Every Song Ever
Twenty Ways to Listen to Music Now
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
From one of America's celebrated critics, the definitive field guide to listening to music in the age of the Cloud
The most significant revolution in the recent history of music has to do with listening: it is now possible to listen to nearly anything at any time, to ignore albums, and to instantly flit across genres and generations, from 1980s Detroit techno to 1890s Viennese neo-romanticism. Yet music criticism has historically focused on the musician's intent, not the listener's experience. Every Song Ever is therefore the definitive field guide to listening in an age of glorious, overwhelming abundance. By revealing the essential similarities between wildly different kinds of music, Ben Ratliff shows how we listen to music now, and suggests how we can listen better.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
New York Times music critic Ratliff (Coltrane: The Story of a Sound) is known mainly for his books on jazz, but in this insightful guide to contemporary music appreciation, genre limitations are off the table. Proclaiming proudly his purposes of "listening for pleasure, and listening to more," Ratliff demonstrates 20 contexts in which music can be appreciated, now that centuries of masterpieces are available through the Internet. Ratliff employs a "strategy of openness" that dispenses with genre barriers, freeing himself to make leaps of musical logic. Famous artists such as Neil Young and the Jackson 5 share space alongside lesser-known acts such as Sleep and Aztec Camera. Ratliff's scholarship shines; there's a lot to be said for a book on music appreciation that can draw apt parallels between DJ Screw and Bernstein's rendition of Mahler's ninth symphony. Ratliff helpfully includes playlists after every chapter.
