Sound and Vision

by Simon Frith (Editor), Lawrence Grossberg (Editor), Andrew Goodwin (Editor)

Sound and Vision is the first significant collection of new and classic texts on video and brings together some of the leading international cultural and music critics writing today.
Addressing one of the most controversial forms of popular culture in the contemporary world, Sound and Vision confronts easy interpretations of music video - as promotional vehicles, filmic images and postmodern culture - to offer a new and bold understanding of its place in pop music, television and the media industries. The book acknowledges the history of the commercial status of pop music as a whole, as well as its complex relations with other media. Sound and Vision will be an essential text for students of popular music and popular culture.

Genres: Music

228 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those interested in an academic look at the relatively new fusion of audio and visual stimulation, the book provides some very interesting perspectives. My view of certain music videos has certainly changed.

[Sannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for my master's thesis because every article and/or other book that I read had at least one reference to this collection of essays. There's a good reason why. Every single essay is well-written and well-researched and the arguments are solid. Though some of the essays are counter-arguments to other essays in the book, it gives a well-rounded perspective of music videos. Sound and Vision: The Music Video Reader was published in the early 1990s, so some of the information is truly relevant to that period of time when MTV was fairly involved with music video history. Unlike some essays, however, the reader has aged fairly gracefully and does not feel old and out-dated. This is probably why the majority of other things I read for research always referenced this.

Sound and Vision: The Music Video Reader is an excellent starting point for research when it comes to music videos. It gives a very good overview and analysis of form, history, and pop cultural relevance. I would suggest reading it if you are researching music videos, even if you are doing something more contemporary.