This marks the second time I have read Segregating Sound: Inventing Folk and Pop Music in the Age of Jim Crow by Karl Hagstrom Miller. Both times have been for a class I teach on the blues and race relations. I find this book to be rather interesting and something that challenges the students in my course to think critically about race relations and social context.
Miller takes a scholar's critical look at folklorism and it impact on the way we think about music, particularly that which is pure or authentic. The book primarily focuses on the late 19th and early 20th century. Additionally, as the title implies, the book examines Southern music and our understanding of it. Miller traces the origins of "Race music" and "Hillbilly music," more so in title than in the influences of either genre. There is also an intense discussion of what constitutes pop music and what constitutes folk.
This book would be of interest to anyone interested in Southern music, the blues, race relations, or folklorism and the understanding of folk art.
Segregating Sound: Inventing Folk and Pop Music in the Age of Jim Crow
Miller takes a scholar's critical look at folklorism and it impact on the way we think about music, particularly that which is pure or authentic. The book primarily focuses on the late 19th and early 20th century. Additionally, as the title implies, the book examines Southern music and our understanding of it. Miller traces the origins of "Race music" and "Hillbilly music," more so in title than in the influences of either genre. There is also an intense discussion of what constitutes pop music and what constitutes folk.
This book would be of interest to anyone interested in Southern music, the blues, race relations, or folklorism and the understanding of folk art.
Segregating Sound: Inventing Folk and Pop Music in the Age of Jim Crow
No comments:
Post a Comment