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This eclectic compilation of readings tells the history of rock as it has been received and explained as a social and musical practice throughout its six decade history. This third edition includes new readings across the volume, with added material on the early origins of rock 'n' roll as well as coverage of recent developments, including the changing shape of the music industry in the twenty-first century. With numerous readings that delve into the often explosive issues surrounding censorship, copyright, race relations, feminism, youth subcultures, and the meaning of musical value, The Rock History Reader continues to appeal to scholars and students from a variety of disciplines. New to the third edition: Nine additional chapters from a broad range of perspectives Explorations of new media formations, industry developments, and the intersections of music and labor For the first time, a companion website providing users with playlists of music referenced in the book Featuring readings as loud, vibrant, and colorful as rock ‘n’ roll itself, The Rock History Reader is sure to leave readers informed, inspired, and perhaps even infuriated—but never bored.
Smile has become one of the most unavoidable legends of rock'n'roll folklore, and in this searching examination Domenic Priore presents the true story behind the album's 40-year conception. Work on Smile began hot on the heels of the ground-breaking Pet Sounds, when Brian Wilson collaborated with Van Dyke Parks to create a 'musical story of America'. However, production would famously collapse under a tide of internal fighting, record business chicanery and Brian's own health problems. In this unique account, Domenic Priore interviews all the main players and documents every aspect of the Smile experience, from its troubled inception to Wilson's brave attempt to finish what he started in 2005. The book includes detailed accounts of studio work, the triumphant live shows in Europe and the US, and a host of exclusive photos from photographer Guy Webster.
Alejandro Jodorowsky's El Topo helped inaugurate the midnight movie phenomenon. Its success spawned The Holy Mountain, through interventions by John Lennon and Allen Klein. After a scandalous release and a 16-month midnight career, The Holy Mountain was relegated to the underground world of fan bootlegs for over thirty years until its limited restored release in 2007. This short study reveals how The Holy Mountain, a poetic, hilarious, and anarchist cult film by an international auteur, anchored in post-1968 critiques, is – at the same time – an archaeological capsule of the counterculture movement, a timely subversion of mystical tenets, and one of the most mysterious films in the history of world cinema.
Brian Wilson was the visionary behind America's most successful and influential rock band. As the leader of the Beach Boys, he sold 100 million records and built a catalog of songs that continues to define the sound and feel of American popular music. Healso became one of the culture's most mysterious and tragic figures--but after spending years lost in a wilderness of despair, Wilson has fought his way back to productivity. Now journalist Carlin, who conducted in-depth interviews with dozens of sourcesand listened to hundreds of hours of unreleased studio recordings and live music, tells a uniquely American story of the band, the music, and the culture the Beach Boys both sang about and helped create.--From publisher description.
Showing how theories of stardom can help us understand both Bob Dylan and the history of rock music, Lee Marshall provides new insight into how Dylan's songs acquire meaning and affects his relationship with his fans, his critics and the recording industry.
“A vivid account . . . Young and old fans alike will enjoy” (Publishers Weekly). This book offer a unique journey through The Beach Boys’ long, fascinating history by telling the stories behind fifty of the band’s greatest songs from the perspective of group members, collaborators, fellow musicians, and notable fans. Filled with new interviews with music legends such as Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Alan Jardine, Bruce Johnston, David Marks, Blondie Chaplin, Randy Bachman, Roger McGuinn, John Sebastian, Lyle Lovett, Alice Cooper, and Al Kooper, and commentary from a younger generation such as Matthew Sweet, Carnie Wilson, Daniel Lanois, Cameron Crowe, and Zooey Deschanel, this story of pop culture history both explores the darkness and difficulties with which the band struggled, and reminds us how their songs could make life feel like an endless summer.
Herman and Weisenburger put the novel's abiding questions about freedom in context with sixties struggles against war, restricted speech rights, ethno-racial oppression, environmental degradation, and subtle new means of social and psychological control.
To the uninitiated, Thomas Pynchon’s V. seems to defy comprehension with its open-ended and fragmented narrative, huge cast of characters (some 150 of them), and wide range of often obscure references. J. Kerry Grant’s Companion to “V.” takes us through the novel chapter by chapter, breaking through its daunting surface by summarizing events and clarifying Pynchon’s many allusions. The Companion draws extensively from existing critical and explicative work on V. to suggest the range of interpretations that the novel can support. The hundreds of notes that comprise the Companion are keyed to the three most widely cited editions of V. Most notes are interpretive, but some also provide historical and cultural contexts or help to resurrect other nuances of meaning. Because it does not constitute a particular “reading” of, or “take” on, the novel, the Companion will appeal to a wide range of users. Rather than attempting to make final sense of the novel, the Companion exposes and demystifies Pynchon’s intent to play with our conventional attitudes about fiction.
Praise for the previous edition:Booklist/RBB "Twenty Best Bets for Student Researchers"RUSA/ALA "Outstanding Reference Source"" ... useful ... Recommended for public libraries and undergraduates."