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zoeportillo's review
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
- This book is very wordy, which made it hard to follow.
- I feel like a majority of the topics in this book should have been addresse by a person of color.
- I feel like the author was really reaching to make some points.
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Sexual content, Homophobia, Cultural appropriation, and Sexism
lindsayb's review against another edition
3.0
I think this was too broad a topic to cover in one book. It felt uneven and scattered--especially toward the end--and I'm not sure exactly who the audience was supposed to be apart from somebody who is completely unfamiliar with American pop culture. (I just got exhausted of the explanations of every single artist and genre.) I'm also pretty sure the reader for the audio had never heard many of the songs or artists discussed for all the flat delivery and mispronunciation...yeesh.
That said, I did enjoy it as an overview and my general fondness for 101-type of approaches.
That said, I did enjoy it as an overview and my general fondness for 101-type of approaches.
gjmaupin's review
3.0
I have GOT to remember that surveys are not my thing. The segment(s) I’m most interested in by definition get short shrift , plus inevitably something important is elided or ignored, which I catch & at which I’m aghast, which then makes me question the elisions I can’t even detect in the segments outside my experience.
Anyway. There it is.
Anyway. There it is.
callofthelibrary's review
5.0
one of the best books ive ever read, for real. there's a couple moments in music history i wish got more time (notably metal, esp 80s glam) but i understand the restrictions of a book lmao. and anyway the earlier focuses of this book on jazz, the blues, and soul were so incredible i cant be mad
hillarynicole's review
informative
slow-paced
3.0
A good history of music in the United States. It was a bit high brow unnecessarily at times and focused on music with sexual undertones, not all music. I felt there were some oversights in the choice of artists and music discussed, but it did cover a lot of ground.
mojostdennis's review against another edition
2.0
This was a well-researched history, and surprisingly readable for how scholarly it is. I just didn't like it. I would definitely recommend it to people who care about music more than I do.
chamblyman's review
4.0
This dazzlingly informative & supremely entertaining critical history of American popular music has an epic sweep (from 19th C. New Orleans dance halls through punk, funk & hiphop, and right up to Beyonce & Gaga) but also a fascinating focus specifically on popular music as a cultural mirror/barometer/catalyst for sex and race relations. Sharply written with brilliant insights, Ann Powers has added a new classic to the music criticism canon and created a must-read for any music head.
joe_fru's review
4.0
Clear and well written—a lot of interesting material spanning the antebellum era to Beyoncé’s *Lemonade* album. Very much like a guided museum tour of pop music history…through a lens of sex, sexuality, and race.
It’s interesting but a bit repetitive, and the epilogue feels shoehorned in—almost like an album’s “bonus track” that doesn’t add much.
It’s interesting but a bit repetitive, and the epilogue feels shoehorned in—almost like an album’s “bonus track” that doesn’t add much.