Suggested Readings

Below is a growing list of books, articles, blog postings, and other items that specifically relate to connections across genres, especially between classical and popular music, given their conceptualization within the broader culture as “very different.” As pointed out by (Green, 1999):

One of the most significant ideological practices concerning music in the twentieth century has been precisely to make distinctions between different musical styles, of which popular and classical, very broadly defined, have been particularly prominent (p. 7).

In lieu of direct access, some links consist of publisher information for books, or abstracts for articles that require subscription-based access. In such cases, check with your local library about obtaining those resources. You might have a better chance of directly accessing them through a college or university library. Ask a staff member if you need further assistance.

Algorithms – helpful tool? Or enemy of exploration? (2016, 23 August). q. CBC Radio. Panel with Tom Vanderbilt and Ben Ratliff. Host: Piya Chattopadhyay.

Bats and Valkyries. (n.d.). Originally published as K. Krizanovich, “Rock ‘n’ Roll’s Richard Wagner,” CD Review Magazine, Nov. 1989. (Direct access)

Bebergal, P. (2014, 16 October). Prog rock: The sound of history’s future. BoingBoing. (Direct access)

Busheikin, D. (2011, 24 November). Metal Evolution: Acclaimed filmmakers Sam Dunn and Scott McFadyen discuss their new television series, and why it isn’t just for metalheads. CHART Attack. (Direct access)

Cohen, B.D. (2012, 21 February). How I came back to Gustav Mahler. Huffington Post. (Direct access)

COPPOLA, WAGNER AND THE DOORS. ARTISTdirect Music [Video file]. (Direct access)

Cunningham, S., Grout, V., & Bergen, H. (2007). Mozart to Metallica: A comparison of musical sequences and similarities. Glyndŵr University.

Derbyshire, D. (2008, 5 September). Take note: Fans of heavy metal and classical music have a lot in common, study finds. The Daily Mail. (Direct access)

Didcock, B. (2005, 27 March). The man who fell to Earth – Karlheinz Stockhausen, madman or genius? The Glasgow Sunday Herald. (Direct access)

Everett-Green, R. (2013, 28 January). The Steve Reich and Radiohead connection: How this musical dream team came to be. The Globe and Mail.

Farber, J. (2014, 21 February). Classical music explodes, both in sales and in expanding boundaries. New York Daily News. (Direct access)

Fink, R. (2005). The story of ORCH5, or, the classical ghost in the hip-hop machine. Popular Music, 24(3), 339-356. (Subscription)

Gelbart, M. (2007). The invention of ‘folk music’ and ‘art music;: Emerging categories from Ossian to Wagner. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Giovetti, O. (2012, 1 March). Winterstürme Wichen dem Wonnemond. The Daily Klang. (Direct access)

Hakanen, E.A.;  Wells, A. (1990). Adolescent music marginals: Who likes metal, jazz, country, and classical. Popular Music and Society, 14(4), 57-66. (Subscription)

Headlam, D. (2000). Re-drawing boundaries: The Kronos quartet. Contemporary Music Review, 19(1), 113-140.  (Subscription)

Holm-Hudson, K. (2002). Introduction. In K. Holm-Hudson (Ed.), Progressive rock reconsidered (1-18). New York: Routledge.

Hong, E. (2011). Cross-genre music recommendation project – Evan Hong – Ithaca College. (Direct access)

Huizenga, T. (2012, 16 February). Why do people hate rap and opera? Deceptive Cadence, from NPR Classical. (Direct access)

Jewell, Bobby. (2016, 11 February). Different Heroes. Corymbus. (Direct access)

Kozinn, A. (2004, 6 February). Critic’s notebook: They came, they sang, they conquered. New York Times. (Direct access)

Kozinn, A. (1997). The touring composer as keyboardist (1980). In R. Kostelantz (Ed.) & R. Flemming (Asst. Ed.), Writings on Glass: Essays, interviews, criticism (pp. 102-108). New York: Schirmer Books.

Leseman, L. (2007, 17 October). David Bowie, Buddha of Suburbia. Houston Free Press. (Direct access)

Long, M. (2008). Beautiful monsters: Imagining the classic in musical media. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Macan, E. (2006). Endless enigma: A musical biography of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Chicago: Open Court.

Matos, Michaelangelo. (2011, 25 August). Genre busting: The origin of music categories. The Guardian. (Direct access)

Mitic, Ginanne Brownell. (2016, 23 August). Bringing Classical Music to the Club Scene. New York Times. (Direct access or subscription)

Opera Chic (2012, 1 April). Breakdancing and Bach. Opera Chic. (Direct access)

Rohrer, F. (2006, 28 April). The Devil’s music. BBC News Magazine. (Direct access)

Roos, P., & Manaris, B. (2007). A music information retrieval approach based on power laws. In Proceedings of the Nineteenth IEEE International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence (pp. 27-31). Piscataway, NJ: IEEE. (Direct access)

Ross, A. (2011, 12 July). Bruckner rock. The Rest Is Noise. (Direct access)

Ross, A. (2007, 10 October). The Rest Is Noise: The Outtakes. MusicBox. (Direct Access)

Schleifer, R. (2011). Modernism and popular music. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Scott, D. (2003). The impact of African-American music making on the European classical tradition in the 1920s. From the erotic to the demonic: On critical musicology (pp. 179-202). New York: Oxford University Press.

Sennett, S. (2002, 13 May). Classic Bowie. Sydney Morning Herald. (Direct access)

Shingleton, B. (2007, 5 November). Stravinsky mashed up with hip-hop. On an Overgrown Path. (Direct access)

Strini, T. (2013, 20 March). Milwaukee Opera Theatre: Guns N’ Rosenkavalier. Urban Milwaukee Dial. (Direct access)

Taylor, J.C. (2012, 13 February). New York City Opera ‘La Traviata’ eerily invokes Whitney Houston. L.A. Times. (Direct access)

Tsioulcas, A. (2007, 15 September). Luciano Pavarotti: 1935-2007. Billboard, 9.

Turtle Island Quartet re-imagine Jimi Hendrix, with strings. (2010, 28 August). (Direct access)

Van der Merwe, P. (2004). Roots of the classical: The popular origins of western music. New York: Oxford University Press.

Wagner, N. (2008). The Beatles’ psycheclassical synthesis: Psychedelic classicism and classical psychedelia in Sgt. Pepper. In O. Julian (Ed.), Sgt. Pepper and the Beatles: It was forty years ago today (pp. 75-90). Burlington, VT: Ashgate.

Walser, R. (1997). Eruptions: Heavy metal appropriations of classical virtuosity. In K. Gelder & S. Thornton (Eds.), The subcultures reader (pp. 459-472). New York: Routledge.

• Earlier version: Walser, R. (1992) Eruptions: Heavy metal appropriations of classical virtuosity. Popular Music, 11(3), 263-308. (Subscription)

Which classical composer could write the most brutal death metal song? (2013, 20 August) Reddit (Direct access).