Rhythm and Noise : Aesthetics of Rock - Hardcover

Thodore Gracyk

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1860640907 ISBN 13: 9781860640902

Publisher: I B Tauris Academic, 1996

Synopsis

Roving through the history of rock music from Elvis Presley's first recordings in 1954 to kurt Cobain's suicide in 1994, this book gives an account of rock as a distinct artistic medium. Theodore Gracyk argues that rock and roll is a performance style, one in a number of musical styles comprising rock. What distinguishes rock is how it is mediated by technology: the art of rock is in the recording. In establishing this claim, Gracyk uses interviews, observations and comparisons with other musical forms. He investigates the relationships between rock and romanticism and commercialism, and challenges the orthodoxy of making grand distinctions between "serious" and "popular" art.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"Gracyk addresses a difficult and too-long-overlooked subject--that is, defining a comprehensible rock aesthetic--with consistent intelligence, depth, and insight. His knowledge of aesthetics, musicology, and the history of rock & roll is up to the ambitious task he sets himself."--Anthony DeCurtis, author of "Rocking My Life Away"

About the Author:

Theodore Gracyk is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Moorhead State University.

About this edition

• Publisher: I B Tauris Academic
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 1860640907
• ISBN 13: 9781860640902
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 400