Popular music Books

Book Synopsis.Table of ContentsListening Preface TIMELINE: 1760s-1899 1 THEMES AND STREAMS OF AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC Theme One: Listening Theme Two: Music and Identity (Individuality, Gender, and Race) Theme Three: Music and Technology Theme Four: The Music Business Theme Five: Centers and Peripheries Streams of Tradition: The Sources of Popular Music 2 "AFTER THE BALL": POPULAR MUSIC OF THE NINETEENTH AND EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURIES The Minstrel Show An Early Pop Songwriter: Stephen Foster Dance Music and Brass Bands The Birth of Tin Pan Alley The Ragtime Craze, 1896-1918 The Rise of the Phonograph TIMELINE: 1900-1945 3 "CATCHING AS THE SMALL-POX": SOCIAL DANCE AND JAZZ, 1917-1935 Technology and the Music Business "Freak Dances": Turkey Trot and Tango James Reese Europe and the Castles Jazz as Popular Music: The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the Creole Jazz Band, and Louis Armstrong Dance Music in the "Jazz Age" The Rise of Latin Dance Music: "El Manicero" 4 " I GOT RHYTHM": THE GOLDEN AGE OF TIN PAN ALLEY SONG, 1920s AND 1930s Tin Pan Alley Song Form What Were Tin Pan Alley Songs About? What Makes a Song a "Standard"? Tin Pan Alley and Broadway 5 "ST. LOUIS BLUES": RACE RECORDS AND HILLBILLY MUSIC, 1920s AND 1930s Race Records Classic Blues Understanding Twelve-Bar Blues The Country Blues Blind Lemon Jefferson: The First Country Blues Star Robert Johnson: Standing at the Crossroad Early Country Music: Hillbilly Records? Pioneers of Country Music: The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers Popular Music and the Great Depression 6 "IN THE MOOD": THE SWING ERA, 1935-1945 Swing Music and American Culture Benny Goodman: "The King of Swing" Duke Ellington in the Swing Era Kansas City Swing: Count Basie Superstar of Swing: Glenn Miller Jazz Singers: The Boswell Sisters, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald Vocal Harmony Groups Country Music in the Swing Era: Roy Acuff, Singing Cowboys, and Western Swing Latin Music in the Swing Era ASCAP, the AFM, and the Decline of the Big Bands TIMELINE: 1946-1979 7 "CHOO CHOO CH' BOOGIE": THE POSTWAR ERA, 1946-1954 Popular Music and Technology in the Postwar Era The Rise of the Star Singers Urban Folk Music: The Weavers The Mambo Craze (1949-1955) Southern Music in the Postwar Era Rhythm & Blues Vocal Harmony Groups R&B Women: Ruth Brown and Big Mama Thornton Country and Western Music 8 "ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK": ROCK 'N' ROLL, 1954-1959 The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll Cover Versions and Early Rock 'n' Roll The Rock 'n' Roll Business Early Rock 'n' Roll Stars on the R&B Side Early Rock 'n' Roll Stars on the Country Side Wild, Wild Young Women: Female Rock 'n' Roll Pioneers The Latin Side of Rock 'n' Roll Songwriters and Producers of Early Rock 'n' Roll Other Currents: The Standard and Folk Music in the Rock 'n' Roll Era 9 "GOOD VIBRATIONS": AMERICAN POP AND THE BRITISH INVASION, 1960s The Early 1960s: Dance Music and "Teenage Symphonies" Berry Gordy and Motown Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys The Beatles, the British Invasion, and the American Response Meanwhile, Back in California . . . Latin Sounds in 1960s Pop: A Tall Man, a Tanned Girl, and a Taste of Honey 10 "BLOWIN' IN THE WIND": COUNTRY, SOUL, URBAN FOLK, AND THE RISE OF ROCK, 1960s Patsy Cline and the Nashville Sound Ray Charles and Soul Music Sam Cooke, the "King of Soul" James Brown and Aretha Franklin The Broadway Musical in the Age of Rock Urban Folk Music in the 1960s: Bob Dylan The Counterculture and Psychedelic Rock Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Their Satanic Majesties: The Rolling Stones After Sgt. Pepper San Francisco Rock: Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, and the Grateful Dead The Doors and "Light My Fire" Guitar Heroes: Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton 11 THE 1970s: ROCK MUSIC, DISCO, AND THE POPULAR MAINSTREAM Singer-Songwriters: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor Country Music and the Pop Mainstream Rock Comes of Age "Night Fever": The Rise of Disco 12 OUTSIDERS' MUSIC: PROGRESSIVE COUNTRY, REGGAE, SALSA, PUNK, FUNK, AND RAP, 1970s The Outlaws: Progressive Country Music "I Shot the Sheriff": The Rise of Reggae The Rise of Salsa Music "Psycho Killer": 1970s Punk and New Wave "Tear the Roof off the Sucker": Funk Music "Rapper's Delight": The Origins of Hip-Hop TIMELINE: 1980-TODAY 13 THE 1980s: DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY, MTV, AND THE POPULAR MAINSTREAM Digital Technology and Popular Music The Pop Mainstream of the 1980s: Some Representative Hits A Tale of Three Albums "Baby I'm a Star": Prince, Madonna, and the Production of Celebrity 14 "SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT": HIP-HOP, ALTERNATIVE MUSIC, AND THE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS Hip-Hop Breaks Out (1980s-1990s) Commercialization, Diversification, and the Rise of Gangsta Rap (1990s) EDM: Dance Music in the Digital Age Alternate Currents Women's Voices: Alternative Folk, Hip-Hop, and Country Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music: Approaches to Tradition Latinx Superstars of the 1990s Globalization and the Rise of "World Music" 15 THE INTERNET AGE, 2000- The Impact of Digital Recording Music and the Internet: The Revolution Will Be Streamed "On the Road Again": The New Popular Music Economy Rock Music in the 2000s Hip-Hop in the New Millennium Hip-Hop Stars of the 2010s Twenty-First Century Divas: We Never Go Out of Style Conclusion: American Popular Music in the Age of Globalization Appendix: Understanding Rhythm and Form Glossary Bibliography Credits Index

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Trade Review"Reads as enjoyably as a novel, moving swiftly between events and the effects on music and society. Superb conclusions at the end of each chapter and balanced discussions of business, technology, culture, lifestyle, and the impact of rock 'n' roll on history."--David Englert, Sam Houston State University "The discussion of song forms was the clearest that I have read in any pop and rock text."--Tony Steve, Jacksonville University "Covers topics and musicians not covered in other texts. . . . Easy-to-follow listening guides help students understand the structures of a variety of songs."--Clarence Hines, University of North Florida "This book is distinguished by its clear writing and compelling argument that rock can provide a way of looking at history."--Patrick Warfield, University of Maryland "I especially like the strong social history view that the book takes."--Kristian Twombly, St. Cloud State UniversityTable of ContentsEach Chapter ends with a Conclusion Preface: List of Listening Guides: Introduction Music and Identity What Is Rock? A Note on the Terms "Rock 'n' Roll" and "Rock" Chapter 1: The Prehistory of Rock 'n' Roll Popular Music Before the Rise of Rock 'n' Roll The Southern Roots of Rock 'n' Roll Pre-Rock 'n' Roll Rhythm & Blues Country and Western Music Three Big Hits of the Pre-Rock 'n' Roll Period -- "Goodnight, Irene" (Strophic Song Form) -- "Choo Choo Ch' Boogie" (12-Bar Blues Form) -- "Love and Marriage" (AABA Song Form) Chapter 2: The Rise of Rock 'n' Roll, 1954-1959 Cover Versions and Early Rock 'n' Roll The Rock 'n' Roll Business Chapter 3: Early Rock 'n' Roll Musicians The First Generations -- Chuck Berry -- The Electric Guitar and Rock 'n' Roll -- Little Richard -- Boogie-Woogie Piano Music The Next Generation -- Elvis Presley -- Jerry Lee Lewis -- Buddy Holly -- Latin American Influences Wild, Wild Young Women: The Lady Vanishes Songwriters and Producers of Early Rock 'n' Roll Chapter 4: Pop Music in the Early 1960s The Rise of Soul Music: Ray Charles and Sam Cooke -- Ray Charles and Soul Music -- Sam Cooke The Twist "Teenage Symphonies": Phil Spector Berry Gordy and Motown The California Sound -- Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys -- Other "Surf Music" Chapter 5: The British Invasion and American Responses The Beatles and the British Invasion The Rolling Stones and Other Invaders Meanwhile, Back in California Urban Folk Music: Bob Dylan Chapter 6: From Rock 'n' Roll to Rock: 1965-1970 The Influence of the Counterculture -- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band -- Satanic Majestics: The Rolling Stones after Sgt. Pepper -- The San Francisco Scene -- The Doors Folk Rock and Country Rock Rock and Soul -- James Brown -- Aretha Franklin -- Otis Redding, Stax Records, and the Relationship of Rock and Soul -- Sly Stone and Santana: The Rebirth of Rock Multiculturalism Guitar Heroes: Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton Chapter 7: The 1970s: Rock Becomes Established Rock Comes of Age The Rock Album Rock Culture Led Zeppelin and Hard Rock Stadium Rock Southern Rock Jazz Rock Singer/Songwriters and Soft Rock The Eagles Chapter 8: The 1970s: Rock Offshoots and Responses Punk Rock and New Wave Reggae Music--Rock in the Diaspora -- The Rastafarian Movement -- Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley -- The Popularization of Reggae in the United States Funk Music The Rise of Disco Mixing and Scratching: The Origins of Rap Music Chapter 9: Rock Superstars of the 1980s MTV As Hit Maker: Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" The Impact of Digital Technologies Thriller and Born in the U.S.A. -- Thriller (Michael Jackson, 1982) -- Born in the U.S.A. (Bruce Springsteen, 1984) New Wave Goes Dancing: "Sweet Dreams" "Baby I'm a Star": Madonna, Prince, and the Production of Celebrity -- Madonna -- Prince Chapter 10: 1980s Rock: New Alternatives, New Accents Heavy Metal Hardcore Punk Hip-Hop Breaks Through The Rise of "World Music" Paul Simon's Graceland and the Politics of "Worldbeat" Chapter 11: Rock in the 1990s: Alternative Becomes the Mainstream Home Recording On the Term "Alternative" "Smells Like Teen Spirit": Alternative Rock Hits the Charts The 1990s Rock Mainstream Jam Bands Hip-Hop in the 1990s -- The Rise of Gangsta Rap -- Hip-Hop, Digital Sampling, and the Law -- Gangsta Rap Conflicts -- All Hail the Queen World Music/Rock Collaboration Chapter 12: The Internet Era: 2000- Music and the Internet: The Revolution Will Be Downloaded There's No Place Like Home: Digital Recording, Pro-Tools, and Rock Music "The System Is Broken": Changes in the Music Business Rock Music in the Age of Digital Reproduction Rock around the World Hip-Hop in the Early Twenty-First Century -- Jay-Z -- Kanye West -- Eminem -- Outkast Coda: Patterns in Rock History Glossary: Bibliography: Credits: Index:

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Book SynopsisEstablishing an intersection between the fields of traditional music studies, English folk music history and the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, this book responds to the problematic emphasis on cultural identity in the way traditional music is understood and valued. Williams locates the roots of contemporary definitions of traditional music, including UNESCO-designated intangible cultural heritage, in the theory of English folk music developed in 1907 by Cecil Sharp. Through a combination of Deleuzian philosophical analysis and historical revision of England's folk revival of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, Williams makes a compelling argument that identity is a restrictive ideology that runs counter to the material processes of traditional music's production. Williams reimagines Sharp's appropriation of Darwinian evolutionary concepts, asking what it would mean today to say that traditional music evolves', in light of recent advances in evolutionary theor

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Book SynopsisGet ready to dive into the life and legacy of one of the biggest stars on the planet. The Little Guide to Drake takes you behind the curtain and into the mind of Champagne Papi himself, with a collection of iconic quotes, powerful insights and jaw-dropping facts about the man who transformed the music industry.From breaking more Billboard records than The Beatles to racking up over 10 billion streams on Spotify, Drake''s achievements speak for themselves. This book explores the hustle that took him from his humble beginnings on Degrassi to becoming a global superstar, with 12 No. 1 albums and a fan base that spans the globe.Packed with the wisdom, mindset, and moments that made Drake one of the most influential figures in music, this little book follows Drake''s journey: a masterclass in persistence, evolution and the power of believing in yourself. Sit back and learn from the greatest because when it comes to success, Drake''s already written the blueprint.

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Book SynopsisRockin' Las Americas is the first book to explore the production, dissemination, and consumption of rock music throughout Latin America. Contributors include experts in music, history, literature, sociology, and anthropology, as well as practicing rockeros.

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Book SynopsisMutya Buena is an English singer and songwriter who rose to fame as a member of girl group the Sugababes. With the Sugababes, Buena had four UK number one singles, an additional six top-ten hits and three multi-platinum albums. After leaving the group in December 2005, she released her debut solo album, Real Girl in June 2007. Buena returned to Sugababes with the original lineup in 2012.

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Book SynopsisOutside of Merigold, Mississippi, off an unmarked dirt road, stands Po' Monkey's, perhaps the most famous house in Mississippi and the last rural juke joint in the state, now closed to the public. In Po' Monkey's: Portrait of a Juke Joint, photographer Will Jacks captures the juke joint he spent a decade patronizing.

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Book SynopsisOffers the first full-length study of key autobiographies of white jazz musicians. Outside and Inside features insights into the development of jazz styles and culture in the urban meccas of twentieth-century jazz in New Orleans, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles.

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Book SynopsisThe second of three volumes, SearchingIn The Darkness: Rainbow 1978-81 covers the end of the Dio era, the GrahamBonnet, Down To Earth period and the start of Rainbow's most commercial periodwith Joe Lynn Turner on vocals.

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Book SynopsisThe third and final volume, LostIn A Distant Dream: Rainbow 1982-84, 1994-97, 2016-19 covers the finalyears with Joe Lynn Turner, the reformed band of the nineties with DoogieWhite, and likewise the final chapter of Rainbow with Ronnie Romero that ended in2019.

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Book SynopsisA radiant new memoir from artist and writer Patti Smith, author of the National Book Award winner Just Kids“God whispers through a crease in the wallpaper,” writes Patti Smith in this moving account of her life. A post–World War II childhood unfolds in a condemned housing complex where we enter the child’s world of the imagination. Smith, the captain of her loyal and beloved sibling army, vanquishes bullies, communes with the king of tortoises, and searches for sacred silver pennies.The most intimate of Smith’s memoirs, Bread of Angels takes us through her teenage years where the first glimmers of art and romance take hold. Arthur Rimbaud and Bob Dylan emerge as creative role models as she begins to write poetry then lyrics, ultimately merging both into the songs of iconic recordings such as Horses, Wave, and Easter.She leaves it all behind to marry her one true love, Fred Sonic Smith, with whom she creates a life of devotion and adventure on a canal in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. Here, she invents a room of her own, a low table, a Persian cup, inkwell and pen, entering at dawn to write. The couple spend nights in their landlocked Chris-Craft studying nautical maps and charting new adventures as they start a family.A series of profound losses mark her life. Grief and gratitude are braided through years of caring for her children, rebuilding her life and, finally, writing again—the one constant in a life driven by artistic freedom and the power of the imagination to transform the commonplace into the magical, and pain into hope. In the final pages, we meet Smith on the road again, the vagabond who travels to commune with herself, who lives to write and writes to live.

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Book Synopsis Q: Is he afraid of work? A: No, he can lie down beside it and go to sleep. This volume is an encyclopedia of the many country music performers who made comedy a central part of their careers. Loyal Jones offers an informative biographical sketch of each performer and many entries include a sample of the artist''s humor, a recording history, and amusing anecdotal tidbits. Starting with vaudeville and radio barn dance figures like the Skillet Lickers and the Weaver Brothers and Elviry, Jones moves on to the regulars onHee Hawand theGrand Old Opryand present-day comedians from the Austin Lounge Lizards to Jeff Foxworthy. Jones''s introductory essay discusses such topics as stock comic figures, venues for comedic performance, and benchmark performers. Throughout the volume, he places each performer squarely in the context of the country music community, its performing traditions, and each artist''s place in the larger cultural milieu. Trade Review“If Cratis Williams is the father of Appalachian Studies and Helen Lewis its mother, than I reckon Loyal Jones would have to be considered the midwife of it all. . . . This book reflects not only his disarming sense of humor, but also his meticulous attention to voluminous details, his considerable scholarship, and his substantial wisdom.”--Appalachian Heritage"Southern humor, rural comedy and its practitioners are brilliantly showcased."--The Nashville Musician "A treasure trove of information. . . . Will make a wonderful reference book for years to come."--Bluegrass Unlimited"The importance of the subject emphasized by Jones is unquestionable. Humor has been an indispensable ingredient of country music entertainment and is in fact a major force in its worldwide success. This volume is insightful, informative, and entertaining."--Bill C. Malone, author of Don't Get Above Your Raisin': Country Music and the Southern Working Class"This stimulating book is a significant contribution to several fields. Students of country music, American history, performing arts, minstrel heritage, and the roots of comedy as it related to various subcultures of the American panorama will all want the detailed information only this author can provide. This book is one of a kind."--Ron Thomason, founder of the bluegrass band Dry Branch Fire SquadTable of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments ix Introduction to Country Music Humor 1 Encyclopedia of Humorists and Comedians 49 Sources 401 Index 409

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Book SynopsisPunk rock culture in a preeminently average town Synonymous with American mediocrity, Peoria was fertile ground for the boredom- and anger-fueled fury of punk rock. Jonathan Wright and Dawson Barrett explore the do-it-yourself scene built by Peoria punks, performers, and scenesters in the 1980s and 1990s. From fanzines to indie record shops to renting the VFW hall for an all-ages show, Peoria''s punk culture reflected the movement elsewhere, but the city''s conservatism and industrial decline offered a richer-than-usual target environment for rebellion. Eyewitness accounts take readers into hangouts and long-lost venues, while interviews with the people who were there trace the ever-changing scene and varied fortunes of local legends like Caustic Defiance, Dollface, and Planes Mistaken for Stars. What emerges is a sympathetic portrait of a youth culture in search of entertainment but just as hungry for community—the shared sense of otherness that, even for oneTrade Review"Punks in Peoria: Making a Scene in the American Heartland is a written history of a people that normally do not have histories written about them: small-town teenage and twenty-something misfits forging a musical and cultural scene despite the societal forces that would rather they did not exist. . . . This book is as close to a primary document as a book of its type could be. . . . Significantly, this book is a monument to how youth can come together through punk music to create a world that they want to belong to from scratch." --Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society"Punks in Peoria, with its accompanying compilation disc on Alona's Dream Records, furthers the archaeology of anarchy. . . . Wright and Barrett's text acknowleges that punk did not go into hibernation." --Journal of American Culture"Punks in Peoria tells a rollicking story of youth culture in a town that is synonymous with conservative middle-American values and tastes. . . . A detailed, entertaining, and at times laugh-out-loud funny view of an aspect of midwestern life long overlooked." --Middle West Review"Well-written and researched, this is a valuable window into both the Peoria musical underground but also into midwestern American life at the end of the twentieth century." --Annals of Iowa"A well-reported account of the local rise of and changes in punk music, blending overlapping histories with Barrett and Wright’s cultural commentary. " --Bill Knight, The Community Word"The enlightening, entertaining text blends scholarship with anecdotes; photographs of punk rockers add to the mix.This title will interest punk devotees, or readers interested in the intersection of music and sociology in America from rock and roll’s emergence to the present." --Library Journal“Punks in Peoria is among the best examples I’ve encountered of a book using scholarly methodologies that’s hugely accessible to any interested reader. Indeed, this text should be seen as a gold standard for academic writers who want to reach the public, with the University of Illinois Press as a key partner in this important work. " --Louder than War​"Written with moshing, stage-diving energy, Punks in Peoria is the warts-and-all music history of a vibrant punk subculture that gave young people hope and life in the decaying American heartland of rural Illinois." --Foreword Reviews "Punks in Peoria isn’t just a deep, heartfelt dive into the punk subculture of America’s quintessential small city. It’s an exquisite map of how music flows through social structures and between generations. Essential reading for anyone interested in how art impacts life.”--Jason Heller, author of Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-fi Exploded "Punks in Peoria is free of jargon, centers the stories of the people who actually helped build the scene, and speaks to the experiences of the small cities and towns that have been the lifeblood of punk rock in the United States. It is a model for good research on punk."--Zack Furness, author/editor of Punkademics: The Basement Show in the Ivory Tower "One of the strongest legacies of the hardcore punk movement in America was its emphasis on the local and the seeding of the country with self-supporting scenes. Every town has a story to tell itself about itself and Punks in Peoria explores this in magnificent detail for the hardcore scene in Peoria, Illinois. While more storied scenes from bigger cities may get the most ink, this book shows how the ideals and power of the music penetrated every corner of the land but was only ever sustained by the grit and ingenuity of the people involved on the ground level. We need a book like this for everywhere."—Guy Picciotto of Fugazi

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Book SynopsisGerhard Kubik extends and expands the epic exploration he began in Jazz Transatlantic, Volume I. This second volume amplifies how musicians influenced by swing, bebop, and post-bop influenced musicians in Africa from the end of World War II into the 1970s were interacting with each other and re-creating jazz.

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Book SynopsisQuyn Vn Minh is one of the most preeminent jazz musicians in Vietnam. Considered a pioneer in the country, Minh is often publicly recognised as the ‘godfather of Vietnamese jazz’. This book tells the story of the music as it intertwined with Minh's own narrative.

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Book SynopsisTraces the evolution of Black women’s literacy practices from 1892 to 1934. A dynamic chronological study, the book explores how Black women public intellectuals, creative writers, and classic blues singers sometimes utilize singular but other times overlapping forms of literacies to engage in debates on race.

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Book SynopsisNicholas Tochka is an ethnomusicologist, investigative mythologist, and former Poling Prize nominee. He has previously written three books examining the politics of music-making in the postwar world.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents a collection of essays on the debates about origins, authenticity, and identity in folk and blues music. The essays had their origins in an international conference on the Transatlantic routes of American roots music, out of which emerged common themes and questions of origins and authenticity in folk music, black and white, American and British. The central theme is musical influences, but issues of identity--national, local, and racial--are also recurring subjects. The extent to which these identities were invented, imagined, or constructed by the performers, or by those who recorded their work for posterity, is also a prominent concern and questions of racial identity are particularly central. The book features a new essay on the blues by Paul Oliver alongside an essay on Oliver's seminal blues scholarship. There are also several essays on British blues and the links between performers and styles in the United States and Britain and new essays on critical figures such as Alan Lomax and Woody Guthrie. This volume uniquely offers perspectives from both sides of the Atlantic on the connections and interplay of influences in roots music and the debates about these subjects drawing on the work of eminent established scholars and emerging young academics who are already making a contribution to the field. Throughout, the contributors offer the most recent scholarship available on key issues.

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Book SynopsisThis collection reflects on the Seattle music scene of the late 1990s into the 2000s, documented through photography and personal stories as the world transitioned from celluloid to digital, grunge to indie. The book opens with a nod to a truly independent woman with a forward from Megan Jasper, Sub Pop Records C.E.O., for 25 years. The work is a pilgrimage back in time, a nostalgic trip for anyone who remembers their 20s, cherishes music or yearns for a time when nobody texted or had a camera in their pocket. This series transcends the boundaries of music or a single life story. It's about heeding your instincts. I was documenting my life. The musicians, promoters, and bouncers were my friends, and I went to see bands I enjoyed and places I could get in for free. I didn't know I was in the middle of something new.Holler's personal story is witness to an artist in her 20s photographing little-known bands who later defined a decade in music history - capturing live gigs, portraits, and the remnants and landscapes of a scene that was the formative stage for groups such as Death Cab for Cutie, Fleet Foxes, Interpol, Macklemore, Modest Mouse, The Gossip and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, along with Beck, Foo Fighters- Dave Grohl, Moby, Pearl Jam, The Posies, and R.E.M.

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Book SynopsisCo-authored by three prominent philosophers of art, Jazz and the Philosophy of Art is the first book in English to be exclusively devoted to philosophical issues in jazz. It covers such diverse topics as minstrelsy, bebop, Voodoo, social and tap dancing, parades, phonography,musical forgeries, and jazz singing, as well as Goodman's allographic/autographic distinction, Adorno's critique of popular music, and what improvisation is and is not. The book is organized into three parts. Drawing on innovative strategies adopted to address challenges that arise for the project of defining art, Part I shows how historical definitions of art provide a blueprint for a historical definition of jazz. Part II extends the book's commitment to social-historical contextualism by exploring distinctive ways that jazz has shaped, and been shaped by, American culture. It uses the lens of jazz vocals to provide perspective on racial issues previously unaddressed in the work. ItTrade Review"It would be a treat just to have Lee Brown’s philosophical writings on jazz collected in one volume, but David Goldblatt and Ted Gracyk have gone one step further, transforming these essays into a continuous argument by uniting them with Brown’s unpublished work and extensively revising and updating them. The result is an essentially historical collaborative creation that stands as a nice metaphor for the view of jazz these authors defend."--Andrew Kania, Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas"Counteracting the regrettable tendency in anglophone aesthetics to treat jazz as an afterthought, this book devotes sustained attention to jazz in its evolving sociohistorical context. Brown, Goldblatt, and Gracyk defend a pluralistic account of jazz and the aesthetic intentions that shape it, stressing the music’s diversity and its complicated embeddedness in American racial politics. This book is a must-read not only for those concerned with musical aesthetics, but for anyone interested in the powerful contribution that jazz has made and continues to make in American life."--Kathleen M. Higgins, University of Texas at Austin"Jazz now is much like film a generation or two ago: it is beginning to receive the serious and sustained attention that it warrants in the world of philosophical aesthetics. This fascinating volume, by a trio of writers all of whom have what jazz players call "big ears", inventively and insightfully explores questions of the definition of this art form, its special and surprisingly unobvious relation to dance and what the authors call the architecture of jazz, the nature of scat singing, what improvisation is – and equally interesting, what it is not, the significance of the non-repeatability of an improvised solo, the role of phonography and recording in spontaneous art, formalist versus historical and social-political interpretations of jazz, and what is involved in learning an improvisational "language". Selected earlier writers – Hodeir, Schuller, Adorno, Goodman -- are enlighteningly re-examined, and the discussion is rich with well-chosen examples from the jazz masters. We see here why the identification and the subtle transgression of stylistic limits matter so much in this music, and we come to understand how unexpected rewards can be found when skilled players take risks. A masterful investigation into a complex, intricate, and easily-misunderstood art."--Garry L. Hagberg, Bard College Table of ContentsForeword - Lee Brown: A RecollectionAcknowledgementsIntroductionPART I How is Jazz Distinctive? Essence and Definition1 Dancing, Dwelling, and Rhythmic Swing2 A Theory of Jazz Music: "It Don't Mean a Thing ..."3 Defining Jazz HistoricallyPART II Jazz and American Culture4 Jazz Singing and Taking Wing5 Race, Jazz, and Popular Music: The Legacy of Blackface Minstrelsy6 Jazz and the Culture IndustryPART III Music Ontology7 Improvisations and Spontaneity8 Musical Forgeries, Improvisation, and the Principle of Continuity9 Phonography, Repetition, and Spontaneity10 Jazz Improvisation and its Vicissitudes: A Plea for ImperfectionIndex

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