Amidst the heated fray of the Culture Wars emerged a scrappy festival in downtown New York City called Bang on a Can. Presenting eclectic, irreverent marathons of experimental music in crumbling venues on the Lower East Side, Bang on a Can sold out concerts for a genre that had been long considered box office poison. Through the 1980s and 1990s, three young, visionary composers-David Lang, Michael Gordon, and Julia Wolfe-nurtured Bang on a Can into a multifaceted organization with a major record deal, a virtuosic in-house ensemble, and a seat at the table at Lincoln Center, and in the process changed the landscape of avant-garde music in the United States. Bang on a Can captured a new public for new music. But they did not do so alone. As the twentieth century came to a close, the world of American composition pivoted away from the insular academy and towards the broader marketplace. In the wake of the unexpected popularity of Steve Reich and Philip Glass, classical presenters looked to contemporary music for relevance and record labels scrambled to reap its potential profits, all while government funding was imperilled by the evangelical right. Other institutions faltered amidst the vagaries of late capitalism, but the renegade Bang on a Can survived-and thrived-in a tumultuous and idealistic moment that made new music what it is today.

"Sinatra with a cold is Picasso without paint, Ferrari without fuel-only worse. For the common cold robs Sinatra of that uninsurable jewel, his voice, cutting into the core of his confidence." - Gay Talese In the winter of 1965, writer Gay Talese set out for Los Angeles with an assignment from Esquire to write a major profile on Frank Sinatra. When he arrived, he found the singer and his vigilant entourage on the defensive: Sinatra was under the weather, not available, and not willing to be interviewed. Undeterred, Talese stayed, believing Sinatra might recover and reconsider, and used the meantime to observe the star and to interview his friends, associates, family members, and hangers-on. Sinatra never did grant the one-on-one, but Talese's tenacity paid off: his profile Frank Sinatra Has a Cold went down in history as a tour de force of literary nonfiction and the advent of the New Journalism. In this illustrated edition, Frank Sinatra Has a Cold is published with an introduction by Talese, reproductions of his manuscript pages, and correspondence. Interwoven are photographs from the legendary lens of Phil Stern, the only photographer granted access to Sinatra over four decades, as well as from top photojournalists of the '60s, including John Bryson, John Dominis, and Terry O'Neill. The photographs complement Talese's character study, painting an incisive portrait of Sinatra in the recording studio, on location, out on the town, and with the eponymous cold, which reveals as much about a singular star persona as it does about the Hollywood machine.

If given another chance to write for the series, which albums would 33 1/3 authors focus on the second time around? This anthology features compact essays from past 33 1/3 authors on albums that consume them, but about which they did not write. It explores often overlooked and underrated albums that may not have inspired their 33 1/3 books, but have played a large part in their own musical cultivation. Questions central to the essays include: How has this album influenced your worldview? How does this album intersect with your other creative and critical pursuits? How does this album index a particular moment in cultural history? In your own personal history? Why is the album perhaps under-the-radar, or a buried treasure? Why can't you stop listening to it? Bringing together 33 1/3's rich array of writers, critics, and scholars, this collection probes our taste in albums, our longing for certain tunes, and our desire to hit repeat--all while creating an expansive "must-listen" list for readers in search of unexplored musical territories.

A fascinating look at how the popular musical culture of Guangzhou expresses the city's unique cosmopolitanism. Guangzhou is a large Chinese city like many others. With a booming economy and abundant job opportunities, it has become a magnet for rural citizens seeking better job prospects as well as global corporations hoping to gain a foothold in one of the world's largest economies. This openness and energy have led to a thriving popular music scene that is every bit the equal of Beijing's. But the musical culture of Guangzhou expresses the city's unique cosmopolitanism. A port city that once played a key role in China's maritime Silk Road, Guangzhou has long been an international hub. Now, new migrants to the city are incorporating diverse Chinese folk traditions into the musical tapestry. In Sonic Mobilities, ethnomusicologist Adam Kielman takes a deep dive into Guangzhou's music scene through two bands, Wanju Chuanzhang (Toy Captain) and Mabang (Caravan), that express ties to their rural homelands and small-town roots while forging new cosmopolitan musical connections. These bands make music that captures the intersection of the global and local that has come to define Guangzhou, for example by writing songs with a popular Jamaican reggae beat and lyrics in their distinct regional dialects mostly incomprehensible to their audiences. These bands create a sound both instantly recognizable and totally foreign, international and hyper-local. This juxtaposition, Kielman argues, is an apt expression of the demographic, geographic, and political shifts underway in Guangzhou and across the country. Bridging ethnomusicology, popular music studies, cultural geography, and media studies, Kielman examines the cultural dimensions of shifts in conceptualizations of self, space, publics, and state in a rapidly transforming the People's Republic of China.

From Mummers to Madness considers developments in the production and consumption of popular music in England over a period of some two hundred years, which saw dramatic changes in the socio-economic, demographic and cultural life of the country. Popular music, it is argued, was not simply a response to the wider developments that were taking place but contributed to the ongoing process of adaptation and change.

This book presents the first in-depth study of the Eurovision Song Contest from an Australian perspective. Using a cultural studies approach, the study draws together fan interviews and surveys with media and textual analysis of the contest itself. In doing so, it begins to answer the question of why the European song contest appeals to viewers in Australia. It explores and challenges the dominant narrative that links Eurovision fandom to post-WWII European migration, arguing that this Eurocentric narrative presents a limited view of how contemporary Australian multicultural society operates in the context of globalized culture. It concludes with a consideration of the future of the Eurovision Song Contest as Australia enters into the 'Asian century'.

'A really emotional read... it's wonderful' - Zoe Ball, BBC Radio 2 'It's such a lovely book!' - Holly Willoughby, This Morning 'A lovely read... it's got everything - emotion and lots of laughs' - Alex Jones, The One Show 'A gorgeous book!' - Lorraine 'From Wham! to Spandau Ballet, from success to chaos in the blink of an eye - Martin and I are two ordinary people who have been on an extraordinary adventure together. Through it all, our commitment to each other and to our family is what has always mattered the most.' Shirlie Kemp With a heartwarming foreword by Noel Fitzpatrick,IT'S A LOVE STORY tells the incredible story of Martin and Shirlie Kemp - from the moment they set eyes on each other, through their stellar careers, to raising a family together. For the first time, fans and readers will have an insight into their journey together, the lessons they have learned in the spotlight and behind the scenes, and their secrets to success, happiness and raising a loving family. The book will uncover the personal highs and lows of Britain's favourite couple, and the unbreakable bond that has kept them strong, no matter how hard the fight gets. '40 years together has been filled with incredible highs, when every teenage dream and every wish literally came true, to the most horrifying of lows that belonged in our nightmares. Shirlie and I are always asked, "What's the secret to a long marriage?" - well, hopefully within the pages of this book we all might find the answer to that question!' Martin Kemp

Representation in Western Music offers a comprehensive study of the roles of representation in the composition, performance and reception of Western music. In recent years, there has been increasing academic interest in questions of musical interpretation and meaning and in music's interactions with other artistic media, and yet no book has dealt extensively with representation's important role in these processes. This volume presents new research about musical representation, with particular focus on Western art and popular music from the nineteenth century to the present day. It assembles essays by an international assortment of leading scholars on a range of subjects including instrumental music, opera, popular song, ballet, cinema and the music video. Individual sections address representation, interpretation and musical meaning; music's relationships with visual forms of representation; musical representation in dramatic forms; and the functions of music in the representation of identity.

Can classical music change lives? In Soul Music, novelist Candace Allen embarks on a personal journey that takes her from the streets of London and Scotland to Venezuela, where the Sistema scheme has offered thousands of young people a route out of the ghetto mentality through virtuoso musical training, bringing global fame to the charismatic conductor Gustavo Dudamel; to Ramallah, and Daniel Barenboim's East-West Divan Orchestra in which young Israelis and Palestinians play side-by-side.

Including never-before-seen photographs and ephemera, a behind-the-scenes look into The Beatles' acclaimed first film.

In March of 1964, director Richard Lester began shooting A Hard Day's Night, a feature film starring The Beatles. With fast, sharp humour and a brilliant soundtrack, the movie depicts the excitement and chaos of thirty-six hours in the life of the Fab Four, and stars John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, with Wilfrid Brambell portraying McCartney's grandfather.

This collection of photographs and unique ephemera captures the infectious energy and anarchic spirit of this groundbreaking film.

Pop stars have provided audiences with performative moments that have become ingrained in popular consciousness. They are a lens through which deeper understandings about race, gender, politics, history and the artistic process can be understood. When combined with the most affective of mediums - cinema, the combination can be both thrilling and alarming. From the relatively early days of cinema, figures from the world of popular music have made forays into acting and contributed cameo appearances. From Little Richard and Kylie Minogue to Nick Cave and Tom Waits, Pop Stars On Film: Popular Culture in a Global Market offers a collection of essays on some of the most influential international performances from a diverse range of cultural icons. The book considers industry shifts, access and diversity, but also the notion of cultural appropriation, audience appeal, marketing and demographics. Perhaps most importantly, the publication will look at what happens when cultures collide and coalesce.

(Music Sales America). This fabulous collection contains 18 of their best known numbers including: Bridge Over Troubled Water * The Sound Of Silence * Mrs. Robinson * A Hazy Shade of Winter * America * Cecilia * At the Zoo * 59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovey) * and more. These are authentic and accurate piano and vocal arrangements with guitar chord boxes and full lyrics, taken from the original recordings.

A new and wide-ranging view of the confluence, since the 1990s, of the fields of contemporary literature and popular music in Germany. In Germany the decade beginning in the mid-1990s brought an unprecedented "confusion of the spheres" of literature and popular music. Popular musicians "crossed over" into the literary field, editors and writers called for contemporary German literature to become more like popular music, writers attempted to borrow structural aspects from music or paid new attention to popular music at the thematic level. Others sought to raise their profiles by means of performance models taken from the popular music field. This book sets out to make sense of this situation. It argues for more inclusive and detailed attention to what it calls "musico-centric fiction," for which it discerns intellectual precursors going back to the 1960s and also identifies examples written since the turn of the millennium, after the would-be death of "pop literature." In doing so, it focuses on fiction and paratextual interventions by authors including Peter Handke, Rolf Dieter Brinkmann, Rainald Goetz, Andreas Neumeister, Thomas Meinecke, Matthias Politycki, Frank Goosen, Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre, Thomas Brussig, Karen Duve, and Kerstin Grether. Andrew Wright Hurley is Senior Lecturer in German and Cultural Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.

An intimate look at the legendary Frank Sinatra by one of his closest friends. Not many people were allowed inside Frank Sinatra's inner circle. But Tony Consiglio was a boyhood friend of Sinatra's who remained his friend and confidant for over sixty years. One reason Sinatra valued Tony's friendship is that he could be trusted: Sinatra nicknamed him "the Clam" because Tony never spoke to reporters or biographers about the singer. From the early days when Sinatra was trying to establish himself as a singer to the mid-1960s, Tony worked with Sinatra and was there to share in the highs and lows of Sinatra's life and career. Tony was with Sinatra during his "bobby-soxer" megastar days in the 1940s, and he remained loyal to Sinatra during the lean years of the early 1950s, when "the Voice" was struggling with a crumbling singing and acting career-as well as his tumultuous marriage to Ava Gardner. Tony also had a front row seat to Sinatra's comeback in the 1950s, starting with his Academy Award-winning role in From Here to Eternity and a string of now-classic hit recordings. Tony's friendship with Sinatra allowed him to rub elbows with the Hollywood elite, including Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, Kim Novak, Ava Gardner, and many others. It also brought him close to the political world of the early 1960s, when Sinatra campaigned for John F. Kennedy and then helped plan the Kennedy inauguration. Tony was even at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis, Massachusetts, when the election results came in. Sinatra and Me will shed new light on the real Frank Sinatra-from the man who knew him better than anyone.

The remarkable autobiography of the last great wartime icon. Born Vera Welch on 20 March, 1917 in the East End of London, Dame Vera Lynn's career was set from an early age - along with her father, who also did a 'turn', she sang in Working Men's Clubs from just seven years old. She had a successful radio career with Joe Loss and Charlie Kunz in the 1920s and '30s, but it was with World War II that she became the iconic figure that captured the imagination of the national public. Her spirit and verve, along with her ability to connect with the men fighting for their country and those left behind praying for their loved ones, made her the 'Forces' sweetheart'. Performing the songs that she will always be associated with, such as 'We'll Meet Again' and 'Yours', Vera toured Egypt, India and Burma to entertain the troops and bring them a sense of 'back home'. Her career after the war flourished, with hits in the US and the UK, but Vera was never able to leave behind her wartime role and was deeply affected by what she had seen. Still heavily involved with veteran and other charities, this is Dame Vera's vivid story of her life and her war - from bombs and rations to dance halls and the searing heat of her appearances abroad. Epitomising British fortitude and hope, Dame Vera gives a vivid portrait of Britain at war, and a unique story of one woman who came to symbolize a nation.

Through in-depth case studies, Religion and Popular Music explores encounters between music, fans and religion. The book examines several popular music artists - including Bob Dylan, Prince and Katy Perry - and looks at the way religion comes into play in their work and personas. Genres explored by contributing authors include country, folk, rock, metal and Electronic Dance Music. Case studies in the book originate from a variety of geographic and cultural contexts, focusing on topics such as nationalism and hard rock in Russia, fan culture in Argentina, and punk and Islam in Indonesia. Chapters engage with the central issue of how global music meets local audiences and practices, and considers how fans as well as religious groups react to the uses of religion in popular music. It also looks at how they make these interactions between popular music and religion components in their own identity, community and practice. Tapping into a vital and lively topic of teaching, research and wider cultural interest, and employing diverse methodologies across musicians, fans and religious groups, this book is an important contribution to the growing field of religion and popular music studies.

#1 New York Times Bestseller A People Magazine Top Ten Book of the Year 'A sensational memoir ...brilliantly well written. Carly Simon is incapable of writing a boring sentence ...you can forgive anything for the unparalleled brilliance of her writing' - Lynn Barber, Sunday Times 'Hugely affecting memoir ...heartfelt and remarkable' - Fiona Sturges, Independent Carly Simon is a household name. She was the staple of the '70s and '80s Billboard charts and was famously married to James Taylor with whom she has two children. She has had a career that has spanned four decades, resulting in thirteen top 40 hits, including the Number 1 song 'You're So Vain', numerous Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. She was the first artist in history to win a Grammy Award, an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her song 'Let the River Run' (from the film Working Girl). Boys in the Trees is a rhapsodic, beautifully composed memoir of a young woman's coming of age amongst the glamorous literati and intelligentsia of Manhattan (her father was Richard Simon, co-founder of publishing giant Simon & Schuster), a reflection on a life begun amidst secrets and shame, and a powerful story of the strength to leave that all behind and forge a path of art, music and love in the Golden Age of folk and rock. At once an insider's look into a life in the spotlight, a lyric reflection on a particular time in our culture's history, and a beautiful memoir about the pains and joys of love and art, Boys in the Trees is the story Carly Simon has long been waiting to tell the world. Praise for the US edition: 'One of the best celebrity memoirs of the year' Hollywood Reporter 'Intelligent and captivating' People 'Compelling' Rolling Stone

Outside of his native France, Serge Gainsbourg has been portrayed as the one-hit wonder lothario of Je t'aime... or a washed-up self-parody drunkenly uttering obscenities on talk-shows. These hopelessly restrictive views are increasingly being replaced by an awareness of how visionary a musician and lyricist he was. Reassessing his legacy, it's clear that Gainsbourg was an eclectic, protean figure; a Dadaist, poete maudit, Pop-Artist, composer, holy fool, libertine and anti-hero. An icon and iconoclast. Here was an artist so far ahead of his time it seems we're only now catching up. Central to any appraisal of his work is arguably his masterpiece Histoire de Melody Nelson, an album suite combining many of his signature themes; sexual taboos, provocation, humour, exoticism and ultimately tragedy. The score, arranged with Jean-Claude Vannier, of lush cinematic strings and proto-hip hop beats combined with Serge's spoken-word poetry, has become remarkably influential across a wide musical spectrum inspiring soundtracks, indie groups and electronic artists.In recent years, the album's reputation has grown from cult status to that of a modern classic with the likes of Beck, Arcade Fire, Air and Pulp paying tribute. How did the son of poor Jewish immigrants, hounded during the Nazi occupation, rise to fame, notoriety and acclaim, being celebrated by President Francois Mitterand as our Baudelaire, our Apollinaire? How did the early chanson singer evolve into a musical innovator incorporating world music, samples, breakbeats and dub into his music decades ahead of the curve? And what were the roots and legacy of a concept album about a Rolls Royce, red-haired Lolita muse, otherworldly mansions, plane crashes and Cargo Cults?

Despite the presence of the Flaming Lips in a commercial for a copier and Iggy Pop's music in luxury cruise advertisements, Jeffrey T. Nealon argues that popular music has not exactly been co-opted in the American capitalist present. Contemporary neoliberal capitalism has, in fact, found a central organizing use for the values of twentieth-century popular music: being authentic, being your own person, and being free. In short, not being like everybody else. Through a consideration of the shift in dominant modes of power in the American twentieth and twenty-first centuries, from what Michel Foucault calls a dominant "disciplinary" mode of power to a "biopolitical" mode, Nealon argues that the modes of musical "resistance" need to be completely rethought and that a commitment to musical authenticity or meaning-saying "no" to the mainstream-is no longer primarily where we might look for music to function against the grain. Rather, it is in the technological revolutions that allow biopolitical subjects to deploy music within an everyday set of practices (MP3 listening on smartphones and iPods, streaming and downloading on the internet, the background music that plays nearly everywhere) that one might find a kind of ambient or ubiquitous answer to the "attention capitalism" that has come to organize neoliberalism in the American present. In short, Nealon stages the final confrontation between "keepin' it real" and "sellin' out."

That rare thing, an academic study of music that seeks to tie together the strands of the musical text, the industry that produces it, and the audience that gives it meaning... A vital read for anyone interested in the changing nature of popular music production and consumption" - Dr Nathan Wiseman-Trowse, The University of Northampton Popular music entertains, inspires and even empowers, but where did it come from, how is it made, what does it mean, and how does it eventually reach our ears? Tim Wall guides students through the many ways we can analyse music and the music industries, highlighting crucial skills and useful research tips.

Taking into account recent changes and developments in the industry, this book outlines the key concepts, offers fresh perspectives and encourages readers to reflect on their own work. Written with clarity, flair and enthusiasm, it covers:

Histories of popular music, their traditions and cultural, social, economic and technical factors Industries and institutions, production, new technology, and the entertainment media Musical form, meaning and representation Audiences and consumption.

Students' learning is consolidated through a set of insightful case studies, engaging activities and helpful suggestions for further reading.

An Anthology of Australian Albums offers an overview of Australian popular music through the lens of significant, yet sometimes overlooked, Australian albums. Chapters explore the unique qualities of each album within a broader history of Australian popular music. Artists covered range from the older and non-mainstream yet influential, such as the Missing Links, Wendy Saddington and the Coloured Balls, to those who have achieved very recent success (Courtney Barnett, Dami Im and Flume) and whose work contributes to international pop music (Sia), to the more exploratory or experimental (Curse ov Dialect and A.B. Original). Collectively the albums and artists covered contribute to a view of Australian popular music through the non-canonical, emphasizing albums by women, non-white artists and Indigenous artists, and expanding the focus to include genres outside of rock including hip hop, black metal and country.

The definitive guide to the decade when swinging London was the film capital of the world After The Beatles stormed America, every Hollywood and European production company descended on London to be part of the new swinging scene... and they didn't leave until they'd signed up every able-bodied pop group or singer to appear in one of their films. A unique and carefully researched cultural history of UK film, TV and music in the swinging 60s; a time when no film or TV programme was without a group, singer or fantastic soundtrack - and London was briefly the film capital of the world. Containing individual summaries of over 120 films, covering everything from John Barry to Pink Floyd via Blow Up, the Electric Banana, Serge Gainsbourg, Magical Mystery Tour, David hemmings, Kubrick, Godard, Jodorowsdky and the London cast of Hair. With comprehensive listings of over 500 related features, documentaries, TV programmes and shorts, an unforgettable trip through the swinging 60s.

***NOMINATED FOR THE NME BEST BOOK AWARD 2017 *** The first and only OFFICIAL book from ZAYN, for his ultimate fans. Zayn's autobiography features exclusive, never-before-seen photographs alongside his story. -------------------------------- 'This book is my diary of a period that I would like to share with you all. I hope that there are things in the book that contextualise some of the moments and memories we have all shared together. There are things I address in the book that are very personal to me, things that I have never told anyone, things I still find hard to talk about. It's a part of a journey I'm still on' - ZAYN ZAYN opens up with this collection of thoughts, inspiration, and never-before-seen personal photographs. After five years of massive success with One Direction, ZAYN launched his career as a solo artist with Mind of Mine, becoming one of the most successful artists in the world. Now, for the first time ever, ZAYN is going to tell and show all in this intimate and raw scrapbook of his life. Never-before-released photos give readers insight to ZAYN, no-holds-barred. Gorgeously designed with hundreds of full-color photographs and Zayn's notes, drawings, song lyrics, and personal stories, the book captures Zayn's most private moments and his candid feelings on fame, success, music, and life. The next chapter of ZAYN'S evolution into global superstar, told by the artist who is living it. Global superstar ZAYN shares a photographic journey of his life since leaving One Direction. *** Reviews for Mind of Mine: "A singer eager to reclaim the parts of himself that five years in the pop klieg lights forced into the shadows." -The New York Times "Sonically, you won't find many pop albums in 2016 more immaculately conceived than this." -SPIN "Sublime." -USA Today "Malik can sing . . . he's done this before, but not like this." -Rolling Stone "A moody, deeply textured R&B album..." -Los Angeles Times "Zayn has clearly achieved his aim of making an album of sexy, credible pop-R&B." -NME

When he emerged from the nightclubs of Greenwich Village, Bob Dylan was often identified as a "protest" singer. As early as 1962, however, Dylan was already protesting the label: "I don't write no protest songs," he told his audience on the night he debuted "Blowin' in the Wind." "Protest" music is largely perceived as an unsubtle art form, a topical brand of songwriting that preaches to the converted. But popular music of all types has long given listeners food for thought. Fifty years before Vietnam, before the United States entered World War I, some of the most popular sheet music in the country featured anti-war tunes. The labor movement of the early decades of the century was fueled by its communal "songbook." The Civil Rights movement was soundtracked not just by the gorgeous melodies of "Strange Fruit" and "A Change Is Gonna Come," but hundreds of other gospel-tinged ballads and blues. In Which Side Are You On, author James Sullivan delivers a lively anecdotal history of the progressive movements that have shaped the growth of the United States, and the songs that have accompanied and defined them. Covering one hundred years of social conflict and progress across the twentieth century and into the early years of the twenty-first, this book reveals how protest songs have given voice to the needs and challenges of a nation and asked its citizens to take a stand - asking the question "Which side are you on?"

For more than four decades, Leonard Cohen's mournful ballads of desire, heartbreak and lost faith have captivated audiences the world over. Now more popular than ever, the award-winning Canadian songwriter, novelist and poet is revered as a cultural icon and master of his craft.
Published to coincide with Cohen's 80th birthday in September 2014, this is the first complete guide to his studio and live albums -- from his studio debut, "Songs of Leonard Cohen" (1967), to his most recent record, "Old Ideas" (2012). Offering a comprehensive overview of each LP -- from writing and recording through to release and legacy -- "Leonard Cohen: Everybody Knows" is a richly illustrated tribute to the body of recorded work that has made Cohen a legend in his own lifetime.