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Synopsis
This book provides a fascinating evaluation of post-World War II American commercial music and its complex, multifaceted impact on the world of politics.
Publishers Weekly
Waldman (Best Guide to American Politics) intends to provide "a look at the sometimes contentious, often opportunistic and constantly intertwined history of rock and politics from the release of `Rock Around the Clock' in 1954 through the 2000 presidential campaign." However, the project as he conceives it is too large. While his left-liberal intentions seem sincere and Waldman presents a lot of details, his summary and analysis of rock history is superficial. The writing style combines generalizations that are straight out of a generic history textbook ("John Lennon is the political iconoclast of late 1960s rock") with a few intriguing observations that he never really develops ("American Bandstand is the first and the best-known counterexample to the notion that only cool people-by their own definition-are in command of rock and roll"). Unfortunately, Waldman never really discusses much actual rock in detail, other than as it may reflect obvious historic events such as the Vietnam War or the election of Ronald Reagan. Perhaps this is because, by his own admission, it took until "the middle of 1967" for him to "admit that the Beatles were the better group on record" than the Monkees. (Nov.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.