Percussion is an attempt—in the author's words—to make sense of "senseless beating," to grasp how rhythm makes sense in music and society. Both a scholar and a former professional drummer, John Mowitt forges a striking encounter between cultural studies and new musicology that seeks to lay out the "percussive field" through which beating—specifically the backbeat that defines early rock-and-roll—comes to matter for raced, urban subjects.

Paperback: 280 pages
Publisher: Duke University Press (June 2002)
Language: English
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches

$22.95