The A to X of Alternative Music / Steve Taylor. - New York: Continuum, 2004. - x, 308 p. : ill. ; 25 cm. - Includes index. - Call Number: ML102.P66T38
What do AC/DC and Aphex Twin have in common? David Bowie and Butthole Surfers? The Clash and the Chemical Brothers? On the surface, very little. Yet they are all representative of the most important movement in modern music--Alternative. What makes these acts alternative? And why do we care? The A to X of Alternative Music answers these questions. The-book covers global giants like Bob Dylan, Nirvana and Radiohead, cult favorites like Joy Division, Pixies and the Velvet Underground, as well as lesser-known pioneers like Can, Fela Kuti, and Spacemen 3. Entries assess each act on the basis of their claim to alternative music status according to three criteria: working practice, musical output and cultural perception. These acts have rejected the easy route to success, avoiding commercial imperatives and cliche to make inspiring and influential music that has won devoted--in some cases fanatical--followings. The entries place artists in their musical and chronological context, providing the background to key scenes and tracing links--both formal and aesthetic--between these seminal acts.
1,800 entries cover songwriters, musicians, and producers and include bandmember names, birth dates, and instruments played. Boldfaced cross-references are included in brief essays (e.g., 2 p. for Bob Dylan). Sidebars include primary albums (with star ratings), collaborators, videos, and page references to complete discographies. Typos are not uncommon: the Three Dog Night sidebar runs together two album titles (Captured Live at the Forum and It Ain't Easy) to create "Captured Live It Ain't Easy". Some entries are very current, while others (e.g., Graham Parker's) end with 1992 events. Van Morrison's Astral Weeks, one of the most influential albums in rock history, is barely mentioned. [Choice]
Caribbean Popular Music provides insight into the lives of Caribbean musicians and the styles they have created over the last 50 years, focusing primarily on the music and musicians of Jamaica. Although the island nation is best known for reggae music, its musicians have created and been influenced by many other styles. Some styles were homegrown, like ska and mento, and some imported from the U.S., such as jazz and rhythm and blues. Arranged alphabetically, entries are generally two to four short paragraphs in length, with the exception of a three-page entry for reggae artist Bob Marley, whose influence on music of the Caribbean and carryover popularity into the U.S. have made his name almost synonymous with reggae music. Most of the musical styles mentioned in this book have upbeat sounds, with humor an often-used tool. Even the artists' names are entertaining, such as Count Sticky, Fathead, and Eek-A-Mouse. In addition to musicians, this work sheds light on terms and styles unknown to many of us. For example, Toasting means talking very fast over the beat of the music either with words or nonsense syllables, akin to but distinct from rap. Entries for producers and record labels that influenced musical developments in Jamaica and the region are also included, as are more than 200 black-and-white photos of artists. [Booklist]
Cold War Culture: Media and the Arts, 1945-1990 / Richard Alan Schwartz. - New York: Facts on File, 1998. - Includes bibliographical references (p. 365-367) and index. - Call Number: REF E169.12.S39
One volume reference covers the major forms of cultural expression during the Cold War era, with an emphasis on the popular arts and literature. Entries range from a single paragraph to a page. Cross-references are included, plus a three-page bibliography at the end.
Dictionary of American History / Stanley I. Kutler. - 3rd ed. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. - Stanley I. Kutler, editor in chief.; 10 v. : ill., maps ; 29 cm. - Includes bibliographical references and index. - Call Number: REF E174.D52
4,434 entries in ten volumes emphasize social, cultural, and demographic topics, while striving for diversity and inclusiveness. Also covers political, military, and economic developments in American history. Includes over 1,200 photographs and 252 maps, and the text is liberally supplemented with hundreds of cross-references. Volume 10 contains a massive index and "Guide to Research and Learning," which allows the Dictionary to be used as an American history textbook supplement and teaching tool. [Choice]
'This five-volume set provides a comprehensive examination from the "Age of Segregation" through the 2008 presidential election. With over 1,250 signed entries and 450 illustrations, the set conveys the story of African American history with a focus on topics such as politics, literature, law, art, and cultural figures. Entries are arranged alphabetically with cross-references and a selective bibliography at the end of each article. The set also features a listing of entries for all volumes, roster, thematic outline, chronology, and comprehensive index.' [Choice]
Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History / Mary Kupiec Cayton, and Peter W. Williams. - New York: Scribner, 2001. - Mary Kupiec Cayton, Peter W. Williams, editors.; 3 volumes) ill. ; 28 cm; Includes bibliographical references and index. - Call Number: REF E169.1.E624 [or E-BOOK]
Three-volume work contains lengthy essays (chronological and topical) and longer-than-average bibliographies. Consult the index for essays covering specific topics under more general themes.
Encyclopedia of American Social History / Mary Kupiec Cayton, Elliott J. Gorn, and Peter W. Williams. - New York: Scribner ; Toronto; New York: Maxwell Macmillan Canada; Maxwell Macmillan International, 1993. - 019: 27791051; Mary Kupiec Cayton, Elliott J. Gorn, Peter W. Williams, editors.; 3 v; Includes bibliographical references and index. - Call Number: REF HN57.E58
This three-volume set features 14 thematic sections and 180 essays covering a wide range of topics in social history, including periods of social change; methods and context; the construction of social identity; processes of social change; ethnic and racial subcultures; regionalism and regional subcultures; space and place; patterns of everyday life; work and labor; popular culture and recreation; family history; social problems, social control, and social protest; science, medicine and technology; and education and literacy.
Encyclopedia of American Social Movements / edited by Immanuel Ness; foreword by Stephen Eric Bronner and Frances Fox Piven. - Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference, 2004. - 4 v. (xxix, 1557 p.): ill.; 29 cm. - Includes bibliographical references (p. 1503-1557) and indexes. - Call Number: REF HN57.E594
The first major reference work that seeks to examine social movements in all their complexity, power, and significance, this set expands history by giving voice to the struggles of ordinary people. Striving for comprehensiveness, authority, and balance, the section editors examine each movement in its entirety. The set's introduction is particularly useful in defining social movements -their aims, goals, and successes, and their ability to spawn offshoots. Sixteen sections, edited by experts, cover major social movements in American history. Sections begin with an introductions to movements (e.g., Antislavery Movement, Native American Movement) and supply entries that cover each movement's critical themes and key leaders. Excerpts from primary documents (Frederick Douglass's "The Rights of Women") flesh out entries and provide easy access for readers. Entries are arranged by a rough chronology in each section, are written by scholars, and analyze a movement's goals, tactics, membership, and outcomes. Since many movements overlap, entries explore the interrelationship between the groups. Intending to provide a broad, engaging overview of American history, the set is not confined to movements of the Left but includes conservative, progressive, and antivice movements. [Choice]
The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal / Daniel Bukszpan. - New York: Barnes & Noble Books 2003. - 300 p. : col. ill. ; 29 cm. - Includes bibliographical references (p. 204), discographies, and index. - Call Number: OVERSIZE ML102.R6B84
This illustrated encyclopedia includes all things metal, from influential bands such as Led Zeppelin, Blue Cheer, Iron Butterfly, Kiss, and Queen, to Mötley Crue, Black Sabbath (before Ozzy became a family sitcom star), Deep Purple, Twisted Sister, and Aerosmith, right up to Jane's Addiction, Las Cruces, Limp Bizkit, and today's most extreme death metal bands. Not a single sub-genre or band goes uncovered. Well-researched and fact-filled, the witty text befits the raucous bands that push musical-and all other-boundaries. From obscure groups like Armored Saint and Norway's Mayhem to pioneers Grand Funk Railroad and Iron Maiden to megastars like Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Lita Ford, Van Halen, Joan Jett, and Marilyn Manson, each entry contains vital statistics: a description of the band's history and sound; an essential discography; the most current, comprehensive, popular compilations; and much more. Special features cover such important details as "Metal Fashion" and the various metal genres.
Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal Music / William Phillips and Brian Cogan. - Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2009. - xxi, 285 p. : ill. ; 26 cm. - Includes bibliographical references (p. [271]-274), discographies, and index. - Call Number: REF ML102.R6P54
More than 350 entries ranging from several paragraphs to several pages in length provide capsulated biographies of bands and their key members and include discographies. The authors also include entries for cultural topics such as Fashion and metal and Moshing and metal subgenres like Death metal and Grunge. More than 50 black-and-white images of performers and metal fans supplement the text. [Booklist]
The Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock, and Soul, Rev. ed. / Irwin Stambler. - New York: St. Martin's Press, 1990. - 887 p. : ill. ; 28 cm. - Call Number: REF ML102.P66S8
Featuring more than 600 entries in all, this reference book covers four decades of popular music, providing information on artists' career histories, vital statistics, chart positions, and influences on the music world. Black-and-white photographs.
Encyclopedia of Rap and Hip-Hop Culture / Yvonne Bynoe. - Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2006. - xxviii, 449 p. : ill. ; 27 cm. - Includes bibliographical references (p. [437]-439) and index. - Call Number: REF ML102.R27B96
A comprehensive resource covering the artists as well as various topics relevant to the culture. The insightful historical introduction will help readers understand the separate elements embraced by rap and hip-hop: the verbal (MCing), and the musical (DJing), break dancing, and aerosol painting. The alphabetical entries cover all these elements and include most of the well-known rap artists and groups, along with some less-familiar names. The articles also acknowledge some of rap's detractors. Average-quality, black-and-white photos are scattered throughout. The author's cross-references are especially helpful and the index will lead readers to information about individual artists beyond their main entry. The appendixes contain a selected discography and statements regarding the appreciation and preservation of hip-hop culture, including the Hip Hop Declaration of Peace. [School Library Journal]
Encyclopedia of Rock / Phil Hardy. - New York: Schirmer Books, 1988 - 480 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm. - - Call Number: REF ML102.P66E55
This reference work contains 1,500 entries providing factual information, biographical details, and critical comments on individual artists and bands. Brief articles on musical styles (doo-wop, punk, reggae), record labels, and historic places and events are also featured. More than 330 photos, most in color, enliven the text. Hardy uses two criteria for inclusion: chart success in the US or the UK; historical influence and artistic significance. Wide-ranging in scope, the contents include influential folk and country performers. Coverage of the British music scene is especially good, including even folk and protest singers such as Ralph McTell and Billy Bragg. [Choice]
Encyclopedia of the McCarthy Era / William K. Klingaman. - New York: Facts on File, 1996. - William K. Klingaman.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 413-414) and index. - REF E743.5.K57
Encyclopedia of the United States in the Twentieth Century / Stanley I. Kutler. - New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1996. - Stanley Kutler, editor in chief ; Robert Dallek, David A. Hollinger, Thomas K. McCraw, associate editors ; Judith Kirkwood, assistant editor.; 9510 pp.; 5 v. : ill., ports. ; 29 cm; Includes bibliographical references and index.;. - Call Number: REF E740.7.E53
Four-volume reference work covers political, social, cultural, and technological developments and trends that occurred in the U.S. during the twentieth century. Organized into six broad topical sections ("The American People"; "Politics"; "Global America"; "Science, Technology, and Medicine"; "The Economy"; and "Culture"), 80 prominent academic historians provide 74 interpretative essays based on current scholarship that analyze major topics and themes of the century. The lengthy essays cover such traditional and emerging subjects as regionalism, gender issues, Congress, limited wars, health and disease, the infrastructure, and sports; they are followed by informative and thorough bibliographical essays. A unique chronology organized in six columns that correspond to the encyclopedia's topical arrangement can be used to compare noteworthy annual accomplishments and events, 1898-1995. [Choice]
Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War / Stanley I. Kutler. - New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1996. - 019: 34410305; editor in chief, Stanley I. Kutler.; Includes bibliographical references and index.; American perspectives -- Antiwar movement -- Art and literature -- Colonialism -- Diplomacy -- Media and the war -- Prelude to U.S. combat intervention -- Strategy and tactics -- Vietnam -- Vietnamese perspectives -- Gulf of Tonkin Resolution -- Paris Peace Accords -- Medal of Honor winners. - Call Number: REF DS557.7.E53
Comprehensive encyclopedia includes a chronology of the war and Vietnam's history from the 7th century BCE to the present and a subject index. The alphabetically arranged main section has ten overview articles averaging 15 pages in length, mixed with more specific entries varying in length according to their importance. Biographical articles include key military and political figures on all sides. Each entry ends with a bibliography of books used in compilation. Coverage is complete for the French War (1945-54), the American War (1961-73), and South Vietnam's collapse (1973-75), although emphasis lies on the American phase. Treats all aspects of the war (military, diplomatic, political, socioeconomic). [Choice]
Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History / Spencer Tucker. - Santa Barbara, CA: Abc-Clio, 1998. - Spencer C. Tucker ; with a foreword by Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr.; Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. - Call Number: REF DS557.7.E53
Over 900 alphabetically arranged entries in three volumes covering U.S. and Vietnamese perspectives on the war's military and political fronts; weapons, strategies and tactics; key figures on all sides; the US antiwar movement; international repercussions; and the impact of the war on US culture. Articles vary in length from a single paragraph to several pages, depending on the importance of the topic. Bibliographies and cross-references are provided with each article. The articles are supplemented with a section of maps, photographs, chronology of events, and source documents. [Choice]
Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History / Thomas Carson, and Mary Bonk. - Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. - Thomas Carson, editor, Mary Bonk, associate editor.; 2 v; Includes bibliographical references and index.; v. 1. A - K -- v. 2. L - Z. - Call Number: REF HC102.G35
Two volumes containing 1,003 entries that paint a fascinating picture of the historical, economic, and social development of the U.S.. Written by a team of nine secondary and collegiate instructors and librarians, the articles provide basic background and enough references to related events or names to whet readers' appetites for further exploration. Entries consist of brief definitions, biographies, and one- to two-page essays on issues such as abolition of slavery, military-industrial complex, and states' rights, and include four to eight citations for further reading. Entries are arranged alphabetically, but the table of contents divides them into ten chronological eras. [Choice]
Encyclopedia of World Pop Music, 1980-2001 / Stan Jeffries. - Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2003. - xiii, 277 p. : ill. ; 27 cm. - Includes bibliographical references (p. [245]) and index. - Call Number: ML102.P66J44
In this eclectic encyclopedia, author Stan Jeffries chronicles the careers of over 110 musical artists from 37 different nations. Entries include biographical information, trace the entrants' musical development, and recount the performers' critical and popular reception. Annotation. Weighted heavily towards European acts and secondarily towards Asian ones, this encyclopedia contains some 130 entries offering career details of groups and single artists who have achieved success in world pop charts. The selection is arbitrary and incomplete, with four entries from South Africa representing the entirety of the African continent, the growing influence of Arab pop music completely ignored, and the arguably crucial contribution of Jamaica to world pop utterly neglected.
Historical Dictionary of the 1950s / James Stuart Olson. - Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2000. - 353 p. ; 24 cm. - Includes bibliographical references (p. [329]-337) and index. - Call Number: REF E169.12 .O44 [E-BOOK]
Approximately 750 essays of varying length, alphabetically arranged, treat issues, people, movements, foreign affairs, popular culture, and events of the decade. Suggested readings (sometimes only one) appear at the end of each essay. Although essays often provide some interpretation, they are primarily factual in nature and accurate. Cross-references are starred. Although Olson attempts to be inclusive, many essays focus on popular culture as expressed by movies, television, and music. A brief chronology, a somewhat dated selected bibliography arranged by topics (politics, literature and intellectual life, social life, red scare, rock and roll), and a useful index with the main essay pages printed in boldface are all helpful. [Choice]
Historical Dictionary of the 1960s / James Stuart Olson. - Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1999. - edited by James S. Olson ; associate editor, Samuel Freeman.; Includes bibliographical references (p. [507]-526) and index. - Call Number: REF E841.H58
This dictionary offers brief entries on personages, organizations, events, and fictional characters, and on military, political, cultural, religious, diplomatic, and economic topics. Each entry includes at least one reference, and there is a chronology and a select bibliography. [Choice]
Historical Dictionary of the 1970s / James Stuart Olson. - Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1999. - edited by James S. Olson.; Includes bibliographical references (p. [383]-396) and index. - Call Number: REF E839.H57
This book is here to define every single sacred totem of rock fandom's know-it-all fraternity. The dictionary is the brainchild of Vanity Fair writers Kamp and Daly, who originally devised it as a short feature in the magazine's music issue. The response was so great (and grateful) that the feature became a running series, and now it's been expanded into a book that features new material and supplements. The book is as funny as it is informative, for it does something that no previous rock reference has dared to do: not take rock fandom so darned seriously.
The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, 3rd ed., rev. and updated / Holly George-Warren, Patricia Romanowski Bashe, and Jon Pareles. - New York : Fireside, 2001. - xvi, 1114 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. - Includes discographies. - Call Number: REF ML102.R6R64
This most recent of an authoritative encyclopedia first published in 1983 boasts over 100 new entries and many revisions to the 1800 entries found in the 1995 edition. The coverage increase was made possible by the omission of three kinds of "nonartist" entries: the Grammy Award boxes, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame boxes, and the style and genre definitions. As with the previous editions, the scope is excellent: few works can compete in terms of blanket coverage of the major rock'n'roll players, which dates from the 1950s to the present and includes names as diverse as Elvis, Chad and Jeremy, Britney, and Eminem. The alphabetically arranged entries contain birth and, when applicable, death dates; a discography; and an essay that attempts (usually successfully) to put the performer's or group's work in critical and historical perspective. The introduction by coeditor Romanowski cogently sums up the criteria and methodology, and though her reasons for featuring or deleting artists are subjective, they are hard to counter.
Women and Music in America since 1900: An Encyclopedia / Kristine Helen Burns. - Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002. - 2 v. : ill. ; 26 cm. - Includes bibliographical references (p. 689-708) and index. - Call Number: REF ML82.W625
Approximately 300 of the A-Z entries are for women in a broad range of musical forms--Anonymous 4, Joan Baez, Cher, Judy Garland, Bernadette Peters, Leontyne Price, LeAnn Rimes, Barbra Streisand, and the Supremes, to give just a few examples. A number of educators, patrons, and researchers are also included. All of the women were born in or made most of their contribution in the U.S., were born in or lived chiefly during the twentieth century, and "advanced the role of women in music." The intent is not to be exhaustive but to identify major contributions, focusing on those who have won awards or been the first or most successful. In addition, there are entries for topics in education (children's choirs, Piano pedagogy); gender issues (Feminist music history, Male gaze); genres (Asian American music, Church music, Motown); honors and awards (Country Music Hall of Fame, Fulbright Fellowship Program); organizations (Grand Ole Opry; Performance ensembles, classical); and professions (Audio production, Music librarian). Signed entries range in length from half of a page to just over four pages for Garage rock and heavy metal bands, Rock and popular music genres, and a few others, and each includes a list of further readings. A chronology and a topical list of entries appear at the front of each volume. Volume 2 concludes with a bibliography and an index in which entry headings are denoted with bold type. [Booklist]
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