A Popular Music Reader

 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

11. In Which Yet Another Pompous Blowhard Purports to Possess

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lonnae 0’Neal Parker

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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