Faking It: The Quest for Authenticity in Popular Music

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Music, Pop & Rock, Rock, Music Styles
Cover of the book Faking It: The Quest for Authenticity in Popular Music by Hugh Barker, Yuval Taylor, W. W. Norton & Company
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Author: Hugh Barker, Yuval Taylor ISBN: 9780393089172
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Publication: February 17, 2007
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company Language: English
Author: Hugh Barker, Yuval Taylor
ISBN: 9780393089172
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication: February 17, 2007
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English

Musicians strive to “keep it real”; listeners condemn “fakes”; ... but does great music really need to be authentic?

Did Elvis sing from the heart, or was he just acting? Were the Sex Pistols more real than disco? Why do so many musicians base their approach on being authentic, and why do music buffs fall for it every time? By investigating this obsession in the last century through the stories of John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Jimmie Rodgers, Donna Summer, Leadbelly, Neil Young, Moby, and others, Faking It rethinks what makes popular music work. Along the way, the authors discuss the segregation of music in the South, investigate the predominance of self-absorption in modern pop, reassess the rebellious ridiculousness of rockabilly and disco, and delineate how the quest for authenticity has not only made some music great and some music terrible but also shaped in a fundamental way the development of popular music in our time.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Musicians strive to “keep it real”; listeners condemn “fakes”; ... but does great music really need to be authentic?

Did Elvis sing from the heart, or was he just acting? Were the Sex Pistols more real than disco? Why do so many musicians base their approach on being authentic, and why do music buffs fall for it every time? By investigating this obsession in the last century through the stories of John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Jimmie Rodgers, Donna Summer, Leadbelly, Neil Young, Moby, and others, Faking It rethinks what makes popular music work. Along the way, the authors discuss the segregation of music in the South, investigate the predominance of self-absorption in modern pop, reassess the rebellious ridiculousness of rockabilly and disco, and delineate how the quest for authenticity has not only made some music great and some music terrible but also shaped in a fundamental way the development of popular music in our time.

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