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On Highway 61: Music, Race and the Evolution of Cultural Freedom
by Dennis McnallyOn Highway 61 explores the historical context of the significant social dissent that was central to the cultural genesis of the sixties. The book is going to search for the deeper roots of American cultural and musical evolution for the past 150 years by studying what the Western European culture learned from African American culture in a historical progression that reaches from the minstrel era to Bob Dylan. The book begins with America's first great social critic, Henry David Thoreau, and his fundamental source of social philosophy:---his profound commitment to freedom, to abolitionism and to African-American culture. Continuing with Mark Twain, through whom we can observe the rise of minstrelsy, which he embraced, and his subversive satirical masterpiece Huckleberry Finn. While familiar, the book places them into a newly articulated historical reference that shines new light and reveals a progression that is much greater than the sum of its individual parts. As the first post-Civil War generation of black Americans came of age, they introduced into the national culture a trio of musical forms-ragtime, blues, and jazz- that would, with their derivations, dominate popular music to this day. Ragtime introduced syncopation and become the cutting edge of the modern 20th century with popular dances. The blues would combine with syncopation and improvisation and create jazz. Maturing at the hands of Louis Armstrong, it would soon attract a cluster of young white musicians who came to be known as the Austin High Gang, who fell in love with black music and were inspired to play it themselves. In the process, they developed a liberating respect for the diversity of their city and country, which they did not see as exotic, but rather as art. It was not long before these young white rebels were the masters of American pop music - big band Swing.As Bop succeeded Swing, and Rhythm and Blues followed, each had white followers like the Beat writers and the first young rock and rollers. Even popular white genres like the country music of Jimmy Rodgers and the Carter Family reflected significant black influence. In fact, the theoretical separation of American music by race is not accurate. This biracial fusion achieved an apotheosis in the early work of Bob Dylan, born and raised at the northern end of the same Mississippi River and Highway 61 that had been the birthplace of much of the black music he would study. As the book reveals, the connection that began with Thoreau and continued for over 100 years was a cultural evolution where, at first individuals, and then larger portions of society, absorbed the culture of those at the absolute bottom of the power structure, the slaves and their descendants, and realized that they themselves were not free.
On Jazz: A Personal Journey
by Alyn ShiptonFew musical genres inspire the passionate devotion of jazz. Its mystique goes far beyond the melodies and rhythms, with its key players and singers discussed by aficionados with a respect that borders on reverence. Some books on jazz offer little more than theory or dry facts, thereby relinquishing the 'essence' of the music. This book is different. One of the most influential and internationally known writers on the subject describes, through vivid personal contacts, reminiscences and zesty anecdotes, his life in jazz as a player, broadcaster and observer. Alyn Shipton recalls friendships with legendary musicians, while revealing fresh discoveries about such luminaries as Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Abbey Lincoln and Geri Allen. On Jazz powerfully evokes the atmosphere of clubs and dancehalls, and takes us behind the scenes and up onto the stage, so that this electrifying world is unforgettably spotlighted as never before.
On Late Style: Music and Literature Against the Grain
by Edward W. SaidIn this fascinating book, Edward Said looks at the creative contradictions that often mark the late works of literary and musical artists."These studies . . . buzz with excitement and intelligence and demonstrate...the extraordinary range of Said&’s intellectual interests.&” —Frank Kermode, London Review of Books Said shows how the approaching death of an artist can make its way into his work, examining essays, poems, novels, films, and operas by such artists as Beethoven, Genet, Mozart, Lampedusa, Euripides, Cavafy, and Mann, among others. He uncovers the conflicts and complexity that often distinguish artistic lateness, resulting in works that stood in direct contrast to what was popular at the time and were forerunners of what was to come in each artist's discipline–works of true genius. Eloquent and impassioned, brilliantly reasoned and revelatory, On Late Style is Edward Said's own great last work.
On Loop: Black Sonic Politics in Oakland
by Alex WerthHow struggles over Black sound have shaped Oakland’s culture, politics, and geography. Chicago has house. Detroit has techno. But Oakland slaps. On Loop explores the role of Black dance music and sonic politics in recurring struggles over race and space in Oakland, California. Insisting on the centrality of sound in everyday social movements—from the mobilization of funk music and boogaloo dance during Black Power to the policing of the Hyphy movement in the 2000s—Alex Werth argues that Black dance music is not merely a soundtrack to or record of urban resistance. Rather, its very sound waves have animated looping clashes over development, dispossession, and Black freedom. Through studies of downtown nightclubs, Lake Merritt, and the Eastmont Mall—geographies rarely considered, yet critical to Oakland’s culture and politics—Werth reveals how the liberatory sonic politics of funk, hip-hop, and hyphy rap have been met with a repetitive "war on nuisance." As both a means of empowerment and a magnet for policing, Black dance music has transformed not only Oakland's nightlife, but also its streets, parks, and neighborhoods. On Loop is a rousing encounter with the sound that moves urban life.
On Minimalism: Documenting a Musical Movement
by Kerry O’Brien and William RobinA revisionist history of minimalism's transformative rise, through the voices of the musicians who created it. When composers like Philip Glass and Steve Reich began creating hypnotically repetitive music in the 1960s, it upended the world of American composition. But minimalism was more than a classical phenomenon—minimalism changed everything. Its static harmonies and groovy pulses swept through the broader avant-garde landscape, informing the work of Yoko Ono and Brian Eno, John and Alice Coltrane, Pauline Oliveros and Julius Eastman, and many others. On Minimalism moves from the style's beginnings in psychedelic counterculture through its present-day influences on ambient jazz, doom metal, and electronic music. The editors look beyond the major figures to highlight crucial and diverse voices—especially women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ musicians—that have shaped the genre. Featuring more than a hundred rare historical sources, On Minimalism curates this history anew, documenting one of the most important musical movements of our time.
On Music (Thinking in Action)
by Theodore GracykOpinionated and example-filled, this extremely concise and accessible book provides a survey of some fundamental and longstanding debates about the nature of music. The central arguments and ideas of historical and contemporary philosophers are presented with the goal of making them as accessible as possible to general readers who have no background in philosophy. The emphasis is on instrumental music, but examples are drawn from many cultures as well as from Western classical, jazz, folk, and popular music.
On Music Theory, and Making Music More Welcoming for Everyone (Music and Social Justice)
by Philip EwellSince its inception in the mid-twentieth century, American music theory has been framed and taught almost exclusively by white men. As a result, whiteness and maleness are woven into the fabric of the field, and BIPOC music theorists face enormous hurdles due to their racial identities. In On Music Theory, Philip Ewell brings together autobiography, music theory and history, and theory and history of race in the United States to offer a black perspective on the state of music theory and to confront the field’s white supremacist roots. Over the course of the book, Ewell undertakes a textbook analysis to unpack the mythologies of whiteness and western-ness with respect to music theory, and gives, for the first time, his perspective on the controversy surrounding the publication of volume 12 of the Journal of Schenkerian Studies. He speaks directly about the antiblackness of music theory and the antisemitism of classical music writ large and concludes by offering suggestions about how we move forward. Taking an explicitly antiracist approach to music theory, with this book Ewell begins to create a space in which those who have been marginalized in music theory can thrive.
On Music and Musicians
by Robert SchumannEdited by Konraad WolffTranslated by Paul RosenfeldWith twenty black-and-white illustrationsSchumann&’s literary gifts and interests almost equaled his musical ones. From boyhood on he was drawn to literary expression, and his writings on music belong to the best among the romantic literature of the 19th century. The same fire, poetry, directness of expression, the same inventiveness we love in his compositions, also animated his prose.This edition for the first time groups his articles and observations according to subject matter and individual composers. It is complete as far as Schumann&’s writings on the great composers are concerned. All his reviews of the works by the masters, from Beethoven to Brahms, are included, some of them translated for the first time into English.
On Popular Music and Its Unruly Entanglements: Blurring The Lines (Pop Music, Culture and Identity)
by Nick Braae Kai Arne HansenOn Popular Music and Its Unruly Entanglements comprises eleven essays that explore the myriad ways in which popular music is entwined within social, cultural, musical, historical, and media networks. The authors discuss genres as diverse as mainstream pop, hip hop, classic rock, instrumental synthwave, video game music, amateur ukelele groups, and audiovisual remixes, while also considering the music’s relationship to technological developments, various media and material(itie)s, and personal and social identity. The collection presents a range of different methodologies and theoretical positions, which results in an eclecticism that aptly demonstrates the breadth of contemporary popular music research. The chapters are divided into three major sections that address: wider theoretical and analytical issues (“Broad Strokes”), familiar repertoire or concepts from a new perspective (“Second Takes”), and the meanings to arise from music’s connections with other media forms (“Audiovisual Entanglements”).
On Power: My Journey Through the Corridors of Power and How You Can Get More Power
by Gene SimmonsThe KISS frontman and entrepreneur shares his philosophy of power—how to attain it, keep it, and harness it as a driving force in business and life.As co-founder of KISS, America’s #1 gold record-winning group of all time, Gene Simmons knows the thrill and seduction of power firsthand. But gold records alone don’t equal power. The decisions you make once you attain a certain level of success are what separate the pretenders from the pantheon.Inspired by Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, Simmons offers his unique take on the dynamics of power in every realm of life, from the bedroom to the boardroom, as well as the worlds of celebrity, social media, and politics. With one-of-a-kind anecdotes from his life and career, as well as stories from historical and contemporary masters of power, including Winston Churchill, Napoleon Bonaparte, Warren Buffett, Michael Jordon, Oprah, and Elon Musk, Simmons crafts a persuasive and provocative theory on how the pursuit of power drives civilization and defines our lives.The rules of power are changing in today’s fast-paced, hyper-connected world in a way that Machiavelli never could have imagined, and we all need to learn to adapt. Simmons tells readers: Ignore the negatives. Be unrelenting. Rise above the rest. You are the architect of your success.
On Purity in Musical Art
by Anton Friedrich Justus ThibautFirst published at Heidelberg in 1825 this is a study of moral purity in music, particularly church music.“The fact that this Essay was first published more than half a century ago, might seem, at first sight, to render its translation now a work of doubtful utility. But, inasmuch as it is still in demand in Germany, as is proved by the publication of the Fifth Edition as recently as in 1875, and looking to the great extension of the study and practice of music in our own country, I am persuaded that it will be read both with interest and with profit in England.”-Preface
On Rhetoric and Black Music (African American Life Series)
by Earl H. BrooksThis groundbreaking analysis examines how Black music functions as rhetoric, considering its subject not merely reflective of but central to African American public discourse. Author, musician, and scholar Earl H. Brooks argues that there would have been no Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Movement, or Black Arts Movement as we know these phenomena without Black music. Through rhetorical studies, archival research, and musical analysis, Brooks establishes the "sonic lexicon of Black music," defined by a distinct constellation of sonic and auditory features that bridge cultural, linguistic, and political spheres with music. Genres of Black music such as blues and jazz are discursive fields, where swinging, improvisation, call-and-response, blue notes, and other musical idioms serve as rhetorical tools to articulate the feelings, emotions, and states of mind that have shaped African American cultural and political development. Examining the resounding artistry of iconic musicians such as Scott Joplin, Mary Lou Williams, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Mahalia Jackson, this work offers an alternative register in which these musicians and composers are heard as public intellectuals, consciously invested in crafting rhetorical projects they knew would influence the public sphere.
On Russian Music
by Richard TaruskinOver the past four decades, Richard Taruskin's publications have redefined the field of Russian music study. This volume gathers thirty-six essays on composers ranging from Bortnyansky in the eighteenth century to Tarnopolsky in the twenty-first, as well as all of the famous names in between. Some of these pieces, like the ones on Chaikovsky's alleged suicide and on the interpretation of Shostakovich's legacy, have won fame in their own right as decisive contributions to some of the most significant debates in contemporary musicology. An extensive introduction lays out the main issues and a justification of Taruskin's approach, seen both in the light of his intellectual development and in that of the changing intellectual environment, which has been particularly marked by the end of the cold war in Europe.
On Site, In Sound: Performance Geographies in América Latina
by Kirstie A. DorrIn On Site, In Sound Kirstie A. Dorr examines the spatiality of sound and the ways in which the sonic is bound up in perceptions and constructions of geographic space. Focusing on the hemispheric circulation of South American musical cultures, Dorr shows how sonic production and spatial formation are mutually constitutive, thereby pointing to how people can use music and sound to challenge and transform dominant conceptions and configurations of place. Whether tracing how the evolution of the Peruvian folk song "El Condor Pasa" redefined the boundaries between national/international and rural/urban, or how a pan-Latin American performance center in San Francisco provided a venue through which to challenge gentrification, Dorr highlights how South American musicians and activists created new and alternative networks of cultural exchange and geopolitical belonging throughout the hemisphere. In linking geography with musical sound, Dorr demonstrates that place is more than the location where sound is produced and circulated; it is a constructed and contested domain through which social actors exert political influence.
On Some Faraway Beach: The Life and Times of Brian Eno
by David SheppardFrom an idiosyncratic childhood in a sleepy British market town to the top of the international pop charts, this first critical examination of the life of Brian Eno charts a lengthy and colorful journey. Interviews with many key collaborators--such as David Byrne, Robert Wyatt, John Cale, Bryan Ferry, and Gavin Bryars--along with input from Brian and his wife, Anthea, illuminate the man and his ideas and how he retained an edge and maintained independence. This sonic alchemist to the stars has contributed to the most challenging and critically revered work of Roxy Music, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Devo, U2, and Coldplay, and few collections remain untouched by his distinctive aesthetic.
On Some Faraway Beach: The Life and Times of Brian Eno
by David SheppardAuthorised biography of Brian Eno - the 'Father of Ambient Music'A sonic alchemist to the stars, Brian Eno's address book is a veritable who's who of rock and pop. Tellingly, his involvement with Roxy Music, David Bowie, Talking Heads and U2 has coincided with these artists producing their most challenging and critically revered work.ON SOME FARAWAY BEACH is the first serious, critical examination of the life and times of Brian Eno, from an idiosyncratic childhood to 1960s art school and the sharp end of pop charts around the world.
On Some Faraway Beach: The Life and Times of Brian Eno
by David SheppardAuthorised biography of Brian Eno - the 'Father of Ambient Music'A sonic alchemist to the stars, Brian Eno's address book is a veritable who's who of rock and pop. Tellingly, his involvement with Roxy Music, David Bowie, Talking Heads and U2 has coincided with these artists producing their most challenging and critically revered work.ON SOME FARAWAY BEACH is the first serious, critical examination of the life and times of Brian Eno, from an idiosyncratic childhood to 1960s art school and the sharp end of pop charts around the world.
On Some Faraway Beach: The Life and Times of Brian Eno (Deep Cuts)
by David SheppardFOREWORD BY ALAN WARNER'A book that sets new standards for rock biography' GuardianReissued as part of White Rabbit's Deep Cuts series, On Some Faraway Beach is the first and only ever comprehensive and authoritative biography of Brian Eno, featuring interviews with many of his key collaborators over the years: from Bryan Ferry to David Byrne and Robert Wyatt. First published in 2008, it has been fully revised and updated to cover Eno's life and creative output since, with brand new material and a new introduction by Alan Warner.'This exceptionally well-written biography duly celebrated [Eno's] great achievements with Roxy, Bowie, Talking Heads and his own solo work in compelling detail' Uncut'[An] honourable, authorised attempt to do justice to a mind-bogglingly restless and prolific subject' Sunday Times
On Some Faraway Beach: The Life and Times of Brian Eno (Deep Cuts)
by David SheppardFOREWORD BY ALAN WARNER'A book that sets new standards for rock biography' GuardianReissued as part of White Rabbit's Deep Cuts series, On Some Faraway Beach is the first and only ever comprehensive and authoritative biography of Brian Eno, featuring interviews with many of his key collaborators over the years: from Bryan Ferry to David Byrne and Robert Wyatt. First published in 2008, it has been fully revised and updated to cover Eno's life and creative output since, with brand new material and a new introduction by Alan Warner.'This exceptionally well-written biography duly celebrated [Eno's] great achievements with Roxy, Bowie, Talking Heads and his own solo work in compelling detail' Uncut'[An] honourable, authorised attempt to do justice to a mind-bogglingly restless and prolific subject' Sunday Times
On Sonic Art (Contemporary Music Studies #Vol. 12.)
by Trevor WishartIn this newly revised book On Sonic Art, Trevor Wishart takes a wide-ranging look at the new developments in music-making and musical aesthetics made possible by the advent of the computer and digital information processing. His emphasis is on musical rather than technical matters. Beginning with a critical analysis of the assumptions underlying the Western musical tradition and the traditional acoustic theories of Pythagoras and Helmholtz, he goes on to look in detail at such topics as the musical organization of complex sound-objects, using and manipulating representational sounds and the various dimensions of human and non-human utterance. In so doing, he seeks to learn lessons from areas (poetry and sound-poetry, film, sound effects and animal communication) not traditionally associated with the field of music.
On Studying Singing (Dover Books On Music: Voice)
by Sergius Kagen"Logical, clear, convincing, and, in my modest judgment, dead right." -- Virgil Thomson, New York Herald Tribune"I recommend this volume highly." -- Maggie Teyte, Saturday Review"One of the most sensible books on the subject of vocal art." -- Felix Borowski, Chicago Sun-TimesThis book is an invaluable guide for the student, parent, teacher, coach, or any person connected with vocalism. It is not intended to teach the student how to sing since no book could possibly do this. Its main purpose is to help him find a way to study singing intelligently.The author, who is a member of the faculty of the Juilliard School of Music and a prominent musician with a vast experience of teaching singers, explains in this book clearly and logically just what a student can and cannot expect from singing lessons. He also discusses in detail the various subsidiary studies necessary to the singer, such as the study of musical notation and theory, ear training, languages, and other allied subjects.Particularly useful and interesting is the section dealing with various methods employed in teaching vocal technique. In this section, Mr. Kagen debunks the so-called "scientific methods" of voice teaching and the concept of "building voices" -- follies which have often led to an enormous waste of money, time, and effort.
On The Road: The real stories on tour
by Olly MursWant to know what really goes on during an Olly Murs UK tour? Then get the lowdown in my new book, On The Road - the official, uncensored, up close and personal story of 2015's Never Been Better UK adventure. Packed with 200 exclusive pictures, this fly-on-the-wall release captures all the excitement and drama of a 27-gig trip around the country, including the jokes, arguments, heartbreaks and giggles, with some parties thrown in along the way. You could say it's an exclusive insight into all the hard work that goes into putting on a nationwide tour for the best fans in the world. That's not all, though. Keep your eyes peeled for several special guest appearances from the likes of Robbie Williams, Jonathan Ross and the comedians, Russell Brand and John Bishop. One or two Premier League footballers rock up in the story, and I fall victim to a few terrible practical jokes. If that's not enough, there's also the untold story of what really happened when I got the X Factor job.Planes, tourbuses and a helicopter ride or two: On The Road is the access-all-areas tale of my biggest ever headline tour. I promise it's going to give my fans a real insight into what my life's like really behind the scenes - grumps, giggles and all. Don't believe me? Just watch...
On Time: A Princely Life in Funk
by Morris DayA memoir by Morris Day of The Time centering around his lifelong relationship and association with Prince.Brilliant composer, smooth soul singer, killer drummer, and charismatic band leader, Morris Day, has been a force in American music for the past four decades. In On Time, the renowned funkster looks back on a life of turbulence and triumph. He chronicles his creative process with an explosive prose that mirrors his intoxicating music. Morris' story is a fast-paced page-turner replete with unexpected twists and shocking surprises. A major and fascinating theme is his lifelong friendship and years of musical partnership with Prince, from their early days on the Minneapolis scene to selling out stadiums and duking it out as rivals in Purple Rain. Eventually, Morris went on to release four albums with a new band of his very own, the legendary Time. He battled his addictions and came out victorious. But not before increasing tensions and embittered rivalry between Prince and the Revolution and Morris Day and the Time led the two performers towards separate paths. Through the years, the fierce brotherly love between Morris and Prince kept bringing them back together, over and over again-until pride, ego, and circumstance interfered. Two months before Prince's untimely death, the two finally reconnected and started to make amends. But Morris could've never imagined it would be the last time he'd ever see his friend again. This is Morris Day's singular story in which the magic of music is the ultimate healer. On Time is also a deep meditation on friendship, Morris' poetic method of reconciling the loss of his close friend and longtime collaborator, and a way to commemorate an incendiary life cut short. But this book is more than just a walk down memory lane-it's a metaphorical means to bring Prince back to life. Throughout the narrative, Morris allows Prince's "voice" to protect his own legacy, to counter Morris's interpretations of events, and to essentially breathe new life into a tale as old as time-of two brothers, two bands, and a musical culture that even today pulsates with fresh energy.
On a Cold Road
by Dave BidiniDavid Bidini, rhythm guitarist with the Rheostatics, knows all too well what the life of a rock band in Canada involves: storied arenas one tour and bars wallpapered with photos of forgotten bands the next. Zit-speckled fans begging for a guitar pick and angry drunks chucking twenty-sixers and pint glasses. Opulent tour buses riding through apocalyptic snowstorms and cramped vans that reek of dope and beer. Brilliant performances and heart-sinking break-ups.Bidini has played all across the country many times, in venues as far flung and unalike as Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto and the Royal Albert Hotel in Winnipeg. In 1996, when the Rheostatics opened for the Tragically Hip on their Trouble at the Henhouse tour, Bidini kept a diary. In On a Cold Road he weaves his colourful tales about that tour with revealing and hilarious anecdotes from the pioneers of Canadian rock - including BTO, Goddo, the Stampeders, Max Webster, Crowbar, the Guess Who, Triumph, Trooper, Bruce Cockburn, Gale Garnett, and Tommy Chong - whom Bidini later interviewed in an effort to compare their experiences with his. The result is an original, vivid, and unforgettable picture of what it has meant, for the last forty years, to be a rock musician in Canada.From the Trade Paperback edition.
On the Bus with Bill Monroe: My Five-Year Ride with the Father of Blue Grass (Music in American Life)
by Mark HembreeA backstage audition led Mark Hembree into a five-year stint (1979–1984) as the bassist for Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys. Hembree’s journey included playing at the White House and on the acclaimed album Master of Bluegrass. But it also put him on a collision course with the rigors of touring, the mysteries of Southern culture, and the complex personality of bandleader-legend Bill Monroe. Whether it’s figuring out the best time for breakfast (early) or for beating the boss at poker (never), Hembree gives readers an up-close look at the occasionally exalting, often unglamorous life of a touring musician in the sometimes baffling, always colorful company of a bluegrass icon. The amusing story of a Yankee fish out of water, On the Bus with Bill Monroe mixes memoir with storytelling to recount the adventures of a Northerner learning new ways and the Old South.