Music, Sound, and Technology in America A Documentary History of Early Phonograph, Cinema, and Radio

"What should we make of the strange matter of sound? From the start of human history until not so long ago, sound would have been a fleeting sign of something else, a presence or an event. Then, with the invention of contraptions like the phonograph, came a wave of recording technologies that would instill sound with a sense of permanence, as material evidence of something no longer there. Measuring the cultural importance and metaphysical weirdness of that change is part of the project of "Music, Sound, and Technology in America," an anthology of fascinating artifacts whose prosaic title belies its insights into the early years of the recorded-sound era." Andy Battaglia, Wall Street Journal, July 31st 2012 "Filled with great selections, Music, Sound, and Technology in America is a salutary addition to a media studies literature lacking in such sourcebooks. It provides a ready-made trove of primary source material to use in classroom discussions of historical interpretation and methodology. In addition, by juxtaposing materials on diverse aspects of sound, the editors avoid the persistent habit of segmenting sound studies by medium or mode." Jonathan Sterne, author of The Audible Past: Cultural Origins of Sound Reproduction "Music, Sound, and Technology in America provides a useful overview of the impact of technologies on American music and musical culture. It is a valuable resource, an engaging, well-organized anthology that will raise provocative questions for students of American cultural history." Michele Hilmes, author of Radio Voices: American Broadcasting, 1922-1952 "The editors have selected and assembled their material with perspicuity and wit, and anybody interested in the infancy of sound recording, cinema, and radio is guaranteed to experience frequent 'aha!' moments that transport them with a simple turn of phrase to the mind-set of an earlier age." - James M. Keller, Santa Fe New Mexican "Part history of technology, part reception studies, this anthology gathers advertisements, sales agents' scripts, personal accounts, editorials and letters from hobbyist journals of the early days of recorded sound... At its best, the selections convey an eyewitness sense of first reactions to new technologies, before users' expectations ossified... What shines through the book is how new technologies have opened up cultural battlegrounds for creativity, access and control."- The Wire, 1st February 2013