History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Music, Theory & Criticism, History & Criticism, Pop & Rock, Rock, Music Styles
Cover of the book History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs by Greil Marcus, Yale University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Greil Marcus ISBN: 9780300190304
Publisher: Yale University Press Publication: September 2, 2014
Imprint: Yale University Press Language: English
Author: Greil Marcus
ISBN: 9780300190304
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication: September 2, 2014
Imprint: Yale University Press
Language: English
Unlike all previous versions of rock ’n’ roll history, this book omits almost every iconic performer and ignores the storied events and turning points that everyone knows. Instead, in a daring stroke, Greil Marcus selects ten songs recorded between 1956 and 2008, then proceeds to dramatize how each embodies rock ’n’ roll as a thing in itself, in the story it tells, inhabits, and acts out—a new language, something new under the sun.

“Transmission” by Joy Division. “All I Could Do Was Cry” by Etta James and then Beyoncé. “To Know Him Is to Love Him,” first by the Teddy Bears and almost half a century later by Amy Winehouse. In Marcus’s hands these and other songs tell the story of the music, which is, at bottom, the story of the desire for freedom in all its unruly and liberating glory. Slipping the constraints of chronology, Marcus braids together past and present, holding up to the light the ways that these striking songs fall through time and circumstance, gaining momentum and meaning, astonishing us by upending our presumptions and prejudices. This book, by a founder of contemporary rock criticism—and its most gifted and incisive practitioner—is destined to become an enduring classic.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Unlike all previous versions of rock ’n’ roll history, this book omits almost every iconic performer and ignores the storied events and turning points that everyone knows. Instead, in a daring stroke, Greil Marcus selects ten songs recorded between 1956 and 2008, then proceeds to dramatize how each embodies rock ’n’ roll as a thing in itself, in the story it tells, inhabits, and acts out—a new language, something new under the sun.

“Transmission” by Joy Division. “All I Could Do Was Cry” by Etta James and then Beyoncé. “To Know Him Is to Love Him,” first by the Teddy Bears and almost half a century later by Amy Winehouse. In Marcus’s hands these and other songs tell the story of the music, which is, at bottom, the story of the desire for freedom in all its unruly and liberating glory. Slipping the constraints of chronology, Marcus braids together past and present, holding up to the light the ways that these striking songs fall through time and circumstance, gaining momentum and meaning, astonishing us by upending our presumptions and prejudices. This book, by a founder of contemporary rock criticism—and its most gifted and incisive practitioner—is destined to become an enduring classic.

More books from Yale University Press

Cover of the book The Long, Long Life of Trees by Greil Marcus
Cover of the book The Soviet Theater by Greil Marcus
Cover of the book Shrinking Violets by Greil Marcus
Cover of the book The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright by Greil Marcus
Cover of the book Boyhoods by Greil Marcus
Cover of the book The Not So Common Sense by Greil Marcus
Cover of the book The Voices of Morebath by Greil Marcus
Cover of the book Christians and Pagans: The Conversion of Britain from Alban to Bede by Greil Marcus
Cover of the book New Worlds: A Religious History of Latin America by Greil Marcus
Cover of the book The Philosophy of Positive Law by Greil Marcus
Cover of the book Race, Poverty, and Domestic Policy by Greil Marcus
Cover of the book The Lair by Greil Marcus
Cover of the book Why Marx Was Right by Greil Marcus
Cover of the book Sex, Money and Personal Character in Eighteenth-Century British Politics by Greil Marcus
Cover of the book Nobility of Spirit: A Forgotten Ideal by Greil Marcus
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy