Music and Technology in the Twentieth Century

Here's one from academia; a great collection of short essays and insights into the history of music/recording technology, tracing various developments that have brought us to the standards of sound recording and reproduction we know today. Mostly German writers, with some American, British, and Japanese contributors, take apart their subjects from the inside-out in a really intriguing way. These selections are extremely well written (need paper ideas kiddies?) and seem to easily unveil the different contexts surrounding the changes and innovations they have chosen to focus on. Some highlights include the 43-year story of Cleveland Recording Company, "From Polka to Punk: Growth of an Independent Recording Studio, 1934-1977," which follows trailblazing engineer Ken Hamann through his cultivation of new technologies for the studio, before any sort of industry standardization. Experimenting with new recording techniques and advancing early rock 'n' roll, Hamann helped to transform the studio's work environment into a new, and more collaborative working relationship between artist, producer, and engineer. The years 1939-48 gave us RCA Victor's creation of the 45 RPM record, as a means of competing against Columbia Records' LP format, as told by Alexander Magoun. One of my favorites, "Tape Recording and Music Making," details how tape-based media revolutionized both the studio world, which had been mainly disc-based, and the Third World, namely India and Africa, where the cassette tape made recording affordable. Also covered: the growth, in parallel, of both Moog and Buchla modular analog synthesizer systems; Yamaha's role in developing music education programs for the Japanese public; electroacoustic and electromechanical instruments; Hendrix, feedback, electric guitar technology; and sound- sampling as a method of montage. Each topic makes for some great food for thought, and relates the past in an interesting perspective. The overall spin of this book is a progressive one, while remaining grounded in the actual facts and figures of history. Check it out from Johns Hopkins University Press. ($24.95, www.press.jhu.edu)