Synopses & Reviews
A monumental work of musical history and a book as fun to argue with as to quote from,
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! is divided into sixty-five brief, chronological chapters about individual songs, bands, musical scenes, and styles from Bill Haley & the Comets’s “Rock Around the Clock” (1954) to Beyoncé’s first megahit, “Crazy in Love” (2003). Bob Stanley — music critic, pop fan, and musician — recounts the progression of bands from the Beach Boys to the Pet Shop Boys to the Beastie Boys, explores what connects doo-wop to the sock hop to hip hop, and reveals how technological changes have affected pop production.
For anyone who has ever thrilled to the opening chord of the Beatles’s “A Hard Day’s Night” or the bubbly beginning of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! is a vital guide to the rich soundtrack of the second half of the twentieth century.
Review
"Bob Stanley loves and finds surprising connections between a thousand kinds of pop. He makes me want to run to the nearest record store — and move in." Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields
Review
" ties together the disparate strands of pop's shape-shifting history to create a vivid living document of the music of our lives." Greg Milner, author of Perfecting Sound Forever
Review
"[Stanley] provides an intriguing view of the shifting ground of pop music." Publishers Weekly
Review
"An immensely entertaining pop-music survey course. [Stanley] is engagingly opinionated and often very, very funny... The assemblage of irresistible, bite-size histories of top-of-the-charts stars is joyful, smart, and addictive, just like the best pop songs, and a must for music fans everywhere." Booklist, Starred review
Review
"A landmark celebration, rumination and encapsulation of just about everything worth knowing — and arguing — about the pop landscape....A book for the ages." Los Angeles Review of Books
Review
"Totally delicious...[full of] why-didn't-I-think-of-that connections....We're incredibly lucky to have this detailed map." Matt Damsker, USA Today
Review
"Like but with a beat....Endlessly readable....[Stanley's] passion and humor make a delicious read even, or rather especially, when it upends your own views." David Kirby, Wall Street Journal
Synopsis
Bob Stanley musician, music critic, and unabashed fan recounts the progression from the Beach Boys to the Pet Shop Boys to the Beastie Boys; explores what connects doo wop to the sock hop; and reveals how technological changes have affected pop production. Working with a broad definition of pop one that includes country and metal, disco and Dylan, skiffle and glam Stanley teases out the connections and tensions that animate the pop charts and argues that the charts are vital social history.
Yeah Yeah Yeah is like the world s best and most eclectic jukebox in book form. All the hits are here: the Monkees, Metallica, Patsy Cline, Patti Smith, new wave, New Order, It s the Same Old Song, The Song Remains the Same, Aretha, Bowie, Madonna, Prince, Sgt. Pepper, A Tribe Called Quest, the Big Bopper, Fleetwood Mac, Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Bikini Kill, the Kinks, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, and on and on and on. This book will have you reaching for your records (or CDs or MP3s) and discovering countless others.
For anyone who has ever thrilled to the opening chord of the Beatles A Hard Day s Night or fallen crazy in love for Beyonce, Yeah Yeah Yeah is a vital guide to the rich soundtrack of the second half of the twentieth century.
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Synopsis
As much fun to argue with as to quote,
Yeah Yeah Yeah is a monumental work of musical history, tracing the story of pop music through individual songs, bands, musical scenes, and styles from Bill Haley and the Comets' "Rock around the Clock" (1954) to Beyonc 's first megahit, "Crazy in Love" (2003). It covers the birth of rock, soul, R&B, punk, hip hop, indie, house, techno, and more, and it will remind you why you fell in love with pop music in the first place.
Bob Stanley--musician, music critic, and unabashed fan--recounts the progression from the Beach Boys to the Pet Shop Boys to the Beastie Boys; explores what connects doo wop to the sock hop; and reveals how technological changes have affected pop production. Working with a broad definition of "pop"--one that includes country and metal, disco and Dylan, skiffle and glam--Stanley teases out the connections and tensions that animate the pop charts and argues that the charts are vital social history.
Yeah Yeah Yeah is like the world's best and most eclectic jukebox in book form. All the hits are here: the Monkees, Metallica, Patsy Cline, Patti Smith, new wave, New Order, "It's the Same Old Song," The Song Remains the Same, Aretha, Bowie, Madonna, Prince, Sgt. Pepper, A Tribe Called Quest, the Big Bopper, Fleetwood Mac, "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," Bikini Kill, the Kinks, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, and on and on and on. This book will have you reaching for your records (or CDs or MP3s) and discovering countless others.
For anyone who has ever thrilled to the opening chord of the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" or fallen crazy in love for Beyonc , Yeah Yeah Yeah is a vital guide to the rich soundtrack of the second half of the twentieth century.
Synopsis
An addictively readable, encyclopedic history of pop music in chapters as short and adrenaline-fueled as the best pop songs themselves.
About the Author
Bob Stanley has worked as a music journalist, a DJ, and a record label owner and is the cofounder and keyboard player for the band Saint Etienne. He lives in London.