On Record

Did you know that Jean-Paul Sartre once wrote an essay on the Top 40? Simon Frith and Andrew Goodwin, both writers and teachers of popular music, have compiled the first comprehensive survey of critical approaches to pop music. Usefully divided by general theoretical category, On Record serves as a guide to the growing sophistication and shifting emphases in the field. There are classic sociological analyses of "deviance" and rebellion; studies of technology; subcultural and feminist readings, semiotic and musicological essays, and close readings of stars, bands, and the fans themselves. Each section opens with a clear and concise introduction that places the essays in their proper context and explains the editors' choices.