Hole in Our Soul - The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music

From ragtime to rap, Motown to Madonna, Hole in Our Soul: The loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music is cultural history with attitude. Defending the vigor of jazz, blues, country, gospel, and early rock'n'roll, Bayles argues that recent styles like grunge, punk, and gangsta rap have succumbed to a mindless cult of shock and sonic abuse.

List of contents

Acknowledgments Pt. 1: The Weird Music of the New World 1: Introduction 2: Why Music Is the Wild Card 3: The Three Strains of Modernism 4: The Obstacle of Race 5: The Taint of Commerce 6: Cubists and Squares: Jazz as Modernism Pt. 2: From Rock 'n' Roll to Rock 7: The Strange Career of 1950s Rock 'n' Roll 8: Rock 'n' Rollers or Holy Rollers? 9: Reaction and Revitalization 10: Another Country Heard From 11: Blues, Blacks, and Brits Pt. 3: Inspiration and Polarization 12: Words and Music: The Rise of the Counterculture 13: Art and Religion, 1960s Style 14: Hard Rock Becomes a Hard Place 15: Soul Loses Its Soul Pt. 4: The Triumph of Perversity 16: Their Art Belongs to Dada 17: Punk: The Great Avant-Garde Swindle 18: High on High Tech 19: Rap: Trying to Make it Real (Compared to What?) 20: You Don't Miss Your Water (Till Your Well Runs Dry) 21: Coda: Escape from Postmodernism Notes Index

Summary

This text traces popular music back to its roots in jazz, blues, and country through the rise of rock 'n' roll and the emergence of heavy metal, punk, and rap. The author argues that despite the balance of these origins, something has gone seriously wrong with the sound and sensibility of music.

Product details

• Authors: Martha Bayles, Bayles Martha
• Assisted by: Martha Bayles (Editor)
• Publisher: University Presses
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 15.05.1996
• EAN: 9780226039596
• ISBN: 978-0-226-03959-6
• No. of pages: 461
• Dimensions: 16 mm x 23 mm x 3 mm
• Weight: 680 g
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Music > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business > Politics; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > General, dictionaries; Jazz, Blues, Rock, Cultural Studies, Rock & Pop music, MUSIC / Genres & Styles / General, MUSIC / Genres & Styles / Rock, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social, MUSIC / Genres & Styles / Jazz, Country and Western, MUSIC / Genres & Styles / Country & Bluegrass, MUSIC / Genres & Styles / Blues, MUSIC / Genres & Styles / Pop Vocal, Pop Music, Country & Western music, Popular Music