Music – The Philosophy of Contemporary Song

Bob Dylan’s The Philosophy of Modern Song

If Dylan died tomorrow, this book would be a fitting last word.

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Alice Cooper: An Overview

I’ve recently created three iTunes playlists covering Alice Cooper’s career from 1969 to the present. These playlists are based on his studio discography. I’ll be meditating on my impressions of him as a long time fan — since the 70s — and my recent listening to his work. Cooper has meant a lot to meContinue reading “Alice Cooper: An Overview”

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Frontwomen in Rock

I just created an iTunes playlist titled “Frontwomen in Rock” inspired by Samantha Fish’s recent live performance in Ft. Lauderdale, where she was opening for Kenny Wayne Shepherd. But it’s a very small playlist because I have narrow criteria: So I’m not thinking of your usual frontwomen — singer only, or singer and rhythm orContinue reading “Frontwomen in Rock”

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Pete Townshend and World War II

I have three iTunes playlists dedicated to The Who — 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s to the present — and I can’t listen through them without being impressed, over and over again, by Pete Townshend’s genius. Record sales aside, his creative accomplishments exceed that of the Beatles, Dylan, or the Rolling Stones throughout the 60s andContinue reading “Pete Townshend and World War II”

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“I Can’t Believe We Made It”: Romanticism and Afropresentism in Works of African-American Women Hip Hop and R’n’B Artists

Another problematic of Romanticism for rock (and therefore North American pop music in general) is Romanticism’s pernicious racism, which I will show instigated the very origins of rock and roll. Romantic ideologies of racial categories and hierarchies fed into the mythologies of white artists drawing from supposedly vulgar, primitive Black music for sexuality, physicality, andContinue reading ““I Can’t Believe We Made It”: Romanticism and Afropresentism in Works of African-American Women Hip Hop and R’n’B Artists”