about music
Beyoncé in Formation by Call Number: 782.42164092 T592bIn "Beyoncé in Formation," Tinsley uses the artist's blockbuster "Lemonade" as a soundtrack for next-millennium narratives. Woven with observations about her life as a feminist scholar of African studies and a cisgender femme married to a trans spouse, Tinsley explores myriad facets of black women's sexuality and gender, including marriage, motherhood, LGBT politics, and reproductive justice. She also explores the subtext of blues and country music traditions and offers vibrant interpretations of imagery and lyrics.
The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry that Shaped Rock 'n' Roll by Call Number: 787.87190922 P839bWhen Leo Fender's tiny firm marketed the first solid-body electric guitar, not wanting to be out-maneuvered, guitar manufacturer Gibson raced to build a competitor and convinced Les Paul to put his name on it. Thus was born the guitar world's most heated rivalry, which turned into an arms race as musicians adopted one maker's guitar or another. By 1969 it was clear that these new electric instruments had launched music into a radical new age, empowering artists with a vibrancy and volume never before attainable.
Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded by Call Number: 781.6609047 H477sIn the 1960s and 70s old mores and lingering repressions were falling away, replaced with a new kind of hedonistic freedom that included sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll--and, although it didn't factor into the stereotype, science fiction. "Strange Stars" tells the story of how incredibly well read artists--David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, and many more--brought Sci-Fi's cosmic flare to their lyrics, sounds, and styles, and changed pop music forever.
The History of Gangster Rap: From Schoolly D to Kendrick Lamar, the Rise of a Great American Art Form by Call Number: 782.42164909 B168h"The History of Gangster Rap" takes a deep dive into one of the most fascinating and revolutionary subgenres of any music category, examining gangster rap's evolution, main players, and the culture that created it. Filled with interviews with key players, bios of notorious characters, lists, charts, and more, "The History of Gangster Rap" is the be-all-end-all book that contextualizes the importance of gangster rap as a cultural phenomenon.
The Music of the Arabs by Call Number: 780.89927 T725mEs 1996This book presents an overview of Arabic music throughout history and examines the artistic output of contemporary musicians, covering music both secular and sacred, instrumental and vocal, and improvised and composed. Typical musical structures are elucidated, and a detailed bibliography, a discography (mainly covering the last 50 years) and a guide to the Arabic alphabet for English speakers are also provided.
This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Call Number: 781.11 L666tIn this groundbreaking union of art and science, rocker-turned-neuroscientist Levitin explores the connection between music--its performance, its composition, how we listen to it, why we enjoy it--and the human brain through both the latest research and musical examples from Mozart to Van Halen. Taking on prominent thinkers who argue that music is nothing more than an evolutionary accident, Levitin poses that music is fundamental to our species, perhaps even more so than language.
In the Country of Country by Call Number: 781.6420973 D269i"In the Country of Country" is a passionate and expansive account of a quintessentially American art form and the performers that made country music what it is today. It pays tribute to the music that sprang from places like Maces Springs, Virginia, home of the Carter Family, and Bakersfield, California, where Buck Owens held sway. Author Dawidoff takes readers to the back roads and country hollows that were home to Chet Atkins, Doc Watson, Emmylou Harris, and many more.
