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Apocalypse Jukebox: The End of the World in American Popular Music
From its indefinite beginnings through its broad commercialization and endless reinterpretation, American rock-and-roll music has been preoccupied with an end-of-the-world mentality that extends through the whole of American popular music.
In Apocalypse Jukebox, Edward Whitelock and David Janssen trace these connections through American music genres, uncovering a mix of paranoia and hope that characterizes so much of the nation's history.
From the book's opening scene, set in the American South during a terrifying 1833 meteor shower, the sense of doom is both palpable and inescapable; a deep foreboding that shadows every subsequent development in American popular music and, as Whitelock and Janssen contend, stands as a key to understanding and explicating America itself.
Whitelock and Janssen examine the diversity of apocalyptic influences within North American recorded music, focusing in particular upon a number of influential performers, including Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, John Coltrane, Devo, R.E.M., Sleater-Kinney, and Green Day. In Apocalypse Jukebox, Whitelock and Janssen reveal apocalypse as a permanent and central part of the American character while establishing rock-and-roll as a true reflection of that character.
In Apocalypse Jukebox, Edward Whitelock and David Janssen trace these connections through American music genres, uncovering a mix of paranoia and hope that characterizes so much of the nation's history.
From the book's opening scene, set in the American South during a terrifying 1833 meteor shower, the sense of doom is both palpable and inescapable; a deep foreboding that shadows every subsequent development in American popular music and, as Whitelock and Janssen contend, stands as a key to understanding and explicating America itself.
Whitelock and Janssen examine the diversity of apocalyptic influences within North American recorded music, focusing in particular upon a number of influential performers, including Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, John Coltrane, Devo, R.E.M., Sleater-Kinney, and Green Day. In Apocalypse Jukebox, Whitelock and Janssen reveal apocalypse as a permanent and central part of the American character while establishing rock-and-roll as a true reflection of that character.
- GenresMusic
334 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 6, 2020
Writing style was entertaining and engaging.
It was a lot of opinions being stated as facts, surrounded by actual facts from history, and a bit repetitive in a lot of areas.
Needles to say, it was interesting, but not for me.
It was a lot of opinions being stated as facts, surrounded by actual facts from history, and a bit repetitive in a lot of areas.
Needles to say, it was interesting, but not for me.
January 20, 2009
Some interesting points in here, and it's a worthy thesis, but all you really need to know is that it was published by PopMatters -- meaning it's much, much more dense and wordy than it needs to be. As much as I appreciated the book's ambition, it's just too tedious to recommend.
August 25, 2012
This told me stuff about the history of Rock and/or Roll that I didn't already know, so that's a plus to start with.
It begins though with reference to the Great Disappointment - a period of American history that was unaccountably missed from my American History A'level course because Mr Duke felt that John C Calhoun, the Missouri Compromise and the presidency of Andrew Jackson were more important than a widespread belief in the end of the world.
After that, it puts a group of musical visionaries in the place of the Reverend Miller and showed their interest in apocalypse, from Harry Smith's transformation of society through the forgotten songs of the working class, through Bob Dylan's hard rain and Devo's personal de-evolution and even includes some attempts at interpreting the words in the works of REM.
And then, at the end, it educates me again, with Sleater-Kinney's anti-apocalyptic feminism and the grown up Green Day, who I had learned not to appreciate but will now give another go.
It's not really about the music though. It's about producing a coherent narrative using the tools of cultural theory to make a case for an apocalyptic thread in rock and roll that, while I find it overblown, is explained coherently and persuasively.
And add to that, it was a good read as well.
It begins though with reference to the Great Disappointment - a period of American history that was unaccountably missed from my American History A'level course because Mr Duke felt that John C Calhoun, the Missouri Compromise and the presidency of Andrew Jackson were more important than a widespread belief in the end of the world.
After that, it puts a group of musical visionaries in the place of the Reverend Miller and showed their interest in apocalypse, from Harry Smith's transformation of society through the forgotten songs of the working class, through Bob Dylan's hard rain and Devo's personal de-evolution and even includes some attempts at interpreting the words in the works of REM.
And then, at the end, it educates me again, with Sleater-Kinney's anti-apocalyptic feminism and the grown up Green Day, who I had learned not to appreciate but will now give another go.
It's not really about the music though. It's about producing a coherent narrative using the tools of cultural theory to make a case for an apocalyptic thread in rock and roll that, while I find it overblown, is explained coherently and persuasively.
And add to that, it was a good read as well.
December 29, 2012
A fascinating look at the history of the apocalypse in American music. While not being overly familiar with the works of Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen led to me skipping some chapters, the chapters on the Millerities, Elvis, and especially Green Day made this a book worth reading.
June 11, 2013
With a title like this, the book must be great, right? Unfortunately not. I couldn't get into it, fought liking it the while time. It is very academic and didn't have a smooth read. The chapters are organized well, but really didn't excite me with the content.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews