Voicing the popular : on the subjects of popular music / Richard Middleton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Middleton, Richard.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Popular music--History and criticism.

Popular music.

Music--Philosophy and aesthetics.

Music.

Physical Description:

viii, 339 pages : music ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, 2006.

Summary:

"Voicing the Popular" brings together aspects of political economy, cultural history, and musical interpretation to examine the rise of popular music over the past 50 years. A unifying theme is that of "voice," by which Middleton means the sphere of vocality through which popular songs are delivered, as well as a broader, metaphorical sense of "voice" as a vehicle through which subjects articulate, understand, and represent identities and personae. Tackling large themes in the field--including gender, race authenticity, and repetition as a means of structuring popular song--Middleton hopes to bring new clarity to the study of popular music, while also questioning basic assumptions. "Voicing the Popular" brings a fresh, new perspective to the field of popular music studies. Written by a world-renowned authority, it will stand as both a summation and a challenge to all interested in pursuing this growing discipline.

Contents:

Introduction : "We're low, we're low, we're very, very low"

Through a mask darkly : voices of Black folk

Appropriating the phallus? : female voices and the Law-of-the-Father

Memories are made of this : on the subjects of repetition

The real thing? : the specter of authenticity.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 299-310) and indexes.

ISBN:

0415975891

0415975905

OCLC:

62281572

Publisher Number:

9780415975896

9780415975902