Portishead's Dummy (Paperback)

R.J. Wheaton

ISBN 10: 1441194495 / ISBN 13: 9781441194497

Published by Continuum Publishing Corporation, New York, 2011

About this Item

Paperback. An album which distilled a genre from the musical, cultural, and social ether, Portishead's Dummy was such a complete artistic achievement that its ubiquitous successes threatened to exhaust its own potential. RJ Wheaton offers an impressionistic investigation of Dummy that imitates the cumulative structure of the album itself, piecing together interviews, impressions of time and place, cultural criticism, and a thorough exploration of the music itself. The approach focuses as much on the reception and response that Dummy engendered as it does on the original production of the album. How is that so many people have, collectively, made a quintessential headphone album into a nightclub album? How have they made the product of a niche local scene into an international success? This is the story of how an innovative, experimental album became the iconic sound for the better part of a decade; and an aesthetic template for the experience of music in the digital age. An album which distilled a genre from the musical, cultural, and social ether, Portishead's "Dummy" was such a complete artistic achievement that its ubiquitous successes threatened to exhaust its own potential. The author offers an impressionistic investigation of "Dummy" that imitates the cumulative structure of the album itself. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781441194497

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Portishead's Dummy (Paperback)
• Publisher: Continuum Publishing Corporation, New York
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1441194495
• ISBN 13: 9781441194497
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

An album which distilled a genre from the musical, cultural, and social ether, Portishead's Dummy was such a complete artistic achievement that its ubiquitous successes threatened to exhaust its own potential. RJ Wheaton offers an impressionistic investigation of Dummy that imitates the cumulative structure of the album itself, piecing together interviews, impressions of time and place, cultural criticism, and a thorough exploration of the music itself.

The approach focuses as much on the reception and response that Dummy engendered as it does on the original production of the album. How is that so many people have, collectively, made a quintessential headphone album into a nightclub album? How have they made the product of a niche local scene into an international success? This is the story of how an innovative, experimental album became the iconic sound for the better part of a decade; and an aesthetic template for the experience of music in the digital age.

About the Author

RJ Wheaton's writing on music, film, and literature has been published in The Oxford American, DaCapo's Best Music Writing series, and at PopMatters.com, where he is Senior Producer. He currently lives in Toronto.