journalist Stevie Chick is arguably the most beautiful. As good looking as it is engaging.' -- Classic Rock magazine

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Book SynopsisAshawnta Jackson is a writer based in Brooklyn. She writes mostly about music and culture and has written for Atlas Obscura, Artsy, Crime Reads, Bandcamp, JSTOR Daily, The Whitney Museum, and most recently Vinyl Me Please, where she wrote the liner notes for the reissue of Lee Morgan's Take Twelve. Earlier in her career, she was on the radio at KMHD Jazz Radio in Portland, OR.

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Book SynopsisThe apex of critical praise and commercial success is a metric achieved by a select few. In 2020, Cardi B became synonymous with record breaking as her debut album Invasion of Privacy went five times platinum and became the longest charting record by a female rapper in history. From streaming and charting to views, likes, retweets, and shares, Cardi dominates. Cardi B's ascension to stardom is pure 21st century: from welfare kid to unapologetic stripper; reality TV persona, to social media maven, to a household name delivering one of the consummately executed albums in rap history, it's easy to imagine future critics noting popular music as before and after the rise of Cardi B.This in-depth look at Invasion of Privacy explores the sexual politics of hip hop through a track-by-track breakdown of the album. It addresses questions like: How does the wage gap impact pop music? Has Cardi destigmatized sex work for artists? What would hip hop look like as a ma

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Book SynopsisDiscover the Music that Changed EverythingEmbark on a complex and inspiring journey through the last 101 years as told through some of the most memorable hits and the artists behind them.Noah Lefevre, creator of Polyphonic, explores how our favorite music does more than entertain. From Aretha Franklin carving out her own space in what had been considered a man's world by reworking the chauvinistic lyrics to the 1967's hit Respect, to Doja Cat's successful backlash against toxic fans of the digital age; from a broken amplifier on Rocket 88 ushering in the distorted sounds of rock n' roll, to Kendrick Lamar's release of Alright, which became the unofficial anthem to the BLM protestseach song mirrors the strife, change and progress of our country's narrative. In this rich and engrossing guide for music lovers everywhere, you'll discover how a single song can make history.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis concise but remarkably comprehensive book is essential reading for music creators. It fills a significant gap. The organ, despite its great history and exciting contemporary presence, has hitherto hardly figured at all in orchestration guides. Composers will find ideas, encouragement and inspiration within these pages. * Judith Weir CBE, Master of the King's Music *This is essential reading for any lover of the organ as a reminder of how historical and important the instrument is. For anyone unfamiliar with the organ, it will be a fascinating journey of discovery, wonderfully written and informative. It could have been so easily dry and predictable, but it is the antithesis of that. What a superb piece of work. * David Hill MBE, President, Royal College of Organists *Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Introduction to the organ Overview Organ Building Trends Historic Organs Common Mistakes Extended Techniques Chapter 2: Registration Overview Main Stop Categories Principals Flutes Strings Reeds Other Categories Foundations Mixtures Mutations Miscellaneous Stops Couplers Registration Aids General Pistons Divisional Pistons Crescendo Pedal Chapter 3: The Manuals Overview Idiomatic Writing Non-Chordal Techniques Chordal Techniques Playing on Multiple Manuals Chapter 4: The Pedals Overview Idiomatic Writing Double/Multi-Pedalling The Pedals in Context Chapter 5: Other Types of Organ Overview Chamber Organ Harmonium Theatre Organ Hammond Organ Chapter 6: The Organ in Ensemble Overview Organ and Choir Organ and Orchestra Concertos Organ and Chamber Ensembles Organ and Electronics

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Book SynopsisTHE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERNew York Times bestselling author Alan Paul''s in-depth narrative look at the Allman Brothers'' most successful album, and a portrait of an era in rock and roll and American history.The Allman Brothers Band's Brothers and Sisters was not only the band's bestselling album, at over seven million copies sold, but it was also a powerfully influential release, both musically and culturally, one whose influence continues to be profoundly felt.Celebrating the album's fiftieth anniversary, Brothers and Sisters the book delves into the making of the album, while also presenting a broader cultural history of the era, based on first-person interviews, historical documents, and in-depth research.Brothers and Sisters traces the making of the template-shaping record alongside the stories of how the Allman Brothers came to the rescue of a flailing Jimmy Carter presidential campaign

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Book SynopsisIn an age of ubiquitous music and countless new songs releasing every minute, the Great American Songbook endures. After all, the Songbookthat sprawling canon of popular songs, standards, and show tunes from roughly the 1920s through the 1950sis a foundational text of American pop music. Rare indeed is the song that doesn't in some way draw on this magnificent corpus, and rare is the person who hasn't heard at least a few of its most enduring melodies.Nonetheless, the Songbook is broader and deeper than most listeners can imagine, and on the margins, the question of whether this or that song should be included is the source of regular arguments among scholars and buffs alike. Attempting to plumb its depths can be a daunting prospect.Enter Steven Suskin, who has been writing about music since the days that Rodgers, Arlen, and Berlin still roamed the streets of Manhattan. In this carefully curated and cheerfully opinionated guidebook, Suskin surveys 201 of the most signi

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Book SynopsisA stunning musical biography of Stevie Nicks that paints a portrait of an artist, not a caricature of a superstar. Reflective and expansive,Mirror in the Skysituates Stevie Nicks as one of the finest songwriters of the twentieth century. This biography from distinguished music historian Simon Morrison examines Nicks as a singer and songwriter before and beyond her career with Fleetwood Mac, from the Arizona landscape of her childhood to the strobe-lit Night of 1000 Stevies celebrations. The book uniquely: Analyzes Nicks's craftthe grain of her voice, the poetry of her lyrics, the melodic and harmonic syntax of her songs. Identifies the American folk and country influences on her musical imagination that place her within a distinctly American tradition of women songwriters. Draws from oral histories and surprising archival discoveries to connect Nicks's story to those of California's above- and underground music industries, innovations in recording technology, and gendered restrictions.Trade Review"Written with respect and admiration, Mirror in the Sky analyzes Stevie Nicks’s music with care, noting how it expressed the sentiments of a generation." * Foreword Reviews *"Morrison’s extensively researched biography does not shy away from Nicks’s battles with addiction and emphasizes how as a woman musician, she has had to work harder and be better than the men around her. Nicks fans will appreciate Morrison’s care in the details of her songwriting and the song production." * Library Journal *"Stevie Nicks the artist whirls to life in these pages, a woman fiercely committed to her own blazing imagination and powers of perception. With meticulous research, a light touch and understated wit, Simon Morrison charts the rise in influence of Fleetwood Mac's black-laced, iron-willed sylph, whose irrepressible freedom continues to haunt the past and present of popular music and female artistry." * Sarah Kaufman, Washington Post *[E]nlightening . . . I enjoyed reading Mirror in the Sky . . . Most important, Morrison sent me back to Nicks’s catalogue, including gems I’d overlooked or missed." * Air Mail *"A richly crafted yet never fawning biography of one of rocks most beloved and iconic artists. Awe inspiring in detail but never too technical, Morrison writes a highly accessible book for both the casual fan and the true aficionado. One comes away with a heightened appreciation for Nicks musical talent as well as her very unique journey. One of the best written and most articulate music biographies in recent memory." * Eddie Dalva, Executive Vice President, MTV Networks *"There are lots of music biographies out there, but few are as in-depth, intelligently written, and expertly researched as Mirror in the Sky. Penned by Simon Morrison, the book extends beyond a simple recap of the events, as it analyzes the songwriting craft of Nicks, places her within a greater artistic context of American folk and country, and dives deep into the archives to produce the most accurate account possible." * Consequence Sound *"[Morrison’s] narrative centers on Stevie’s remarkable gifts as a songwriter, musical artist, and visionary, which have been historically downplayed by journalists and even her musical partners. Delving into the 'fandom,' Mirror in the Sky is refreshingly different from past books on Stevie Nicks." * Stevie Nicks info site *"A warmly affectionate and discerning critical biography." * Stuart Mitchner *"The analyses of Nicks’s songs, both monumental and lesser lights, are spellbinding. . . . Another important note about this book is Morrison’s respectful voice and tone in his interpretation of Nicks’s persona and of feminism in general. . . . I strongly recommend this biography for all collections of popular music." * Notes *"Mirror in the Sky would make a great addition to any academic library or public library music collection. Simon Morrison has experience writing for both academic and general audiences, and Mirror in the Sky reflects an academic writing style through his attention to detail within research while providing a story enjoyable for any rock music fan." * Music Reference Services Quarterly *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Crystal Visions 1. StephanieA.J. • Fritz • Van Nuys • Alabama 2. Stevie"Landslide" • "Rhiannon" • Glunk Glunk • BDE • The White Album • Rumours • “Dreams” • Maryland • “I Don’t Want to Know” • Love and Hate • Tusk • "Angel" • "Sara" • “Storms” • Luna • Disappeared Years • The Kingston Trio • "The Goldfish and the Ladybug" 3. Bella Donna"Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" • Age of Seventeen • "After the Glitter Fades" • "Bella Donna" • Face to Face • Sharon and Lori • Ghosts • "Designs of Love" • “Gypsy” • The Wild Heart • "Beauty and the Beast" • "Stand Back" • Joe • "Don't Come Around Here No More" • Rock a Little • Live at Red Rocks 4. Sara "Welcome to the Room, Sara" • Tango in the Night • "Joan of Arc" • Rupert • The Nadir • Twister • Trouble in Shangri-La • Say You Will • Someone She Used to Know • In Your Dreams • Fred and Ginger • MusiCares 5. 24 Karat GoldExcept for Mabel • Mabel Conclusion: A Thousand Stevies Acknowledgments Appendix 1: Demos Appendix 2: Fandom Notes Index

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Book SynopsisPinkard's account... brings to light the ambition and artistry, the stress and frustration, and ultimately the joy of making this very special album."Peter Katis, The National's engineer, and mixer on BoxerI am spooked by how well [Pinkard] has captured these characters and this madcap project. I am not sure how he did it. Carin Besser, co-lyricist on Boxer and wife to Matt BerningerAccessible, perceptive, sometimes hilarious, but more often harrowing, Pinkard's book gets a running start on its subject, tracing The National's trajectory from their first notes together to the creation of Boxer. Stephen M. Deusner, music critic and authorWe all know the Boxer. The fighter who remembers every glove but still remains. That grisly, bruised American allegory who somehow gets up more times than he's knocked down. This is the fight that nearly broke The National. The one that allowed them to become champions.Released in 2007, The National's fourth full-length album is the one that saved them. For fans, Boxer is a profound personal meditation on the unmagnificent lives of adults, an elegant culmination of their sophisticated songwriting, and the first National album many fell in love with. For the band, Boxer symbolizes an obsession, a years-long struggle, a love story, a final give-it-everything-you've-got effort to keep their fantasy of being a real rock band alive.Based on extensive original interviews with the fighters who were in the ring and the spectators who witnessed it unfold, Ryan Pinkard obsessively reconstructs a transformative chapter in The National's story, revealing how the Ohio-via-Brooklyn five-piece found the sound, success, and spiritual growth to evolve into one of the most critically acclaimed bands of their time.Trade ReviewPinkard’s account... brings to light the ambition and artistry, the stress and frustration, and ultimately the joy of making this very special album. * Peter Katis, The National's engineer, and mixer on Boxer *I am spooked by how well [Pinkard] has captured these characters and this madcap project. I am not sure how he did it. * Carin Besser, co-lyricist on Boxer and wife to Matt Berninger *Accessible, perceptive, sometimes hilarious, but more often harrowing, Pinkard’s book gets a running start on its subject, tracing The National’s trajectory from their first notes together to the creation of Boxer. * Stephen M. Deusner, music critic and author *Table of ContentsAuthor’s Note Cast of Characters Introduction 1. Twenty-Nine Years 2. Underline Everything 3. Kitty Gets a Scratch 4. The Band in the Sidebar 5. The English Are Waiting 6. Clap Your Hands Say No 7. Don’t Get Stuck in a Corner 8. Apartment Story 9. Bob Dylan Shat in My Room 10. Eeyore on Nyquil 11. Circling the Vortex 12. Waiting for Winter to Leave 13. Stay Down, Champion, Stay Down 14. Let Them All Have Your Neck 15. Signs of Hope and Change 16. That Same Desperate Struggle Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes

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Book SynopsisA sprawling, intimate scrapbook documenting the Grateful Dead's history in words and pictures.

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsPermissions and Credits Acknowledgments Ralph Vaughan Williams: Man and Music—An IntroductionByron Adams and Daniel M. Grimley Vaughan Williams and CambridgeJulian Rushton Vaughan Williams and the Royal College of MusicErica Siegel Vaughan Williams’s “The Letter and the Spirit” (1920)Introduced and Annotated by Ceri Owen Modernist Image in Vaughan Williams’s JobPhilip Rupprecht “Finest of the Fine Arts”: Vaughan Williams and FilmAnnika Forkert Pilgrim in a New-Found-Land: Vaughan Williams in AmericaByron Adams Vaughan Williams’s Lecture on the St. Matthew Passion (1938)Introduced and Annotated by Eric Saylor Vaughan Williams’s Common GroundSarah Collins and Daniel M. Grimley Tracing a Biography: Michael Kennedy’s Correspondence Concerning The Works of Ralph Vaughan WilliamsIntroduced and Annotated by Daniel M. Grimley and Byron Adams “His own idiom”: Vaughan Williams’s Violin Sonata and the Development of His Melodic StyleO. W. Neighbour Critical Reception: Early Performances of the Symphony No. 9 in E MinorIntroduced and Annotated by Alain Frogley Goodness and Beauty: Philosophy, History, and Ralph Vaughan WilliamsLeon Botstein Index Notes on the Contributors

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Book SynopsisDuring the Great War, composers and performers created music that expressed common sentiments like patriotism, grief, and anxiety. Yet music also revealed the complexities of the partnership between France, Great Britain, Canada, and the United States. At times, music reaffirmed a commitment to the shared wartime mission. At other times, it reflected conflicting views about the war from one nation to another or within a single nation. Over Here, Over There examines how composition, performance, publication, recording, censorship, and policy shaped the Atlantic allies' musical response to the war. The first section of the collection offers studies of individuals. The second concentrates on communities, whether local, transnational, or on the spectrum in-between. Essay topics range from the sinking of the Lusitania through transformations of the entertainment industry to the influenza pandemic. Contributors: Christina Bashford, William Brooks, Deniz Ertan, Barbara L. Kelly, Kendra PrestoTrade Review"With its stimulating blend of revealing music interpretation and compelling historical context, this volume brings the music of World War I to life in fascinating detail."--Christina Baade, author of Victory through Harmony: The BBC and Popular Music in World War II "These ten essays, most drawn from these conferences, present a range of interesting and creative discussions of classical and popular music at the time." --Choice"There is a dearth of detailed work on classical music's response to the First World War, so often seen as "the most literary war in history." There is even less written about the parallel and intricately linked responses of American, Canadian and British composers. This is a timely, fascinating and accessible study, crossing continents to ask questions of music's role in times of international crisis."--Kate Kennedy, coeditor of The Silent Morning: Culture and Memory after the Armistice

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"The Study of Ethnomusicology is a gift to the field, authored by one of the few scholars--a true giant--capable of such a monumental, broadly focused treatise." --Journal of Folklore Research"Anyone who has ever opened a book to study music will be fascinated with this latest from the indefatigable Bruno Nettl. . . . Nettl covers all the issues, concepts, and controversies of the now well-established field as only he can. Highly recommended."--Choice "An amazing repository of information recounted from texts and others sources, as well as from Nettl's own work and personal interpretations of events, relationships, ideas, directions, and experiences over the course of the history of the discipline. . . Overall, the text provides an excellent historical account of the discipline: it issues, concepts, ideas, methods, terminology, and seminal (and other) scholars." --Notes

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIrving Lowens Book Award, 2020 Judy Tsou Critical Race Studies Award, 2020— Irving Lowens Book Award, the Society for American Music Irving Lowens Book Award, 2020 Judy Tsou Critical Race Studies Award, 2020— American Musicology Society (AMS)Table of ContentsTitleCopyrightContentsAcknowledgments1Engaged Opera2Black Opera across the Atlantic: Writing Black Music History and Opera’s Unusual Place3Haunted Legacies: Interracial Secrets From the Diary of Sally Hemings4Contextualizing Race and Gender in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess5Carmen: From Nineteenth-Century France to Settings in the United States and South Africa in the6Winnie, Opera, and South African Artistic NationhoodConclusion: Engaged Musicology, Political Action, and Social JusticeNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisA Polish musician, a Jewish conductor, a secret choir and the rescue of a trove of music from the Sachsenhausen concentration campTrade Review"Sing, Memory is a moving story of courage and determination amid overwhelming loss, all the more powerful for its heartbreaking sense of what might have been." -- The Economist

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Book SynopsisAn illuminating history of the banjo, revealing its origins at the crossroads of slavery, religion and musicTrade Review"For the very first time, a reader’s version of a few of the earliest written observations of the instrument are on full display in the thoughtful and masterful writing of this book. This book is not only made for the banjo enthusiast but it opens a new window into 17th, 18th and 19th century world history on the ground level by those who lived it and observed the strange new cultural connections brought by a brutal plantation system.[...] Kristina Gaddy’s observations lead the reader back into the 21st century to contend and reanalyze the crooked road of America’s musical past." -- Dom Flemons, the American songster and Grammy Award–winning musician"Beguiling… [Gaddy] weaves her story together from sources including paintings, diaries and letters, and tells it chronologically. In a less daring writer’s hands, this might have become a slog, but Ms. Gaddy successfully blends archival skills with imagination." -- The Economist

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Book SynopsisMinimalism stands as the key representative of 1960s radicalism in art music histories - but always as a failed project. In The Names of Minimalism, Patrick Nickleson holds in buzzing tension collaborative composers in the period of their collaboration, as well as the musicological policing of authorship in the wake of their eventual disputes.Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction. “La Monte Young Does Not Understand ‘His’ Work.” Chapter 1. Policing Process Chapter 2. Writing Minimalism: The Theatre of Eternal Music and the Historiography of Drones Chapter 3. The Lessons of Minimalism: The Big Four and the Pedagogic Myth Chapter 4. Indistinct Minimalisms: Punk, No Wave, and the Death of Minimalism Conclusion. The Names of Minimalism Works Cited

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Book SynopsisThe definitive biography of one of the world's most famous women.Madonna is the biggest-selling female recording artist in the world and one of our greatest living pop stars. With each pioneering album she has consistently reinvented her music and her image, transcending the world of pop to become a global cultural icon. In 2018, unbelievably, she is hitting her 60th birthday yet she still remains as relevant as ever. Lucy O'Brien's extensive and well-researched biography looks at Madonna the artist, offering a detailed analysis of her music with input from acclaimed musicians and producers, as well revealing interviews from her intimate inner circle. She follows Madonna from her difficult childhood and those frenetic early years in New York, through the shocks and scandals of the 1990s Sex era to her twenty-first-century incarnation as an outspoken activist.Providing a fascinating insight into her life, relationships and what motivates her as Trade ReviewEnduring superstar gets the biography she deserves * Mojo *A mighty volume * Mail on Sunday *Madonna remains one of the most fascinating women of our time * Telegraph *O'Brien is a capable and intelligent writer...a refreshing biography of the iconic popstress * Guardian *If Madonna is your Elvis you will devour Lucy O’Brien’s definitive biography; not only can she write properly, but her book is objective, immaculately researched and illuminating. * Irish Examiner *

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Book SynopsisTotally Wired features 32 interviews with the post-punk era''s most innovative musicians and colourful personalities. From Ari Up, Jah Wobble, David Byrne, Edwyn Collins, it also includes conversations with the most influential of label bosses, managers, record producers, DJs and journalists - such as John Peel and Paul Morley. Crackling with argument and anecdote, these conversations bring a rich human dimension post-punk''s exceptional characters, from their earliest days to their glorious and sometimes disastrous musical adventures. Along with interviews, we get ''overviews'': further reflections by Simon Reynolds on key icons and crucial scenes, including John Lydon and Public Image Ltd, Ian Curtis and Joy Division, and the lineage of glam grotesquerie running from Siouxsie & The Banshees to the New Romantics to Leigh Bowery.

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Book SynopsisWith a foreword by Daniel BarenboimMusic at the Limits is the first book to bring together three decades of Edward Said's essays and articles on music.Trade Review‘Edward Said had a lifelong passion for music, and possessed the rare ability to write about it for the general reader with a lucid and penetrating intelligence' * TLS *‘Timely ... the essays come across as fresh and lively ... There are few whose command of words is sufficient not only to illuminate music, but to help music illuminate the world of those who make and listen to it. Said was one' * Daily Telegraph *'The sheer eloquence of Said's writings reminds us that with his untimely death we have lost one of our most distinguished music critics.' * Maynard Solomon, The Julliard School *‘This fine collection by one of the most perceptive music critics of the last half-century is highly recommended' * Library Journal *

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Book SynopsisThe definitive illustrated history of "Tommy," the album that made the Who one of the greatest and most influential bands of all time.

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Book SynopsisIn Black and Blur—the first volume in his consent not to be a single being trilogy—Fred Moten engages in a capacious consideration of the place and force of blackness in African diaspora arts, politics, and life, exploring a wide range of thinkers, musicians, and artists.Trade Review"Simply put, Moten is offering up some of the most affecting, most useful, theoretical thinking that exists on the planet today.... Moten’s work makes the activities of reading and thinking feel palpably fresh, weird, and vital." -- Maggie Nelson * 4Columns *"Some readers will come here because of The Feel Trio, because of The Undercommons. Some because Moten is the activists’ theorist, the contemporary art institution’s darling, because of performance studies, jazz studies, literature. Some readers will come here to encounter a brain that is at once more erudite, generous, capacious, fierce, jokey and infuriating than most others on the planet right now. Everybody ought to arrive here to be schooled and troubled, elated and confused, invited and indicted by a sparklingly original vision for black study." -- Nabil Kashyap * Full Stop *"It's this spirit of the collective effort of study and exchange and resonance, the effort to keep the channels open and keep listening, that has made Moten (or, maybe, 'Moten/s') such a celebrated thinker. At the end of sentences like these, you want to say something like Amen." -- Jess Row * Bookforum *"Be ready to be wowed; be ready to be challenged; most of all, be ready for the long haul. It is, apparently, the first in a planned trilogy. Moten is tracking his own course, and it’s fast-moving and spectacular." -- Patrick James Dunagan * Rain Taxi *"At a time when both theory and criticism are frequently and convincingly attacked as exhausted forms, Moten’s trilogy has reinvented both. . . . In its mixture of theoretical complexity and disarming directness, Moten’s beautifully written trilogy offers the sheer pleasure of art." -- Lidija Haas * Vulture *"2018 must go down for me as the year of Fred Moten’s trilogy: Black and Blur, Stolen Life, and The Universal Machine. You could say they’re essays about art, philosophy, blackness, and the refusal of social death, but I think of them more as a fractal universe forever inviting immersion and exploration, a living force now inhabiting my bookshelf." -- Maggie Nelson * Bookforum *"My favorite book(s) of 2018 are the three volumes of Fred Moten’s consent not to be a single being, individually titled Black and Blur, Stolen Life, and The Universal Machine. In this collection of essays stretching back fifteen years, Moten challenges the reader to imagine a radically interconnected aesthetic and political sphere that stretches from Glenn Gould to Fanon to Kant to Theaster Gates, sometimes in the space of a single sentence. This trilogy is one of the great intellectual adventures of our era." -- Jess Row * Bookforum *"A brilliant collection of essays, part of a series that investigates notions of Blackness and its representation. This is writing and practice that summons the irregular and the resistant.” -- Katrina Palmer * The Art Newspaper *Table of ContentsPreface vii Acknowledgments xv 1. Not In Between 1 2. Interpolation and Interpellation 28 3. Magic of Objects 34 4. Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia 40 5. Taste Dissonance Flavor Escape (Preface to a Solo by Miles Davis) 66 6. The New International of Rhythmic Feel/ings 86 7. The Phonographic Mise-en Scène 118 8. Line Notes for Lick Piece 134 9. Rough Americana 147 10. Nothing, Everything 152 11. Nowhere, Everywhere 158 12. Nobody, Everybody 168 13. Remind 170 14. Amuse-Bouche 174 15. Collective Head 184 16. Cornered, Taken, Made to Leave 198 17. Enjoy All Monsters 206 18. Some Extrasubtitles for Wildness 212 19. To Feel, to Feel More, to Feel More Than 215 20. Irruptions and Incoherences for Jimmie Durham 219 21. Black and Blue on White. In and And Space 226 22. Blue Vespers 230 23. The Blur and Breathe Books 245 24. Entanglement and Virtuosity 270 25. Bobby Lee's Hands 280 Notes 285 Works Cited 317 Index 329

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Book SynopsisCollected in their entirety for the first time in English, the insightful texts in Night Music show the breadth of Adorno’s musical understanding and reveal an overlooked side to this significant thinker.

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Book SynopsisBritten in Context offers historical, social, cultural, queer, musical, and political context for one of the pivotal British composers of the twentieth century. Engaging essays from leading scholars in music, art, theory, performance, religion, and cultural and music history reward readers of all academic levels.

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Book Synopsis_______________A series of dazzling case studies exploring the idea of lateness in a range of composers, writers and artists'' - London Review of BooksGracefully unquiet, probing and wise ... Said''s own elegiac masterpiece of late style'' - Financial TimesWhat Said stands for - critical intelligence, high art and the preservation of the language - must be at the centre of our lives. This book is a fine monument to his life and work'' - Hanif KureishiHis own late style, if it is acceptable to call it that, mixes an easy mastery of material with an unquenched desire to preserve difficulties'' - Guardian_______________On Late Style examines the work produced by great artists -Beethoven, Thomas Mann, Jean Genet among them - at the end of their lives. Said makes it clear that, rather than the resolution of a lifetime''s artistic endeavour, most of the late works discussed are rife with contradiction and almost impenetrabTrade ReviewSaid's last book is a series of dazzling case studies exploring the idea of lateness in a range of composers, writers and artists. * London Review of Books *What Said stands for - critical intelligence, high art and the preservation of the language - must be at the centre of our lives. This book is a fine monument to his life and work * Hanif Kureishi *Gracefully unquiet, probing and wise ... Said's own elegiac masterpiece of late style * Financial Times *Table of ContentsForeword by Mariam C. Said Introduction by Michael Wood 1. Timeliness and Lateness 2. Return to the Eighteenth Century 3. Cosìfan tutte at the Limits 4. On Jean Genet 5. A Lingering Old Order 6. The Virtuoso as Intellectual 7. Glimpses of Late Style Notes Index

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Book SynopsisDiscover the stories behind the songsTHE LIFE OF A SONG contains the stories of 100 songs exploring each song''s biography and how they took on a new life following their release. Packed with intriguing factoids, these bite-sized essays will delight music fans and send you scurrying back to listen to the songs in all their beauty and mystery.Who knew that Paul McCartney originally referred to Yesterday as ''Scrambled Eggs'' because he couldn''t think of any lyrics for his heart-breaking tune? Or that Patti LaBelle didn''t know what ''Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?'' actually meant? These and countless other back stories fill this book.Each 600-word piece gives a mini-biography of a single song, from its earliest form through the various covers and changes, often morphing from one genre to another, always focusing on the ''biography'' of the song itself while including the many famous artists who have performed or recorded it.This book collec

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Book SynopsisMore than 40 stories from the glory days of rock''n''roll, featuring Lou Reed, Elton John, Sting and The Clash.Allan Jones brings stories many previously unpublished from the golden days of music reporting. Long nights of booze, drugs and unguarded conversations which include anecdotes, experiences and extravagant behaviour.- A band''s aftershow party in San Francisco being gatecrashed by cocaine-hungry Hells Angels- Chrissie Hynde on how rock''n''roll killed The Pretenders- What happened when Nick Lowe and 20 of his mates flew off to Texas to join the Confederate Air Force- John Cale on his dark alliance with Lou ReedAllan Jones remembers a world that once was one of dark excess and excitement, outrageous deeds and extraordinary talent, featuring legends at both the beginnings and ends of their careers.Trade ReviewMusic fans looking for more vintage fare will enjoy Too Late To Stop Now. * The Independent *The old-school drinking and industrial drug abuse remain, as does the author's decisive indiscretion... many of the chapters unfold at greater length, leaving room for more nuanced reflection on the consequences of all the excessive ribaldry... But mostly, there is comedy... It's ridiculous fun. * Uncut *This unputdownable book ... is rammed with finely recounted anecdotes. This is a first-class Rolls Royce Phantom of a book. -- Paul Davies * Hard Rock Hell *That the book’s subtitle is More Rock’N’Roll War Stories speaks volumes. Because if you want blood, Allan Jones has got it. * The Telegraph *Jones turns it up to 11 with his latest collection. These are captivating and absolutely delightful tales of rock’s wonder and power. * Library Journal *There's unexpected music in Jones's sentences. (Genesis reminded him "less of a rock band than the bell-bottomed equivalent of the school chess team on an outing to an owl sanctuary.") Also unexpected: the disclosure that concludes Too Late to Stop Now. It's 2021, and Jones is invited to tag along on one last gig but realizes that, although "[f]orty-five years ago... I would have jumped on the bus without a second thought," he would prefer to go home to his memories. How lucky for rock diehards that he shares those memories here. * Shelf Awareness *[Jones] knows when to joyfully exploit a glib moment and when to relent to the darkness, like when he goes into extensive detail with Chrissie Hynde about the tragic collapse of the original Pretenders. And there are times when he dead centers the bullseye while taking the measure of his subject. [... If you are looking for a book that gives] a real sense of what real rock and roll was like on either side of the Punk detonation, then look no further. -- Joe Silva * Tracking Angle *Seldom has a rock ’n’ roll memoir been so falling-down funny. Jones doesn’t sit there politely with his notebook and write down the same rote publicist-approved quotes. He waits until they’re completely sloshed, without inhibitions, and then the truth comes out. -- Jim Motavalli * The New York Journal of Books *[The book’s best pieces] combine Jones’ intimate interactions with his interview subjects over time with the sodden interviews recounting them to create insightful portraits of individuals and informed histories of their bands. -- Charles Caramello * Washington Independent Review of Books *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Are We Rolling? Elton John Roy Harper Chris Farlowe Screaming Lord Sutch Little Feat Loudon Wainwright III Peter Gabriel Ian Anderson Lou Reed Wreckless Eric The Damned Peter Cook Guy Clark Joe Cocker Joe Ely Rockpile Juke Box Jury Sting | The Police Bryan Ferry Jerry Dammers Joe 'King' Carrasco Jon Anderson The Fabulous Thunderbirds Nick Lowe And The Confederate Air Force The Blasters The Rolling Stones Captain Sensible John Cale Nick Lowe Dr Feelgood Elmore Leonard Elvis Costello Bob Geldof R.E.M. Lambchop John Carpenter Oliver Stone Chrissie Hynde Robert Plant John Cale Wilko Johnson The Clash The 101’ers The Aftershow

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Book SynopsisIn The Sonic Episteme Robin 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. Drawing on fields ranging from philosophy and sound studies to black feminist studies and musicology, James shows how what she calls the sonic episteme—a set of sound-based rules that qualitatively structure social practices in much the same way that neoliberalism uses statistics—employs a politics of exception to maintain hegemonic neoliberal and biopolitical projects. Where James sees the normcore averageness of Taylor Swift and Spandau Ballet as contributing to the sonic episteme''s marginalization of nonnormative conceptions of gender, race, and personhood, the black feminist political ontologies she identifies in Beyoncé''s and Rihanna''s music challenge such marginalization. In using sound to theorize political ontology, sTrade 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 SynopsisAddicted to Noise collects the best interviews, profiles, and essays Michael Goldberg has written during his forty-plus years as a journalist. From combative interviews with Frank Zappa and Tom Waits to essays on how Jack Kerouac influenced Bob Dylan and the lasting importance of San Francisco's first punk rock club, Goldberg, as novelist Dana Spiotta wrote, shows us how consequential music can be.Contained within these pages: interviews with Sleater-Kinney, Sonic Youth, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Flipper, John Fogerty, Neil Young, and Rick James, along with profiles of Robbie Robertson, John Lee Hooker, James Brown, the Clash, Prince, Michael Jackson, the Flamin' Groovies, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, X, Laurie Anderson, Stevie Wonder, George Clinton, Devo, San Francisco punks Crime, and more. Plus short takes on Muddy Waters, Townes Van Zandt, Captain Beefheart, Professor Longhair, and others. As Greil Marcus writes in the Foreword, You can feel the atmosphere: someone has wal

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Book SynopsisI WANT TO TAKE YOU HIGHER: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE, REVISED AND uPDATED

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Book SynopsisIt's hard to think of a solo female recording artist who has been as revered or as reviled over the course of her career as Tori Amos. Amy Gentry argues that these violent aesthetic responses to Amos's performance, both positive and negative, are organized around disgustthe disgust that women are taught to feel, not only for their own bodies, but for their taste in music. Released in 1996, Amos's third album, Boys for Pele, represents the height of Amos's willingness to explore the ugly qualities that make all of her music, even her more conventionally beautiful albums, so uncomfortably, and so wonderfully, strange. Using a blend of memoir, criticism, and aesthetic theory, Gentry argues that the aesthetics of disgust are useful for thinking in a broader way about women's experience of all art forms.Trade ReviewBlending feminist criticism and art theory, Gentry deftly explains how Amos’s juxtaposition of ambitious arrangements with ugly subject matter illustrates the myriad ways in which women use art to reevaluate dark experiences. * Amanda Wicks, Vulture *Gentry expands Amos' polarizing 1996 album into an intrusive, vital examination of why we're often simultaneously disgusted and intrigued by the work of particular women artists. * Austin Chronicle *In this remarkable book Amy Gentry pulls off such fearless feats of feminist criticism I found myself hollering "Yes!" out loud, dog-earing and underlining entire passages. She dives deep into why we consider certain women and their art simply "too much," and examines her own love and trepidation for Tori Amos' work with relentless, righteous curiosity. This is an essential read, a barnburner of a book for anyone who thinks deeply about music and the people who make it. * Jessica Hopper, author of The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic *Table of ContentsTrack Listing Introduction: On Being Grossed Out 1. Y Kant Tori Rage? 2. Y Kant Tori Kant? 3. Y Kant Tori Sit Still? 4. Y Kant Tori Rock? 5. Y Kant Tori Cop to It? 6. Y Kant Grow Up? 7. Y Kant Tori Stop Looking at Herself? 8. Y Kant Tori Be Intersectional? Conclusion: Twinkle and Spark Acknowledgments Notes

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Book SynopsisTwo and a half decades on, Jawbreaker''s 24 Hour Revenge Therapy (1993-94) is the rare album to have lost none of its original loyalty, affection, and reverence. If anything, today, the cult of Jawbreakerin their own words, the little band that could but would probably rather notis now many times greater than it was when they broke up in 1996. Like the best work of Fugazi, The Clash, and Operation Ivy, the album is now is a rite of passage and a beloved classic among partisans of intelligent, committed, literary punk music and poetry.Why, when a thousand other artists came and went in that confounding decade of the 90s, did Jawbreaker somehow come to seem like more than just another band? Why do they persist, today, in meaning so much to so many people? And how did it happen that, two years after releasing their masterpiece, the band that was somehow more than just a band to its fanscloser to equipment for livingwas no longer?Ronen Givony''s 24 Hour Revenge Therapy is an Trade ReviewThis is an excellent book – unmissable for ‘breaker fans and with much to offer anyone who is interested in the politics of punk. * International Times *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Rainy Days Drop Boyish Wonder 2: How Can I Do This Better? 3: The Clarity of Cal to Break Your Heart 4: These Things Go Wrong So Often 5: This Is All We Want from Line 6: Our Enemies Will Laugh and Be Pointing 7: Selling Kids to Other Kids 8: It's a Long Way Down Again 9: People from Bands and Labels. The Good Ones Postscript: Hey, I Remember That Day Acknowledgments Bibliography Notes

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Book SynopsisMost die-hard Brazilian music fans would argue that Getz/Gilberto, the iconic 1964 album featuring The Girl from Ipanema, is not the best bossa nova record. Yet we''ve all heard The Girl from Ipanema as background music in a thousand anodyne settings, from cocktail parties to telephone hold music. So how did Getz/Gilberto become the Brazilian album known around the world, crossing generational and demographic divides? Bryan McCann traces the history and making of Getz/Gilberto as a musical collaboration between leading figure of bossa nova João Gilberto and Philadelphia-born and New York-raised cool jazz artist Stan Getz. McCann also reveals the contributions of the less-understood participants (Astrud Gilberto''s unrehearsed, English-language vocals; Creed Taylor''s immaculate production; Olga Albizu''s arresting, abstract-expressionist cover art) to show how a perfect balance of talents led to not just a great album, but a global pop sensation. And he expTable of Contents1. Introduction 2. What Is Bossa Nova? 3. "The Girl from Ipanema" 4. Siren Song 5. "Doralice" 6. Backstage at Orfeu da Conceição 7. "Para Machucar Meu Coração" 8. Woe unto You, Copacabana 9. Stan Getz 10. Bossa and Race 11. "Desafinado" 12. The Cusp of Greatness 13. "Corcovado" 14. Bossa Nova on the Car Radio 15. "Só Danço Samba" 16. Happiness Is a Drop of Dew 17. Dancehall Memories 18. "O Grande Amor" 19. Haroldo Costa 20. Olga Albizu and "Alla Africa" 21. Two, Three, Many Girls from Ipanema 22. "Vivo Sonhando" 23. Bossa and Bicycles 24. Afterlife of the Girl from Ipanema Endnotes Index

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Book SynopsisRefazenda connects a remarkable album by one of the 20th and 21st centuries'' great musicians to a dazzling, often unexpected, array of people and places spread across the globe from Brazil to England to Chile to Japan. Critics and fans often project (or impose) desires and interpretations onto Gil that don''t seem to fit. This book explores why familiar political and musical categories so often fall flat and explains why serendipity may instead be the best way to approach this mercurial album and the unrepeatable artist who created it. Based on years of listening to, studying, and teaching about Gil, and the author''s own encounters with the album around the world, this book argues that Refazenda does, in fact, contain radical messages, though they rarely appear in the form, shape, or places that we might expect. The book also includes the first English-language translations of the album''s lyrics, never-discussed-before 1970s Japanese liner notes, and a recounting of a Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Notes on Translations 1. Directions to a Serendipitous Encounter 2. Race and Radical Serendipity 3. Cover to Cover (and an Invitation) 4. Elastic, Fractured, Connected Worlds 5. Gil’s Early Work and Influences 6. From Bahia to London and Back 7. "Returning to the Depths of History" 8. Thirsty but Not Quite Alone 9. The Avocado Tree 10. "This Is to Be Played on the Radio" 11. The Tour, the Critics, the Censor 12. The End? Song Lyrics Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisMatthew Frye Jacobson teaches American Studies and African American Studies at Yale University, and is the co-founder of the Public Humanities program there. He has written extensively on a range of cultural forms, including film, television, literature, the arts, sports, music, and comedy. In addition to his five books on aspects of race in US culture, he has conducted several documentary, curatorial, and artistic projects, including The Historian's Eye, a web-based documentary project, and his forthcoming film, A Long Way from Home: The Untold Story of Baseball's Desegregation.Trade Review[Odetta’s One Grain of Sand] is part of the estimable 33 1/3 series of short books about individual albums ... [It] expands the context of Odetta’s songs, setting her alongside figures like Zora Neale Hurston, W.E.B. Du Bois and many others. * The New York Times *It is quite something to present a cohesive history of black America, a life story of an amazing human, and a review of a very important album all into 120 pages. But Jacobson has done so ... I highly recommend you get both of them [this book and One Grain of Sand] in your eyes and ears as soon as is humanly possible. * Bookmunch *Both informative and fascinating ... This is a very enjoyable read and a book that’s hard to put down once you start into it ... If you have an interest in social history and the importance of folk music as a chronicler of the times, then this is a book that will greatly appeal to you. * Americana UK *Table of ContentsIntroduction: One Grain of Sand Midnight Special: The Archivist Cool Water: The Coffeehouse Moses, Moses: Spiritual Geographies Cotton Fields: Social Geographies Conclusion: Ain’t No Grave Acknowledgments Notes

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Book SynopsisBy 1985 Tom Petty had already obtained legendary status. He had fame. He had money. But he was restless, hoping to stretch his artistry beyond the confining format of songs like The Waiting and Refugee. Petty's response to his restlessness was Southern Accents. Initially conceived as a concept album about the American South, Southern Accents's marathon recording sessions were marred by aesthetic and narcotic excess. The result is a hodgepodge of classic rock songs mixed with nearly unlistenable 80s music. Then, while touring for the album, Petty made extensive use of the iconography of the American Confederacy, something he soon came to regret. Despite its artistic failure and public controversy, Southern Accents was a pivot point for Petty. Reeling from the defeat, Petty reimagined himself as deeply, almost mythically, Californian, obtaining his biggest success with Full Moon Fever. Michael Washburn explores the history of Southern Accents and how iTrade ReviewMichael Washburn, in his first book, [Tom Petty’s Southern Accents] argues that we can glean significant cultural understanding from [Tom] Petty’s failure. * LA Review of Books *This is a great read that digs hard into the background of the making of the album … This is a book that every Tom Petty fan should read – but you don’t have to be a fan to appreciate it. Washburn has written an assessment of the creative process that anyone could appreciate. Creativity is not just about the great artistic successes; it’s often just as well served by the flawed visions as the realised masterpieces, something that Michael Washburn clearly understands and conveys through this book. * Americana UK *In Michael Washburn’s new book for the 33 1/3 project — a series of insightful, deep dives into albums — he confronts the conundrum that swirls around [Tom Petty’s] Southern Accents. * Leo Weekly *Table of ContentsTrack Listing Introduction Down South Who Did You Expect to Meet? Southern Accents Rebels Born in the CSA Free Fallin' The Best of Everything Acknowledgements Endnotes

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Book SynopsisDerek Pardue holds a PhD in Cultural Anthropology and is an Associate Professor in Global Studies at Aarhus University, Denmark. He has conducted fieldwork and archival research in Brazil, Portugal, Denmark, and Cape Verde. His books include: Living (Il)legalities in Brazil (2020), Cape Verde: Let's Go (2015), Brazilian Hip Hoppers Speak from the Margins (2011), and Ruminations on Violence (2008).Table of ContentsAn Opening Salve 1. Who Cares about Brazilian Rap? 2.Brazilian Hip Hop: A Brief Genealogy 3.Sound, Text, Delirium 4.Dreams at the Beginning 5.A Go-getter 6.The Wait 7.It’s Everywhere 8.Wesley’s House 9. The Laugh and the Echo 10. Nóia / The Sounds of Paranoia 11. Guina’s Turn 12. Surroundings 13. … 14. Aleph in the Periferia 15. In Search of Authority 16. Outro Notes Glossary

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Book SynopsisPhilip V. Bohlman is Ludwig Rosenberger Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Music at the University of Chicago, USA, where he is also Artistic Director of The New Budapest Orpheum Society, a Grammy-nominated cabaret. He is author and editor of many books including World Music: A Very Short Introduction (2nd ed., 2020), Focus: Music, Nationalism, and the Making of the New Europe (2010), and Wie sängen wir Seinen Gesang auf dem Boden der Fremde! Jüdische Musik des Aschkenas zwischen Tradition und Moderne (2019). He is Associate Editor for ethnomusicology of Grove Music Online, and co-editor of Acta Musicologica, the journal of the International Musicological Society.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Sources and Translations Preface Introduction – Sounding the Wounded Dialectic 1. Russian Gambit 2. Forest near Moscow 3. The Duel 4. Centaurs 5. The Foundling Epilogue: The End of Epic as Its Beginning Bibliography

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Book SynopsisKoza Dabasa explores Okinawa''s island culture and its ghosts of war through the lens of Nenes, a four-woman pop group that draws on the distinctiveness and exoticism of Okinawan musical tradition. Both a tropical island paradise and the site of some of the bloodiest battles of World War II, Okinawa has a unique culture and a contentious history. Its musical traditions are distinct from other parts of Japan, varying in instrumentation, poetic forms, and musical scales. Nenes marks its cultural difference as Okinawan by emphasizing its own exoticism, expressed through its music, fashion, imagery, and performance style. Henry Johnson listens to Koza Dabasa as a representation of Okinawa''s relationship with the Japanese music industry and with the broader themes of international warfare and local tourism.33 1/3 Global, a series related to but independent from 33 1/3, takes the format of the original series of short, music-based books and brings the focus to muTrade ReviewThe logical and clear arguments, text development with high-quality English interpretation and accurate orthography of Okinawan and Japanese terms, and useful information referring to plentiful previous research are admirable. This book is accessible and enjoyable for fans of Okinawan popular music. * Okinawan Journal of Island Studies *Table of Contents1. Introduction: Okinawa and Japan 2. Okinawan Popular Music 3. Performers and Personnel 4. Island Culture 5. War and Peace 6. Performance and Reception Index

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Book SynopsisBabes in Toyland was one of the most influential and underrated bands of the 1990s. They rode the wave of the Minneapolis grunge scene crafting a unique sound composed of self-taught instrumentation and unabashed banshee raging vocals. Their stage presence was enigmatic, their lyrics vitriolic, and their Kinderwhore fashion ironic and easy to emulate. But what made them most inspiring was their ethos and a unique brand of sisterhood that inspired fans to create Riot Grrl and form legendary bands such as 7 year Bitch, Bikini Kill, and Hole.Despite the media''s politicization of them as an all-female band, the Babes insisted their music wasn''t a political statement but about personal expression. They would dismiss labeling their act as feminist, but their actions sent a positive message of what a female space within music could look like. Now, almost 30 years after their most seminal record, Fontanelle, was released, the legend of the band is being resurrected and re-spun to reclTrade ReviewPassionately and research-intensively ... tells the story of this album and interweaves this with feminism and various pop culture discourses ... Great reading for music maniacs who like music literature with a complex reference to reality. * Ox-Fanzine: Magazine for Rock'n'Roll (translated) *An insightful and necessary exploration of an underrated band and album. * Largehearted Boy *If [your local bookstore] doesn't have [Babes in Toyland's Fontanelle], do your town a favor and have them order it. * Zoetic Press *Table of ContentsIntro: Soft Spots Plate 1: The Coolest Girls in the World Plate 2: Knifesliding Anterior Fontanelle Plate 3: An A&R Guy Walks Into a Bar Plate 4: Making Fontanelle Posterior Fontanelle Plate 5: Fontanelle Out in the World Bibliography Acknowledgments

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Book SynopsisMoon Pix was conceived during a hallucinatory waking nightmare in the South Carolina home of Chan Marshall one fateful day in 1997. Spirits violently swam up around her house, looming at the windows, beckoning her to join them. Her and her acoustic guitar warded them off song after song, nearly the entire album rushed forth onto a tape recorder that night. Facts, fictions and visions ripple throughout the accounts of Moon Pix from every angle memories of screaming at an audience, spirals of drunkenness, swimming with sharks in Australia, intense, resonant lyrics and thunderstorms ringing through speakers. Like all legends, the aura surrounding them is an impression, a sensory feeling of unreliable memories: layers of stories become histories. Through interviews with key players, audience member accounts, fictional narrative imaginings, a collection of record reviews and other explorations of truth, this book, like Moon Pix itself, is an ode to the myth within the music and the mTable of ContentsAuthor's Note: Welcome to this book. 1. American Flag: From a South Carolina farmhouse full of demons to the 20th Anniversary at the Sydney Opera House 2. He Turns Down: On recording the album & an interview with engineer Matt Voigt 3. No Sense: Chan, Michael Galinsky & Roe in New York & an interview with photographer and filmmaker Michael Galinsky 4. Say: The “Cross Bones Style” video & an interview with director Brett Vapnek 5. Metal Heart: Chan + Bill & interviews with ex-boyfriends on what makes a break up album 6. Back of Your Head: Album reviews & an interview with music journalist Gail O’Hara 7. Moonshiner: The disputed folk history of “Moonshiner” (1927-1998) 8. You May Know Him: Tour stories & an interview with U.S. tour manager Jim Romeo 9. Colors and the Kids: A pivotal show review & an interview with music journalist Ben Ratliff 10. Crossbones Style: Chan on performing & Mark, Jennifer and Ben on a show 11. Peking Saint: 20 years later & my Moon Pix story Annotated Bibliography: Unraveling the sources

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Book SynopsisOn Saturday, June 28, 1986, George Michael picked up his tasselled leather jacket, walked out of London's Wembley Stadium and cheerfully tore up five years of glittering pop history. He'd just disposed of Wham!, the band he'd formed with school friend Andrew Ridgeley when they were teenagers, and now, at 23, he knew he was all grown up. He just needed to convince everyone else. Faith is what happens when you've outstripped your dreams, your peers, your friends and your fans, and no one's caught up yet. It's about pouring all of that confusion, insecurity and sizzling ambition into music that comes out confused, insecure and ambitious and then selling 25 million copies of it. George Michael was always preparing for this and, in the process, he set a template for all disaffected singers making that move. This book examines that model and the themes that went into Faith from engaging in politics to crossing over to a Black audience and writing classic pop songs to endure Table of ContentsTrack listing Acknowledgements 1. Wham! wrapped 2. The public image 3. Freedom 87 4. Sex and the serious man 5. Politics (the pop remix) 6. I will be your adult contemporary 7. Bearing the crossover 8. Signing off Notes Selected bibliography

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Book SynopsisMore than 40 years after her death, the legend of Maria Callas, La Divina Assoluta, remains unsurpassed. Much has been written about her sensational opera career and fraught private life, from her definitive mastery of iconic opera roles to her love affairs and tantrums. The prototype for the 20th century celebrity diva, Callas emblematizes the cliche of tormented talent genius in the ring with catastrophe. Her extraordinary voice, in particular, has become an object of cult-like adoration and cultural significance almost with a life of its own: as fetish object, as sophisticated sonic signifier, and most recently, as the lifeblood for a Callas hologram. Such adoration is not without consequences. When Callas is transformed into a vessel for such transcendent magic, it overshadows what is perhaps her most superhuman ability the masterful technique she deployed to shape and craft her astounding instrument. Singing bodies are working bodies, enacting an intimate and complex form of artTrade ReviewEven if you’ve never heard of the 1954 Maria Callas album, even if you neither know nor care about her or opera, this book is entrancing. * Los Angeles Review of Books *Table of ContentsList of Figures Author’s Note 1. Cilea, Adriana Lecouvreur, Act I: Io son l’umile ancella [I am the humble servant of the creative spirit] 2. Cilea, Adriana Lecouvreur, Act IV: Poveri Fiori [Poor flowers] 3. Giordano, Andrea Chénier, Act III: La mamma morta [Mother is dead] 4. Catalani, La Wally, Act I: Ebben? Ne andrò lontana [Well? Then I’ll go away] 5. Boito, Mephistophele, Act III: L’altra notte in fondo al mare [The other night, in the depths of the ocean] 6. Rossini, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Act I: Una voce poco fa [A voice just now] 7. Meyerbeer, Le Pardon de Ploërmel, ou Dinorah, Act II: Ombra leggera [The Shadow Song] 8. Delibes, Lakmé, Act II: Dov’è l’indiana bruna [The Bell Song] Acknowledgments Appendix: Aria Texts and Translations Bibliography

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