Critical Essays in Popular Musicology is an essential reference work which reproduces in facsimile form many of the most important and innovative journal articles and papers in the field, along with an introductory overview by the editor Allan Moore. The volume is designed to improve access to the most significant, concise English-language writing, which articulates and demonstrates some of the key constituents of a popular musicology. It avoids those pieces which have been published in other collections. The essays are divided into two parts - those that articulate the key questions of...

The musicological study of popular music has developed, particularly over the past twenty years, into an established aspect of the discipline. The academic community is now well placed to discuss exactly what is going on in any example of popular music and the theoretical foundation for such analytical work has also been laid, although there is as yet no general agreement over all the details of popular music theory. However, this focus on the what of musical detail has left largely untouched the larger question a so what? What are the consequences of such theorization and analysis? Scholars...