Studying Popular Music Culture (Studying the Media)

"Studying Popular Music Culture" introduces a range of different ways to understand popular music. By situating the study of pop within the broader field of media and cultural studies, it explores its dynamic place in our culture. On the one hand contemporary music is a highly organised and commercially exploitative industry, on the other it is a rich source of meanings and provides an arena for creative expression and personal identity. This is the paradox that lies at the heart of the study of popular music. Tim Wall combines a readable survey of existing work with an exploration of contemporary thinking about the institutions and cultures central to the production, texts and consumption of popular music. The book challenges the reader to think through many of the accepted ideas about modern pop and its historical development. Particular emphasis is given to developing skills of research and analysis appropriate to the study of popular music. Using case studies, original research and analysis, and suggested activities, each chapter builds a framework of concepts and techniques that students can use in their own work. This book will be an essential aid to undergraduate students of media and cultural studies and A level media students undertaking specialist studies of popular music.