Four Parts, No Waiting investigates the role that vernacular, barbershop-style close harmony has played in American musical history, in American life, and in the American imagination. Starting with a discussion of the first craze for Austrian four-part close harmony in the 1830s, Averill traces the popularity of this musical form in minstrel shows, black recreational singing, vaudeville, early recordings, and in the barbershop revival of the 1930s. In his exploration of barbershop, Averill uncovers a rich musical tradition--a hybrid of black and white cultural forms, practiced by...

The history of Haiti throughout the twentieth century has been marked by oppression at the hands of colonial and dictatorial overlords. But set against this "day for the hunter" has been a "day for the prey," a history of resistance, and sometimes of triumph. With keen cultural and historical awareness, Gage Averill shows that Haiti's vibrant and expressive music has been one of the most highly charged instruments in this struggle one in which power, politics, and resistance are inextricably fused.
Averill explores such diverse genres as Haitian jazz, troubadour traditions, Vodou-jazz,...

With its irresistible dance beat, strong bass line, and straightforward harmonies and lyrics, "zouk" has become wildly popular in the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe. This book complete with a compact disc and numerous illustrations and musical examples provides a thorough introduction to the sound, lyrics, choreography, and social milieu of this vibrant and infectious new music.
"This invigorating reference work and companion CD of the Antilles' sexy "zouk" dance sound will lift readers out of their easy chairs "and" their complacency about the nonreggae aspects of Caribbean pop. . . . ...

To what extent do moviemakers, television and radio producers, advertising executives, and marketers merely reflect trends, beliefs, and desires that already exist in our culture, and to what extent do they consciously shape our culture to their own ends? In-depth interviews with ten executives from the "culture industry" and five scholarly analyses examine that question, and address the issues of power and authority, meaning and identity, that arise when cultural producers define and react to audiences.

In their own words, leaders from companies like Twentieth-Century Fox, National...

Four Parts, No Waiting investigates the role that vernacular, barbershop-style close harmony has played in American musical history, in American life, and in the American imagination. Starting with a discussion of the first craze for Austrian four-part close harmony in the 1830s, Averill traces the popularity of this musical form in minstrel shows, black recreational singing, vaudeville, early recordings, and in the barbershop revival of the 1930s. In his exploration of barbershop, Averill uncovers a rich musical tradition--a hybrid of black and white cultural forms, practiced by...