Rock Over the Edge

This collection brings new voices and new perspectives to the study of popular-and particularly rock-music. Focusing on a variety of artists and music forms, Rock Over the Edge asks what happens to rock criticism when rock is no longer a coherent concept. To work toward an answer, contributors investigate previously neglected genres and styles, such as "lo fi," alternative-country, and "rock en espanol," while offering a fresh look at such familiar figures as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Kurt Cobain. Bridging the disciplines of musicology and cultural studies, the collection raises two important questions: how best to speak of what we hear, and whether hearing itself can be understood as both a cultural contingent and a creative activity. The editors' introduction provides an important backward glance at recent rock criticism and also looks to the future of the rapidly expanding discipline of popular music studies. Taking seriously the implications of critical theory for the study of non-literary aesthetic endeavours, the also volume addresses such issues as the affective power of popular music and the psychic construction of fandom. Rock Over the Edge will appeal to scholars and students in popular music studies and American Studies as well as general readers interested in popular music.