A trenchant and witty exploration, several cuts above typical surveys written in the wake of the “alternative” era.
An invigorating, broad-minded survey of pop music’s experimental fringes.
Martin (Philosophy/DePaul Univ.; Listening to the Future, not reviewed, etc.) attempts to define a 20th-century “music of ideas,” while acknowledging the inherent difficulty in doing so for a genre originally identified with adolescence and spontaneity, and perpetually corrupted by the marketplace. He shrewdly does so by sorting a galaxy of artists into categories broad enough that most readers can find jumping-off points. He notes that, as John Cage, Glenn Gould, and Ornette Coleman found the limits of “reasonable” for classical and jazz listeners, Yoko Ono and Brian Eno did the same during early rock experimentation (c. 1966–75), when mainstream consumers were exposed to provocative music ranging from the Velvet Underground, Jimi Hendrix, and Steely Dan, to Can and Captain Beefheart. Soon, Martin notes, conglomerate record companies disdained supporting such efforts, while what’s termed “The Passage Through Punk” created a powerful, if dead-ended, ideology (and an enduring grassroots aesthetic) in the face of late-’70s social malaise, fueling artists like Patti Smith and Glenn Branca. Although important marginal figures are neglected (e.g., Peter Laughner, The Mekons, Roky Erickson), Martin addresses excellent analysis to a smart selection, including Cecil Taylor, Sonic Youth, Jim O’Rourke, John Zorn, Tortoise, the New Klezmir Trio, and Game Theory (one of many artists whose chess obsession he discusses). Martin relates their music to parallel developments in philosophy and literature, citing influences from Adorno and Debord to Nabokov and Harry Crews, and manages the neat trick of combining the sharp personal enthusiasms of underground rock’s fanzine culture, with the cooler head of academic explorations, so that the reader perceives why rock enthusiasts have stuck with it all these years. He concludes with two essay-manifestoes that question the overwhelming, image-based corporate stranglehold on mainstream music (e.g., the antics of Eminem and Britney), and probe avant-rock’s seemingly healthy, if fragmented, future.
A trenchant and witty exploration, several cuts above typical surveys written in the wake of the “alternative” era.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8126-9500-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Open Court
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2001
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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BOOK TO SCREEN
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Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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