Synopses & Reviews
In a tour de force of lyrical theory, Joshua Clover boldly reimagines how we understand both pop music and its social context in a vibrant exploration of a year famously described as and#147;the end of history.and#8221; Amid the historic overturnings of 1989, including the fall of the Berlin Wall, pop music also experienced striking changes. Vividly conjuring cultural sensations and events, Clover tracks the emergence of seemingly disconnected phenomena--from grunge to acid house to gangsta rap--asking if and#8221;perhaps pop had been biding its time until 1989 came along to make sense of its sensibility.and#8221; His analysis deftly moves among varied artists and genres including Public Enemy, N.W.A., Dr. Dre, De La Soul, The KLF, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, U2, Jesus Jones, the Scorpions, George Michael, Madonna, Roxette, and others. This elegantly written work, deliberately mirroring history as dialectical and ongoing, summons forth a new understanding of how and#147;history had come out to meet pop as something more than a fairytale, or something less. A truth, a way of being.and#8221;
Review
“[A] dense, provocative, wonderfully written little book. . . . Masterful.” The Progressive
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and#8220;Up close, Cloverand#8217;s analysis is interesting an occasionally brilliant. . . . Rich with historical and musical insight. . . . Itand#8217;s the smaller discoveries along the way that make 1989 worth your time.and#8221;
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and#8220;[An] extraordinary work of political aesthetics. . . . Clover is a gifted music writer, and his descriptions are vivid, surprising and politically sharp without ever being moralistic.and#8221;
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and#8220;[It] is an academic book, but also one that fans of politics and pop culture would savor.and#8221;
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and#8220;Astute . . . [A] vivid snapshot of a tumultuous moment in pop and history.and#8221;
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“Astute . . . [A] vivid snapshot of a tumultuous moment in pop and history.” Owen Hatherley - New Statesman
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and#8220;The book . . . makes a valuable contribution to the efforts of all those who believe in musicand#8217;s importance to our lives.and#8221;
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and#8220;Music and politics, drugs and society prove to be eerily congruent, and Cloverand#8217;s tough analysis dismantles prevailing myths while revealing even stranger truths.and#8221;
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and#8220;Clover is a deeply learned and hugely enthusiastic student of popular music; his readings of songs are astute, witty, and unflappable, and each works in a larger argument.and#8221;
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and#8220;Offers a powerful framework through which pop history can be explored.and#8221;
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and#8220;Rewardingly ambitious. [Clover] writes with precision and loads of personality, weaving between global politics and musical genres (rave, hip-hop, grunge) with a fanand#8217;s intensity.and#8221;
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and#8220;[A] dense, provocative, wonderfully written little book. . . . Masterful.and#8221;
Synopsis
"Joshua Clover finally puts the lie to the tiresome cliche that 'writing about music is like dancing about architecture.' He shows definitively that when the time is right, architecture is precisely what people do dance about."and#151;Greil Marcus, author of
Lipstick TracesAbout the Author
Joshua Clover, Associate Professor at the University of California, Davis, is author of The Totality for Kids (UC Press), The Matrix, and Madonna anno domini.
Table of Contents
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PROLOGUE