The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock

Book excerpt: This Companion maps the world of pop and rock, pinpointing the most significant moments in its history and presenting the key issues involved in understanding popular culture's most vital art form. Expert writers chart the changing patterns in the production and consumption of popular music, the emergence of a vast industry with a turnover of billions and the rise of global stars from Elvis to Public Enemy, Nirvana to the Spice Girls. They trace the way new technologies - from the amplifier to the internet - have changed the sounds and practices of pop and they analyse the way maverick entrepreneurs have given way to multimedia corporations. In particular they focus on the controversial issues concerning race and ethnicity, politics, gender and globalisation. Contains full profiles of a selection of figures from the pop and rock world.