Author Description

From Elvis, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, to the heavy metal and punk movements of the last 10 years, rock music has often been praised for its joyful spontaneity and dogged rebelliousness. However, argues industry veteran Steve Jones, contrary to popular perception, rock music is in fact biased toward control, particularly by means of the technology employed in the recording process. Rock Formation examines the history and influence of recording technology on popular music and develops a critical analysis of the interplay between technology, sound, and creativity. It explains the connections between popular music, technology, and mass communication and questions how values--social, cultural, and musical--are transmitted through the process of recording. While there have been many studies of popular music's content and audience in the past 20 years, Rock Formation fills an important gap by exploring the mediation of the most pervasive form of cultural expression--popular music. For both music scholars and committed rock buffs, Rock Formation is an ideal introduction to the subject of popular music production. Jones' work is a study in culture production suitable for courses in popular culture, cultural studies, American studies, sociology, music and communication studies. --Publisher.