-
Rockin’ in the Ivory Tower
- Rock Music on Campus in the Sixties
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Rockin’ in the Ivory Tower
Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Nineties
- A Book
- By: Chuck Klosterman
- Narrated by: Chuck Klosterman, Dion Graham
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,897
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,649
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,639
It was long ago, but not as long as it seems: The Berlin Wall fell and the Twin Towers collapsed. In between, one presidential election was allegedly decided by Ross Perot while another was plausibly decided by Ralph Nader. Landlines fell to cell phones, the internet exploded, and pop culture accelerated without the aid of technology that remembered everything. It was the last era with a real mainstream to either identify with or oppose. The ’90s brought about a revolution in the human condition, and a shift in consciousness, that we’re still struggling to understand.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
A Very White Middle-class Take On The Nineties
- By Umar Lee on 02-10-22
By: Chuck Klosterman
-
Liberation Through Hearing
- By: Richard M. Russell
- Narrated by: Richard Russell
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 24
For almost 30 years as label boss, producer and talent conductor at XL Recordings, Richard Russell has discovered, shaped and nurtured the artists who have rewritten the musical dictionary of the 21st century, artists like The Prodigy, The White Stripes, Adele, M.I.A., Dizzee Rascal and Giggs. Growing up in north London in thrall to the raw energy of 80's US hip hop, Russell emerged as one part of rave outfit Kicks Like a Mule in 1991 at a moment when new technology enabled a truly punk aesthetic on the fledgling free party scene.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Mandatory Lit for the Music Industry
- By Jake Reuter on 02-15-23
-
Revolver
- How the Beatles Re-Imagined Rock 'n' Roll
- By: Robert Rodriguez
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
Acquired wisdom has always put Sgt. Pepper at the head of the class, but it was Revolver that truly signaled The Beatles' sea change from a functional band to a studio-based ensemble. These changes began before Rubber Soul but came to fruition on Revolver, which took an astonishing 300 hours to produce, far more than any rock record before it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
the detailed information
- By Anonymous User on 06-11-24
By: Robert Rodriguez
-
Phish
- The Biography
- By: Parke Puterbaugh
- Narrated by: John Glouchevitch
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 164
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 148
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 145
Drawing upon nearly 15 years of exclusive interviews with the members of Phish, veteran music journalist Parke Puterbaugh examines the colorful chemistry that inspired the wildly popular rock group to push their four-man experiment to the limit. An intimate and fascinating portrait, Phish: The Biography is the definitive story of these Vermont jam-band legends.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book for fans
- By epoul on 03-15-18
By: Parke Puterbaugh
-
Tomorrow-Land
- The 1964-65 World's Fair and the Transformation of America
- By: Joseph Tirella
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 36
Motivated by the idea of turning Flushing Meadows, literally a land of refuse, into his greatest public park, Robert Moses—New York's "master builder"—brought the World's Fair to the Big Apple for 1964 and '65. Though considered a financial failure, the 1964/65 World's Fair was a sixties flash point in areas from politics to pop culture, technology to urban planning, and civil rights to violent crime. In an epic narrative, Tomorrow-Land shows the astonishing pivots taken by New York City, America, and the world during the fair.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
20 % fair 80 % early 1960's current events.
- By Stephen T. Cooksey on 05-26-19
By: Joseph Tirella
-
Dirty Blvd.
- The Life and Music of Lou Reed
- By: Aidan Levy
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 41
This book not only covers the highlights of Lou Reed's career but explores lesser-known facets of his work, such as his first recordings with doo-wop group the Jades, his key literary influences, the impact of Judaism upon his work, and his engagement with the LGBT movement.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
great biography!
- By matthewilfoe on 12-11-16
By: Aidan Levy
-
The Nineties
- A Book
- By: Chuck Klosterman
- Narrated by: Chuck Klosterman, Dion Graham
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,897
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,649
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,639
It was long ago, but not as long as it seems: The Berlin Wall fell and the Twin Towers collapsed. In between, one presidential election was allegedly decided by Ross Perot while another was plausibly decided by Ralph Nader. Landlines fell to cell phones, the internet exploded, and pop culture accelerated without the aid of technology that remembered everything. It was the last era with a real mainstream to either identify with or oppose. The ’90s brought about a revolution in the human condition, and a shift in consciousness, that we’re still struggling to understand.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
A Very White Middle-class Take On The Nineties
- By Umar Lee on 02-10-22
By: Chuck Klosterman
-
Liberation Through Hearing
- By: Richard M. Russell
- Narrated by: Richard Russell
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 24
For almost 30 years as label boss, producer and talent conductor at XL Recordings, Richard Russell has discovered, shaped and nurtured the artists who have rewritten the musical dictionary of the 21st century, artists like The Prodigy, The White Stripes, Adele, M.I.A., Dizzee Rascal and Giggs. Growing up in north London in thrall to the raw energy of 80's US hip hop, Russell emerged as one part of rave outfit Kicks Like a Mule in 1991 at a moment when new technology enabled a truly punk aesthetic on the fledgling free party scene.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Mandatory Lit for the Music Industry
- By Jake Reuter on 02-15-23
-
Revolver
- How the Beatles Re-Imagined Rock 'n' Roll
- By: Robert Rodriguez
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
Acquired wisdom has always put Sgt. Pepper at the head of the class, but it was Revolver that truly signaled The Beatles' sea change from a functional band to a studio-based ensemble. These changes began before Rubber Soul but came to fruition on Revolver, which took an astonishing 300 hours to produce, far more than any rock record before it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
the detailed information
- By Anonymous User on 06-11-24
By: Robert Rodriguez
-
Phish
- The Biography
- By: Parke Puterbaugh
- Narrated by: John Glouchevitch
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 164
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 148
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 145
Drawing upon nearly 15 years of exclusive interviews with the members of Phish, veteran music journalist Parke Puterbaugh examines the colorful chemistry that inspired the wildly popular rock group to push their four-man experiment to the limit. An intimate and fascinating portrait, Phish: The Biography is the definitive story of these Vermont jam-band legends.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book for fans
- By epoul on 03-15-18
By: Parke Puterbaugh
-
Tomorrow-Land
- The 1964-65 World's Fair and the Transformation of America
- By: Joseph Tirella
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 36
Motivated by the idea of turning Flushing Meadows, literally a land of refuse, into his greatest public park, Robert Moses—New York's "master builder"—brought the World's Fair to the Big Apple for 1964 and '65. Though considered a financial failure, the 1964/65 World's Fair was a sixties flash point in areas from politics to pop culture, technology to urban planning, and civil rights to violent crime. In an epic narrative, Tomorrow-Land shows the astonishing pivots taken by New York City, America, and the world during the fair.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
20 % fair 80 % early 1960's current events.
- By Stephen T. Cooksey on 05-26-19
By: Joseph Tirella
-
Dirty Blvd.
- The Life and Music of Lou Reed
- By: Aidan Levy
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 41
This book not only covers the highlights of Lou Reed's career but explores lesser-known facets of his work, such as his first recordings with doo-wop group the Jades, his key literary influences, the impact of Judaism upon his work, and his engagement with the LGBT movement.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
great biography!
- By matthewilfoe on 12-11-16
By: Aidan Levy
-
Music Is History
- By: Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Questlove
- Narrated by: Questlove
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 210
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 184
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 183
Best-selling author and Sundance award-winning director Questlove harnesses his encyclopedic knowledge of popular music and his deep curiosity about history to examine America over the past 50 years. Choosing one essential track from each year, Questlove unpacks each song’s significance, revealing the pivotal role that American music plays around issues of race, gender, politics, and identity.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
This would be better read than listened to
- By HomeChef on 11-05-21
By: Ahmir Khalib Thompson, and others
-
Einstein, Michael Jackson & Me
- A Search for Soul in the Power Pits of Rock and Roll
- By: Howard Bloom
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 17 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 42
Howard Bloom - called “the greatest press agent that rock and roll has ever known” by Derek Sutton, the former manager of Styx, Ten Years After, and Jethro Tull - is a science nerd who knew nothing about popular music. But he founded the biggest PR firm in the music industry and helped build or sustain the careers of our biggest rock legends, including Michael Jackson, Prince, Bob Marley, Bette Midler, Billy Joel, Billy Idol, Chaka Khan, and 100 more. What was he after? He was on a hunt for the gods inside of you and me.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
It could have been
- By Robert Urbanek on 12-02-22
By: Howard Bloom
-
Ruffhouse
- From the Streets of Philly to the Top of the 90s Hip Hop Charts
- By: Chris Schwartz, Ms. Lauryn Hill - foreword, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson - introduction
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli, JD Jackson, Adenrele Ojo
- Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 184
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 169
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 168
A captivating and fast-paced account of the rise of Ruffhouse Records’ founder Chris Schwartz, the coming of age of hip-hop, and the trials and tribulations of some of its greatest artists. As a homeless musician struggling to catch a break in 1980s Philadelphia, Schwartz navigates the criminally infested, morally bankrupt independent record business to build one of the most successful hip-hop record companies in the world, which dominated the charts and generated global revenues of over one billion dollars.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic Story
- By ChOcHa GuRl on 12-22-21
By: Chris Schwartz, and others
-
Mutations
- The Many Strange Faces of Hardcore Punk
- By: Sam McPheeters, Tobi Vail - introduction
- Narrated by: Sam McPheeters
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 46
How can so many people pledge allegiance to punk, something with no fixed identity? Depending on who and where you are, punk can be an outlet, excuse, lifestyle, escapism, conversation, community, ideology, sales category, social movement, punishable offense, badge of authenticity, reason to drink beer forever, or an aesthetic of belligerent incompetence. Sam McPheeters championed many different versions. Over the course of two decades, he fronted Born Against, released dozens of records and fanzines, and toured 17 times across the northern hemisphere.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good but incomplete version - no footnotes
- By Kim family on 05-18-20
By: Sam McPheeters, and others
-
Smash!
- Green Day, The Offspring, Bad Religion, NOFX, and the '90s Punk Explosion
- By: Ian Winwood
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 140
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 124
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 125
With astounding access to all the key players of the time, including members of Green Day, The Offspring, NOFX, Rancid, Bad Religion, Social Distortion, and many others, renowned music writer Ian Winwood at last gives this significant, substantive, and compelling story its due. Punk rock bands were never truly successful or indeed truly famous, and that was that - until it wasn't. Smash! is the story of how the underdogs finally won and forever altered the landscape of mainstream music.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Horrible narrator
- By Robert Mennona on 05-05-19
By: Ian Winwood
-
Can't Stop Won't Stop
- A History of the Hip-Hop Generation
- By: Jeff Chang
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 19 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 122
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 124
Forged in the fires of the Bronx and Kingston, Jamaica, hip-hop became the Esperanto of youth rebellion and a generation-defining movement. In a post-civil rights era defined by deindustrialization and globalization, hip-hop crystallized a multiracial, polycultural generation's worldview and transformed American politics and culture. But that epic story has never been told with this kind of breadth, insight, and style.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not About Hip Hop Music
- By A. Yerkes on 09-06-19
By: Jeff Chang
-
The History of Rock & Roll
- Volume 1: 1920-1963
- By: Ed Ward
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 124
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 104
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 102
Ed Ward covers the first half of the history of rock & roll in this sweeping and definitive narrative - from the 1920s, when the music of rambling medicine shows mingled with the songs of vaudeville and minstrel acts to create the very early sounds of country and rhythm and blues, to the rise of the first independent record labels post-World War II, and concluding in December 1963, just as an immense change in the airwaves took hold and the Beatles prepared for their first American tour.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Author's blindspots mar this book
- By Mark Clark on 03-28-17
By: Ed Ward
-
Jimmy Page
- The Definitive Biography
- By: Chris Salewicz
- Narrated by: Tom McGairl
- Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 128
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 112
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 112
An in-depth biography of Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page by the acclaimed biographer of Bob Marley and Joe Strummer, based upon the author's extensive research and interviews.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Light & Shade was more "definitive"
- By Forget about it on 03-04-20
By: Chris Salewicz
-
Boomers
- The Men and Women Who Promised Freedom and Delivered Disaster
- By: Helen Andrews
- Narrated by: Nicole Parnell
- Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 152
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 135
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 135
In Boomers, essayist Helen Andrews addresses the Boomer legacy with scrupulous fairness and biting wit. Following the model of Lytton Strachey's Eminent Victorians, she profiles six of the Boomers' brightest and best. She shows how Steve Jobs tried to liberate everyone's inner rebel but unleashed our stultifying digital world of social media and the gig economy. How Aaron Sorkin played pied piper to a generation of idealistic wonks. How Camille Paglia corrupted academia while trying to save it.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
A Finger-Pointing, Conservative Essay
- By Erin F. on 08-11-21
By: Helen Andrews
-
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
- My Life in the Music Business
- By: Miles A. Copeland III
- Narrated by: Miles A. Copeland III
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
My real story starts with a disaster, an unmitigated, pull-the-rug-from-under-you, clean-out-the-bank-account disaster. But had it not happened, The Police would never have risen to become the biggest rock band in the world; Jools Holland would not have ended up on TV; The Bangles, The Go-Go’s, R.E.M., and many other music stars might never have made it either. It’s strange how a fluke, a disaster, an unlikely event can lead to incredible results. But that is in essence what happened to me....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
If you like Punk and New Wave you will like this book
- By Rock Fan on 09-17-21
-
Cornell '77
- The Music, the Myth, and the Magnificence of the Grateful Dead's Concert at Barton Hall
- By: Peter Conners
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
On May 8, 1977, at Barton Hall, on the Cornell University campus, in front of 8,500 eager fans, the Grateful Dead played a show so significant that the Library of Congress inducted it into the National Recording Registry. The band had just released Terrapin Station and was still finding its feet after an extended hiatus. In 1977, the Grateful Dead reached a musical peak, and their East Coast spring tour featured an exceptional string of performances. Many Deadheads claim that the quality of the live recording of the show made by Betty Cantor-Jackson elevated its importance.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great Show to Start Of With
- By Charles A. Prince, Jr on 06-17-21
By: Peter Conners
-
God's Forever Family
- The Jesus People Movement in America
- By: Larry Eskridge
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 54
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 55
The Jesus People movement was a unique combination of the hippie counterculture and evangelical Christianity. It first appeared in the famed "Summer of Love" of 1967, in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, and spread like wildfire in Southern California and beyond, to cities like Seattle, Atlanta, and Milwaukee. In 1971 the growing movement found its way into the national media spotlight and gained momentum, attracting a huge new following among evangelical church youth.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Very good book, marred by narration
- By Dru Lattin on 11-04-15
By: Larry Eskridge
Publisher's summary
Histories of American rock music and the 1960s counterculture typically focus on the same few places: Woodstock, Monterey, Altamont. Yet there was also a very active college circuit that brought edgy acts like the Jefferson Airplane and the Velvet Underground to different metropolitan regions and smaller towns all over the country. These campus concerts were often programmed, promoted, and reviewed by students themselves, and their diverse tastes challenged narrow definitions of rock music.
Rockin' in the Ivory Tower takes a close look at two smaller universities, Drew in New Jersey and Stony Brook on Long Island, to see how the culture of rock music played an integral role in student life in the late 1960s. Analyzing campus archives and college newspapers, historian James Carter traces connections between rock fandom and the civil rights protests, free speech activism, radical ideas, lifestyle transformations, and anti-war movements that revolutionized universities in the 1960s. Furthermore, he finds that these progressive students refused to segregate genres like folk, R&B, hard rock, and pop. Rockin' in the Ivory Tower gives listeners a front-row seat to a dynamic time for the music industry, countercultural politics, and youth culture.
More from the same
Narrator
Related to this topic
-
Cool Town
- How Athens, Georgia, Launched Alternative Music and Changed American Culture
- By: Grace Elizabeth Hale
- Narrated by: Emily Cauldwell
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 66
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 54
In 1979, the self-titled debut album by the B-52s burst onto the Billboard charts, capturing the imagination of fans and music critics worldwide. The fact that the group had formed in the sleepy southern college town of Athens, Georgia, only increased the fascination. Soon, more Athens bands followed the B-52s into the vanguard of the new American music that would come to be known as "alternative", including R.E.M., who catapulted over the course of the 1980s to the top of the musical mainstream.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I feel like I was there when it happened
- By Joseph Suciu on 01-11-23
-
The History of Rock & Roll
- Volume 1: 1920-1963
- By: Ed Ward
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 124
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 104
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 102
Ed Ward covers the first half of the history of rock & roll in this sweeping and definitive narrative - from the 1920s, when the music of rambling medicine shows mingled with the songs of vaudeville and minstrel acts to create the very early sounds of country and rhythm and blues, to the rise of the first independent record labels post-World War II, and concluding in December 1963, just as an immense change in the airwaves took hold and the Beatles prepared for their first American tour.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Author's blindspots mar this book
- By Mark Clark on 03-28-17
By: Ed Ward
-
Golden Dreams
- California in an Age of Abundance, 1950-1963
- By: Kevin Starr
- Narrated by: Elijah Alexander
- Length: 29 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 66
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 59
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 60
Starr brilliantly illuminates the dominant economic, social, and cultural forces in California in these pivotal years. In a powerful blend of telling events, colorful personalities, and insightful analyses, Starr examines such issues as the overnight creation of the postwar California suburb, the rise of Los Angeles as Super City, the reluctant emergence of San Diego as one of the largest cities in the nation, and the decline of political centrism.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Give us more Starr on California!!
- By Roger on 08-24-16
By: Kevin Starr
-
Pure Invention
- How Japan's Pop Culture Conquered the World
- By: Matt Alt
- Narrated by: Matt Alt
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 257
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 224
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 223
Japan is the forge of the world’s fantasies: karaoke and the Walkman, manga and anime, Pac-Man and Pokémon, online imageboards and emojis. But as Japan media veteran Matt Alt proves in this brilliant investigation, these novelties did more than entertain. They paved the way for our perplexing modern lives.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
great book ruined by ending
- By Grant Holder on 06-07-22
By: Matt Alt
-
With Amusement for All
- A History of American Popular Culture since 1830
- By: LeRoy Ashby
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 33 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 65
With Amusement for All is the first comprehensive history of two centuries of mass entertainment in the United States, covering everything from the penny press to Playboy, the NBA to NASCAR, big band to hip hop, and other topics including film, comics, television, sports, and music. Paying careful attention to matters of race, gender, class, economics, and politics, LeRoy Ashby emphasizes the complex ways in which popular culture simultaneously reflects and transforms American culture.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
So Much Fun!
- By Paul on 11-28-13
By: LeRoy Ashby
-
Never a Dull Moment
- 1971 - the Year That Rock Exploded
- By: David Hepworth
- Narrated by: David Hepworth
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 214
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 202
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 199
On New Year's Eve, 1970, Paul McCartney told his lawyers to issue the writ at the High Court in London, effectively ending The Beatles. You might say this was the last day of the pop era. The following day, which was a Friday, was 1971. You might say this was the first day of the rock era. And within the remaining 364 days of this monumental year, the world would hear Don McLean's "American Pie", The Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar", The Who's "Baba O'Riley", Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", and more.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A blast from the past
- By Amazon Customer on 07-30-16
By: David Hepworth
-
Cool Town
- How Athens, Georgia, Launched Alternative Music and Changed American Culture
- By: Grace Elizabeth Hale
- Narrated by: Emily Cauldwell
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 66
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 54
In 1979, the self-titled debut album by the B-52s burst onto the Billboard charts, capturing the imagination of fans and music critics worldwide. The fact that the group had formed in the sleepy southern college town of Athens, Georgia, only increased the fascination. Soon, more Athens bands followed the B-52s into the vanguard of the new American music that would come to be known as "alternative", including R.E.M., who catapulted over the course of the 1980s to the top of the musical mainstream.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I feel like I was there when it happened
- By Joseph Suciu on 01-11-23
-
The History of Rock & Roll
- Volume 1: 1920-1963
- By: Ed Ward
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 124
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 104
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 102
Ed Ward covers the first half of the history of rock & roll in this sweeping and definitive narrative - from the 1920s, when the music of rambling medicine shows mingled with the songs of vaudeville and minstrel acts to create the very early sounds of country and rhythm and blues, to the rise of the first independent record labels post-World War II, and concluding in December 1963, just as an immense change in the airwaves took hold and the Beatles prepared for their first American tour.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Author's blindspots mar this book
- By Mark Clark on 03-28-17
By: Ed Ward
-
Golden Dreams
- California in an Age of Abundance, 1950-1963
- By: Kevin Starr
- Narrated by: Elijah Alexander
- Length: 29 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 66
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 59
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 60
Starr brilliantly illuminates the dominant economic, social, and cultural forces in California in these pivotal years. In a powerful blend of telling events, colorful personalities, and insightful analyses, Starr examines such issues as the overnight creation of the postwar California suburb, the rise of Los Angeles as Super City, the reluctant emergence of San Diego as one of the largest cities in the nation, and the decline of political centrism.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Give us more Starr on California!!
- By Roger on 08-24-16
By: Kevin Starr
-
Pure Invention
- How Japan's Pop Culture Conquered the World
- By: Matt Alt
- Narrated by: Matt Alt
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 257
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 224
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 223
Japan is the forge of the world’s fantasies: karaoke and the Walkman, manga and anime, Pac-Man and Pokémon, online imageboards and emojis. But as Japan media veteran Matt Alt proves in this brilliant investigation, these novelties did more than entertain. They paved the way for our perplexing modern lives.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
great book ruined by ending
- By Grant Holder on 06-07-22
By: Matt Alt
-
With Amusement for All
- A History of American Popular Culture since 1830
- By: LeRoy Ashby
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 33 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 65
With Amusement for All is the first comprehensive history of two centuries of mass entertainment in the United States, covering everything from the penny press to Playboy, the NBA to NASCAR, big band to hip hop, and other topics including film, comics, television, sports, and music. Paying careful attention to matters of race, gender, class, economics, and politics, LeRoy Ashby emphasizes the complex ways in which popular culture simultaneously reflects and transforms American culture.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
So Much Fun!
- By Paul on 11-28-13
By: LeRoy Ashby
-
Never a Dull Moment
- 1971 - the Year That Rock Exploded
- By: David Hepworth
- Narrated by: David Hepworth
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 214
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 202
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 199
On New Year's Eve, 1970, Paul McCartney told his lawyers to issue the writ at the High Court in London, effectively ending The Beatles. You might say this was the last day of the pop era. The following day, which was a Friday, was 1971. You might say this was the first day of the rock era. And within the remaining 364 days of this monumental year, the world would hear Don McLean's "American Pie", The Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar", The Who's "Baba O'Riley", Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", and more.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A blast from the past
- By Amazon Customer on 07-30-16
By: David Hepworth
-
1959
- The Year Everything Changed
- By: Fred Kaplan
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 141
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 97
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 96
Acclaimed national security columnist and noted cultural critic Fred Kaplan looks past the 1960s to the year that really changed AmericaWhile conventional accounts focus on the 60s as the era of pivotal change that swept the nation, Fred Kaplan argues that it was 1959 that ushered in the wave of tremendous cultural, political, and scientific shifts that would play out in the decades that followed.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Facinating look at a neglected moment in history
- By James on 05-25-11
By: Fred Kaplan
-
Here We Are Now
- The Lasting Impact of Kurt Cobain
- By: Charles R. Cross
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 4 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 57
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 55
Simply stated, Kurt Cobain changed the cultural conversation in his all-too-brief life, and even after his shattering death. With interviews and commentary from all corners of the pop culture universe, from the people who knew Cobain to those who continue to help his legend grow, Here We Are Now explores what a singular life meant, and how that meaning can be measured, when and if it can be.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An amazing afterword on culture post Cobain
- By Rebecca F. on 06-11-15
By: Charles R. Cross
-
The Walrus and the Elephants
- John Lennon’s Years of Revolution
- By: James A. Mitchell
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 63
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 56
In late 1971 John Lennon left London behind and moved to New York, eager to join a youth movement rallying for social justice and an end to the Vietnam War. Lennon was quickly embraced by radicals and revolutionaries, the hippies and Yippies at odds with the establishment. Settling in Greenwich Village, the heart of Manhattan's counterculture, the former Beatle was soon on the frontlines of the antiwar movement and championing a range of causes and issues.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
I wish you were still here
- By Kazuhiko on 12-09-13
-
All Shook Up
- How Rock ‘n’ Roll Changed America
- By: Glenn C. Altschuler
- Narrated by: Jack Garrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 74
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 52
As Glenn Altschuler reveals in All Shook Up, the rise of rock 'n roll--and the outraged reception to it--in fact can tell us a lot about the values of the United States in the 1950s, a decade that saw a great struggle for the control of popular culture. Altschuler shows, in particular, how rock's "switchblade beat" opened up wide fissures in American society along the fault-lines of family, sexuality, and race.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
50's Rock&Roll was more of a force than I thought
- By James on 10-19-11
-
Can't Stop Won't Stop
- A History of the Hip-Hop Generation
- By: Jeff Chang
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 19 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 122
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 124
Forged in the fires of the Bronx and Kingston, Jamaica, hip-hop became the Esperanto of youth rebellion and a generation-defining movement. In a post-civil rights era defined by deindustrialization and globalization, hip-hop crystallized a multiracial, polycultural generation's worldview and transformed American politics and culture. But that epic story has never been told with this kind of breadth, insight, and style.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not About Hip Hop Music
- By A. Yerkes on 09-06-19
By: Jeff Chang
-
Alan Lomax: A Biography
- By: John Szwed
- Narrated by: Scott Sowers
- Length: 20 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
The remarkable life and times of the man who popularized American folk music and created the science of song. Folklorist, archivist, anthropologist, singer, political activist, talent scout, ethnomusicologist, filmmaker, concert and record producer, Alan Lomax is best remembered as the man who introduced folk music to the masses. Lomax began his career making field recordings of rural music for the Library of Congress and by the late 1930s brought his discoveries to radio, including Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Burl Ives.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
They Done Good
- By DonnaMarie113 on 06-26-22
By: John Szwed
-
The Nineties
- A Book
- By: Chuck Klosterman
- Narrated by: Chuck Klosterman, Dion Graham
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,897
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,649
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,639
It was long ago, but not as long as it seems: The Berlin Wall fell and the Twin Towers collapsed. In between, one presidential election was allegedly decided by Ross Perot while another was plausibly decided by Ralph Nader. Landlines fell to cell phones, the internet exploded, and pop culture accelerated without the aid of technology that remembered everything. It was the last era with a real mainstream to either identify with or oppose. The ’90s brought about a revolution in the human condition, and a shift in consciousness, that we’re still struggling to understand.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
A Very White Middle-class Take On The Nineties
- By Umar Lee on 02-10-22
By: Chuck Klosterman
-
God's Forever Family
- The Jesus People Movement in America
- By: Larry Eskridge
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 54
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 55
The Jesus People movement was a unique combination of the hippie counterculture and evangelical Christianity. It first appeared in the famed "Summer of Love" of 1967, in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, and spread like wildfire in Southern California and beyond, to cities like Seattle, Atlanta, and Milwaukee. In 1971 the growing movement found its way into the national media spotlight and gained momentum, attracting a huge new following among evangelical church youth.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Very good book, marred by narration
- By Dru Lattin on 11-04-15
By: Larry Eskridge
-
New York, New York, New York
- Four Decades of Success, Excess, and Transformation
- By: Thomas Dyja
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy, Thomas Dyja - introduction
- Length: 17 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 163
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 143
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 141
Dangerous, filthy, and falling apart, garbage piled on its streets and entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble; New York’s terrifying, if liberating, state of nature in 1978 also made it the capital of American culture. Over the next thirty-plus years, though, it became a different place - kinder and meaner, richer and poorer, more like America and less like what it had always been.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
OMG...right on 👍👍👍👍👍
- By howie wine on 04-04-21
By: Thomas Dyja
-
Once in a Great City
- A Detroit Story
- By: David Maraniss
- Narrated by: David Maraniss
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 187
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 158
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 154
It's 1963, and Detroit is on top of the world. The city's leaders are among the most visionary in America. It was the American auto makers' best year; the revolution in music and politics was underway. Walter Reuther's UAW had helped lift the middle class. Once in a Great City shows that the shadows of collapse were evident even then. Yet so much of what Detroit gave America lasts.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great read
- By Jordanel on 01-02-16
By: David Maraniss
-
Beatles '66
- The Revolutionary Year
- By: Steve Turner
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 359
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 304
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 304
The year that changed everything for the Beatles was 1966 - the year of their last concert and of Revolver, their first album created to be listened to rather than performed. This was the year the Beatles risked their popularity by retiring from live performances, recording songs that explored alternative states of consciousness, experimenting with avant-garde ideas, and speaking their minds on issues of politics, war, and religion. Music journalist and Beatles expert Steve Turner investigates the enormous changes that took place in the Beatles' lives and work during 1966.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great listen
- By Tad Davis on 07-28-18
By: Steve Turner
-
Seven Dirty Words
- The Life and Crimes of George Carlin
- By: James Sullivan
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 149
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 122
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 124
In Seven Dirty Words, journalist and cultural critic James Sullivan tells the story of Alternative America from the 1950s to the present, from the singular vantage point of George Carlin, the Catholic boy for whom nothing was sacred.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Carlin's CV with no Depth or Insight
- By Dubi on 01-23-14
By: James Sullivan