A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres (and almost 500
pages), MAJOR LABELS by Kelefa Sanneh, is on our shelves and
student researchers have really been enjoying it. Sanneh, a staff writer at New Yorker
who was also a music critic for The New York Times, explores Rock, R
& B, Country, Punk, Hip-Hop, Dance Music, and Pop. In each case, he describes the trends and
changes, citing bands and musicians who had a major impact. He notes, for
example, that “in the nineties, Nirvana and Pearl Jam helped push alternative
rock into the mainstream. But in the 2010s, even mainstream rock was simply one
more alternative.” Although the text tends to be rather dense and an index
would have been useful, music fans will still be enthralled by this unique
resource.
MAJOR LABELS received starred reviews from Kirkus,
Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.
Also related to
the arts, AUDIENCE-OLOGY by Kevin Goetz describes “How Moviegoers Shape
the Films We Love.” Goetz and his firm, Screen Engine/ASI, conduct
research for the majority of widely released movies and in this text, he explains
the history and logistics of test screenings. Goetz also shares stories of how audience
feedback impacted films like
La La Land and
Moonstruck (changing the
beginnings to include music);
Thelma and Louise or
Fatal Attraction.
While he recounts tales of past innovations, Goetz barely addresses the potential changes to the industry due to new
streaming platforms, relying instead on his thirty years of impressive experience
in Hollywood. He is able to include commentary from film producers and
directors like Ron Howard, but generally omits those (e.g., Tarantino or
Eastwood) who see less value in pre-screening research. Even then,
AUDIENCE-OLOGY provides a behind
the scenes look which will likely entertain our Lit Film students and teachers;
it received a starred review from Booklist.
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