Synopses & Reviews
The Beatles' evolution from a Liverpool rock and roll group into one of the 20th century's defining images has been repeatedly chronicled but rarely analyzed; a critical appreciation of their music and career, and the issues and debates they provoked, is long overdue. This book provides the first sustained investigation of some of the many historical, cultural, musical, and sociological facets of the group's career. Written by an international group of scholars, it is essential for those wishing to understand not only the phenomenon of the Beatles, but the broader social contexts which popular music continues to be practiced and studied.
Synopsis
More has been written about the Beatles than any other performing artists of the twentieth century. Accounts of their lives and times have been retold, reproduced and reinvented to the extent that their achievements have passed into contemporary folklore and popular mythology. What has been surprisingly absent, however, is any sustained critical investigation of the numerous debates and issues the group provoked. This book provides that long overdue analysis, by seeking to present the academic study of the Beatles in its appropriate contexts - historical, political, musical and sociological. Consisting entirely of newly commissioned articles and written by an international group of scholars, its contents challenge many of the traditional assumptions about the Beatles and offer fresh and provocative insights into the nature of their success and its continuing influence. It is essential reading for those wishing to understand not only the phenomenon of the Beatles but also the cultural environment within which popular music continues to be practised and studied.
About the Author
Ian Inglis is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Northumbria, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Table of Contents
Introduction: A Thousand Voices--Ian Inglis * Men of Ideas?: Popular Music, Anti-Intellectualism, and the Beatles--Ian Inglis * Coming Out of the Rhetoric of "Merseybeat": Conversations with Joe Flannery--Mike Brocken * The Beatles and the Spectacle of Youth--John Muncie * Lennon-McCartney and the Early British Invasion, 1964-6--Jon Fitzgerald * From Me to You: Austerity to Profligacy in the Language of the Beatles--Guy Cook & Neil Mercer * The Postmodern White Album--Ed Whitley * You Can't Do That: The Beatles, Artistic Freedom, and Censorship--Martin Cloonan * Tell Me What You See: The Influence and Impact of the Beatles' Movies--Bob Neaverson * The Celebrity Legacy of the Beatles--P. David Marshall * Refab Four: Beatles for Sale in the Age of Music Video--Gary Burns * "Sitting in an English Garden": Comparing Representations of Britishness' in the Songs of the Beatles and 1990s Britpop Groups--Andy Bennett