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Na trilha do pop: A música do século XX em sete gêneros
Neste livro extraordinário, o crítico musical Kelefa Sanneh revisita cinquenta anos de música pop numa viagem vertiginosa por estilos, culturas, sucessos e fracassos. Enxergando o pop como um fenômeno que não apenas mobiliza fãs, mas cria comunidades e estilos de vida
512 pages, Paperback
First published October 5, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 376 reviews
January 16, 2022
A must-read if you listen to music, which is to say, a must-read for virtually everyone, because Sanneh brilliantly uses genre to chart a history of music, giving roots and historical legacies for any type of song. The book teems with anecdotes, personal beats, and incisive thinking on race and sex - and gosh, it also cost me A LOT OF MONEY because I kept buying the music Sanneh was referencing. Expansive in 3 dimensions.
May 9, 2023
This is the fifth major history of popular music in ten years that has fallen into my clutches. Here’s how they rolled :
Yeah Yeah Yeah by Bob Stanley (2013), my favourite, a brilliant funny spot-on history that goes from 1950 to 2000
Electric Shock! By Peter Doggett (2015), my least favourite. This goes further back, to 1890, and finishes around 2000; he spends a great many pages on the technical stuff that made the music we love possible and shaped the way it got to us, you know, gramophones and radio and napster, all very important but sort of dull
A History of Rock and Roll in 500 Songs by Andrew Hickey (2019 onwards), a vast project taking 50 songs per volume (two published but a whole lot more available on AH’s podcast). The whole thing will go from 1938 (arbitrary choice of “first rock & roll record”) to 2000. This project focuses on the performers and their twisted tangles detailed histories; ultra-nerdy but kind of essential.
Let’s Do It by Bob Stanley (2022) which is Bob’s less hilarious but still great prequel to the first book, covering the period 1900 to 1960 approx.
These are all VERY LARGE books, none under 450 unsmall pages. So now we have Kelefa Sanneh’s contribution. He takes in the period 1950 to 2020 and chops it into the history of seven genres.
You can see immediately that punk is given 60 pages and R&B is given 70 pages, and punk is a noisy tiny sect that critics love but nobody buys, and R&B is practically half of all popular music, which everybody loves because you just can’t escape it; so this book it written from the heart, and no bad thing. It turns out Kelefa Sanneh was himself a punk in his early years. Surprise.
When you write about genres and their audiences it can get a bit like trying to describe the movements of shoals of fish – why do they suddenly turn this way and that way, why do they split and merge. There’s an awful lot of “rock and roll became the mainstream, but some of it didn’t, R&B became pop music, there was no difference, but actually, there was a difference, but it was hard to describe”.
You can immediately tell when someone is rapping, but you can’t always tell when someone is singing R&B, as opposed to singing pop.
It often seemed like KS’s entire book is about things that are hard to describe. Sorry to say that there seemed to be a fair bit of repetition and an oppressive feeling that this book was, well, too long because KS felt he needed to talk about Green Day, and Black Sheep, and Barbara Mandrell, and Uncle Tupelo, Jimmy Buffett, Skrewdriver, Cannibal Corpse and so forth, all the time making sweeping inclusive conversational sometimes convincing and sometimes not generalisations.
By the way I might say that if Cannibal Corpse and James Taylor can both be described as types of rock music, we may conclude the word is no longer of much use.
I will end with two interesting talking points.
DID THEY JUMP OR WERE THEY PUSHED?
Rock And roll was R&B only faster and cruder. Who were the great originals? Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, Little Richard – all black – plus Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis. But very quickly, almost overnight, black musicians abandoned rock & roll. From the 1960s onward how many black rock bands were there? None. Kelefa says :
I don’t think it is necessary to lament this evolution. Genres change, and the existence of predominantly black genres in America, a majority-white country, basically ensured, as a mathematical certainty, that there would also be predominantly white genres. Why shouldn’t rock & roll have become one of them?
A LESSON IN LOGIC : NIPPLEGATE
The author provides a splendid example of what is meant by the phrase “correlation is not causation” in logic.
Before Nipplegate, every Janet Jackson album since Control had spun off at least two top ten singles; after Nipplegate, she never had another big hit.
He says Nipplegate ended JJ’s career as a hitmaker. But surely, it was ended because her next albums just weren’t as good. You’re not telling me that a flash of flesh makes all Americans vow never to buy another record by the fleshflasher. Which by the way she didn’t flash herself, it was Justin Timberlake that done it.
Yeah Yeah Yeah by Bob Stanley (2013), my favourite, a brilliant funny spot-on history that goes from 1950 to 2000
Electric Shock! By Peter Doggett (2015), my least favourite. This goes further back, to 1890, and finishes around 2000; he spends a great many pages on the technical stuff that made the music we love possible and shaped the way it got to us, you know, gramophones and radio and napster, all very important but sort of dull
A History of Rock and Roll in 500 Songs by Andrew Hickey (2019 onwards), a vast project taking 50 songs per volume (two published but a whole lot more available on AH’s podcast). The whole thing will go from 1938 (arbitrary choice of “first rock & roll record”) to 2000. This project focuses on the performers and their twisted tangles detailed histories; ultra-nerdy but kind of essential.
Let’s Do It by Bob Stanley (2022) which is Bob’s less hilarious but still great prequel to the first book, covering the period 1900 to 1960 approx.
These are all VERY LARGE books, none under 450 unsmall pages. So now we have Kelefa Sanneh’s contribution. He takes in the period 1950 to 2020 and chops it into the history of seven genres.
You can see immediately that punk is given 60 pages and R&B is given 70 pages, and punk is a noisy tiny sect that critics love but nobody buys, and R&B is practically half of all popular music, which everybody loves because you just can’t escape it; so this book it written from the heart, and no bad thing. It turns out Kelefa Sanneh was himself a punk in his early years. Surprise.
When you write about genres and their audiences it can get a bit like trying to describe the movements of shoals of fish – why do they suddenly turn this way and that way, why do they split and merge. There’s an awful lot of “rock and roll became the mainstream, but some of it didn’t, R&B became pop music, there was no difference, but actually, there was a difference, but it was hard to describe”.
You can immediately tell when someone is rapping, but you can’t always tell when someone is singing R&B, as opposed to singing pop.
It often seemed like KS’s entire book is about things that are hard to describe. Sorry to say that there seemed to be a fair bit of repetition and an oppressive feeling that this book was, well, too long because KS felt he needed to talk about Green Day, and Black Sheep, and Barbara Mandrell, and Uncle Tupelo, Jimmy Buffett, Skrewdriver, Cannibal Corpse and so forth, all the time making sweeping inclusive conversational sometimes convincing and sometimes not generalisations.
By the way I might say that if Cannibal Corpse and James Taylor can both be described as types of rock music, we may conclude the word is no longer of much use.
I will end with two interesting talking points.
DID THEY JUMP OR WERE THEY PUSHED?
Rock And roll was R&B only faster and cruder. Who were the great originals? Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, Little Richard – all black – plus Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis. But very quickly, almost overnight, black musicians abandoned rock & roll. From the 1960s onward how many black rock bands were there? None. Kelefa says :
I don’t think it is necessary to lament this evolution. Genres change, and the existence of predominantly black genres in America, a majority-white country, basically ensured, as a mathematical certainty, that there would also be predominantly white genres. Why shouldn’t rock & roll have become one of them?
A LESSON IN LOGIC : NIPPLEGATE
The author provides a splendid example of what is meant by the phrase “correlation is not causation” in logic.
Before Nipplegate, every Janet Jackson album since Control had spun off at least two top ten singles; after Nipplegate, she never had another big hit.
He says Nipplegate ended JJ’s career as a hitmaker. But surely, it was ended because her next albums just weren’t as good. You’re not telling me that a flash of flesh makes all Americans vow never to buy another record by the fleshflasher. Which by the way she didn’t flash herself, it was Justin Timberlake that done it.
October 16, 2021
I began reading this book believing the author and I were going to have to agree to disagree. I firmly believe the idea of genres as we know them has expired, and as this book journey began Sanneh spoke to how the idea of genres developed and the tribism that came with it. I didn't disagree with the historical perspective but feared this may become a treatise on why genre can be good in uniting and helping us find common ground.
While the book did explore advantages of genre, it took a much broader dive into how genres change over time - how jazz used to be "popular" music and as it faded from the mainstream "pop" became defined by whatever the mainstream craze drove to the top of the charts. As such, each section's foray into particular genres like R&B, Rock and Pop acknowledges that both the music and the fans in those categories have greatly shifted with time, and no less so during the digital music era.
I particularly appreciated the granular look at the kind of competition and criticism each era's contemporaries faced, often on the heels of the lineage of their predecessors or successors. Listening to many of the greats who were before my time, yet whose music remains timeless, it's easy to forget who their contemporaries were or how fighting for airtime and concert venues between them sometimes shaped their view of their audience or indeed their sound. As a songwriter and musician myself, I'm struck by examining of how some of those careers were longer than expected or shorter than initially believed. The book examines not only the artists, but also the favoritism of the listeners and reviewers, and how an artist or genre mocked and criticised today can become someone's favorite tomorrow (and vice versa).
Whether you're a consummate music fan and/or a music creator, there's bound to be some explorations within that you'll enjoy.
Major Labels
A HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC IN SEVEN GENRES
By KELEFA SANNEH
Available now
#Bookstagram #Rock #R&B #Country #Pop #HipHop #Punk #Dance
#Music #History #MusicMakers #KelefaSanneh #MajorLabels #NetGalley #Nonfiction #BookRec #BookReview
While the book did explore advantages of genre, it took a much broader dive into how genres change over time - how jazz used to be "popular" music and as it faded from the mainstream "pop" became defined by whatever the mainstream craze drove to the top of the charts. As such, each section's foray into particular genres like R&B, Rock and Pop acknowledges that both the music and the fans in those categories have greatly shifted with time, and no less so during the digital music era.
I particularly appreciated the granular look at the kind of competition and criticism each era's contemporaries faced, often on the heels of the lineage of their predecessors or successors. Listening to many of the greats who were before my time, yet whose music remains timeless, it's easy to forget who their contemporaries were or how fighting for airtime and concert venues between them sometimes shaped their view of their audience or indeed their sound. As a songwriter and musician myself, I'm struck by examining of how some of those careers were longer than expected or shorter than initially believed. The book examines not only the artists, but also the favoritism of the listeners and reviewers, and how an artist or genre mocked and criticised today can become someone's favorite tomorrow (and vice versa).
Whether you're a consummate music fan and/or a music creator, there's bound to be some explorations within that you'll enjoy.
Major Labels
A HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC IN SEVEN GENRES
By KELEFA SANNEH
Available now
#Bookstagram #Rock #R&B #Country #Pop #HipHop #Punk #Dance
#Music #History #MusicMakers #KelefaSanneh #MajorLabels #NetGalley #Nonfiction #BookRec #BookReview
November 14, 2021
I cannot figure out this book's intended audience. This one bored the daylights out of me. It gives a vast, but shallow look at the history of popular music for the past fifty years. As a pop music fan this offered zero new information hence the boredom. So people like me are not the audience. Is this for new fans? Are they gonna pick up a 500-page book that only gives very brief, cursory information? Who knows. This one was a disappointment.
April 28, 2022
Kelefa Sanneh's Major Labels is a remarkable and comprehensive survey of the seven major genres of contemporary music, their origins, and their intersections.
Starting with Rock and Roll, Sanneh traces the ways that the various genres of music grew out of each other and added nuance and variety to each other, as well. Rock grew out of early jazz, rhythm and blues, and gave us everything from soft rock to grunge and metal. And while rock developed into a genre dominated by white artists, Black artists made strides in Hip-Hop and R&B, but also made significant contributions in dance, where Black artists have us House and Techno. In all of this Sanneh nicely combines conversations on music history with the ways in which music and society affect each other.
Sanneh is truly a master, and Major Labels is truly a masterpiece of history and cultural commentary. Sanneh manages to highlight and discuss such disparate genres as Country and Hip-Hop with care and respect, shining light on the fact that all of these genres, though they may not be of your personal taste, contribute to our general social consciousness. Yet, there was one section where I feel Sanneh faltered: the final section on Pop music. While he does a nice job discussing the history and creation of a "pop" genre, he fails at discussing pop music in the 21st century, by, for example, discussing Katy Perry more than he did Lady Gaga, the single artist who revolutionized the genre. Nonetheless, Major Labels is a masterpiece that any fan of Rock, R&B, Country, Punk, Hip-Hop, Dance, and/or Pop must read.
Starting with Rock and Roll, Sanneh traces the ways that the various genres of music grew out of each other and added nuance and variety to each other, as well. Rock grew out of early jazz, rhythm and blues, and gave us everything from soft rock to grunge and metal. And while rock developed into a genre dominated by white artists, Black artists made strides in Hip-Hop and R&B, but also made significant contributions in dance, where Black artists have us House and Techno. In all of this Sanneh nicely combines conversations on music history with the ways in which music and society affect each other.
Sanneh is truly a master, and Major Labels is truly a masterpiece of history and cultural commentary. Sanneh manages to highlight and discuss such disparate genres as Country and Hip-Hop with care and respect, shining light on the fact that all of these genres, though they may not be of your personal taste, contribute to our general social consciousness. Yet, there was one section where I feel Sanneh faltered: the final section on Pop music. While he does a nice job discussing the history and creation of a "pop" genre, he fails at discussing pop music in the 21st century, by, for example, discussing Katy Perry more than he did Lady Gaga, the single artist who revolutionized the genre. Nonetheless, Major Labels is a masterpiece that any fan of Rock, R&B, Country, Punk, Hip-Hop, Dance, and/or Pop must read.
April 2, 2022
This is a fascinating book, where his musical tastes and mine overlap. Which is, hrm, maybe 40% of the time? So don't take my rating too seriously -- but I always give my personal reaction to the book at hand. In this case, 2.5 stars, rounded up for a noble effort. Plus, he writes well and isn't boring. But I'm clearly not his intended audience!
WSJ ran a rave review, https://www.wsj.com/articles/major-la...
(Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers)
Excerpt:
"Mr. Sanneh, a staff writer for the New Yorker, gets high marks both for his encyclopedic knowledge and his breadth of taste. He also writes like an angel, making Major Labels one of the best books of its kind in decades ... Mr. Sanneh is rightly skeptical of art that operates within a deliberately 'cramped range' that limits its ability to be 'rowdy and messy.' This sentiment is as close as this remarkably judgment-free writer comes to an overall aesthetic principle: that the only thing music has to do is be exciting ... His book succeeds for many reasons, one of which is that each encyclopedic chapter is divided into 10 or a dozen sections, each with its own subtitle: Bite-size chunks, as it were, are the only workable format for this feast. Mr. Sanneh also has a gift for zingers. "
[excerpt from Book Marks website]
WSJ ran a rave review, https://www.wsj.com/articles/major-la...
(Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers)
Excerpt:
"Mr. Sanneh, a staff writer for the New Yorker, gets high marks both for his encyclopedic knowledge and his breadth of taste. He also writes like an angel, making Major Labels one of the best books of its kind in decades ... Mr. Sanneh is rightly skeptical of art that operates within a deliberately 'cramped range' that limits its ability to be 'rowdy and messy.' This sentiment is as close as this remarkably judgment-free writer comes to an overall aesthetic principle: that the only thing music has to do is be exciting ... His book succeeds for many reasons, one of which is that each encyclopedic chapter is divided into 10 or a dozen sections, each with its own subtitle: Bite-size chunks, as it were, are the only workable format for this feast. Mr. Sanneh also has a gift for zingers. "
[excerpt from Book Marks website]
![Profile Image for laurel [the suspected bibliophile].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1645808644i%2F7494844._UX200_CR0%2C6%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
December 23, 2023
A fascinating look at the history of seven music genres—how they are defined, how they overlap, how they evolve, and how the artists within perceive their art.
Earlier this year, I watched This is Pop. It was really good! I had no idea how segregated the music industry was—and still very much is (I'm not a huge music person, so). How R&B and Pop have a TON of cross-over (honestly, Pop as a genre makes no sense), and yet the color line segregate listeners and artists. And...the whole mess with country's gatekeeping. Whew.
Anywho, I recommend This is Pop for a brief overview of the history of music/pop, and this book as a longer history. Follow up with Danyel Smith's Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop for an in-depth history on Black women in pop, and then Susan Rogers' This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You to understand your own musical preference profile.
Earlier this year, I watched This is Pop. It was really good! I had no idea how segregated the music industry was—and still very much is (I'm not a huge music person, so). How R&B and Pop have a TON of cross-over (honestly, Pop as a genre makes no sense), and yet the color line segregate listeners and artists. And...the whole mess with country's gatekeeping. Whew.
Anywho, I recommend This is Pop for a brief overview of the history of music/pop, and this book as a longer history. Follow up with Danyel Smith's Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop for an in-depth history on Black women in pop, and then Susan Rogers' This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You to understand your own musical preference profile.
Read
October 31, 2021An outstanding read about the history of music through seven genres. Sanneh, a former critic for the New York Times, offers a deeply-researched, well-crafted, and utterly compelling read, even about genres that may not be familiar to those picking up the book. It's passionate about music, where the roots of each genre emerged, and, ultimately, how these genres have built from one another to create where we are musically today -- listeners who love old classics, who've reclaimed formerly criticized artists, and able to find what we love in the click of a button, as opposed to buying into a full album and hoping for that serendipity to happen.
As much as this is about music, it's equally about criticism and what makes someone love music. What is criticism today, anyway? The insight Sanneh offers is about the changing face of music journalism, the ways in which criticism has had to shift because of the freelance model, wherein those who are predisposed to like something are given the chance to write about it; this isn't a bad thing, as a reviewer doesn't need to spend as much time learning history and context, and it's not a bad thing because it means the right listeners will find it. But it's also changed WHAT criticism is, and it's allowed for a "reclaiming" of earlier criticism, too -- just look at how Pitchfork recently decided to revise ratings they'd given older albums as they realized they were wrong.
This is a book for music lovers, for those who want music history, as well as those who are eager for a perspective that isn't white and male and old: Sanneh is a Gen X Black writer and his perspective is so refreshing.
I listened on audio, performed by the author, and I really do think books about music deserve to be listened to. I wasn't at all disappointed in this one and wish I could keep listening to it.
As much as this is about music, it's equally about criticism and what makes someone love music. What is criticism today, anyway? The insight Sanneh offers is about the changing face of music journalism, the ways in which criticism has had to shift because of the freelance model, wherein those who are predisposed to like something are given the chance to write about it; this isn't a bad thing, as a reviewer doesn't need to spend as much time learning history and context, and it's not a bad thing because it means the right listeners will find it. But it's also changed WHAT criticism is, and it's allowed for a "reclaiming" of earlier criticism, too -- just look at how Pitchfork recently decided to revise ratings they'd given older albums as they realized they were wrong.
This is a book for music lovers, for those who want music history, as well as those who are eager for a perspective that isn't white and male and old: Sanneh is a Gen X Black writer and his perspective is so refreshing.
I listened on audio, performed by the author, and I really do think books about music deserve to be listened to. I wasn't at all disappointed in this one and wish I could keep listening to it.
October 20, 2021
As a fan of many different genres of popular music, I found this book to be fascinating. I learned many new things in each chapter, and even those chapters that were about genres that aren't necessarily my favorite, I enjoyed! Sanneh makes you think, throughout the book, about how we tend to build identities around the music we love (and consequently, the music we don't)- and I found that to be an endlessly interesting thought path to wander down. I'm still thinking about it! Lastly, I really appreciated how clearly Sanneh loves music of all different types. It comes through in his writing and I'm certain that's one of the reasons this book was so fun to read (similar to how certain teachers who are passionate about the subject they teach are more engaging and easier to learn from than those who aren't.) I thought it was wonderful that he advocated for loving music just because you love it; his explorations of hip-hop, pop, and dance music were especially illuminating in this respect. Extremely well written and a terrific read!
September 15, 2024
probably my favorite nonfiction book that came out this year, incredibly helpful to me as a music journo and also a general consumer of music
September 19, 2023
My dad described this book as the A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs podcast from the opposite end of a kaleidoscope. I recommend them both! But where Andrew Hickey of 500 Songs goes deep into exactly how Geoff Emerick mixed a specific sound on the Beatles "Tomorrow Never Knows," Kelefa Sanneh can cover five rock bands spanning two decades in the space of a page.
Sanneh provides a survey course of the major musicians and trends of the past fifty or so years in popular music, but he's particularly interested in how genres are created and evolve. What makes something R&B or dance or pop and why do some people feel so strongly that they like one and not the other?
Sanneh has an impressive pedigree - he took a year off from Harvard to work in a record shop and served as the New York Times music critic before leaving for the New Yorker but what distinguishes his treatment of music is a profound openness and curiosity about the experience of all types of sounds. Talking about The Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb" he describes the contemporary discourse around the Stones' perceived sexism but also offers up an alternative interpretation. This generosity - to punk, to disco, to country, to prog rock - is infectious and made me feel more adventurous and excited about an omnivorous experience of music.
Sanneh provides a survey course of the major musicians and trends of the past fifty or so years in popular music, but he's particularly interested in how genres are created and evolve. What makes something R&B or dance or pop and why do some people feel so strongly that they like one and not the other?
Sanneh has an impressive pedigree - he took a year off from Harvard to work in a record shop and served as the New York Times music critic before leaving for the New Yorker but what distinguishes his treatment of music is a profound openness and curiosity about the experience of all types of sounds. Talking about The Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb" he describes the contemporary discourse around the Stones' perceived sexism but also offers up an alternative interpretation. This generosity - to punk, to disco, to country, to prog rock - is infectious and made me feel more adventurous and excited about an omnivorous experience of music.
February 2, 2024
A lot of Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres was truly fascinating---I loved reading about the way different genres formed and developed over time, and found Sanneh's argument regarding the meaninglessness of labels and genres in a world where music and music-making is so thoroughly collaborative to be compelling. But there are glaring omissions that I cannot overlook, especially towards the end, particularly when it came to the final chapter on pop.
Sanneh's disinterest in pop is obvious. While he devotes an entire chapter to rock and delves into extensive detail about its various sub-genres (going so far as to give punk---an obsession of his young-adult years---its own chapter), the history of pop is scattered and surface-level, the 2000s and 2010s omitted altogether aside from a passing mention of Katy Perry. Instead, Sanneh spends a majority of the time defining pop in contrast to rock, ruminating on what makes music "good" or "bad," "respectable" or "disposable." Though these are interesting ideas to consider, I wish they had been explored elsewhere, and pop in its twenty-first century incarnation was investigated more thoroughly.
For the most part, as promised by the title, the book does follow the journeys of seven major genres over the last fifty years, although at times it glosses over the past two decades. What becomes immediately clear, however, are the genres most beloved to Sanneh, and the questions and controversies that excite him. Occasionally he veers off and relates seemingly obscure anecdotes about people in the music industry he knew, or past articles he wrote that sparked somewhat of a debate. I don't mind the personal reflections---up to a point. After a while it begins to feel like credential-dropping; Sanneh mentions, repeatedly, the various esteemed publications he has worked at, as though to emphasize his credibility. Worse still, is his frustrating commitment to impartiality: Sanneh refuses to take a stance on moral conflicts, presenting both sides as valid, often giving the benefit of the doubt to what is blatant racism, sexism, or anti-semitism.
I know this review is largely critical, but there was much of this book I did enjoy. Major Labels has exposed me to genres and musicians I had previously dismissed or knew little about, and Sanneh's passion for music is delightful and contagious. I suppose that my biggest criticism is rather telling: that I wanted even more---of pop, and of music in the modern day, to be precise. Perhaps that will be its own book. Until then, this one will have to suffice.
3.5/5
Sanneh's disinterest in pop is obvious. While he devotes an entire chapter to rock and delves into extensive detail about its various sub-genres (going so far as to give punk---an obsession of his young-adult years---its own chapter), the history of pop is scattered and surface-level, the 2000s and 2010s omitted altogether aside from a passing mention of Katy Perry. Instead, Sanneh spends a majority of the time defining pop in contrast to rock, ruminating on what makes music "good" or "bad," "respectable" or "disposable." Though these are interesting ideas to consider, I wish they had been explored elsewhere, and pop in its twenty-first century incarnation was investigated more thoroughly.
For the most part, as promised by the title, the book does follow the journeys of seven major genres over the last fifty years, although at times it glosses over the past two decades. What becomes immediately clear, however, are the genres most beloved to Sanneh, and the questions and controversies that excite him. Occasionally he veers off and relates seemingly obscure anecdotes about people in the music industry he knew, or past articles he wrote that sparked somewhat of a debate. I don't mind the personal reflections---up to a point. After a while it begins to feel like credential-dropping; Sanneh mentions, repeatedly, the various esteemed publications he has worked at, as though to emphasize his credibility. Worse still, is his frustrating commitment to impartiality: Sanneh refuses to take a stance on moral conflicts, presenting both sides as valid, often giving the benefit of the doubt to what is blatant racism, sexism, or anti-semitism.
I know this review is largely critical, but there was much of this book I did enjoy. Major Labels has exposed me to genres and musicians I had previously dismissed or knew little about, and Sanneh's passion for music is delightful and contagious. I suppose that my biggest criticism is rather telling: that I wanted even more---of pop, and of music in the modern day, to be precise. Perhaps that will be its own book. Until then, this one will have to suffice.
3.5/5
November 20, 2021
This was a great overview of different music genres and how they’ve evolved over the years. It was interesting to read about all the different subgenres within the 7 major genre categories, but also the similarities between the major genres.
My favorite sections were the ones about punk, R&B, and hip hop. While I do love rock music, that one felt like it was a lot of information I was mostly already aware of. While the punk section had a lot more of the author’s opinions and experiences rather than just a history lesson. For R&B and hip hop, I was aware of the major names but I also felt like I learned a lot about artists who I’d never heard of before.
I was a little bit letdown by the section on pop music. It was more focused on how professional critics have reviewed and analyzed pop music in comparison with rock music rather than just being about pop music itself. There was obviously some commentary on the music, but I just wanted more. But all in all I had a great time reading this book.
My favorite sections were the ones about punk, R&B, and hip hop. While I do love rock music, that one felt like it was a lot of information I was mostly already aware of. While the punk section had a lot more of the author’s opinions and experiences rather than just a history lesson. For R&B and hip hop, I was aware of the major names but I also felt like I learned a lot about artists who I’d never heard of before.
I was a little bit letdown by the section on pop music. It was more focused on how professional critics have reviewed and analyzed pop music in comparison with rock music rather than just being about pop music itself. There was obviously some commentary on the music, but I just wanted more. But all in all I had a great time reading this book.
July 1, 2025
Hi everyone and also welcome Mateo,
So fun fact: I actually started reading this book last year for my American Studies class on Pop Culture. I had to write a paper on it so I read the chapters that I used for my paper and then didn't really have time to read the rest (yes, I did in fact start reading the book on the day the paper was due). However, it had been a goal of mine to finish the book for the reasons that you'll read below and I'm really happy that I finally did!
I often have trouble reading nonfiction books (and in fact look down on particular ones with disdain, you know who you are) so I will say that I did have to put in *effort* to read this at times. But that was totally a me thing. I have really nothing to critique it on tbh idk if I was just reading with rose colored glasses or what but I'm a fan.
I feel like I even learned things about genres that I'm not particularly invested in. If you know me, you know that I am anti-country music (sorry zillp) with the exception of the occasional "bro-country" guilty pleasure (yes i learned that word in this book and in fact the very first example of bro-country was boys round here by blake shelton and that is one of the country songs that i'll let slide). Even then, I walked away with a better understanding of the history of country music. On a tangential yet related note, it was really interesting to survey the relationship between country music and the white identity, politics, war, and all those fun stuff. Especially after Beyonce's AOTY win, I just felt more informed.
I was partially averse to the "Dance" chapter originally because the term was really ambiguous (imo) and I'm a lowkey hater of house music (and yeah that one was a callout too) but predictably, I was still a fan and learned a lot. It opened with disco music: fun. I know how important disco music had been to general counterculture and marginalized groups but I don't think I really *got it* until I read this chapter. I had heard about the White Sox disco incident time and time again but this book was the first time that made really explicit connections between whose records were being trashed and who was doing the trashing. It even talked briefly about the random rise of EDM in America in the early 2010s. Apparently, part of the reason Daft Punk won AOTY is because the music industry wanted to recognize that electronic music finally "conquered" America (so keep that in mind, dear specific reader, when evaluating which albums should or should not win AOTY and how being the "best" is so much more than just barebones popularity contest). :D
Another fun fact is that country and dance were the two segments that I hadn't read yet, for reasons including (but not limited to) the fact that they were the least compelling. As such, I have a lot more to say about those chapters. Punk would've been in that category but unfortunately it made a great case for my paper and therefore I had to read it. However, I'll try to tell you guys about the other sections as well.
I know (comparatively) a lot more about the rise of rock and roll through general interest in the past seven years or so. As such, the chapter wasn't as much "new" information for me. I did like how it covered the various offshoots of rock (I remember reading about Nickelback, hair metal, glam metal, the idea of a male rockstar, etc) which I really appreciated.
I remember LOVING the chapter on R&B specifically. I'll admit, I didn't pay as much mind to R&B initially when I was getting into my music history phase and I really have no idea why. I think that rock was always something I liked and appreciated but didn't always listen to, so it had some sort of unapproachability that lent itself to academic thinking. In contrast, R&B (and all of its different formats in the chapter) are more similar to my day-to-day music taste and I guess I just never thought that others thought of it so critically. Anyways, it just reinforced a lot of the concepts I was considering in my head but was never able to tease out on my own.
tl;dr I like book, I learn things, I enjoy, it was easy to read
In all, I would really recommend for those of you who are interested in music and the history of music. Even if you're only interested in some of the genres named, the book is organized into sections based off of genre, so you could totally read the chapter you're interested in and then move on with your life. I've become a big fan of this author and I've found myself wondering what he would have to say about particular music developments since this book was published (2021). So brb, gonna go write a book, find more materials by this guy, read similar books, and listen to music. I love music!
So fun fact: I actually started reading this book last year for my American Studies class on Pop Culture. I had to write a paper on it so I read the chapters that I used for my paper and then didn't really have time to read the rest (yes, I did in fact start reading the book on the day the paper was due). However, it had been a goal of mine to finish the book for the reasons that you'll read below and I'm really happy that I finally did!
I often have trouble reading nonfiction books (and in fact look down on particular ones with disdain, you know who you are) so I will say that I did have to put in *effort* to read this at times. But that was totally a me thing. I have really nothing to critique it on tbh idk if I was just reading with rose colored glasses or what but I'm a fan.
I feel like I even learned things about genres that I'm not particularly invested in. If you know me, you know that I am anti-country music (sorry zillp) with the exception of the occasional "bro-country" guilty pleasure (yes i learned that word in this book and in fact the very first example of bro-country was boys round here by blake shelton and that is one of the country songs that i'll let slide). Even then, I walked away with a better understanding of the history of country music. On a tangential yet related note, it was really interesting to survey the relationship between country music and the white identity, politics, war, and all those fun stuff. Especially after Beyonce's AOTY win, I just felt more informed.
I was partially averse to the "Dance" chapter originally because the term was really ambiguous (imo) and I'm a lowkey hater of house music (and yeah that one was a callout too) but predictably, I was still a fan and learned a lot. It opened with disco music: fun. I know how important disco music had been to general counterculture and marginalized groups but I don't think I really *got it* until I read this chapter. I had heard about the White Sox disco incident time and time again but this book was the first time that made really explicit connections between whose records were being trashed and who was doing the trashing. It even talked briefly about the random rise of EDM in America in the early 2010s. Apparently, part of the reason Daft Punk won AOTY is because the music industry wanted to recognize that electronic music finally "conquered" America (so keep that in mind, dear specific reader, when evaluating which albums should or should not win AOTY and how being the "best" is so much more than just barebones popularity contest). :D
Another fun fact is that country and dance were the two segments that I hadn't read yet, for reasons including (but not limited to) the fact that they were the least compelling. As such, I have a lot more to say about those chapters. Punk would've been in that category but unfortunately it made a great case for my paper and therefore I had to read it. However, I'll try to tell you guys about the other sections as well.
I know (comparatively) a lot more about the rise of rock and roll through general interest in the past seven years or so. As such, the chapter wasn't as much "new" information for me. I did like how it covered the various offshoots of rock (I remember reading about Nickelback, hair metal, glam metal, the idea of a male rockstar, etc) which I really appreciated.
I remember LOVING the chapter on R&B specifically. I'll admit, I didn't pay as much mind to R&B initially when I was getting into my music history phase and I really have no idea why. I think that rock was always something I liked and appreciated but didn't always listen to, so it had some sort of unapproachability that lent itself to academic thinking. In contrast, R&B (and all of its different formats in the chapter) are more similar to my day-to-day music taste and I guess I just never thought that others thought of it so critically. Anyways, it just reinforced a lot of the concepts I was considering in my head but was never able to tease out on my own.
tl;dr I like book, I learn things, I enjoy, it was easy to read
In all, I would really recommend for those of you who are interested in music and the history of music. Even if you're only interested in some of the genres named, the book is organized into sections based off of genre, so you could totally read the chapter you're interested in and then move on with your life. I've become a big fan of this author and I've found myself wondering what he would have to say about particular music developments since this book was published (2021). So brb, gonna go write a book, find more materials by this guy, read similar books, and listen to music. I love music!
July 27, 2022
Kelefa Sanneh is a good writer and he seems like a good guy! You might know him as the guy who coined the phrase "poptimism," and "Major Labels" feels in many ways like a Poptimist history of the last fifty years in music-- one that ends with a chapter-long exploration of the idea of pop itself.
Now, I've got a complicated relationship with this "poptimism" thing, and I therefore have a sort of complicated relationship with this book. It's a book about music with good sentences and some intriguing ideas, so it's hard to hate. It's also "poptimistic" the way I appreciate, which is to say, Sanneh has wide-ranging interests and the willingness/intelligence to dive deep into his seven genres of choice. I doubt anyone reading "Major Labels" could claim to be as well-versed in ALL of these styles as Sanneh clearly is, which is a credit to his taste and research and incredible endurance when it comes to listening to contemporary country radio.
But I'm a music guy, see, so I CAN claim to be at least pretty well-versed in a few of these genres, to the point where the rock, country, and punk chapters didn't really surprise me at all. Though Sanneh will occasionally, intriguingly focus on artists who are critically reviled but popularly appreciated (like Grand Funk Railroad and Toby Keith), he mostly hits a lot of the same beats that get hit in other pop music histories. The punk story, for example, is basically the Sex Pistols to hardcore to Green Day to emo (with the always appreciated detour, I must add, into the greatest band of all time: Fugazi). Sound familiar? (The similarly styled "Twilight of the Gods," by Steven Hyden, suffered from the same problem.) Even the chapters on genres I'm not quite so familiar with-- say post-disco dance music and post-Outkast rap-- didn't really present anything to me that, oh, I felt like I HAD to listen to immediately. (Contrast this with Bob Stanley's "Yeah Yeah Yeah," which I admittedly read at a much younger stage of my music listening life, but which had some crazy song recommendation every other page.)
And that brings me to the flip-side of poptimism, the thing about it I can't stand: how it's pretty fucking BORING to conclude, again and again, that a popular thing is necessarily something worthy of critical appreciation. It would be one thing of Sanneh had chose to write a history of, say, the charts, and showed how past popular taste is frequently, fascinatingly at odds with our understanding of music years from when said thing was popular (the way Elijah Wald does in his seminal "How the Beatles Destroyed Rock 'N' Roll"). But "Major Labels" is more a critical skimming of a million things than an extensively wrought historical saga, and I just can't say much of the skimming packs a punch. I mean, just look at how the book is described in the blurbs (several, curiously, from talk show hosts?): "clearheaded"; "completely enjoyable"; "elegant"; "keen." Are these really the words that we should be using to describe writing about MUSIC, the greatest thing of all time, the only thing that makes life worth living, the thing that fucking rules and fucking sucks in equal measure?
What I'm saying, I guess, is that Sanneh is TOO balanced. Maybe he's listened to too much music, I dunno. I just gotta say that every time Lester Bangs was quoted in "Major Labels," I was like: there. That's how I want my music writing to be! Extremely judgmental and mean and funny. Music is too important to conclude that all of it, actually, is kind of good, because somebody out there loves it, or whatever. And surely the role of the critic MUST be to do something other than affirm what the radio and ads are already telling us. Surely the critic's vocation must involve looking at all this bullshit in its bullshit context and saying, hey, a lot of this is bullshit, but this is great, somehow, and must be attended to.
See, I'm not a great critic, and I feel bad about being harsh on this book. Again, I have nothing against Kelefa Sanneh, and I'm glad I read "Major Labels," which often has really cool things to say! I just... I gotta make this point. There's this idea that poptimism is the truly democratic kind of criticism that I resist, as an ardent democracy fan. Democracy is NOT about revering rich and powerful gods (i.e. famous pop stars)! It's about vigorous debate and being super opinionated and making fun of everything and championing the unheard and powerless!
Now, I've got a complicated relationship with this "poptimism" thing, and I therefore have a sort of complicated relationship with this book. It's a book about music with good sentences and some intriguing ideas, so it's hard to hate. It's also "poptimistic" the way I appreciate, which is to say, Sanneh has wide-ranging interests and the willingness/intelligence to dive deep into his seven genres of choice. I doubt anyone reading "Major Labels" could claim to be as well-versed in ALL of these styles as Sanneh clearly is, which is a credit to his taste and research and incredible endurance when it comes to listening to contemporary country radio.
But I'm a music guy, see, so I CAN claim to be at least pretty well-versed in a few of these genres, to the point where the rock, country, and punk chapters didn't really surprise me at all. Though Sanneh will occasionally, intriguingly focus on artists who are critically reviled but popularly appreciated (like Grand Funk Railroad and Toby Keith), he mostly hits a lot of the same beats that get hit in other pop music histories. The punk story, for example, is basically the Sex Pistols to hardcore to Green Day to emo (with the always appreciated detour, I must add, into the greatest band of all time: Fugazi). Sound familiar? (The similarly styled "Twilight of the Gods," by Steven Hyden, suffered from the same problem.) Even the chapters on genres I'm not quite so familiar with-- say post-disco dance music and post-Outkast rap-- didn't really present anything to me that, oh, I felt like I HAD to listen to immediately. (Contrast this with Bob Stanley's "Yeah Yeah Yeah," which I admittedly read at a much younger stage of my music listening life, but which had some crazy song recommendation every other page.)
And that brings me to the flip-side of poptimism, the thing about it I can't stand: how it's pretty fucking BORING to conclude, again and again, that a popular thing is necessarily something worthy of critical appreciation. It would be one thing of Sanneh had chose to write a history of, say, the charts, and showed how past popular taste is frequently, fascinatingly at odds with our understanding of music years from when said thing was popular (the way Elijah Wald does in his seminal "How the Beatles Destroyed Rock 'N' Roll"). But "Major Labels" is more a critical skimming of a million things than an extensively wrought historical saga, and I just can't say much of the skimming packs a punch. I mean, just look at how the book is described in the blurbs (several, curiously, from talk show hosts?): "clearheaded"; "completely enjoyable"; "elegant"; "keen." Are these really the words that we should be using to describe writing about MUSIC, the greatest thing of all time, the only thing that makes life worth living, the thing that fucking rules and fucking sucks in equal measure?
What I'm saying, I guess, is that Sanneh is TOO balanced. Maybe he's listened to too much music, I dunno. I just gotta say that every time Lester Bangs was quoted in "Major Labels," I was like: there. That's how I want my music writing to be! Extremely judgmental and mean and funny. Music is too important to conclude that all of it, actually, is kind of good, because somebody out there loves it, or whatever. And surely the role of the critic MUST be to do something other than affirm what the radio and ads are already telling us. Surely the critic's vocation must involve looking at all this bullshit in its bullshit context and saying, hey, a lot of this is bullshit, but this is great, somehow, and must be attended to.
See, I'm not a great critic, and I feel bad about being harsh on this book. Again, I have nothing against Kelefa Sanneh, and I'm glad I read "Major Labels," which often has really cool things to say! I just... I gotta make this point. There's this idea that poptimism is the truly democratic kind of criticism that I resist, as an ardent democracy fan. Democracy is NOT about revering rich and powerful gods (i.e. famous pop stars)! It's about vigorous debate and being super opinionated and making fun of everything and championing the unheard and powerless!
May 31, 2024
speed read voor mijn bachelorproef maar ik ga dit 100% herlezen en dieper mee in interactie gaan. Super interessant en toegankelijk boek, vertrekt vanuit een genre en rockism perspectief op deze maar ik had hier en daar graag diepgaandere kritiek en behandeling van de filosofische vragen rond Genre gehad ipv gewoon een omlijsting en geschiedenis. Soms is het punt er bijna maar niet helemaal.
July 19, 2022
MAJOR LABELS makes me wish it had come out when I was in my snobby college-student iteration, in which I thought almost nothing more pleasurable than sitting and drinking beer and smoking weed with my snobby college friends (all obnoxious white me like myself) and pushing like the prow of a Coast Gutter into long, passioned and utterly ridiculous arguments like: Why is Billy Joel awesome but not Neil Diamond not? Who has more integrity, R.E.M. or The Replacements? Or Husker Dü? Which R.E.M. album is more awesome? Are drum machines evil? Is it really unforgivable to license music for beer and soda commercials? Which celebrity mad the worse album, Bruce Willis or Eddie Murphy? And so on and so on ....
Kelefa Sanneh's MAJOR LABELS thoughtfully addresses fan snobbery, critic snobbery, musician snobbery and tries just as thoughtfully to cut through the knowing partisanship and unknowing tribalism, between what we think is good and what we know we like, and build bridges between these unbridgeable divides. All the while admitting his own personal biases, his own critical prejudices and his own irreconcilable pronouncements as a music and cultural critic. Just the fact that he can give equal contemplative weight to punk, disco, pop, rock, country, rap, hip-hop, electronic dance music and the like without losing his mind makes this book an essential companion for anybody who's ever loved music and has a sense, however hazy, of its historical and cultural arcs. It's amazing that one person can be equally informed and (mostly) unprejudiced about N.W.A., Toby Keith, The Carpenters, Grand Funk Railroad, Boy George, Linkin Park, Robyn, NSYNC, Yo Gotti, Kendrick Lamar, Donna Summer and Trent Reznor.
That sort of egalitarianism serves Sanneh well as an observer as a well as an engaged listener, and he tries hard to see all sides in search of a synthesized centrism that everybody, himself included, can live with as we venture forth into an even more tribalistic world. As he puts it: "Since the sixties, arguments over music have often been arguments over social identities. It’s startling to think that we might now be choosing, instead, to take our musical tastes home and curl up on the couch. It’s startling to think that fifty years of argument might be coming to an end." As one who's exhausted by the fights and no longer invested in them as a way of building a personal brand, I hope Kaleh Sanneh is right. Which won't stop me from reading this book over and over and reliving various iterations of my own ridiculously argumentative self. I don't miss that guy ... but I kinda do. Like I kinda miss Neil Diamond.
Kelefa Sanneh's MAJOR LABELS thoughtfully addresses fan snobbery, critic snobbery, musician snobbery and tries just as thoughtfully to cut through the knowing partisanship and unknowing tribalism, between what we think is good and what we know we like, and build bridges between these unbridgeable divides. All the while admitting his own personal biases, his own critical prejudices and his own irreconcilable pronouncements as a music and cultural critic. Just the fact that he can give equal contemplative weight to punk, disco, pop, rock, country, rap, hip-hop, electronic dance music and the like without losing his mind makes this book an essential companion for anybody who's ever loved music and has a sense, however hazy, of its historical and cultural arcs. It's amazing that one person can be equally informed and (mostly) unprejudiced about N.W.A., Toby Keith, The Carpenters, Grand Funk Railroad, Boy George, Linkin Park, Robyn, NSYNC, Yo Gotti, Kendrick Lamar, Donna Summer and Trent Reznor.
That sort of egalitarianism serves Sanneh well as an observer as a well as an engaged listener, and he tries hard to see all sides in search of a synthesized centrism that everybody, himself included, can live with as we venture forth into an even more tribalistic world. As he puts it: "Since the sixties, arguments over music have often been arguments over social identities. It’s startling to think that we might now be choosing, instead, to take our musical tastes home and curl up on the couch. It’s startling to think that fifty years of argument might be coming to an end." As one who's exhausted by the fights and no longer invested in them as a way of building a personal brand, I hope Kaleh Sanneh is right. Which won't stop me from reading this book over and over and reliving various iterations of my own ridiculously argumentative self. I don't miss that guy ... but I kinda do. Like I kinda miss Neil Diamond.
February 23, 2022
I love the concept of genre. I like classifying things and realizing when they can't be classified, and I adore how works redefine what a genre is or what a new genre should be.
This work is all about genre in music (as Sanneh puts it, it is "literally generic"). More importantly to me, it focuses on seven genres (rock, R&B, country, punk, hip-hop, dance, and pop) not from a music theoretical perspective, but from the perspectives of audiences and critics. That is, Sanneh discusses the genres as defined by the people listening to the music. So, for example, something is rock because it shows a "rock aesthetic" (which could range from a sense of musical rebellion to a need to celebrate artists from the 1960's to a portrayal of "authenticity"), not because it was made with an electric guitar and a wah-wah pedal.
And the result is seven fascinating stories about culture writ large and the minutiae of subcultures, all while covering practically every major advancement in popular music since the 1970's. So, for example, I learned about the birth of "outlaw country" with Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, the concerns about depictions of male sexuality in R&B (and the impact of those depictions on Marvin Gaye and Luther Vandross), and the amazing similarities between the Grateful Dead and the EDM movement. And while Sanneh foregrounds music criticism contemporaneous with the music, he still brings a current perspective by looking at impacts of gender and race on how the music was perceived.
The result is a fascinating study of what musical genre means and how culture evolves while packed with stories that I read aloud to my wife on a regular basis. Highly recommended if you are a music or cultural analysis fan. I may end up buying this.
This work is all about genre in music (as Sanneh puts it, it is "literally generic"). More importantly to me, it focuses on seven genres (rock, R&B, country, punk, hip-hop, dance, and pop) not from a music theoretical perspective, but from the perspectives of audiences and critics. That is, Sanneh discusses the genres as defined by the people listening to the music. So, for example, something is rock because it shows a "rock aesthetic" (which could range from a sense of musical rebellion to a need to celebrate artists from the 1960's to a portrayal of "authenticity"), not because it was made with an electric guitar and a wah-wah pedal.
And the result is seven fascinating stories about culture writ large and the minutiae of subcultures, all while covering practically every major advancement in popular music since the 1970's. So, for example, I learned about the birth of "outlaw country" with Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, the concerns about depictions of male sexuality in R&B (and the impact of those depictions on Marvin Gaye and Luther Vandross), and the amazing similarities between the Grateful Dead and the EDM movement. And while Sanneh foregrounds music criticism contemporaneous with the music, he still brings a current perspective by looking at impacts of gender and race on how the music was perceived.
The result is a fascinating study of what musical genre means and how culture evolves while packed with stories that I read aloud to my wife on a regular basis. Highly recommended if you are a music or cultural analysis fan. I may end up buying this.
October 1, 2025
Really enjoyed reading this while listening to the songs referenced. I think Sanneh’s writing is very good and his personal anecdotes worked well with the histories or each genre. It definitely gave me a new perspective on how music was consumed and how that defined the the type of music being made in previous generations.
August 18, 2021
Read if you: Want an entertaining, very opinionated, and rollicking journey through the last 40+ years of music.
When I learned that Kelefa Sanneh is a black Gen X-er, I was doubly excited for this book. I enjoy reading books about (popular) music history, but so often, the authors are from the Boomer generation (not being anti-Boomer!) ,and give scant attention to pop/rock music post Beatles (and little regard for genres outside that). Sanneh goes beyond the Top 40 to examine country, R&B, EDM, punk, and rap.
Of course, there will be readers that wish he had focused more on certain genres or artists. That's to be expected with books about entertainment. And there will likely be more sections that keep the reader's interest longer than others. However--this is one of the most balanced and fascinating books on modern music history that I've read in several years.
Librarians/booksellers: Definitely purchase to round out your music historuy collection.
Many thanks to Penguin Group and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.
When I learned that Kelefa Sanneh is a black Gen X-er, I was doubly excited for this book. I enjoy reading books about (popular) music history, but so often, the authors are from the Boomer generation (not being anti-Boomer!) ,and give scant attention to pop/rock music post Beatles (and little regard for genres outside that). Sanneh goes beyond the Top 40 to examine country, R&B, EDM, punk, and rap.
Of course, there will be readers that wish he had focused more on certain genres or artists. That's to be expected with books about entertainment. And there will likely be more sections that keep the reader's interest longer than others. However--this is one of the most balanced and fascinating books on modern music history that I've read in several years.
Librarians/booksellers: Definitely purchase to round out your music historuy collection.
Many thanks to Penguin Group and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.
October 9, 2021
Doesn’t really go anywhere. Sort of like a long Wikipedia entry.
May 17, 2022
In Major Labels, music critic Kelefa Sanneh traces the development of Rock, R&B, Country, Punk, Hip-Hop, Dance, and Pop music, examining the cultural forces shaping these genres through their various converges and divergences over the past fifty years. With the phrase "major labels," Sanneh evokes the idea of big recording companies, but to a greater degree, he uses the phrase to mean the way we've historically segregated and categorized popular music, often arbitrarily, and well beyond the point when those labels cease to be accurate or useful.
This was especially entertaining on audiobook, read by the author. Sanneh gives his work a spirited read, with light touches throughout. It's a long book, packed with information, and yet it moves along at a rapid clip. I could have kept listening to Sanneh geek out over music for many more hours. I was most engaged with the chapters on Rock, Dance, and Pop, which are my preferred genres, but I found something to love in every section. My favorite aspect of the book was Sanneh's diligence in consulting and quoting music critics writing at the time when a particular artist he discusses was popular. It gives some heft to what might otherwise be just a modern critic imposing his latter-day views and sensibilities on older stuff. In his analysis, those contemporary voices count, too, and it makes for a fascinating read.
This was especially entertaining on audiobook, read by the author. Sanneh gives his work a spirited read, with light touches throughout. It's a long book, packed with information, and yet it moves along at a rapid clip. I could have kept listening to Sanneh geek out over music for many more hours. I was most engaged with the chapters on Rock, Dance, and Pop, which are my preferred genres, but I found something to love in every section. My favorite aspect of the book was Sanneh's diligence in consulting and quoting music critics writing at the time when a particular artist he discusses was popular. It gives some heft to what might otherwise be just a modern critic imposing his latter-day views and sensibilities on older stuff. In his analysis, those contemporary voices count, too, and it makes for a fascinating read.
December 24, 2023
I have read a bunch of disappointing music analysis / music history books over the years. It’s a famously difficult topic to write about.
But Sanneh nails it. This was by far the best attempt I’ve come across! (Second only to Meet Me In The Bathroom, but I don’t think that’s even a meaningful comparison since they are so different.)
His book succeeds where others have failed for a few reasons: the quality of his writing, the overall structure of the book and cohesiveness of his arguments in supporting a main thesis, and the passion, excitement, and thoughtfulness he brings to the topic. It’s a survey history, but far from just a boring recapping of names and dates - he makes connections between seemingly disparate artists and events across time, and weaves critical analysis and personal anecdotes in with thought provoking ideas.
But Sanneh nails it. This was by far the best attempt I’ve come across! (Second only to Meet Me In The Bathroom, but I don’t think that’s even a meaningful comparison since they are so different.)
His book succeeds where others have failed for a few reasons: the quality of his writing, the overall structure of the book and cohesiveness of his arguments in supporting a main thesis, and the passion, excitement, and thoughtfulness he brings to the topic. It’s a survey history, but far from just a boring recapping of names and dates - he makes connections between seemingly disparate artists and events across time, and weaves critical analysis and personal anecdotes in with thought provoking ideas.
December 15, 2021
I watched a lot of Behind the Music as a kid - probably spent way too much time parked in front of Much More Music - and this reminded me of that... but better. I was already familiar with quite a bit of the history, but really appreciated Kelefa Sanneh's nuance, his in-depth understanding of the music, and his focus on broader cultural moments, race and identity, and his own personal history as music critic.
How did these genres come to be and why do they fall in and out of fashion? How do we decide what music we like, and why do we become adamantly opposed to certain music? How do genres intersect and overlap and give rise to new music unlike anything anybody has heard before?
"Human beings tend to disagree about music because human beings are disagreeable. When we complain about music what we are really complaining about is other people."
Thoroughly enjoyed and the audiobook was excellent.
How did these genres come to be and why do they fall in and out of fashion? How do we decide what music we like, and why do we become adamantly opposed to certain music? How do genres intersect and overlap and give rise to new music unlike anything anybody has heard before?
"Human beings tend to disagree about music because human beings are disagreeable. When we complain about music what we are really complaining about is other people."
Thoroughly enjoyed and the audiobook was excellent.
Read
October 25, 2023Sanneh clearly knows his music and I had fun diving into different genres (and the constant angst about what music fits into what genres), and remembering songs I had forgotten or learning music histories I never knew. This book is DENSE though, and can read a bit like a wikipedia page with nonstop references, so was feeling pretty tired once I arrived at punk and by the time I finished hip hop, I didn’t have much energy left for a serious read of dance or pop (sorry @sylvester @britney)
“No matter the object of their animus, they want to know: What’s wrong with people? How can anyone listen to that stuff?
Those are good questions.”
“No matter the object of their animus, they want to know: What’s wrong with people? How can anyone listen to that stuff?
Those are good questions.”
January 17, 2022
I can't imagine how difficult it is to condense over 50 years of music history across seven genres into a single book, but somehow Sanneh manages to create an extremely educational and fascinating work that includes much of his own personal experiences as a music fan and critic. Even though our tastes don't align perfectly, I'm interested in digging into his back catalog of music reviews.
February 19, 2023
FANTASTIC! I enjoyed the writing and I enjoyed learning about and listening to a lot of music I missed while in "Dad mode." I gave a copy of this book at Christmas and am eyeing another copy for a friend who is also a big music fan.
Even if you think you know all about contemporary music, read this - you will discover so much.
Even if you think you know all about contemporary music, read this - you will discover so much.
October 11, 2025
someone made a spotify playlist of all the songs referenced in this book, and it is over 45 HOURS long. the scope of this book led me to discover songs that i very likely would not have listened to otherwise, which i appreciate. at the same time, with a scope so broad and only some 490 pages to cover them in, the coverage is necessarily shallow, which (to me at least) makes it boring at parts.
February 18, 2024
This took me soso long to read but in the end I think it was worth it! I added a lot of artists to my want to listen list and I will probably listen to and love one or two of them! But really I just enjoyed the way Sanneh wrote about music-you could tell he loved it and the way he talked about its role in our culture was really really interesting. Lowk makes me wanna be a music critic…
February 4, 2023
A pretty damn thorough look at popular music through the lens of different genres. Each chapter is more than an overview, but less than a comprehensive breakdown of each music style. It’s fun when the same artists appear in different sections. While I didn’t get to listen to the last chapter on Pop before my library loan expired, I still really enjoyed this.
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