The grammar of rock : art and artlessness in 20th century pop lyrics
by Theroux, Alexander
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Galway, Ireland
2 Copies Available from This Seller
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About This Item
Seattle, Washington : Fantagraphics Books, 2013. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine cloth copy in an equally fine dust-wrapper. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. Literally as new. Physical description; 345 pages ; 24 cm. Summary; National Book Award nominee, critic and one of America's least compromising satirists, Alexander Theroux takes a comprehensive look at the colorful language of pop lyrics and the realm of rock music in general in The Grammar of Rock: silly song titles; maddening instrumentals; shrieking divas; clunker lines; the worst (and best) songs ever written; geniuses of the art; movie stars who should never have raised their voice in song but who were too shameless to refuse a mic; and the excesses of awful Christmas recordings. Praising (and critiquing) the gems of lyricists both highbrow and low, Theroux does due reverence to classic word-masters like Ira Gershwin, Jimmy Van Heusen, Cole Porter, and Sammy Cahn, lyricists as diverse as Hank Williams, Buck Ram, the Moody Blues, and Randy Newman, Dylan and the Beatles, of course, and more outr ones like the Sex Pistols, the Clash, Patti Smith, the Fall (even Ghostface Killah), but he considers stupid rhymes, as well--nonsense lyrics, chop logic, the uses and abuses of irony, country music macho, verbal howlers, how voices sound alike and why, and much more. In a way that no one else has ever done, with his usual encyclopedic insights into the state of the modern lyric, Theroux focuses on the state of language--the power of words and the nature of syntax--in The Grammar of Rock. He analyzes its assaults on listeners' impulses by investigating singers' styles, pondering illogical lunacies in lyrics, and deconstructing the nature of diction and presentation in the language. This is that rare book of discernment and probing wit (and not exclusively one that is a critical defense of quality) that positively evaluates the very nature of a pop song, and why one over another has an effect on the listener. Subjects; Popular music -- History and criticism. Songs -- Texts -- History and criticism.
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Details
- Bookseller
- MW Books Ltd. (IE)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 273867
- Title
- The grammar of rock : art and artlessness in 20th century pop lyrics
- Author
- Theroux, Alexander
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 2
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- Seattle, Washington : Fantagraphics Books
- Date Published
- 2013
Terms of Sale
MW Books Ltd.
Returns accepted within 10 days of receipt if you are unsatisfied with either our description of, or the book itself.
About the Seller
MW Books Ltd.
Biblio member since 2005
Galway
About MW Books Ltd.
MW Books is an academic and antiquarian bookshop with a large stock in core areas such as Early Travel & Exploration, Nineteenth Century Literature, Early Political Economy, Labour and Social History, and Asian and Colonial History. Please don't hesitate to contact us with your questions or comments regarding any item listed.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...