A Popular Music Reader

by King, Richard G.

• ISBN13: 9781256826347
• ISBN10: 1256826340
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-10-21
• Publisher: Pearson Learning Solutions

Summary

 A Popular Music Reader includes a wide range of writing, from newspapers and books, to blogs and academic journals by performers, critics, and scholars.  Both classic and contemporary topics are covered, allowing students the opportunity to examine important issues in popular music studies including: taste and authenticity, history and style, the music business, technology, lyrics, race, gender and censorship.  Most importantly this reader gives students the chance to explore and study (not to mention enjoy) some of the fine writing motivated by pop.

 

Table of Contents

PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vii

 

PART I: TASTE, AUTHENTICITY, AND THE CANON . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

1. Me, On Shuffle. True or false: The music a person listens

to reveals many truths about that person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Chuck Klosterman

2. The Rap Against Rockism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Kelefah Sanneh

EXPLORING ROCKISM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

3. Sacred Cows:Why I Can No Longer Listen To Nirvana’s

Nevermind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Luke Lewis

4. Creed Is Good . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Jonah Weiner

5. The Ratt Trap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Chuck Klosterman

6. Shots at a pop canon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Andrew Smith

 

PART II: HISTORY AND STYLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

7. Classic Rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Nik Cohn

8. Eight Miles High . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Robert Palmer

9. Forty Years After Woodstock, A Gentler Generation Gap . . . . . . . . . . .47

Paul Taylor and Richard Morin

10. The Emergence of Art Rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

John Rockwell

11. In Which Yet Another Pompous Blowhard Purports to Possess

the True Meaning of Punk Rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61

Lester Bangs

12. 1979: The year punk died, and was reborn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

Sasha Frere-Jones

13. The History of Rock’s Pasts through Rock Covers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

Deena Weinstein

14. Mixed Cuts: How Remixes Compliment and Complicate . . . . . . . . . . . .81

The Blackspot

15. Grunge’s Long Shadow: In praise of “in-between” periods

in pop history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

Simon Reynolds

 

PART III: THE MUSIC BUSINESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91

16. Inside the Rolling Stones Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

Andy Serwer

17. What’s Wrong With Payola? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103

Daniel Gross

18. Courtney Love Does the Math . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

Courtney Love

19. Will .I. Am and the Science of Global Pop Domination . . . . . . . . . . . .121

Chris Norris

20. The Song Machine: The hitmakers behind Rihanna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129

John Seabrook

 

PART IV: TECHNOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143

21. In the Studio: The Role of Recording Techniques in Rock Music . . . . .145

John Covach

22. 19 January 1967: ‘Well I just had to laugh . . .’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155

George Martin

23. The Fuzz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165

Michael Hicks

24. The Turntable as Weapon: Understanding the DJ Battle . . . . . . . . . . . .175

Mark Katz

25. What’s an 808? A drum machine’s journey from obscurity to ubiquity . . .193

Chris Richards

26. DJs vs. Samplers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197

Suzanne McElfrish

27. The grey album: copyright law, digital sampling and mashups . . . . . . .201

Matthew Rimmer

28. Auto-Tune:Why Pop Music Sounds Perfect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207

Josh Tyrangiel

29. The Song Decoders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211

Rob Walker

 

PART V: LYRICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221

30. Rock and the Facts of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223

Charles Hamm

31. Pop Music and the War: The Sound of Resignation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235

Jon Pareles

32. Why I Gave Up On Hip-Hop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239

Lonnae 0’Neal Parker

33. Don’t Blame Hip-Hop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245

Kelefa Sanneh

 

PART VI: RACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249

34. Race, Ethnicity, Expressive Authenticity: Can White People

Sing the Blues? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251

Joel Rudinow

35. Race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267

Russell A. Potter

36. In Pop Music, The Races Remain Far Apart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .277

John Rockwell

37. Guarding the Borders of the Hip-Hop Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283

N R. Kleinfield

 

PART VII: WOMEN IN POP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297

38. Girl Groups: A Ballad of Codependency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .299

Donna Gaines

39. Introduction [to Grrrls: Viva Rock Divas] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309

Amy Raphael

40. Living to Tell: Madonna’s Resurrection of the Fleshly . . . . . . . . . . . . . .321

Susan McClary

41. Why “Women in Rock” issues are an insult . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331

Trish Bendix

42. Sisters Take the Rap . . . But Talk Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333

Helen Kolawole

43. Ladies! I Can’t Hear You! No, Really, I Can’t Hear You!

Where did all the female rappers go? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .345

Jonah Weiner

 

PART VIII: CENSORSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .349

44. Combating Merchants of Filth: The Role of “Louie Louie” . . . . . . . . .351

Dave Marsh

45. A Mother Takes a Stand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .365

Tipper Gore

46. Statement to the United States Senate Committee on Commerce,

Science, and Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .375

Dee Snider

47. Can I Play with Madness? Mysticism, Horror, and

Postmodern Politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .381

Robert Walser

48. Columbine:Whose Fault Is It? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .395

Marilyn Manson

 

WORKS CITED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .401

CREDITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .403

INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .........................................................................407