Traditional and folk music Books

Book Synopsis**WINNER OF THE 2024 ASSOCIATION FOR RECORDED SOUND COLLECTIONS (ARSC) AWARD FOR BEST HISTORICAL RESEARCH IN RECORDED COUNTRY, FOLK, WORLD, OR ROOTS MUSIC**In this enlightening and entertaining book, experience the evolution of country music, from the rural routes of 1970s Appalachia to the 1980s country music boom that paved the way for modern Americana. In a dim clearing off a county road in Kentucky sits a sagging outdoor stage buried in moss and dead leaves.  It used to be the centerpiece of carnival-like Sunday afternoons where local guitarists, fiddlers and mandolin players hammered out old mountain ballads and legends from the dawn of country music performed their classic hits. Most of the musicians who showed up have long since passed, but Nashville stars Ricky Skaggs and Marty Stuart survive.  They were barely teenagers in the early 1970s when they visited this stage in the care of legends Ralph Stanley and Lester Flatt, respectively. Skaggs and Stuart followed their bosses to dozens of stages throughout Appalachia and deeper into the American southland.  They were the children, absorbing the wondrous music and strange dramas around them as they became innovators and living symbols of country music.Highways and Heartaches takes readers on the rural circuit Skaggs and Stuart traveled, where an acoustic sound first assembled by masters such as Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, and Mother Maybelle Carter ruled the day. The young men were heirs to a bluegrass tradition transmitted to them early in life. One part mountain soul and another African American–influenced rhythm, the music they received was alternately celebrated and neglected in the more than fifty years after the two met in 1971, but since then it has never stopped evolving and influencing the wider American culture thanks to Skaggs and Stuart and other actors in this book, such as Jerry Douglas, Tony Rice, Keith Whitley, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt. Riveting portraits of Johnny Cash, Ralph Stanley, Lester Flatt and other heartland-born figures emerge, too.   Molded by forces in postwar southern culture such as racial conflict, fringe politics, evangelicalism, growing federal government influence, and stubborn patterns of Appalachian living and thinking, Skaggs and Stuart injected the spirit of bluegrass into their hard-wrought experiments in mainstream country music later in life, fueling the profitability and credibility of the fabled genre. Skaggs’s new traditionalism of the 1980s, integrating mountain instruments with elements of contemporary country music, created a new sound for the masses and placed him in the vanguard of Nashville’s recording artists while Stuart embraced seminal influences and attitudes from the riches of American culture to produce a catalog of significant recordings.   Skaggs and Stuart’s friendship took years to jell, but their similar pathways reveal a shared dedication to the soul of country music and highlight the curious day-to-day experiences of two lads growing up on the demanding rural route in bluegrass culture. Their journeys—populated by grizzled mentors, fearsome undertows, and cultural upheaval—influenced their creativity and, ultimately, cut life-giving tributaries in the ungainly, eternal story of country music.

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Book SynopsisTo what extent do indie masculinities challenge the historical construction of rock music as patriarchal? This key question is addressed by Matthew Bannister, involving an in-depth examination of indie guitar rock in the 1980s as the culturally and historically specific production of white men. Through textual analysis of musical and critical discourses, Bannister provides the first book-length study of masculinity and ethnicity within the context of indie guitar music within US, UK and New Zealand ''scenes''. Bannister argues that past theorisations of (rock) masculinities have tended to set up varieties of working-class deviance and physical machismo as ''straw men'', oversimplifying masculinities as ''men behaving badly''. Such approaches disavow the ways that masculine power is articulated in culture not only through representation but also intellectual and theoretical discourse. By re-situating indie in a historical/cultural context of art rock, he shows how masculine power canTrade Review’Solid, researched intellectual discourse on rock music, particularly punk and indie, is hard to come by, and Bannister treats his subject matter - which includes R.E.M., the Smiths, The Minutemen and Nirvana - with the same level of respect a classical music scholar would give Mozart or Bach. That's refreshing.’ Thrive ’Matthew Bannister's new title adds a precious new body of study to the relatively thin gathering of books about the male and maleness in rock music, as he unpicks the part that masculinity and masculine values have played in shaping both the rock discourse and our understanding of it... rich and informed...an impressively researched survey... a highly satisfying overview...’ Popular MusicTable of ContentsContents: Introduction - White boys...; Reviewing theories and representations of masculinities; Powerless power: masculine intellectualism and aesthetics; What does it mean to be alternative? Indie guitar rock as a genre; The singer or the song? Homosociality, genre and gender; 'Someone controls electric guitar': indie and technologies; 'What will I do if she dies?' Music, misery and masculinities; Conclusion - ...white noise. Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis second volume of Stephen Jones'' work on ritual and musical life in north China, again with accompanying downloadable resources, gives an impression of music-making in daily life in the poor mountainous region of Shaanbei, northwest China. It conveys some of the diverse musical activities there around 2000, from the barrage of pop music blaring from speakers in the bustling county-towns to the life-cycle and calendrical ceremonies of poor mountain villages. Based on the practice of grass-roots music-making in daily life, not merely on official images, the main theme is the painful maintenance of ritual and its music under Maoism, its revival with the market reforms of the 1980s, and its modification under the assaults of TV, pop music, and migration since the 1990s. The text is in four parts. Part One gives background to the area and music-making in society. Parts Two and Three discuss the lives of bards and shawm bands respectively, describing modifications in their ceremonial Trade Review‘… (a) fascinating book …breaks new ground by bringing us the real lives of real musicians’ John Gittings, Songlines (5 star rating)‘This volume is another major contribution from Jones to our understanding of the ritual and expressive culture of northern China … strong points include Jones’s careful attention to local dialectal usages and terminology; the presence in the index of Chinese characters for almost all names and terms in the text; the detailed description of ritual actions; in-depth discussion of financial aspects of the bards’ and shawm bands’ activities; serious consideration of "cassette culture"; and the liberal use of direct quotes from interviews. One gets a real sense of what the musicians think and how they express their views, as well as of individual life stories. This is a unique introduction to the ritual and music of a part of China we would never otherwise encounter, and provides invaluable comparative material.’ Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies‘It portrays the manipulation of Shaanbei music in two distinct waves: the propaganda of the 1940s and 50s, and the commercialization of the 1980s. With a familiarity that few others could approach, Jones shows how the actual performers viewed these as attempts by outsiders to expropriate their traditions. … The book eschews simple answers and ideal types, but instead shows the performers, their histories and decisions, in all their human complexity. … The DVD is beautifully produced and narrated … The DVD makes the book especially useful for undergraduate teaching, where it would make a fine accompaniment to films such as Yellow Earth, or to more theoretical but less empirically rich works on the interaction getween state and culture in modern China.’ The China Journal'Jones gives his readers a fascinating glimpse of the complicated relationships between ritual and music, between the state and the folk, and between the traditional and the modern in Shaanbei.'Asian MusicTable of ContentsContents: Foreword; Preface: perspectives and sources; Part 1 Introduction: Shaanbei society and its musics. Part 2 Turning a Blind Ear: Bards of Shaanbei: Prelude; The tradition; The Yan'an period; The bards afyer liberation; The reform era; Conclusion: narrative-singing and healing. Part 3 Lives of Shaanbei Blowers: Prelude; Chuishou before Maoism; Chishou under Mao; The early reform era; Modernization and the 'big band'; Chuishou around 2000; Chuishou in action; Conclusion: ritual and order. Part 4 Urban Music in Shaanbei: Musics of Yulin city; Conclusion: local ritual cultures; Bibliography; Glossary; Index.

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Book SynopsisA collection of twenty Burns songs, scribed in calligraphy and decorated with watercolours of the flowers and grasses which inspired him. The songs include "Ae Fond Kiss" "Afton Water" and "Auld Lang Syne". The author's careful research and dedicated craftsmanship have produced a book no true lover of Burns can resist.Trade ReviewLoving calligraphy and watercolour sketches are used to illustrate the greatest Burns songs. The book has a pastoral, handwrought labour of love feel to it. THE SCOTSMAN In watercolour and calligraphy, this presentation of 'Twenty Most Favourite Songs of Burns' is delicate and sensitive, the realisation of a dream conceived in youth...' SCOTTISH BOOK COLLECTOR

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Book SynopsisThis essay in autobiography opens in Eyrecourt, east Galway, and describes an early schooling at Rockwell and the experiences of a Jesuit novice at Emo Court, Co. Laois, and Rathfarnham.Trade ReviewFascinating… a delight not to be missed. It’s a rare treat indeed to find such an honest, penetrating, wise and thoughtful autobiobiography.’ – Eilís Dillon, The Irish Times ‘A beautifully-written book.’ – Benedict Kiely, Sunday Independent ‘Wonderfully lyrical… and extremely well written. It is haunting and memorable. When you finish it, you can hardly wait for another volume.’ – Peter Levi, Irish University ReviewFascinating… a delight not to be missed. It’s a rare treat indeed to find such an honest, penetrating, wise and thoughtful autobiobiography.’ – Eilís Dillon, The Irish Times ‘A beautifully-written book.’ – Benedict Kiely, Sunday Independent ‘Wonderfully lyrical… and extremely well written. It is haunting and memorable. When you finish it, you can hardly wait for another volume.’ – Peter Levi, Irish University Review

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Book SynopsisA sparsely populated island in the North Atlantic recently made worldwide headlines in the Global Financial Crisis and for volcanic eruptions that caused unprecedented chaos to international air travel. Large contemporary audiences have formed very different images of Iceland through the vocal music and music videos of BjÃrk and Sigur RÃs. Just below the Arctic Circle, Icelandic men engage in more everyday vocal practices, where singing, literally for one''s Self, is an everyday life skill set against a backdrop of unique natural, historical, economic and social phenomena. Their sagas of song and singing are the subject of this book. The original Icelandic Sagas - among the most important collections of medieval European literature - are valued for richly detailed portrayals of individual lives. This book''s principle protagonists and collaborators share a heritage where Sagas remain central to national and local identity. While the oral traditions associated with them were largely ovTrade Review’Faulker's Icelandic Men and Me: Sagas of Singing, Self and Everyday Life has documented the lived experience behind, above, below, and beyond the social organization of men's singing habits, whether they are comforting their child for an evening, keeping themselves company in the barn, or getting out to their choir practices despite weather, pressing chores, and limited transportation. Song glues together the sense of self, the awareness of community, and the tangibility of nation, rendering life itself as a ’musical event’’. American Book Review ’Faulkner’s methods for researching, analysing, and theorizing these topics are impressively interdisciplinary ... The insights garnered from his personal experiences as first conductor and teacher and later researcher in the local musical community give the volume a strong ethnographic feel, which is complemented by brief but engaging sections of auto-ethnography. The integration of these multidisciplinary approaches is highly effective and will probably serve as a model for others’. Music and LettersTable of ContentsContents: Introduction; Telling tales and setting the scene; Baldur’s Saga; Icelandic sagas and songs; Singing social connections; Songworlds: the body and vocal places; Songs, spirituality and self therapy; Singing himself: singing and the construction of gender identity; My saga; Vocal events and singing’s agency in change; Conclusions, closure and the vocal celebration of self; Gallery; Bibliogaphy, sound and film recordings; Index.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewLeonard Cohen: The Mystical Roots of Genius is the book so many of us have been waiting for. In it, Harry Freedman explores, in an entrancingly original and totally accessible way, the spiritual inspiration that is such an integral part of Leonard’s work. Beautifully written, this is among the finest volumes on Cohen’s life and lyrics. It’s an exploration which would have intrigued and engaged Leonard himself. -- John McKenna * writer and friend of Leonard Cohen *Leonard Cohen taught us that even in the midst of darkness there is light, in the midst of hatred there is love, with our dying breath we can still sing Hallelujah. -- The late Rabbi Lord Jonathan SacksFor those who know and want to know even more, this account of Leonard Cohen’s preoccupations and what he made from his knowledge of the religious, is fascinating. A cultural story of a cultural giant. -- Susie Orbach, * psychotherapist and author *Freedman’s book highlights even further layers of meaning to the songs which speak so profoundly to so many of us, regardless of faith or spiritual background. * National Herald *An intriguing and specific look at the traditions and stories that influenced a brilliant songwriter. * Library Journal *There have been several books written about Cohen since his death but none of them, until now has gone deep into his soul. This is not a biography of the man but rather a biography of the the landscape of his soul...Freedman explores song by song how Cohen reworked myths and prayers, legends and allegories and leads us to an understanding of Cohen’s life as we gain, insight into the man and his music. * Reviews by Amos Lassen *Freedman...takes a fresh approach by focusing on Biblical and Torahic references in Cohen’s lyrics. * Library Journal *Harry Freedman’s workmanlike examination of how Leonard Cohen’s spiritual life shaped his songs is rich in detail. -- Tim Adams * The Observer New Review *…The Mystical Roots of Genius turned out to be a well-nigh perfect book to read over the High Holy Days… This is a charming and compelling walk through Leonard Cohen’s spiritual life. -- Jenni Frazer * Jewish Chronicle *Described on the flyleaf as “Britain’s leading author of popular works of Jewish culture”, Freedman lives up to his billing by expressing sharp scholarship in crisp sentences... [Freedman’s] handling of the words is masterly. He leaves you feeling wiser about Leonard Cohen, and Judaism, and life. -- Tim de Lisle * Tablet *Fluidly written…the breadth of Freedman’s erudition is impressive. And ultimately he is an insightful guide to the many religious references in Cohen’s back catalogue...Freedman has shone a light on the inspiration behind these songs. Much could have remained in darkness without him. -- Rory Kiberd * Irish Independent *Freedman is a much-published Judaic and Aramaic scholar whose book brims with insight… The content of this book is terrific. * Independent (app edition) *This unique book is a gift to anyone who wishes to be accompanied more deeply into the biblical, Kabbalistic, and Buddhist themes underlying these texts. * Church Times *The redeeming power of Freedman’s book is that it allows his fans to be exposed one more time to Cohen’s incredible personality and intelligence and, for that reason, the book is a success. * New York Journal of Books *This book is for people who want to delve deeply into words of songs they may already know, admire and cherish. * Jewish Libraries Reviews *Freedman’s knowledge of these sources is excellent ... stimulating. * Spirituality & Practice *Brims with insight. * Washington Post *Reveals extent of the musician’s fascination with scriptures of Judaism and Christianity. * Observer *Lucid. * Guardian *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Foreword Introduction Leonard Cohen’s Influences The Bible as Allegory Interlude: Leonard Cohen’s Religious Education Ideas from the Bible Interlude: Kateri Tekakwitha Heaven and Earth Interlude: Leonard Cohen’s Artwork Prayer Interlude: Leonard Cohen the cohen Epilogue – A Modern-Day Paytan? Acknowledgements Permissions Notes Index of Song Titles Index

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Book SynopsisJOHNNY CASH FAQ: ALL THAT'S LEFT TO KNOW ABOUT THE MAN IN BLACK

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Book Synopsis'The definitive, scrupulously researched biography of a life steeped in mystery' ObserverThe definitive biography of one contemporary culture's most iconic and mysterious figures - musical revolutionary, Nobel Prize-winner, chart-topping recording artistIn 2016 it was announced that Bob Dylan had sold his personal archive to the George Kaiser Foundation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, reportedly for $22 million. As the boxes started to arrive, the Foundation asked Clinton Heylin - author of the acclaimed Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades and 'perhaps the world's authority on all things Dylan' (Rolling Stone) - to assess the material they had been given. What he found in Tulsa - as well as what he gleaned from other papers he had recently been given access to by Sony and the Dylan office - so changed his understanding of the artist, especially of his creative process, that he became convinced that a whole new biography was needed. It turns out that much of what previous biographers - Dylan himself included - have said is wrong; often as not, a case of, Print the Legend.With fresh and revealing information on every page A Restless, Hungry Feeling tells the story of Dylan's meteoric rise to fame: his arrival in early 1961 in New York, where he is embraced by the folk scene; his elevation to spokesman of a generation whose protest songs provide the soundtrack for the burgeoning Civil Rights movement; his alleged betrayal when he 'goes electric' at Newport in 1965; his subsequent controversial world tour with a rock 'n' roll band; and the recording of his three undisputed electric masterpieces: Bringing it All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. At the peak of his fame in July 1966 he reportedly crashes his motorbike in Woodstock, upstate New York, and disappears from public view. When he re-emerges, he looks different, his voice sounds different, his songs are different. That other story will be told in Volume 2, to be published in autumn 2022.Clinton Heylin's meticulously researched, all-encompassing and consistently revelatory account of these fascinating early years is the closest we will ever get to a definitive life of an artist who has been the lodestar of popular culture for six decades.Trade ReviewWhether you've read one book on Bob Dylan or one hundred, THIS is the one you want to read and refer to from this day forward. If the basic story of the Bard from Hibbing is oft told, familiar to anyone that's been paying attention, this new work leaps a couple light years forward with much newly revealed material and deep scholarship. If somebody's got to tell the tale, we can all thank our holy electric pickups and mystical typewriter keys that it was up to Clinton Heylin * Lee Ranaldo, Sonic Youth *Gripping...you feel that Heylin understands what he [Dylan] was going through... a forensic analysis of Dylan's early life that, for depth of research alone, is hugely impressive -- Will Hodgkinson * The Times, *Book of the Week* *Clinton Heylin is the eminence grise of Bob Dylan scholars -- Andrew Motion * The Spectator *Heylin has long been Dylan's most accomplished biographer -- Neil Spencer * Observer *Painstakingly detailed...informative and well organised -- Ludovic Hunter-Tilney * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisA pamphlet about what it means to be Jewish from British songwriter Leon Rosselson

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Book SynopsisA collection of stories as songs by the working-class men and women of pre- ww2 America.

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Book SynopsisIn our twenty-first-century world, shaped by the transformative processes of migration, diasporization, and cosmopolitanization, musical performance conditions and contexts constantly change, while musical forms newly emerge and evolve. The development of Turkish folk music is well-documented, providing rich material for study in the motherland as well as in the diaspora. This book aims at exploring, describing, interpreting, and linking musical, contextual, and functional aspects of the manifestation of Turkish folk music in contemporary Turkey and the Turkish diaspora in the city of Ghent (Belgium). The Turkish presence in Ghent is particular in its size (approximately ten percent of the population) and constitution (mostly originating in the West Anatolian town of Emirdag). Anchored in detailed ethnographic reality, this book expands our views on what Turkish folk music signifies in the early twenty-first century, and adds to the apprehension and appreciation of this multifaceted, topical musical phenomenon. Its employed multi-sited, transnational comparative outlook is unique, with an added dimension generated by the inclusion of rural and small-town contexts complementing the urban perspective. Other contributions to the field include the transcription and analysis of performance styles, the evaluation of TRT discourses and practices, and the coverage of understudied research contexts (Ghent/Belgium and Emirdag).

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