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Seven American Deaths and Disasters
by Kenneth GoldsmithIn Seven American Deaths and Disasters, Kenneth Goldsmith transcribes words used by people describing events they had never prepared themselves to witness, as they unfurl. In doing so, he reveals an extraordinarily rich linguistic panorama of passionate description. Taking its name from the Warhol paintings of the same name, Goldsmith recasts the mundane as the iconic, creating a sense of prose poems that encapsulate both the Kennedy assassinations, that of John Lennon, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, 9/11 and the death of Michael Jackson.
Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll
by Stephen Pearcy Sam BenjaminA jaw-dropping tell-all from the lead singer of the 1980s supergroup Ratt: the groupies, the trashed hotel rooms, the drugs--and just how much you can get away with when you're one of the biggest hair metal stars of all time.In the mid-1980s, Ratt, alongside Motley Crüe, Poison, and Quiet Riot, were laying down the riffs and unleashing the scissor kicks that would herald the arrival of music's most flamboyantly debauched era. Now with Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll, Ratt frontman and chief rabble-rouser Stephen Pearcy divulges all the dirty details of the era when big-haired bands ruled the world. Stephen was primed for a life of excess from an early age--his father died of a heroin overdose when he was twelve, and by the age of fifteen, Stephen was himself a drug addict. When Stephen met the thrill-seeking Robbin Crosby, he knew he'd found his perfect partner in crime--both in music and partying. Ratt's 1984 debut single, "Round and Round," became one of the top-selling metal songs of all time, but it was the band's off-stage escapades that were the stuff of legend. "Our tour bus is like our pirate ship, it's where we rape and pillage," said Pearcy in 1987. Now Pearcy's memoir reveals all the rock star excess--the partying, the women, the $2,000-a-day drug habits--letting fans see into this harrowing hair-metal lifestyle and what it's really like behind the scenes when you're a rock star.
Shake, Rattle and Roll: Yugoslav Rock Music and the Poetics of Social Critique (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series)
by Dalibor MišinaFrom the late-1970s to the late-1980s rock music in Yugoslavia had an important social and political purpose of providing a popular cultural outlet for the unique forms of socio-cultural critique that engaged with the realities and problems of life in Yugoslav society. The three music movements that emerged in this period - New Wave, New Primitives, and New Partisans - employed the understanding of rock music as the 'music of commitment' (i.e. as socio-cultural praxis premised on committed social engagement) to articulate the critiques of the country's 'new socialist culture', with the purpose of helping to eliminate the disconnect between the ideal and the reality of socialist Yugoslavia. This book offers an analysis of the three music movements and their particular brand of 'poetics of the present' in order to explore the movements' specific forms of socio-cultural engagement with Yugoslavia's 'new socialist culture' and demonstrate that their cultural praxis was oriented towards the goal of realizing the genuine Yugoslav socialist-humanist community 'in the true measure of man'. Thus, the book's principal argument is that the driving force behind the music of commitment was, although critical, a fundamentally constructive disposition towards the progressive ideal of socialist Yugoslavia.
Shakin' All Over: Popular Music And Disability
by George MckayGiven the explosion in recent years of scholarship exploring the ways in which disability is manifested and performed in numerous cultural spaces, it’s surprising that until now there has never been a single monograph study covering the important intersection of popular music and disability. George McKay’s Shakin’ All Over is a cross-disciplinary examination of the ways in which popular music performers have addressed disability: in their songs, in their live performances, and in various media presentations. By looking closely into the work of artists such as Johnny Rotten, Neil Young, Johnnie Ray, Ian Dury, Teddy Pendergrass, Curtis Mayfield, and Joni Mitchell, McKay investigates such questions as how popular music works to obscure and accommodate the presence of people with disabilities in its cultural practice. He also examines how popular musicians have articulated the experiences of disability (or sought to pass), or have used their cultural arena for disability advocacy purposes.
Shaping Jazz: Cities, Labels, and the Global Emergence of an Art Form
by Damon J. PhillipsThere are over a million jazz recordings, but only a few hundred tunes have been recorded repeatedly. Why did a minority of songs become jazz standards? Why do some songs--and not others--get rerecorded by many musicians? Shaping Jazz answers this question and more, exploring the underappreciated yet crucial roles played by initial production and markets--in particular, organizations and geography--in the development of early twentieth-century jazz.Damon Phillips considers why places like New York played more important roles as engines of diffusion than as the sources of standards. He demonstrates why and when certain geographical references in tune and group titles were considered more desirable. He also explains why a place like Berlin, which produced jazz abundantly from the 1920s to early 1930s, is now on jazz's historical sidelines. Phillips shows the key influences of firms in the recording industry, including how record companies and their executives affected what music was recorded, and why major companies would rerelease recordings under artistic pseudonyms. He indicates how a recording's appeal was related to the narrative around its creation, and how the identities of its firm and musicians influenced the tune's long-run popularity.Applying fascinating ideas about market emergence to a music's commercialization, Shaping Jazz offers a unique look at the origins of a groundbreaking art form.
Sharecropper’s Troubadour
by Michael K. HoneyFolk singer and labor organizer John Handcox was born to illiterate sharecroppers, but went on to become one of the most beloved folk singers of the prewar labor movement. This beautifully told oral history gives us Handcox in his own words, recounting a journey that began in the Deep South and went on to shape the labor music tradition.
Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir
by Linda RonstadtIn this memoir, iconic singer Linda Ronstadt weaves together a captivating story of her origins in Tucson, Arizona, and her rise to stardom in the Southern California music scene of the 1960s and ‘70s. Tracing the timeline of her remarkable life, Linda Ronstadt, whose forty-five year career has encompassed a wide array of musical styles, weaves together a captivating story of her origins in Tucson, Arizona, and her rise to stardom in the Southern California music scene of the 1960s and ‘70s.<P><P> Linda Ronstadt was born into a musical family, and her childhood was filled with everything from Gilbert and Sullivan to Mexican folk music to jazz and opera. Her artistic curiosity blossomed early, and she and her siblings began performing their own music for anyone who would listen. Now, in this beautifully crafted memoir, Ronstadt tells the story of her wide-ranging and utterly unique musical journey. <P> Ronstadt arrived in Los Angeles just as the folkrock movement was beginning to bloom, setting the stage for the development of country-rock. As part of the coterie of like-minded artists who played at the famed Troubadour club in West Hollywood, she helped define the musical style that dominated American music in the 1970s. One of her early backup bands went on to become the Eagles, and Linda went on to become the most successful female artist of the decade. <P> In Simple Dreams, Ronstadt reveals the eclectic and fascinating journey that led to her long-lasting success, including stories behind many of her beloved songs. And she describes it all in a voice as beautiful as the one that sang “Heart Like a Wheel”—longing, graceful, and authentic.
Sinfonia guerrera
by Iñigo Bolinaga IrasuegiEl 21 de junio de 1813, un ejército dirigido por Wellington infligió a las tropas de Napoleón una monumental derrota en las inmediaciones de Vitoria. El propio hermano del emperador, José, a la sazón rey de España, tuvo que huir a uña de caballo para evitar perecer o caer prisionero. Aquel acontecimiento, del que este año se conmemora el segundo centenario, supuso el repliegue definitivo de los franceses de la península ibérica y obtuvo un enorme eco en Europa, pues jamás antes las tropas imperiales habían sufrido tamaña derrota en combate. Al rebufo de este eco, Beethoven compuso una sinfonía en conmemoración de la Batalla de Vitoria que cosechó un éxito enorme, aunque luego el autor se lamentara de que, por primera y única vez en su vida, había sucumbido a los gustos del público menos exigente. Con este telón de fondo, Iñigo Bolinaga construye una novela estructurada en dos planos: el primero se corresponde con la batalla real, sangrienta y cruel, que invoca a los instintos más bajos del ser humano; el segundo, a la batalla imaginada, épica, gloriosa, sublime. El primero está protagonizado fundamentalmente por personajes históricos que estuvieronen Vitoria? Welllington, su amigo Álava, el rey José, su amante la marquesa de Montehermoso? y muchos, muchos guerrilleros, como Longa, Espoz y Mina, Dos Pelos o Martina Ibaibarriaga. El segundo plano corre a cargo de Beethoven y sus circunstancias, que son también, en buena medida, las de la Europa del momento. Sinfonía guerrera es una novela tan breve como intensa, tan amena como rigurosamente documentada desde el punto de vista histórico.
Sing, Froggie, Sing
by Carolyn Dee Flores Natalia Rosales-YeomansA updated version of a traditional Spanish folksong in which each creature is hushed by the one which follows it. Includes musical notation for the folksong.
Singer-Songwriters and Musical Open Mics: Out Of The Bedroom (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series)
by Marcus AldredgeSinger-Songwriters and Musical Open Mics is an ethnographic exploration of New York City’s live music events where musicians signup and perform short sets. This sociological study dispels the common assumption that open mics are culturally monolithic and reserved for novice musicians. Open mics allow musicians at different locations within their musical development and career to interactively perform, practice, and network with other musicians. Important themes in the book include: the tension between self and society in the creative process, issues of creative authenticity and authorship, and on-going cultural changes central to the Do-It-Yourself cultural zeitgeist of the early 21st century. The open mic’s cultural antecedents include a radio format, folk hootenannies, and the jazz jam session. Drawing from multiple qualitative methods, Aldredge describes how open mics have etched a vital organizational place in the western and urban musical landscape. Open mics represent a creative place where the boundaries of practicing and performing seemingly blur. This allows for a range of social settings from more competitive, stratified, and homogenous music scenes to culturally diverse weekly events often stretching late into the night.
Skryabin, Philosophy and the Music of Desire (Royal Musical Association Monographs #19)
by Kenneth M. SmithCommentary on Skryabin has struggled to situate an understanding of the composer's music within his idiosyncratic philosophical world views. Early commentators' efforts to do so failed to establish a thorough or systematic approach. And later twentieth-century studies turned away from the composer's ideology, focusing instead on 'the music itself' with an analytic approach that scrutinized Skryabin's harmonic language in isolation from his philosophy. This groundbreaking study revisits the questions surrounding the composer's music within his own philosophy, but draws on new methodological tools, casting Skryabin's music in the light not only of his own philosophy of desire, but of more refined semiotic-psychoanalytical theory and modern techniques of music analysis. An interdisciplinary methodology corrects the narrow focus of Skryabin scholarship of the last century, offering insights from New Musicology and recent music theory that lead to hermeneutical, critically informed readings of selected works.
Sleigh Rides, Jingle Bells, and Silent Nights: A Cultural History of American Christmas Songs
by Ronald D. LankfordWhen Bing Crosby’s "White Christmas" debuted in 1942, no one imagined that a holiday song would top the charts year after year. One of the best-selling singles ever released, it remains on rotation at tree lighting ceremonies across the country, in crowded shopping malls on Black Friday, and at warm diners on lonely Christmas Eve nights. Over the years, other favorites have been added to America’s annual playlist, including Elvis Presley’s "Blue Christmas," the King Cole Trio’s "The Christmas Song," Gene Autry’s "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," Willie Nelson’s "Pretty Paper," and, of course, Elmo & Patsy’s "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."Viewing American holiday values through the filter of familiar Christmas songs, Ronald Lankford examines popular culture, consumerism, and the dynamics of the traditional American family. He surveys more than seventy-five years of songs and reveals that the “modern American Christmas” has carried a complex and sometimes contradictory set of meanings. Interpreting tunes against the backdrop of the eras in which they were first released, he identifies the repeated themes of nostalgia, commerce, holiday blues, carnival, and travesty that underscore so much beloved music. This first full-length analysis of the lyrics, images, and commercial forces inextricably linked to Yuletide music hits the heart of what many Americans think Christmas is--or should be.
Snapshot: A Jamieson Brothers Novel
by Angie StantonOne kiss will change Marti's summer . . . forever. Marti Marti just wants a normal life. After dealing with her irresponsible rock-legend father and absentee mother, she only wants some peace . . . and fun. And that includes a summer at an exclusive arts camp. Adam For Adam, a normal life is not possible—not when he is the lead guitarist in a rock band with his brothers. So he's thrilled to finally have an opportunity to disguise himself and live like a normal teenager at summer camp. And when Adam meets Marti, sparks fly. Between romantic bonfires and stolen kisses, they are inseparable. Then Marti discovers who Adam truly is, and her world is turned upside down. Ever since her father nearly ruined her life, she vowed never to fall for a rocker. But when tragedy strikes, Marti is forced to look within. And she discovers that maybe falling in love with a rock star is not so crazy after all.
The Sociology of Wind Bands: Amateur Music Between Cultural Domination and Autonomy (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series)
by Vincent Dubois Jean-Matthieu Méon translated by BartDespite the musical and social roles they play in many parts of the world, wind bands have not attracted much interest from sociologists. The Sociology of Wind Bands seeks to fill this gap in research by providing a sociological account of this musical universe as it stands now. Based on a qualitative and quantitative survey conducted in northeastern France, the authors present a vivid description of the orchestras, the backgrounds and practices of their musicians, and the repertoires they play. Their multi-level analysis, ranging from the cultural field to the wind music subfield and to everyday life relationships within bands and local communities, sheds new light on the social organisation, meanings and functions of a type of music that is all too often taken for granted. Yet they go further than merely portraying a musical genre. As wind music is routinely neglected and socially defined in terms of its poor musical quality or even bad taste, the book addresses the thorny issue of the effects of cultural hierarchy and domination. It proposes an imaginative and balanced framework which, beyond the specific case of wind music, is an innovative contribution to the sociology of lowbrow culture.
Songlab: A Songwriting Playbook for Teens
by Alex ForbesCreated exclusively with and for teen musicians, this hands-on, step-by-step program uses insight, enthusiasm, and humor to teach teens how to brainstorm ideas, craft effective lyrics, and put those lyrics to music. An award-winning and Billboard-charting songwriter and teacher, Alex Forbes has taught dozens of teens via her Manhattan workshops and coaching sessions how to turn their thoughts and feelings into incisive, evocative songs. Her music has also been heard in feature films and on TV shows like MTV's smash teen docudrama, The Hills. Chapter by chapter, Alex goes through the basic elements of the craft, including song form and dynamics, lyrics and melodies, chord construction, and killer hooks. Filled with lots of fun exercises to strengthen your abilities and your confidence, Songlab is the ideal teen's guide to making your songwriting dreams come true!
Songs in the Key of Fife: The Intertwining Stories of the Beta Band, King Creosote, KT Tunstall, James Yorkston and the Fence Collective
by Vic GallowayA look at the careers of several acclaimed Scottish musicians from Fife, from their early days to the highs and lows of the music industry, to today. The East Neuk of Fife, Scotland, may seem like an unusual place for a musical revolution, but as this firsthand account reveals, there is more to the sleepy fishing villages and rolling fields, and a small community of musicians has crept up on the world. From psychedelic troubadours the Beta Band to the Billboard chart star KT Tunstall, acclaimed singer-songwriter James Yorkston, and the reigning monarch and lynchpin of the Fence Collective, King Creosote, this book plots the unique, intertwining tales of these Fifers from their schooldays to the present day. This story, full of personal anecdotes and exclusive interviews, provides an in-depth look at a unique collective of musicians who have experienced the extreme highs and the desperate lows of the music business and how a craggy outpost on the east coast of Scotland had a role in crafting talented artists.Praise for Songs in the Key of Fife&“DJ turned author Galloway does a superb job of documenting the lives of these artists, misfits and &“heads,&” not least because he is a Fife lad himself.&” —Mojo (UK)&“A remarkable insight into the pitfalls of the music industry . . . essential reading for any young musician in Scotland thinking about trying to make a go of it—not least for the rude awakening it may offer before their dreams are shattered. But it also shows how success can be achieved against seemingly insurmountable odds.&” —The Scotsman (UK)
Songs That Honor America
by William DeckerLarge color photographs of patriotic images such the American flag, the national anthem being sung at various events, and American soldiers saluting, the history behind famous national songs and their significance in our reality.
Songs That Saved Your Life (Revised Edition)
by Simon GoddardOne of the seminal groups of the Eighties, The Smiths' career was as brilliant as it was brief. Now, drawing on interviews with band members, producers, and colleagues, music journalist Simon Goddard presents a meticulous chronological survey of the group's musical evolution, from their first demos in 1982 to their final fractured studio session five years later. Investigating the stories behind the songs, and detailing every British TV and radio session, he also offers a unique analysis of each track's concert life. Granted unprecedented access to The Smiths' studio archives and to the private collection of outtakes and rehearsals retained by drummer Mike Joyce, the author lifts the lid on unreleased material as well as the lost songs and alternate versions that have remained closely guarded secrets until now.
Soul Train: The Music, Dance, and Style of a Generation
by Insight EditionsCelebrate the culture of cool with this compact, paperback edition of the heartfelt tribute to Soul Train, a worldwide phenomenon of dance, music, and fashion. From Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of the award-winning hip-hop group the Roots, comes this vibrant book commemorating the legacy of Soul Train—the cultural phenomenon that launched the careers of artists such as Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, the Jackson 5, Whitney Houston, Lenny Kravitz, LL Cool J, and Aretha Franklin. Questlove reveals the remarkable story of the captivating program, and his text is paired with more than 350 photographs of the show's most memorable episodes and the larger-than-life characters who defined it: the great host Don Cornelius, the extraordinary musicians, and the people who lived the phenomenon from the dance floor. The foreword by Gladys Knight and preface from Nick Cannon add heartfelt and unique perspectives on this seminal show. 35-YEAR HISTORY: A vibrant celebration of one of the longest-running nationally syndicated programs in American television history, which ran over 1,100 episodes. BEHIND THE SCENES: Includes first-hand commentaries about the show&’s impact on celebrity&’s careers and our culture from beloved artists such as Gladys Knight, Steve Wonder, Carmen Electra, B.B. King, Al Green, Nick Cannon, and Bill Withers. FILLED WITH PHOTOS: Contains hundreds of images of iconic moments from the show, including many never-before-seen.
Soul Train: The Music, Dance, and Style of a Generation
by QuestloveFrom Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of the award-winning hip-hop group the Roots, comes this vibrant book commemorating the legacy of Soul Train—the cultural phenomenon that launched the careers of artists such as Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, the Jackson 5, Whitney Houston, Lenny Kravitz, LL Cool J, and Aretha Franklin. Questlove reveals the remarkable story of the captivating program, and his text is paired with more than 350 photographs of the show's most memorable episodes and the larger-than-life characters who defined it: the great host Don Cornelius, the extraordinary musicians, and the people who lived the phenomenon from dance floor. Gladys Knight contributed a foreword to this incredible volume. Nick Cannon contributed the preface.
Sound - Perception - Performance
by Rolf BaderMusical Performance covers many aspects like Musical Acoustics, Music Psychology, or motor and prosodic actions. It deals with basic concepts of the origin or music and its evolution, ranges over neurocognitive foundations, and covers computational, technological, or simulation solutions. This volume gives an overview about current research in the foundation of musical performance studies on all these levels. Recent concepts of synchronized systems, evolutionary concepts, basic understanding of performance as Gestalt patterns, theories of chill as performance goals or historical aspects are covered. The neurocognitive basis of motor action in terms of music, musical syntax, as well as therapeutic aspects are discussed. State-of-the-art applications in performance realizations, like virtual room acoustics, virtual musicians, new concepts of real-time physical modeling using complex performance data as input or sensor and gesture studies with soft- and hardware solutions are presented. So although the field is still much larger, this volume presents current trends in terms of understanding, implementing, and perceiving performance.
Sounding Like a No-No: Queer Sounds and Eccentric Acts in the Post-Soul Era
by Royster Francesca T.Sounding Like a No-No traces a rebellious spirit in post–civil rights black music by focusing on a range of offbeat, eccentric, queer, or slippery performances by leading musicians influenced by the cultural changes brought about by the civil rights, black nationalist, feminist, and LGBTQ movements, who through reinvention created a repertoire of performances that have left a lasting mark on popular music. The book's innovative readings of performers including Michael Jackson, Grace Jones, Stevie Wonder, Eartha Kitt, and Meshell Ndegeocello demonstrate how embodied sound and performance became a means for creativity, transgression, and social critique, a way to reclaim imaginative and corporeal freedom from the social death of slavery and its legacy of racism, to engender new sexualities and desires, to escape the sometimes constrictive codes of respectability and uplift from within the black community, and to make space for new futures for their listeners. The book's perspective on music as a form of black corporeality and identity, creativity, and political engagement will appeal to those in African American studies, popular music studies, queer theory, and black performance studies; general readers will welcome its engaging, accessible, and sometimes playful writing style, including elements of memoir.
Sounds of Freedom: Musicians on Spirituality and Social Change
by John MalkinSounds of Freedom brings together some of the contruy's best-known musicians to share their thoughts on spirituality and social change. Philip Glass, the Indigo girls, Michael Franti, Michelle Shocked, Laurie Anderson and others reveal their inspiration and their commitments to peace and justice. Featuring a foreword by Vietnamese Zen Master Thcih Nhat Hanh and a bonus CD of songs by the artists in the book, offers rare insight into the hearts of these musicians.
Sounds of Freedom
by John Malkin Thich Nhat HanhIn Sounds of Freedom, sixteen extraordinary musicians share their intimate thoughts on art, spirituality, and social change. These intimate interviews offer a rare glimpse into the personal motivations of these public artists.Includes interviews with: Michael Franti, Michelle Shocked, Ani DiFranco, Indigo Girls, Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, Rickie Lee Jones, Boots Riley, John Trudell, Holly Near, Steve Reich, Darryl Cherney, Goapele Mohlabane, Tom Morello, Utah Philips.
The Sounds of Paris in Verdi's La traviata
by Emilio Sala Delia CasadeiHow did Paris and its musical landscape influence Verdi's La traviata? In this book, Emilio Sala re-examines La traviata in the cultural context of the French capital in the mid-nineteenth century. Verdi arrived in Paris in 1847 and stayed for almost two years: there, he began his relationship with Giuseppina Strepponi and assiduously attended performances at the popular theatres, whose plays made frequent use of incidental music to intensify emotion and render certain dramatic moments memorable to the audience. It is in one of these popular theatres that Verdi witnessed one of the first performances of Dumas fils' La Dame aux camélias, which became hugely successful in 1852. Making use of primary source material, including unpublished musical works, journal articles and rare documents and images, Sala's close examination of the incidental music of La Dame aux camélias - and its musical context - offers an invaluable interpretation of La traviata's modernity.