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Everything We Do is Music: How 20th-Century Classical Music Shaped Pop
SHORTLISTED FOR THE RPS STORYTELLING AWARD
A FINANCIAL TIMES AND IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
'Revelation after revelation . . . I love music more for reading it.' Guy Garvey
'Alker joins the dots by following myriad musical ley lines. A fascinating journey into sound.' Mark Radcliffe
'Reveals so much about the hidden connections between the sounds we love . . . A must read.' Sara Mohr-Pietsch
A panoramic exploration of the ways in which pop and rock were transformed by the pioneering visionaries of classical music.
The worlds of pop and rock owe a much greater debt to the classical canon than we realise. A direct and fascinating lineage draws from the experimentalism of Pierre Henry to The Beatles' 'Tomorrow Never Knows', from Stockhausen to Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' and from Bruckner to Sonic Youth via Glenn Branca.
In Everything We Do is Music, Elizabeth Alker shines a light on the fertile ground that exists between the borders of classical music and pop. She showcases the innovators of the former and their fans and collaborators in the latter, and explores how together these artists challenged the notion that such musical worlds are mutually exclusive.
** Featuring interviews with Sir Paul McCartney, Steve Reich, Nils Frahm, Soweto Kinch, Jonny Greenwood, the Blessed Madonna and more. **
A FINANCIAL TIMES AND IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
'Revelation after revelation . . . I love music more for reading it.' Guy Garvey
'Alker joins the dots by following myriad musical ley lines. A fascinating journey into sound.' Mark Radcliffe
'Reveals so much about the hidden connections between the sounds we love . . . A must read.' Sara Mohr-Pietsch
A panoramic exploration of the ways in which pop and rock were transformed by the pioneering visionaries of classical music.
The worlds of pop and rock owe a much greater debt to the classical canon than we realise. A direct and fascinating lineage draws from the experimentalism of Pierre Henry to The Beatles' 'Tomorrow Never Knows', from Stockhausen to Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' and from Bruckner to Sonic Youth via Glenn Branca.
In Everything We Do is Music, Elizabeth Alker shines a light on the fertile ground that exists between the borders of classical music and pop. She showcases the innovators of the former and their fans and collaborators in the latter, and explores how together these artists challenged the notion that such musical worlds are mutually exclusive.
** Featuring interviews with Sir Paul McCartney, Steve Reich, Nils Frahm, Soweto Kinch, Jonny Greenwood, the Blessed Madonna and more. **
421 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 26, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 25, 2025
Some chapters are great (Beatles, Sonic Youth, Japanese ambient music) while others are Phillip Glass-level of sleep-inducing. Glad I read it, though!
August 7, 2026
Don't let the naive title fool you, this is a surprisingly comprehensive and informative survey of the 20th century avant garde and it's influence on pop/rock music.
This isn't a textbook though, and doesn't explore the composition techniques of each composer in much detail, sometimes even making a few mistakes when it comes to serialism. This is to be expected, Alker isn't a professional musicologist.
That said, the value of this book is that it invariably exposes you to figures, groups and even entire movements that you probably wouldn't have known about. In that sense it's informative on a surface level.
Complaints: parts can be a bit overwritten. I found that the same descriptions of 'music' and 'sound' were being recycled throughout especially when it came to the ambient and minimalist chapters. We don't need an entire breakdown of how mixing works every time it's brought up. The constant anti-soviet undertones (overtones?) get annoying pretty quickly and the autobiographical analysis of each composer's music can be tedious-- some people just like making music they don't need a sob story!
This isn't a textbook though, and doesn't explore the composition techniques of each composer in much detail, sometimes even making a few mistakes when it comes to serialism. This is to be expected, Alker isn't a professional musicologist.
That said, the value of this book is that it invariably exposes you to figures, groups and even entire movements that you probably wouldn't have known about. In that sense it's informative on a surface level.
Complaints: parts can be a bit overwritten. I found that the same descriptions of 'music' and 'sound' were being recycled throughout especially when it came to the ambient and minimalist chapters. We don't need an entire breakdown of how mixing works every time it's brought up. The constant anti-soviet undertones (overtones?) get annoying pretty quickly and the autobiographical analysis of each composer's music can be tedious-- some people just like making music they don't need a sob story!
September 24, 2025
Fantastically well researched and intelligent book on electronic music and its influences. Covers all the bases from France to America to Tokyo from minimalism to Disco to trance.
Extremely impressive and very enjoyable analysis that finds the right level of detail and introduces you to a raft of new musical options. Great stuff.
Extremely impressive and very enjoyable analysis that finds the right level of detail and introduces you to a raft of new musical options. Great stuff.
October 13, 2025
I borrowed from the library then bought a copy! The best music book I've read since Charlie Gillet's Sound of the City which started by musical journey way back. This is as close as a chronology of my interests in the subsequent period. Elizabeth is one of those writers who goes beyond just a mere recitation of dates and titles but into the lives of the musicians. Poor old Theremins unrequited love will break hearts.
October 13, 2026
I listened to this as an audio book and I really loved it. I was excited to read it as someone who loves music of all genres. What I loved about it was the depth and detail that Elizabeth has gone into exploring the links in genres. I am now doing a deep dive into some of the music and artists I had not come across. Brilliant!!
November 13, 2025
4.67 - The author draws interesting strands of music together creating a musical map of the avant garde. Clearly explained and contextualised pioneers in classical and popular music, this is a great jumping off point for musical exploration
January 23, 2026
Loved this book. made a playlist of selected pieces cited in the book
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f-0t...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f-0t...
June 14, 2026
Some really good chapters on early electronic artists. The accompanying spotify playlist is a must listen.
February 25, 2026
Audio. Such knowledge and so well researched. I actually did a uni course on electronic music in the 80’s and this was way beyond the level we were ‘taught’
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews