What the Music Said: Black Popular Music and Black Public Culture

Rating:
Summary: Review from Washington, DC Post
Review: "Neal's book chronicles the development of various forms of black music from bebop to hip-hop with the meticulous care of a critic-historian and the zeal of a fan....In addition, "What the Music Said" does an excellent job of giving the reader a clear understanding of how music industry politics and current technology such as sampling help to shape the sound and texture of black popular music, particularly rap and R&B. The book is an impressive work of cultural criticism, one that both scholars and fans of popular music will learn from or argue with for decades to come."

Rating:
Summary: On-Point
Review: Books Like This state The Facts of the Importance of Black Music not only in America but also WORLDWIDE.How it has shaped the World at Large.How The Beauty&Tragedy of The Music always keeps your Attention.Black Music Has Influenced everything Period.Rock-Roll was Taboo because it was from Blues,Jazz,Funk to Rap all have been Called Taboo because of The Negro Imput.it Plays Out on Society at Large.The Impact is so Strong that thru out History to this day you Get a Watered Down take of it.From What Little Richard had to Put up with thru Pat Boone among others to What The Jackson 5&New Edition deal with all of these Wack Non-Singing White Boy Bands Cashing in on a Style and Not Respecting it.Jimi Hendrix took it back Home for us as did Michael Jackson.cuz all of The Styles are Ours.Miles Davis was Straight Black with it.Marvin Gaye as well.James Brown among many made Statements Heard around the World that Spoke Volumes About Us Here In The United States.

Rating:
Summary: On-Point
Review: Books Like This state The Facts of the Importance of Black Music not only in America but also WORLDWIDE.How it has shaped the World at Large.How The Beauty&Tragedy of The Music always keeps your Attention.Black Music Has Influenced everything Period.Rock-Roll was Taboo because it was from Blues,Jazz,Funk to Rap all have been Called Taboo because of The Negro Imput.it Plays Out on Society at Large.The Impact is so Strong that thru out History to this day you Get a Watered Down take of it.From What Little Richard had to Put up with thru Pat Boone among others to What The Jackson 5&New Edition deal with all of these Wack Non-Singing White Boy Bands Cashing in on a Style and Not Respecting it.Jimi Hendrix took it back Home for us as did Michael Jackson.cuz all of The Styles are Ours.Miles Davis was Straight Black with it.Marvin Gaye as well.James Brown among many made Statements Heard around the World that Spoke Volumes About Us Here In The United States.

Rating:
Summary: I Love this book, a must- buy for any lover of music
Review: I think that this book was very well written and focused very well on how the music of the Black community was a reflection of the status of blacks as well as their position. As a former student of Dr. Neal, I have learned that resistance to oppression does not always come from marches and sit-ins, but music itself can be a form of social protest. If you are a student of African-American history, you must have this book for your collection. Buy it now!

Rating:
Summary: I Love this book, a must- buy for any lover of music
Review: I think that this book was very well written and focused very well on how the music of the Black community was a reflection of the status of blacks as well as their position. As a former student of Dr. Neal, I have learned that resistance to oppression does not always come from marches and sit-ins, but music itself can be a form of social protest. If you are a student of African-American history, you must have this book for your collection. Buy it now!

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Premises
Review: In this book Neal theorizes about African-American music, examining the link between early 20th century musics and turn-of-the-millenium music. The author shows connections between social developments and the forms of pop music that black Americans developed. The book is interesting both as a survey of some threads of black music and as an overview of historical changes for African-Amercians in our nation.

The linkages between the two-- the music and the social climate-- are supported by a careful analysis of the music, and more often of the lyrics of some well-known composers. Performance styles are given some attention also. However, Neal is selective about examining only those artists whose work supports his theories. Other artists whose work does not fit the schema are generally ignored. In this sense, the book is not exhaustive. That is fine, actually, as the volume is elegantly structured into six digestible chapters. This maintains the momentum of the writing and allows the reader to remain engaged, to avoid being bogged down in minutia.

Neal does a nice job of examining the African-American societies that have emerged during the 20th century. He looks at how different groups of blacks have related with each other, and how the music serves to both mollify and communicate the tensions and connections between the groups. The roles of work, finances, and community are given emphasis in his theories. As such, he focuses mostly on the middle-class, the working-class, and the under-class blacks. Other groups, such as gays or the wealthy (often the artists themselves), receive less attention.

The author does at times surrender to a hair-splitting approach with the concepts. Sometimes his writing becomes entangled, with long, long sentences that are structured so that the reader becomes lost. This occurs primarily in the later chapters. The index given to the book is fairly incomplete, making cross-referencing difficult. To his great credit, Neal tends to hew closely to common language. This makes the book as a whole accessible to a variety of readers. Overall, I found this to be a educational and insightful volume, and recommend it to anyone interested in popular music, African-American cultural studies, or contemporary history.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Premises
Review: In this book Neal theorizes about African-American music, examining the link between early 20th century musics and turn-of-the-millenium music. The author shows connections between social developments and the forms of pop music that black Americans developed. The book is interesting both as a survey of some threads of black music and as an overview of historical changes for African-Amercians in our nation.

The linkages between the two-- the music and the social climate-- are supported by a careful analysis of the music, and more often of the lyrics of some well-known composers. Performance styles are given some attention also. However, Neal is selective about examining only those artists whose work supports his theories. Other artists whose work does not fit the schema are generally ignored. In this sense, the book is not exhaustive. That is fine, actually, as the volume is elegantly structured into six digestible chapters. This maintains the momentum of the writing and allows the reader to remain engaged, to avoid being bogged down in minutia.

Neal does a nice job of examining the African-American societies that have emerged during the 20th century. He looks at how different groups of blacks have related with each other, and how the music serves to both mollify and communicate the tensions and connections between the groups. The roles of work, finances, and community are given emphasis in his theories. As such, he focuses mostly on the middle-class, the working-class, and the under-class blacks. Other groups, such as gays or the wealthy (often the artists themselves), receive less attention.

The author does at times surrender to a hair-splitting approach with the concepts. Sometimes his writing becomes entangled, with long, long sentences that are structured so that the reader becomes lost. This occurs primarily in the later chapters. The index given to the book is fairly incomplete, making cross-referencing difficult. To his great credit, Neal tends to hew closely to common language. This makes the book as a whole accessible to a variety of readers. Overall, I found this to be a educational and insightful volume, and recommend it to anyone interested in popular music, African-American cultural studies, or contemporary history.

Rating:
Summary: The power and pleasure of black popular music.
Review: The core thesis of "What the Music Said" is simple; At any given historical period, black popular music reflects the political, cultural and social landscape of the African-American Community. This thesis is not new. Baraka (Leroi Jones) said as much in his classic "Blues People" and Nelson George extended Baraka's argument for a mass audience in "The Death of Rhythm and Blues." Both authors rightfully suggest that music was integral to efforts African-Americans to resist political and social oppression. While I share those concerns, I was also interested in broadening our understanding of the nuances associated with resistance, particularly in regards to the role of pleasure in the lives of black folk, particularly working class black folk. The "Chittlin Circuit" aesthetic has been given such little attention by scholars of African-American Studies and music. Like Robin Kelley's book "Race Rebels," I wanted to partially fill that void. The "Chittlin' Circuit" was brought to life to me every Sunday morning, as my father sat transfixed in the living room listening to great black male Gospel groups like The Soul Stirrers, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, and The Highway QCs and Hammond B-3 specialist like Jimmy Smith and Jimmy McGriff. Those Sunday mornings were a reprieve from the 60 hour work weeks and minimum wage pay that my father earned to support his family. I wrote the book, in part, to give tribute to folks like my father who struggled during the week and found their humanity on the weekend in dancehalls and storefront churches alike. As a post-Civil Rights child I was also driven to respond to my generation's claim that contemporary forms of black popular music like Hip-Hip, in particular, were the first to "speak truth to power," or to "keep it real" as my students say. I wanted to show that, yes, Hip-Hop does provide a significant space for many black urban youth to voice their concern and displeasure about contemporary African-American life, but that Hip-Hop was connected to a larger tradition of black popular music, which has always played such a role in American society.

Rating:
Summary: For release, December 15, 1998
Review: The Politics, Power, and Pleasure of Black Popular Music

WHAT THE MUSIC SAID BLACK POPULAR MUSIC AND BLACK PUBLIC CULTURE

by Mark Anthony Neal

"One of the most brilliant analyses of the last fifty years of black popular music... I predict that WHAT THE MUSIC SAID will become an instant classic of its kind, and that Mark Anthony Neal will earn a deserved reputation as one of our nation's most insightful cultural ciritcs." --Michael Eric Dyson, author of Race Rules: Navigating the Color Line

African-American music has become recognized as a means of expression within the broader American cultural landscape. It is everywhere and can be heard loud and clear. In making highly popular forms of music, a largely young and urban black constituency has found -- and used -- a voice. WHAT THE MUSIC SAID (Routledge; December 15, 1998; A Trade Paperback Original) is a book about communities under siege; communities engaged in various forms of resistance, institution-building and everyday pleasures. From the Be-Bop Era to jazz, Motown, and Hip Hop movements, Mark Anthony Neal hears the story of "black communities" as it comes through the music.

WHAT THE MUSIC SAID examines changes to and within the "black community," which influence both the aesthetic and narrative qualities of black popular music. Neal suggests that issues as diverse as migration patterns, the abundance and accessibility of public venues, political movements, black religious institutions, black youth culture, the marketing of black popular culture, crack cocaine, class difference within the community, gender relations, police brutality, and the changes in urban spaces all impact on how black popular music is made, how it sounds, and what it says to the masses.

Exploring a broad range of black cultural experiences, expression, and representations, Neal demonstrates that music functions as a popular kind of public space -- a place where expression has been allowed and even encouraged despite the racial, political, and economic constraints of American society. WHAT THE MUSIC SAID locates a history that will broaden the study of black cultural movements that "speak truth to power" and makes impressive contributions to African-American studies, music studies, and what it means to hear music in America.

"Neal manages to keep it real, while breaking off a little something for the homies in the academy." -- Todd Boyd, author of Am I Black Enough for You?

Mark Anthony Neal is currently Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and English at the State University of New York at Albany. He received his Ph.D. in American Studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo and has taught African American Studies at Xavier University in New Orleans. This is his first book. He is available to discuss topics dealing with contemporary African-American culture and society, particularly the popular arts, black youth culture, race issues within Higher Education, and just about anything to do with black popular music.

In WHAT THE MUSIC SAID, Mark Anthony Neal:

· Links the black Popular Music tradition to the African-American desire to create and maintain community and analyzes the contemporary Black Public Sphere.

· Illuminates the relationship between music and class, particularly the music and popular concerns of the black working class.

· Demonstrates the long influence of black culture on the mainstream.

· Offers a radical interpretation of the music of Marvin Gaye.