Edited Rob Young Wire (1 results)

Soft cover. Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. First published 2002 by Continuum. Bright, clean & tight copy, unread, in Fine condition. "In a series of essays by some of the best music writers of our time, UNDERCURRENTS identifies the key concepts and underlying themes that have been hardwired into the modern era's most radical musics, ever since Thomas Edison invented the record player. The phonograph, electronics, chance operations, Futurism, Surrealism, the civil rights movement, noise, alternative tuning systems and market forces have all redrawn the map of contemporary sound. UNDERCURRENTS tracks these seismic shifts across a wide range of music including modern composition, free jazz, experimental rock and pop, Industrial, ethnic music, Techno and electronica, and looks at the extraordinary innovations and invented instruments that have passed into obscurity. Chapters include: Erik Davis on the esoteric origins of the phonograph, Ian Penman on how the microphone altered the human voice, David Toop on sound sculpture and improvisation, Peter Shapiro on the use and abuse of the turntable, plus essays on Futurism, drones, glitch electronica, machine rhythms, space rituals, music of the spheres, ecstatic jazz, Harry Smith, the Sonic Arts Union, the Autobahn and more. Many of these essays first appeared as a series in The Wire magazine, which since 1982 has bypassed the music mainstream in search of the most innovative, uncompromising and compelling sounds from all genres across the world. As music listeners have grown increasingly eclectic and adventurous in their tastes, The Wire has emerged as the most authoritative source on modern music. This volume contains new material as well as revised and updated versions of many of the original articles." [publisher copy] "Rammed full with historical details. Great for those who want to delve deeper into why today's music sounds like it does."--Straight No Chaser. "Equal parts historical exhumation and agenda-setting exposition, UNDERCURRENTS' themes treat music as a medium engaged with contexts and brushed by various tines of culture. The book divulges countless secrets. But UNDERCURRENTS' most revealing secret lies in the way it makes margins and headlines part of the same text."--The Onion. "UNDERCURRENTS' 20 essays draw interesting and intriguing connections with often fervid rhetoric that nonetheless simmers with good insights. UNDERCURRENTS is a good book that belongs on the shelf of every maker and maven of adventurous music."--Christo. Pristine paperback w/brilliant corners & crisp edges (slight yellowing on fore-edge), a square & tight binding w/no creases in spine. Quite presentable.