Description
Book SynopsisDescribes an era when innovations in the production, recording, and transmission of sound revolutionized a number of different media, especially the radio, the phonograph, and the cinema. This book illustrates the process through which technologies become media and the ways in which media are integrated into American life.
Trade ReviewOverall, Wurtzler's book is a very profitable read and will be most helpful for those who seek parallels to our media present in the past and want to understand the "mutually reinforcing" relationship between new media and extant matrices of economics, politics, and culture. -- Heidi Tworek H-Net Extensively researched... Recommended. Choice Electric Sounds is well written and engaging, presenting a fine balance of detailed analysis and social and cultural overview. -- Jody Pennington The Journal of American History An important contribution to the history of technology as well as media studies. -- Gerd Horten American Historical Review An amazing historical account... the depth of [Wurtzler's] research is stunning. Choice (paperback) Well-argued and thought-provoking study -- Heidi Tworek Jhistory
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. Technological Innovation and the Consolidation of Corporate Power 2. Announcing Technological Change 3. From Performing the Recorded to Dissimulating the Machine 4. Making Sound Media Meaningful: Commerce, Culture, Politics 5. Transcription Versus Signification: Copeting Paradigms for Representing with Sound Conclusions/Reverberations Notes Index
