One-Track Mind: Capitalism, Technology, and the Art of the Pop Song

Description

The song remains the most basic unit of modern pop music. Shaped into being by historical forces—cultural, aesthetic, and technical—the song provides both performer and audience with a world marked off by a short, discrete, and temporally demarcated experience. One-Track Mind: Capitalism, Technology, and the Art of the Pop Song brings together 16 writers to weigh in on 16 iconic tracks from the history of modern popular music. Arranged chronologically in order of release of the tracks, and spanning nearly five decades, these essays zigzag across the cultural landscape to present one possible history of pop music. There are detours through psychedelic rock, Afro-pop, Latin pop, glam rock, heavy metal, punk, postpunk, adult contemporary rock, techno, hip-hop, and electro-pop here. More than just deep histories of individual songs, these essays all expand far beyond the track itself to offer exciting and often counterintuitive histories of transformative moments in popular culture. Collectively, they show the undiminished power of the individual pop song, both as distillations of important flashpoints and, in their afterlives, as ghostly echoes that persist undiminished but transform for succeeding generations. Capitalism and its principal good, capital, help us frame these stories, a fact that should surprise no one given the inextricable relationship between art and capitalism established in the twentieth century. At the root, readers will find here a history of pop with unexpected plot twists, colorful protagonists, and fitting denouements. Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of Figures List of Contributors Acknowledgments One-Track Mind: An Introduction Notes Bibliography 1 Le Grand Kallé and African Jazz—“Indépendance Cha Cha” (1960) Introduction Power Évolués and Bills Networks of Power Conclusion Notes Bibliography 2 Gerald Wilson—“Viva Tirado” (1962) Notes References 3 Moby Grape—“Omaha” (1967) The Cut Origins The Signing The Recording Capitalism Monterey Pop, Skip’s Magnetism, and Bad Behavior Wow and the Beginning of the End Covers Coda Notes References 4 Led Zeppelin—“Immigrant Song” (1970) Viking Medievalisms and the Afterlife of Classic Rock Background Zeppelin’s Influences Zeppelin and the Legacy of Masculinist and Viking Medievalisms Viking Metal and the Cinematic Afterlife of “Immigrant Song” Conclusion Notes References 5 David Bowie—“Rebel Rebel” (1974) Notes References 6 Donna Summer—“I Feel Love” (1977) Notes References 7 X-Ray Spex—“Oh Bondage! Up Yours!” (1977) Context The Press Reception Poly in Person The Legacy of the Song Notes References 8 Prince—“When You Were Mine” (1980) I II III Notes References 9 Neil Young—“Transformer Man” (1982) Transition and Transformation: Rust, Re-Ac-Tor, Reprise Transformation and Translation: Vocoder as Voice and Veil Transmission: Music From Another World Transcript Transaction and Transgression: The Geffen-Young Courtship Transcendence Transfigures: Computer Coda Notes References 10 The Replacements—“Unsatisfied” (1984) Notes References 11 NWA—“F- Tha Police” (1988) Historical Context of “F- Tha Police” “F- Tha Police” The Afterlives of “F- Tha Police” “F- Tha Police” in the Age of Black Lives Matter Notes References 12 Salt-N-Pepa—“Shoop” (1993) To Shoop Is to Articulate Desire, and to Act On That Desire To Shoop Is to Take Charge, to Take Control To Shoop Is to Succeed On Your Own Terms Conclusion Notes References 13 Hanson—“Mmmbop” (1997) Bubble Gum, Pop, and Cassette Tapes In an Mmmbop, They’re Gone Hanson Love/Hate IRL and Online From the Middle of Nowhere to the Middle of Everywhere You Have So Many Relationships in This Life, Only One Or Two Will Last Conclusion Notes References 14 Elton John—“Candle in the Wind 1997” (1997) The Hollywood Star The Princess of Wales The Legacy Notes References 15 LCD Soundsystem—“All My Friends” (2007) That’s How It Starts It Comes Apart Conclusion Notes References 16 MIA—“Paper Planes” (2007) Introduction Sampling History Missing in Action History Notes Bibliography Index