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From celebrated music journalist Simon Reynolds, a collection of thought-provoking essays that explore how ideas of the future are articulated in modern music
In music journalist Simon Reynolds' previous book, Retromania, Reynolds explored what he dubbed "a culture-wide malaise with a particularly anguished focus on the music scene's preoccupation with recycling and reenacting its own recent past." In contrast, this book--and the phenomenon known as "Futuromania"--explores retromania's positive inverse: "not a malaise, but perhaps a dangerously excessive vigour, a morbidly agitated state of excitation about anything and everything in the present that could be plausibly described as 'tomorrow's sound today.'"
Through a series of thought-provoking essays, Reynolds reflects on influential and innovative music that "prefigured" the Future, exploring the then-futuristic electronic and digital sounds that provided a glimpse of what would one day become mainstream pop music. From Donna Summer and David Bowie to Daft Punk, from Afrobeats and Atlanta trap to Autotune and Ambient Noise, FUTUROMANIA invites us to reflect on how boundary-pushing music of the past became the popularized beat of the present, and how today's experimentation might hint at the sounds of the future.
Engagingly written, thoughtfully organized, and utterly compelling, FUTUROMANIA is required reading for anyone who dares to think about tomorrow's soundscape. Simon Reynolds started his journalistic career in 1986 as a staff writer for the British weekly music paper Melody Maker, and has since then written for dozens of national and local publications, including (but not limited to) the New York Times, Spin, Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Artforum, The Wire, Pitchfork, The Guardian, Slate, Frieze, and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of four books and five collections of essays and interviews. His books have been translated into ten languages. Born in London, he now lives in Los Angeles with his wife and children.
In music journalist Simon Reynolds' previous book, Retromania, Reynolds explored what he dubbed "a culture-wide malaise with a particularly anguished focus on the music scene's preoccupation with recycling and reenacting its own recent past." In contrast, this book--and the phenomenon known as "Futuromania"--explores retromania's positive inverse: "not a malaise, but perhaps a dangerously excessive vigour, a morbidly agitated state of excitation about anything and everything in the present that could be plausibly described as 'tomorrow's sound today.'"
Through a series of thought-provoking essays, Reynolds reflects on influential and innovative music that "prefigured" the Future, exploring the then-futuristic electronic and digital sounds that provided a glimpse of what would one day become mainstream pop music. From Donna Summer and David Bowie to Daft Punk, from Afrobeats and Atlanta trap to Autotune and Ambient Noise, FUTUROMANIA invites us to reflect on how boundary-pushing music of the past became the popularized beat of the present, and how today's experimentation might hint at the sounds of the future.
Engagingly written, thoughtfully organized, and utterly compelling, FUTUROMANIA is required reading for anyone who dares to think about tomorrow's soundscape. Simon Reynolds started his journalistic career in 1986 as a staff writer for the British weekly music paper Melody Maker, and has since then written for dozens of national and local publications, including (but not limited to) the New York Times, Spin, Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Artforum, The Wire, Pitchfork, The Guardian, Slate, Frieze, and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of four books and five collections of essays and interviews. His books have been translated into ten languages. Born in London, he now lives in Los Angeles with his wife and children.