January, 2014
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The Pirates of Los Angeles: Music, Technology, and Counterculture in Southern California
In 1978, with a new album on the way and a growing popularity that had started among the Hell’s Angels in Southern California, the Doobie Brothers made an unlikely guest appearance on the television show “What’s Happening!!” Set in Watts, the popular series focused on the comic tragedies that befellRead More…
It’s All in the Mix . . . and in the Master
That vintage vinyl record you place on your turntable is the result of creative and technical choices made along the way from song to disc. By the late 1960s, record making had become a lengthy process involving multi-track recording, mixing, and mastering. In the following selection from Chasing Sound: Technology,Read More…
Gendered Ears
While there is a rich discussion in cultural studies about gendered representation in popular music, there remains very little about gendered listening experiences—or, more accurately—gendered perceptions of other’s listening experiences. Big Ears: Listening for Gender in Jazz Studies, one of the newest offerings from Duke’s Refiguring American Music series, makesRead More…
The History of Vinyl
In 1930, RCA Victor launched the first commercially-available vinyl long-playing record, marketed as “Program Transcription” discs. These revolutionary discs were designed for playback at 33⅓ rpm and pressed on a 12″ diameter flexible plastic disc. In Roland Gelatt’s book The Fabulous Phonograph, the author notes that RCA Victor’s early introductionRead More…