The Poetry of Pop

Adam Bradley

Published by Yale University Press 2017

The Poetry of Pop

Adam Bradley

https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300165722

Overview
Contents

About this book

From Tin Pan Alley to the Beatles to Beyoncé, "Mr. Bradley skillfully breaks down a century of standards and pop songs into their elements to reveal the interaction of craft and art in composition and performance.” (The Wall Street Journal)

Encompassing a century of recorded music, this pathbreaking book reveals the poetic artistry of popular songs. Pop songs are music first. They also comprise the most widely disseminated poetic expression of our time. Adam Bradley traces the song lyric across musical genres from early twentieth-century Delta blues to mid-century rock 'n’ roll to today’s hits. George and Ira Gershwin’s “Fascinating Rhythm.” The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Rihanna’s “Diamonds.” These songs are united in their exacting attention to the craft of language and sound. Bradley shows that pop music is a poetry that must be heard more than read, uncovering the rhythms, rhymes, and metaphors expressed in the singing voice. At once a work of musical interpretation, cultural analysis, literary criticism, and personal storytelling, this book illustrates how words and music come together to produce compelling poetry, often where we least expect it.

Author / Editor information

Adam Bradley is professor of English and founding director of the Laboratory for Race & Popular Culture (RAP Lab) at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is the author of Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop and coeditor of The Anthology of Rap.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
INTRODUCTION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I
1. LYRIC AND SONG Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
2. READING Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	25
3. LISTENING Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	43
Part II
4. RHYTHM Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	63
5. RHYME Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	109
6. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	139
Part III
7. VOICE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
8. STYLE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	229
9. STORY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	275
CONCLUSION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	311
Appendix Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	317
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	361
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	389
Credits Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	391
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	395

Language: English
Publisher: Yale University Press
Pages
- Main content: 224
Illustrations
- Other: 13 b-w illus.

eBook

Published: March 28, 2017
ISBN: 9780300165722