What defines pop music? Why do we consider some styles as easier listening than others? Arranged in three parts: Aesthetics and Authenticity - Groove, Sampling and Industry - Subjectivity, Ethnicity and Politics, this collection of essays by a group of international scholars deals with these questions in diverse ways. This volume prepares the reader for the debates around pop's intricate historical, aesthetic and cultural roots. The intellectual perspectives on offer present the interdisciplinary aspects of studying music and, spanning more than twenty-five years, these essays form a snapshot of some of the authorial voices that have shaped the specific subject matter of pop criticism within the broader field of popular music studies. A common thread running through these essays is the topic of interpretation and its relation to conceptions of musicality, subjectivity and aesthetics. The principle aim of this collection is to demonstrate that pop music needs to be evaluated on its own terms within the cultural contexts that make it meaningful.

Remixing European Jazz Culture examines a jazz culture that emerged in the 1990s in cosmopolitan cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Berlin, London, and Oslo - energised by the introduction of studio technologies into the live performance space, which has since developed into internationally recognised, eclectic, hybrid jazz styles. This book explores these oft-overlooked musicians and their forms that have nonetheless expanded the plane of jazz's continued prosperity, popularity, and revitalisation in the twenty-first century - one where remix is no longer the sole domain of studio producers. Seeking to update the orthodoxies of the field of jazz studies, Remixing European Jazz Culture: incorporates electronic and digital performance, recording, and distribution practices that have transformed the culture since the 1980s; provides a more diverse and multifaceted cultural representation of European jazz and the contributions of a variety of performers; and offers an encompassing picture of the depth of jazz practice that has erupted through Northern Europe since 1989. With an expansion of international networks and a disintegration of artistic boundaries, the collaborative, performative, and real-time improvisational process of remixing has stimulated a merging of the music's past and present within European jazz culture.

What do pop songs have to say about love? Surprisingly, this book shows that most popular love songs express much more about alienation, infatuation, estrangement, jealousy, and heartbreak than about love.Scheff takes the reader on a tour of popular lyrics from eighty years of American song to reveal the emotional and relational meaning of lyrics. He shows that popular love songs typically steer listeners away from a healthy connection to the emotions surrounding love. Readers will gain a deeper understanding of love songs while appreciating the author's suggestions for how listeners and artists could enrich the art of the love song.

Scott Walker is undoubtedly one of the most brilliant, serious and intelligent of artists today. As one of the greatest lyricists of the 20th century and front man of globally loved pop trip, The Walker Brothers, Walker commands huge devotion. A major event, Sundog is the first ever selection of Walker's lyrics curated by the artist himself, published for the first time with a stunning introduction by Eimear McBride. Walker's iconic lyrics will proudly follow in the footsteps of other famous musicians who have been published by Faber & Faber, including Jarvis Cocker, Billy Bragg, and Van Morrison.

This multi-disciplinary edited collection explores the textual analysis of heavy metal lyrics written in languages other than English, including Yiddish, Latin, Russian, Austrian German, Spanish and Italian. The volume features fascinating chapters on the role of ancient language in heavy metal, the significance of metal in minority-language communities, Slovenian mythology in metal, heavy metal lyrics and politics in the Soviet Union and Taiwan, processing bereavement in Danish black metal, cultural identity in Norwegian-medium metal, and the Kawaii metal scene in Japan, amongst others. Applying a range of methodological approaches - from literary and content analysis to quantitative corpus methods and critical approaches - the book conceptualises various forms of identity via lyrical text and identifies a number of global themes in heavy metal lyrics, including authenticity, parody and the desire to sound extreme, that reoccur across different countries and languages. The book is essential reading for researchers and students of metal music and culture, as well as those with broader interests in cultural studies, musicology, literary studies and popular culture studies.

Black Metal, Trauma, Subjectivity and Sound: Screaming the Abyss weaves together trauma, black metal performance and disability into a story of both pain and freedom. Drawing on her years as a black metal guitarist, Jasmine Hazel Shadrack uses autoethnography to explore her own experiences of gender-based violence, misogyny, and the healing power of performance. This profoundly personal book offers a detailed explanation of autoethnography, followed by a careful exposition of the relationship between metal and gender, considering - among other things - how women are engaged with by metal music culture. After examining the various waves of black metal and how this has impacted black metal theory, the book moves on to consider female performers and performance as catharsis, including a discussion of the author's work as guitarist and vocalist with the black metal band Denigrata and her alter-ego, the 'antlered priestess' Denigrata Herself. The book concludes with some thoughts on acquired disability, freedom and peace. The book includes a foreword from eminent gender researcher Rosemary Lucy Hill, a guest section from metal scholar Amanda DiGioia, an epilogue from Rebecca Lamont-Jiggens (a legal pracademic specialising in disability), suggestions of sources of help for those in abusive relationships and further reading for those wishing to learn more about black metal theory.

Oasis were a band like bands used to be. Hard-drinking and substance abusing. If they liked you, they loved you. If they didn't, you had to be prepared for confrontation. They were also the most viscerally exciting rock band to emerge from Britain for years. Iain Robertson is used to tough jobs - after retiring from the Parachute Regiment, he took on jobs guarding George Harrison, Gary Moore and Johnny Rotten. But keeping Oasis on the rails after debut album Definitely Maybe ignited their rise toward global superstardom would be the toughest gig of them all. Iain was side-by-side with Oasis as their road manager and minder, twenty-four hours a day, eight days a week, as they took on the world and won. No one was closer to the maelstrom. His story is the defining chronicle of life on tour with Oasis.

A philosophical look at heavy metal's dark masters of reality, Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath is one of the world's most influential and enduring rock bands. Dubbed "the Beatles of heavy metal" by "Rolling Stone," they helped to define a genre with classic songs like "Paranoid," "Iron Man," and "War Pigs," songs whose lyrics reveal hidden depth and philosophical insight. Their songs confront existential despair, social instability, political corruption, the horrors of war, and the nature of evil. This book explores the wide range of profound ideas in the band's music and lyrics to help you understand Black Sabbath as never before.Discusses and debates essential Black Sabbath topics and themes, such as the problem of evil, "War Pigs" and the nature of just war theory, whether or not Sabbath is still Sabbath without Ozzy, and whether "evil is in the ear of the beholder"Gives you new perspectives on Black Sabbath's music and lyricsProvides a deeper appreciation and understanding of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, and Ronnie James DioBrings some of history's heaviest thinkers to bear on the band's music, from Aristotle and Nietzsche to Schopenhauer and Marx

So . . . "can you help me, occupy my brain?" Yes Start reading "Black Sabbath and Philosophy."

Alongside Memphis, Detroit, New Orleans, Macon, and Muscle Shoals, Florida has a rich soul music history - an important cultural legacy that has often gone unrecognized. Florida Soul celebrates great artists of the Sunshine State who have produced some of the most electric, emotive soul music America has ever heard. This book tells the story of Ray Charles's musical upbringing in Florida, where he wrote his first songs and made his first recordings. It highlights the careers of Pensacola singers James and Bobby Purify and their producer, Papa Don Schroeder. It profiles Hank Ballard, who wrote the international hit song "The Twist" after seeing the dance in Tampa, and Gainesville singer Linda Lyndell. It describes the soul scene of Miami's Overtown and Liberty City neighborhoods, home to Sam Moore of the legendary duo Sam and Dave, Willie Clarke and Johnny Pearsall of Deep City Records, and singer Helene Smith. Miami was also the longtime headquarters of Henry Stone, whose influential company T.K. Productions put out hits by Timmy Thomas, Latimore, Betty Wright, and KC and the Sunshine Band. Stone's distribution deals influenced charts and radio airplay across the world. Born in the era of segregation with origins in gospel, rhythm and blues, and jazz, and reaching maturity during the civil rights movement, soul was one of the first music styles rooted in African American culture to cross over and gain a significant white audience. John Capouya draws on extensive interviews with surviving musicians to re-create the exciting atmosphere of the golden age of soul, establishing Florida as one of the great soul music capitals of the United States.

Half a century after three teenage brothers decided to give a career in music a go, the Bee Gees are among the most successful and enduring names in popular music history. Trailblazing their way across pop music since the 1960s, Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb have made their songs Stayin' Alive, How Deep is Your Love, To Love Somebody, and I Started a Joke, timeless. Filled with staggering highs - especially as they became the definitive band of the disco era - The Little Guide to the Bee Gees is packed with quotes perfect for the music-lover in your life and just might help you stay alive. 'Contrary to popular belief, we have no leader. We call it a democratic dictatorship.' - Maurice Gibb 'We are brothers first, a pop group second.' - Barry Gibb 'Show business is something you have to have in you when you're born.' - Robin Gibb

Fado, often described as 'urban folk music', emerged from the streets of Lisbon in the mid-nineteenth century and went on to become Portugal's 'national' music during the twentieth. It is known for its strong emphasis on loss, memory and nostalgia within its song texts, which often refer to absent people and places. One of the main lyrical themes of fado is the city itself. Fado music has played a significant role in the interlacing of mythology, history, memory and regionalism in Portugal in the second half of the twentieth century. Richard Elliott considers the ways in which fado songs bear witness to the city of Lisbon, in relation to the construction and maintenance of the local. Elliott explores the ways in which fado acts as a cultural product reaffirming local identity via recourse to social memory and an imagined community, while also providing a distinctive cultural export for the dissemination of a 'remembered Portugal' on the global stage.

The research presented in this volume is very recent, and the general approach is that of rethinking popular musicology: its purpose, its aims, and its methods. Contributors to the volume were asked to write something original and, at the same time, to provide an instructive example of a particular way of working and thinking. The essays have been written with a view to helping graduate students with research methodology and the application of relevant theoretical models. The team of contributors is an exceptionally strong one: it contains many of the pre-eminent academic figures involved in popular musicological research, and there is a spread of European, American, Asian, and Australasian scholars. The volume covers seven main themes: Film, Video and Multimedia; Technology and Studio Production; Gender and Sexuality; Identity and Ethnicity; Performance and Gesture; Reception and Scenes and The Music Industry and Globalization. The Ashgate Research Companion is designed to offer scholars and graduate students a comprehensive and authoritative state-of-the-art review of current research in a particular area. The companion's editor brings together a team of respected and experienced experts to write chapters on the key issues in their speciality, providing a comprehensive reference to the field.

Play draws exclusively on Rankin s archive of photographs of the biggest names in contemporary music from the rock gods who shaped our musical landscape to the British Invasion of the 1990s and the American superstars who mix music and production to define what the record industry is today. Divided by theme Heroes and Girl Gangs and Boy Bands, Cool Britannia and My Generation Play collects almost two hundred of Rankin s favorite images of the most influential artists of the last three decades, from David Bowie and Elton John to Pharrell, the Spice Girls, Grimes, and Bjork. Alongside his photos are anecdotes from Rankin and the artists themselves on the reciprocal relationship between photographer and subject and between the star power of pop music and the iconography of fashion.

Black Vinyl White Powder is the definitive story of the British music industry's first five decades, as told by its ultimate insider. A key player since the 1960s - whether penning hits for Dusty Springfield, discovering Marc Bolan or managing a series of stellar acts ranging from the Yardbirds to Wham! - Simon Napier-Bell draws on his wealth of contacts and unparalleled personal experience to give an enthralling account of a business that became like no other. From the crazed debauchery of rock megastars like the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin to the ecstasy culture that shaped dance music in the 1980s, Napier-Bell charts the growth of a world in which bad behaviour is not only tolerated but encouraged; where drugs are as important as talent; and where artists are pushed to their mental and physical limits in the name of profit and ego. Filled with the voices of artists, producers, managers and record company execs, Black Vinyl White Powder is the most raucous, entertaining and revealing history of British pop ever written.

Formed as a New York City hardcore band in 1981, Beastie Boys struck an unlikely path to global hip hop superstardom. Here is their story, told for the first time in the words of the band. Adam "AD-ROCK" Horovitz and Michael "Mike D" Diamond offer revealing and very funny accounts of their transition from teenage punks to budding rappers; their early collaboration with Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin; the almost impossible-to-fathom overnight success of their debut studio album Licensed to Ill; that album's messy fallout; their break with Def Jam, move to Los Angeles, and rebirth as musicians and social activists, with the genre-defying masterpiece Paul's Boutique. For more than twenty years, this band has had a wide-ranging and lasting influence on popular culture.

With a style as distinctive and eclectic as a Beastie Boys album, Beastie Boys Book upends the typical music memoir. Alongside the band narrative you will find rare photos, original illustrations, a cookbook by chef Roy Choi, a graphic novel, a map of Beastie Boys' New York, mixtape playlists, pieces by guest contributors, and many more surprises.

(Piano/Vocal/Guitar Artist Songbook). This updated edition offers 60 of Elton's best: Bennie and the Jets * The Bitch Is Back * Candle in the Wind * Crocodile Rock * Daniel * Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me * Goodbye Yellow Brick Road * I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues * The One * Rocket Man * Sad Songs (Say So Much) * Tiny Dancer * Written in the Stars * Your Song * and more

A New York Times Best Seller 2019 National Book Award Longlist, Nonfiction 2019 Kirkus Book Prize Finalist, Nonfiction A February IndieNext Pick Named A Most Anticipated Book of 2019 by Buzzfeed, Nylon, The A. V. Club, CBC Books, and The Rumpus, and a Winter's Most Anticipated Book by Vanity Fair and The Week Starred Reviews: Kirkus and Booklist "Warm, immediate and intensely personal."-New York Times How does one pay homage to A Tribe Called Quest? The seminal rap group brought jazz into the genre, resurrecting timeless rhythms to create masterpieces such as The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders. Seventeen years after their last album, they resurrected themselves with an intense, socially conscious record, We Got It from Here . . . Thank You 4 Your Service, which arrived when fans needed it most, in the aftermath of the 2016 election. Poet and essayist Hanif Abdurraqib digs into the group's history and draws from his own experience to reflect on how its distinctive sound resonated among fans like himself. The result is as ambitious and genre-bending as the rap group itself. Abdurraqib traces the Tribe's creative career, from their early days as part of the Afrocentric rap collective known as the Native Tongues, through their first three classic albums, to their eventual breakup and long hiatus. Their work is placed in the context of the broader rap landscape of the 1990s, one upended by sampling laws that forced a reinvention in production methods, the East Coast-West Coast rivalry that threatened to destroy the genre, and some record labels' shift from focusing on groups to individual MCs. Throughout the narrative Abdurraqib connects the music and cultural history to their street-level impact. Whether he's remembering The Source magazine cover announcing the Tribe's 1998 breakup or writing personal letters to the group after bandmate Phife Dawg's death, Abdurraqib seeks the deeper truths of A Tribe Called Quest; truths that-like the low end, the bass-are not simply heard in the head, but felt in the chest.

Indie Rock 101 is a clear, concise, all-in-one primer for beginning to mid-level musicians looking for the essential fundamentals behind running, recording and promoting their band. It's all the basics that can take years to collate from more specialized or technical books, magazines and websites and it s written by a real independent musician.
* Part I, Running Your Band covers the topics most relevant to forming and running the band: the people, practice and songwriting
* Part II, Recording covers pre-production considerations, gear and how-to basics, and timeless fundamentals and techniques around recording, mixing and mastering
* Part III, Promoting covers what you need to know to establish and grow your fan base, including graphic design, your press kit and website, sharing and selling your music, playing out and making a video
Whether you re just starting out or looking for a 360-degree primer to help take your music to the next level, Indie Rock 101 is the one book that covers it all.
Featuring photos and Q&As from:
Birdmonster * CDBaby founder Derek Sivers * Juliana Hatfield * John Vanderslice * Karate * Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon * Spanish for 100 * World Air Guitar Champion "Hot Lixx" Hulahan and more
*Written by music industry insider, learn from someone who has been there and succeeded
*Gives insight and need to know information on running, recording and promoting your band that is usually gained through painful experience- overcome the barriers facing your band
*Get on the runway to becoming pro, explains how to navigate the music world without a label and get your music out to the world

Lewis Wickes Hines documentary photography helped promote the cause of the National Child Labor Committee, which published there declaration in 1913. This text is a collection of photographs showing children at work from 1910 to 1935 as Hines travelled across America.

A scholarly work that aims to be both broad enough in scope to satisfy upper-division undergraduates studying folk belief and narrative and detailed enough to meet the needs of graduate students in the field.