A century of recording has fundamentally changed our experience of music―the way we listen to it and the way it is performed. This highly engaging book is the first thorough exploration of the impact of recording technology upon the art of music. Timothy Day chronicles the developments in recording technology since its inception and describes the powerful effects it has had on artistic performance, audience participation, and listening habits. He compares the characteristics of musical life one hundred years ago―before the phonograph―to those of today and offers a fascinating analysis of how performing practices, images of performers, the work of composers, and performance choices in concert halls and opera houses have changed.The book investigates the work of such great recording engineer-impresarios as Fred Gaisberg and Walter Legge; the recording history of conductors, orchestras, and soloists throughout the century; and the development of the great classical recording labels. Day also addresses a variety of questions raised by the study of recordings: What have people expected of a recorded performance? Do recordings constitute an art form in their own right? What is historical authenticity? What is moral authenticity? Are recordings that endow incompetent artists with flawless techniques somehow fraudulent? Why do artists re-record repertoire? This book will inform and engage a wide range of readers, from those who love music and recordings to performers and scholars and all readers with an interest in the social and artistic history of the twentieth century.

Key Issues in Critical and Cultural Theory

Arts & Photography

McGowan,Kate

Music

Open University Press

A Critical and Cultural Theory Reader

Literature & Fiction

Easthope,Antony

History & Criticism

Praise for the first edition “The selection is judicious and valuably supplemented by thorough commentaries that contextualise and clarify the debates and issues and the importance of each excerpt. Though today there may be many readers in and around cultural and media studies, Easthope and McGowan’s remains vital…” Times Higher Educational Supplement This Reader introduces the key readings in critical and cultural theory. It guides students through the tradition of thought, from Saussure’s early writings on language to contemporary commentary on world events by theorists such as Baudrillard and Žižek. The readings are grouped according to six thematic sections: Semiology; Ideology; Subjectivity; Difference; Gender and Race; and Postmodernism.
 The second and expanded edition of this highly successful Reader reflects the growing diversity of the field. 
<ul>
<li>Featuring thirteen new essays, including essays by Homi Bhabha, Simone de Beauvoir, Franz Fanon and Judith Butler </li> <li>With a general introduction as well as useful introductions to each of the thematic sections</li> <li>Including summaries of each of the extracts – invaluable for students and lecturers. </li>
</ul> Key reading for areas of study including cultural studies, critical theory, literature, linguistics, English, media studies, communication studies, cultural history, sociology, gender studies, visual arts, film and architecture. Essays by: Louis Althusser, Roland Barthes, Jean Baudrillard, Homi K. Bhabha, Judith Butler, Hélène Cixous, Simone de Beauvoir, Ferdinand de Saussure, Jacques Derrida, Umberto Eco, Frederick Engels, Franz Fanon, Michel Foucault, Sigmund Freud, Julia Kristeva, Jacques Lacan, Jean-François Lyotard, Colin MacCabe, Pierre Macherey, Karl Marx, Kobena Mercer, Laura Mulvey, Rajeswari Sunder Rajan, Edward Said, Slavoj Žižek.

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

"...the ideal book for students of cultural theory and one that is sensitively attuned to the political challenges of our times. Whether explaining dialectical materialism or the lyrics of Oasis and The Arctic Monkeys, Kate McGowan is an enlightening and entertaining guide." Professor Stephen Regan, Durham University
 From a man with electric underpants, to the indelible mark of 9/11 in a global cultural imaginary, Kate McGowan addresses the questions of cultural meaning and value which confront us all today. The book explores the often complex paradigms of critical thinking and discusses the possibilities of engaging and critiquing the cultural values that relate to our present.
 Dealing directly with the issues entailed in cultural analysis, the book avoids simply looking at the eminent authors or movements in critical and cultural theory, and instead focuses on why studying culture matters to us today:
<ul>
<li> What are the 'proper' objects of cultural study? </li>
<li> What makes something 'art'? </li>
<li> What can critical and cultural theory contribute to contemporary debates about ethics? </li>
<li> What possibilities are opened up by theories of 'otherness' in thinking about the stranger or outsider in today's society? </li>
<li> How does a culture contest its own values - in relation to race, gender, class, sexuality and a variety of faiths and abilities?</li>
</ul> Key Issues in Critical and Cultural Theory is key reading for students studying humanities, and for those with an interest in culture, aesthetics, ethics and philosophy who want to understand how these affect the world.

Philosophy

“… the ideal book for students of cultural theory and one that is sensitively attuned to the political challenges of our times. Whether explaining dialectical materialism or the lyrics of Oasis and The Arctic Monkeys, Kate McGowan is an enlightening and entertaining guide.” Professor Stephen Regan, Durham University From a man with electric underpants, to the indelible mark of 9/11 in a global cultural imaginary, Kate McGowan addresses the questions of cultural meaning and value which confront us all today. The book explores the often complex paradigms of critical thinking and discusses the possibilities of engaging and critiquing the cultural values that relate to our present. Dealing directly with the issues entailed in cultural analysis, the book avoids simply looking at the eminent authors or movements in critical and cultural theory, and instead focuses on why studying culture matters to us today:  What are the ‘proper’ objects of cultural study?  What makes something ‘art’?  What can critical and cultural theory contribute to contemporary debates about ethics?  What possibilities are opened up by theories of ‘otherness’ in thinking about the stranger or outsider in today’s society?  How does a culture contest its own values – in relation to race, gender, class, sexuality and a variety of faiths and abilities? Key Issues in Critical and Cultural Theory is key reading for students studying humanities, and for those with an interest in culture, aesthetics, ethics and philosophy who want to understand how these affect the world.

Humor & Entertainment

Movies

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