Transformations in Popular Culture: Rock Over the Edge

Duke University Press, 2002.

Roger Bebee, Denise Fulbrook,
and Ben Saunders, eds.

This book brings new voices and new perspectives to the study of popular—and particularly rock—music. Focusing on a variety of artists and music forms, it asks what happens to rock criticism when rock is no longer a coherent concept. To work toward an answer, contributors investigate previously neglected genres and styles, such as “lo fi,” alternative-country, and “rock en español,” while offering a fresh look at such familiar figures as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Kurt Cobain. Bridging the disciplines of musicology and cultural studies, the collection confronts two primary issues: seeking out a language for talking about music culture and looking at the relationship of music to culture in general. Taking seriously the implications of critical theory for the study of non-literary aesthetic endeavors, the volume also addresses such issues as the affective power of popular music and the psychic construction of fandom.