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The Endless Refrain by David Rowell
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The Endless Refrain

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The Endless Refrain by David Rowell
Paperback $19.99
Nov 12, 2024 | ISBN 9781685891398

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    Nov 12, 2024 | ISBN 9781685891398

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Product Details

Praise

A The Los Angeles Times “Most Anticipated Books” for Fall 2024

“David Rowell is the kind of music fan who scares us musicians. He really gets it, maybe even more than we do.” —Stewart Copeland, the Police

“. . . impassioned manifesto. . . Readers will be captivated by Rowell’s fine-grained music criticism and sharp analysis of the culture industry, rendered in evocative prose. . .The result is a provocative and entertaining critique of the music industry.” Publishers Weekly

“A musical road trip with that friend who knows just about everything and has control of the radio. David Rowell’s deep knowledge of music—and sense of humor—make you feel at least some hope that somebody’s still listening. If Rowell didn’t write with such energy and humor, you might forget how depressing it is that that so many choose Bananarama over Beyoncé. And who else would call up McDonald’s management to find out why they pump endless ’80s songs into his local chain? David Rowell is the cultural anthropologist we need in a society that is forgetting how to listen.”

—Geoff Edgers, author of Walk This Way: Run-DMC, Aerosmith, and the Song that Changed American Music Forever.
 
“David Rowell’s quest to examine the relationship that some Americans have with popular music today lands him in a kind of cultural funhouse, in which tribute bands are more successful than original artists; middling songs from the MTV era have become evergreen; ‘hologram’ tours put dead rockers back on stage; and fans cop to not really wanting any new music. A wild ride indeed, fueled by deft reporting, genuine curiosity, and Rowell’s irrepressible belief in the power of music to transform our lives.”

—Howard Fishman, author of To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse

Table Of Contents

The Endless Refrain: Memory, Nostalgia, and the Threat to New Music
David Rowell
 
Opening Act
The Songs Remain the Same – how public music became a loop of repetition and familiarity
Side One
All Things Must Pass. But When? The age of the golden oldie … and beyond
Side Two
How Old Music Became New Again – licensing, content, the Internet, and the weaponization of copyright
Side Three
It Goes On and On and On and On – how nostalgia propagates itself through recursion
Side Four
Journey, Tribute Bands, and the World They Made – on the road with the weirdest people in music 
Side Five
OK Computer? – the rise of the algorithm and digital curation
Side Six
On the Road with the Dead – the rise of hologram performers and the future of re-animated undead music
Coda
Where Do We Go? – how we can reclaim new music in its glory and rebelliousness for a new generation

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