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This book is the first comprehensive
account of how Anglo-American popular music transformed Italian cultural life.
Drawing on neglected archival materials, the author explores the rise of new
musical tastes and social divisions in late twentieth century Italy.
The book reconstructs the emergence of pop
music magazines in Italy and offers the first in-depth investigation of the
role of critics in global music cultures. It explores how class, gender, raceand geographical location shaped the production and consumption of music magazines,
as well as critics' struggle over notions of expertise, cultural value and
cosmopolitanism.
Globalization, Music and Cultures of
Distinction provides an innovative framework for studying how globalization transforms cultural institutions and
aesthetic hierarchies, thus breaking new ground for sociological and historical
research. It will be essential reading for scholars and students interested in
cultural sociology, popular music, globalization, media and cultural studies,
social theory and contemporary Italy.
List of contents
Introduction: How Things Come Into Being.- Part I:
Situating the Study.- 1. New Forms of Distinction,
New Cultural Institutions.- 2. Globalization and Artistic Legitimation:
Reconceptualizing Bourdieu.- Part II: Pop
Music Criticism in Italy (1969-1977).- 3. Young, Educated and
Cosmopolitan: A New Cultural Institution.- 4.
Economic Cosmopolitanism: The Case of Ciao 2001.- 5.
Political Cosmopolitanism: The Case of Muzak and Gong.- Part III: Evaluating
Music and Music Criticism.- 6.
Aesthetic Encounters: Evaluating Rock, Jazz and Soul.- 7.
Music Magazines as Alternative Public Spheres.- Conclusion:
The Struggle Goes On
About the author
Simone Varriale is Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the
Department of Sociology, University of Warwick, UK.
