Music: styles and genres Books

Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisQueen Ida. Danny Poullard. Documentary filmmaker Les Blank. Chris Strachwitz and Arhoolie Records. These are names that are familiar to many fans of Cajun music and zydeco, and they have one other thing in common--longtime residence in the San Francisco Bay Area. They are all part of a vibrant scene of dancing and live Louisiana-French music that has evolved over several decades. Cajun and Zydeco Dance Music in Northern California traces how this region of California has been able to develop and sustain dances several times a week with more than a dozen bands. Description of this active regional scene opens into a discussion of several historical trends that have affected life and music in Louisiana and the nation. The book portrays the diversity of people who have come together to adopt Cajun and Creole dance music as a way to cope with a globalized, media-saturated world. Ethnomusicologist Mark F. DeWitt innovatively weaves together interviews with musicians and dancers (some from Louisiana, some not), analysis of popular media, participant observation as a musician and dancer, and historical perspectives from wartime black migration patterns, the civil rights movement, American folk and blues revivals, California counterculture, and the rise of cultural tourism in ""Cajun Country."" In so doing, he reveals the multifaceted appeal of celebrating life on the dance floor, Louisiana-French style.

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Book SynopsisThe DJ stands at a juncture of technology, performance and culture in the increasingly uncertain climate of the popular music industry, functioning both as pioneer of musical taste and gatekeeper of the music industry. Together with promoters, producers, video jockeys (VJs) and other professionals in dance music scenes, DJs have pushed forward music techniques and technological developments in last few decades, from mashups and remixes to digital systems for emulating vinyl performance modes. This book is the outcome of international collaboration among academics in the study of electronic dance music. Mixing established and upcoming researchers from the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Australia and Brazil, the collection offers critical insights into DJ activities in a range of global dance music contexts. In particular, chapters address digitization and performativity, as well as issues surrounding the gender dynamics and political economies of DJ cultures and practices.Trade ReviewWhat is enjoyable about the Attias, Gavanas, and Rietveld collection is that it not only draws on perspectives from academics associated with musicology but also includes specialists in social anthropology, cultural studies, communication studies, and media practice. Not only are the local scenes discussed diverse, but the academic perspectives and disciplines represented include multiple views … for this reason, it should be on the radar of scholar’s associated with popular music, and certainly those interested in EDM. Selections from this book would also be well-suited for introductory courses in popular music or music technology. -- Eva J. Egolf * Women and Music *DJ Culture in the Mix offers not only a much broader picture than the standard monolithic account, but a refreshingly different type of picture - a cubist approach, with a dozen viewpoints thrown unpredictably together . . . A timely representation of just how broad the subject is - and should be -- Adam Harper * The Wire *A merit of the book consists of its insights into particular scenes, which is in itself a characterising trait of DJ cultures. Valuable field research, historical research and interviews with scene operators and participants spot light on various contexts...Overall, this makes for a kaleidoscopic look at DJ culture. -- Carlo Nardi, Rhodes University * Dancecult.net *There are good books on dance clubs and dance music, but this is the first volume on the figure of the dance music DJ and it is most welcome. DJ Culture in the Mix is well-organized, up-to-date and genuinely international, and brings together many of the leading figures in dance music studies. Highly recommended. * Will Straw, Ph.D Director, McGill Institute for the Study of Canada and Professor, Department of Art History and Communications Studies, McGill University, Canada *Like a good DJ set, DJ Culture in the Mix is an invigorating, well-conceived collection that leaves us both satisfied and eager for more. Many thanks to this excellent group of scholars for a multifaceted exploration of the rich, but little understood world of the electronic dance music DJ. * Mark Katz, author of Groove Music: The Art and Culture of the Hip-Hop DJ *Exploring everything from the fractious taste politics of New York gay clubland during the post-disco Eighties to the cult of speed in 21st Century drum ‘n’ bass, DJ Culture In the Mix is a collection of probing, insightful essays that will provide stimulation and enlightenment for dance music scholars and dance music fans alike. * Simon Reynolds, author of Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture *DJ Culture in the Mix fills a long overdue void in DJ and electronic dance music literature. Interdisciplinary in focus and approach, the essays within raise thoughtful questions and offer a range of critical insights into the complexities of DJ cultures and practices around the world. * Rebekah Farrugia, Oakland University, US *One of the strongest points of this collection is the attention it pays to issues of gender in relation to DJs, their careers, and their representations in EDM scenes. … Gavanas and Reitsamer refuse to content themselves with merely observing that the DJ profession is male-dominated, instead striving to understand how this has come to be, how it persists, and what efforts are being made to change it. … DJ Culture in the Mix is an original, valuable, and much-needed contribution to the scholarship of DJS and their activities in the EDM scene. -- Luis-Manuel Garcia * The World of Music (New Series) *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Chapter 1: Introduction Hillegonda C. Rietveld Chapter 2: Subjectivity in the Groove: Phonography, Digitality, and Fidelity Bernardo Alexander Attias Chapter 3: DJ Technologies, Social Networks, and Gendered Trajectories in European DJ Cultures Anna Gavanas and Rosa Reitsamer Chapter 4: ‘Journey to the Light’? Immersion, Spectacle, and Mediation Hillegonda C. Rietveld Chapter 5: The DJ as Electronic De-Territorializer Mirko M. Hall and Naida Zukic Chapter 6: ‘It’s Not the Mix, It’s the Selection’: Music Programming in Contemporary DJ Culture Kai Fikentscher Chapter 7: Electronic Dance Music and Technological Change: Lessons from Actor-Network Theory - Jonathan Yu Chapter 8: DJ Culture and the Commercial Club Scene in Sydney Ed Montano Chapter 9: DJs and the Aesthetic of Acceleration in Drum ‘n’ Bass Chris Christodoulou Chapter 10: The Forging of a White Gay Aesthetic at the Saint, 1980-84 Tim Lawrence Chapter 11: DJs as Cultural Mediators: the Mixing Work of São Paulo’s Peripheral DJs Ivan Paolo de Paris Fontanari Chapter 12: War on the Dance Floor: Synthscenen’s Military Power Games Johanna Paulsson Chapter 13: DJ-Driven Literature: A Linguistic Remix Simon A. Morrison Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisWhen a mix of ideas and influences with no common theme or spirit, apart from one of desperation, becomes one of the most well-known bands of the 90s ...Mike Edwards is the singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter for the British alternative-rock band, Jesus Jones. Among having multiple chart-topping hits, releasing several albums throughout the last 3 decades, and being awarded Best New Band at the MTV Music Awards in 1991, Jesus Jones are widely known for their #1 international hit, 'Right Here, Right Now.' Jesus Jones continues to tour and record, now with a renewed vigor after being able to control their own destiny, freed from the grips of major labels. Mike’s debut novel, Death Threats from an Eight-Year-Old, chronicles how fast a band that is number one everywhere in the world can plummet from the good graces of the press, labels, radio, MTV, and even so-called diehard fans. A true introspective about the cutthroat music business told through the eyes and words of a man who experienced fronting one of the most well-known bands of their time, to finding his band label-less and shunned in a blink of an eye.

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Book SynopsisA track by track analysis of every song recorded on officially released albums by Cohen, from his 1968 Songs Of Leonard Cohen to his most recent studio and live sets from the 21st Century Features include...An up to date chronology of all the important events in Leonard Cohen's career. An album by album, track by track analysis...Special section on compilation albums...Photographs and CD cover art.

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Book SynopsisFor a generation of musicians and fans, the late Ray Charles provided the catalyst that fused the previously largely exclusive genres of jazz, blues and gospel music. In an era when jazz and pop music were seemingly poles apart, the impact of Charles' music was truly revolutionary in that it brought together these strands and fans for the first time. This book traces Ray Charles's amazing story from the abject disadvantage of being orphaned, black and blind in the South of the 1930s to the height of international success. With many quotes and exclusive interviews, including several with Ray Charles himself as well as from those who worked with, or were simply influenced by, the man who more than anyone else could truly be called the founding father of soul music.

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Book SynopsisElectric and Music Industries Ltd (EMI) first saw the light of day in the UK in 1931. In a visionary move for the gramophone age, it manufactured both hardware (recording and playback equipment) and software (the records and tapes its machines would play). For over half a century, EMI dominated both sectors, it's music division eventually becoming the most successful in the world with a roster that at various times included "The Beatles", Maria Callas, Frank Sinatra, Cliff Richard, Pink Floyd, "The Beach Boys", "Queen", Robbie Williams, "The Spice Girls", Kate Bush and Kylie Minogue. Then in the 1990s, things started to go wrong.This title explores and investigates EMI's extraordinary decline from the greatness over two decades of rejected takeovers, unsuccessful mergers, executive changes, profit warnings, artist and staff cuts, press criticism and never-ending speculation. It includes interviews with many key players including former EMI Group/EMI Music executives Sir Colin Southgate, Jim Fifield, Eric Nicoli, Tony Wadsworth, David Munns, Rupert Perry, Ray Cooper and Jon Webster. He has also interviewed many managers, music journalists, financial analysists and rival record company executives. The result is the definitive account of a major international company's travails. It is also an eye-opening expose of the speed at which the music industry has changed.

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Book SynopsisOf all the major Soviet composers who worked in the cinema, the most prominent was Dmitri Shostakovich who, in addition to over a hundred works for the stage and concert hall, wrote scores for almost forty films. Yet despite his reputation this work, when not completely overlooked, has been poorly judged by the same criteria as his other music. Likewise, while much attention has been paid to Soviet film, the crucial role played by the scores is all too often forgotten. This, the first book in English to look at Shostakovich's cinema career, discusses every film he scored, looking at the films themselves, tracing their relationship to the changing concerns and policies of the Soviet state and examining how the music works in context. John Riley also gives a fascinating account of the composer's life. This highly readable book will be welcomed equally by devotees of the composer; those interested in Soviet culture and cinema; and general film music enthusiasts.Trade Review'Riley performs a valuable service in illuminating a "life in film" that has been largely ignored by musicologists and by film scholars who have been reluctant to take it seriously.' - TLS "The renaissance in Russian and Soviet cinema studies continues with the appearance of two fine new books in IB Tauris's KINOfiles Filmmaker's Companions series." "these well-researched studies help to bring crucial dilemmas in Soviet cultural history into sharper focus." "Riley produces some wonderfully evocative descriptions of Shostakovich's work that show a sure grasp of musical logic and make us want to find the scores and recordings for ourselves" "analytic energy and wealth of anecdote" "excellent and highly readable" The Morning Star: "These film scores are not just incidental music but form an integral part of the direction and production of the films." "It is hoped that John Riley's excellent book will not only popularise Shostakovich's film music but also bring about a revival of interest in the films themselves..." Professor David Fanning - University of Manchester: "Thanks to John Riley we now have a much fuller picture of the tortuous fate of many of the films themselves, as well as a judicious weighing of their cinematic and musical merits. To all this the author brings not only his expertise as a film historian - drawing on Russian as well as Western sources - but also a wide-ranging musical knowledge and penetrating intelligence." - Moscow Times 'This book fills a major gap in Shostakovich commentary and has much to offer anyone interested in Soviet culture.' - David Fanning, SEER

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisIn Jamaica, dancehall music and culture has become perhaps the most prominent expression of Jamaican popular culture. Taking its name from dance halls in which popular local recordings were played by sound systems, the concept of Dancehall as a cultural space has rapidly gained momentum in the last three decades as deejay stars enjoy unprecedented successes locally and internationally. Donna Hope builds on her earlier work on popular culture and theories of sexuality/gender to examine the process and progress of Jamaican masculinities. Man Vibes: Masculinities in Jamaican Dancehall explores Jamaican masculinity through the male-dominated dancehall space that is at once a celebration of the marginalized poor and also a challenge to social inequality. Using the major masculine debates that are articulated in dancehall music and culture, Hope explores the transition of Jamaican masculinity in the 21st century. The dancehall representations of Ole Dawg (promiscuity), Badman (violence), Chi Chi Man (anti-male homosexuality), Bling Bling (consumerist/consumptive) and Fashion Ova Style (stylized transgressions and homosexuality) are all used to evaluate the relationship between dancehall culture and the hegemonic standard of masculine. Man Vibes significantly advances the Cultural Studies agenda and acts as a contemporary reader by speaking not only to dancehall music and culture’s masculinities but to Jamaican and Black masculinities in general.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisAn insider history of the Blind Boys of Alabama, the longest running group in American music, and the untold story of their world, written with band members and key musical colleagues. The Blind Boys of Alabama are the quintessential Gospel vocal group, and the longest-running musical institution in America. Their story intersects with pivotal moments and issues in American history and is an ideal prism through which to trace music, culture, history, and race in America. Spirit of the Century invites readers to follow along the Blind Boys’ eight-decade journey together from a segregated trade school, through the rough and tumble indie record game and grinding tour schedule of the golden age of gospel, to starring in an iconic Broadway musical, performing at the White House for three presidents twice, collaborating with Tom Petty, Lou Reed, and Ben Harper, among others, singing the theme song for “The Wire,” and winning five Grammys.  Mor

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Book SynopsisCultural criticism and pop culture history intertwine in this important book, which dissects how hip hop has sidelined Black women's identity and emotional well-being. A “ride-or-die chick” is a woman who holds down her family and community. She’s your girl that you can call up in the middle of the night to bail you out of jail, and you know she’ll show up and won’t ask any questions. Her ride-or-die trope becomes a problem when she does it indiscriminately. She does anything for her family, friends, and significant other, even at the cost of her own well-being. “No” is not in her vocabulary. Her self-worth is connected to how much labor she can provide for others. She goes above and beyond for everyone in every aspect of her life—work, family, church, even if it’s not reciprocated, and doesn’t require it to be because she’s a “strong Black woman” and everyone’s favorite ride-or-die chick. To her, love should be earned, and there’s no limit to what she’ll do for it.   In this book, author, adjunct professor of sociology, and former therapist Shanita Hubbard disrupts the ride-or-die complex and argues that this way of life has left Black women exhausted, overworked, overlooked, and feeling depleted. She suggests that Black women are susceptible to this mentality because it’s normalized in our culture. It rings loud in your favorite hip-hop songs, and it even shows up in the most important relationship you will ever have—the one with yourself.   Compassionate, candid, hard-hitting, and  100 percent unapologetic, Ride or Die melds Hubbard’s entertaining conversations with her Black girlfriends and her personal experiences as a redeemed ride-or-die chick and a former “captain of the build-a-brother team” to fervently dismantle cultural norms that require Black women to take care of everyone but themselves.  Ride or Die urges you to expel the myth that your self-worth is connected to how much labor you provide others and guides you toward healing. Using hip hop as a backdrop to explore norms that are harmful to Black women, Hubbard shows the ways you may be unknowingly perpetuating this harm within your relationships. This book is an urgent call for you to pull the plug on the ride-or-die chick.  

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Book SynopsisCultural criticism and pop culture history intertwine in this important book, which dissects how hip hop has sidelined Black women's identity and emotional well-being.

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Book SynopsisBy the bestselling author of Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll and Last Train the Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley, this dazzling new book of profiles is a culmination of Peter Guralnick's remarkable work, which from the start has encompassed the full sweep of blues, gospel, country, and rock 'n' roll.

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