ABSTRACT

An accessible introduction to the study of popular music, this book takes a schematic approach to a range of popular music genres, and examines them in terms of their antecedents, histories, visual aesthetics, and sociopolitical contexts. Within this interdisciplinary and genre-based focus, readers will gain insights into the relationships between popular music, cultural history, economics, politics, iconography, production techniques, technology, marketing, and musical structure.

chapter |4 pages

Introduction

chapter Chapter 1|18 pages

Soul: from gospel to groove

chapter Chapter 2|19 pages

Funk: the breakbeat starts here

chapter Chapter 3|19 pages

Psychedelia: in my mind’s eye

chapter Chapter 4|16 pages

Progressive rock: breaking the blues’ lineage

chapter Chapter 5|21 pages

Punk rock: artifice or authenticity?

chapter Chapter 6|21 pages

Reggae: the aesthetic logic of a diasporan culture

chapter Chapter 7|19 pages

Synthpop: into the digital age

chapter Chapter 8|18 pages

Heavy metal: noise for the boys?

chapter Chapter 9|20 pages

Rap: the word, rhythm and rhyme

chapter Chapter 10|21 pages

Indie: the politics of production and distribution

chapter Chapter 11|24 pages

Jungle: the breakbeat’s revenge