Noise: The Political Economy of Music: Amazon.ca: Jacques Attali: Books

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6 Reviews

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3.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A must read.., Dec 21 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Noise: The Political Economy of Music (Paperback)

... because it is so outrageous to be brilliantly thought provoking. Sometimes I think he is out to lunch and I am not confident that he understands everything he wrote. (or maybe the translation is not right.) Still, the mythology he presents is detailed and well developed and whether you agree with it or not, is fascinating.

There is a lot of coverage of European classical music in terms of "Who is paying whom" as well as the current recording industry. He also gets some things wrong, such as his coverage of Free Jazz (Carly Bley is black?), to which he nevertheless is sympathetic towards.

Therefore, I don't know how much you can trust his conclusions, but at the same time it gets the reader's mind to consider all sorts of new facets, and that is why this book is great.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Music as commidity and predictor of social change., Jun 15 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Noise: The Political Economy of Music (Paperback)

This is an essential work for anyone interested in the sociology of music. The author follows 2 significant threads of thought in this work; the commidification of music, and music as indicator (predictor) of social change. Using sophisiticated but well written theories and examples Attali demonstrates how music acts as
the subconsciousness of society, validating and testing new social and political realities.

Among the powerful analogies he draws is that of how modern people stockpile musical recordings, in some instances more than can possibly ever listen too, much in the same way nations stockpile weapons. In describing the
evolution of the orchestra he compares the conductor to the king conducting his flanks
of violins and horns with the same dictorial
presence of command as one would dispatch foot
soldiers and calvaries.

Attali clearly has a passion for music drawing
examples from Bach to improvisational jazz. In the end this is an optimistic book, illuminating indications of both social and musical evolution
during the 20th century.

D.L. Jonsson <Reviewer>

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5.0 out of 5 stars Simply brilliant, April 14 1998

By

radoslaw@gte.net (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Noise: The Political Economy of Music (Paperback)

This is simply one of the very best books I've ever read in my life. If you're interested in music, or maybe about, don't laugh, the meaning of life in general, this text is a total eye-opener. I just don't look at things the same way as I did before I read it. Very provocative and sophisticated, but very clearly written, needs 100% concentration on the subject and an open mind. Basically renders most of the traditional musicology and approach to music useless. Asks more questions than it answers, but hey, you'll gain new persepective. Rad

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A must read..
... because it is so outrageous to be brilliantly thought provoking. Sometimes I think he is out to lunch and I am not confident that he understands everything he wrote. Read more

Published on Dec 21 2000

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Literary {wind}
Sometimes lazy people like to use phrases like "literary{wind} " to justify their inability to understand difficult topics, or to cover for their own, lacking,... Read more

Published on Nov 22 2000 by Joseph L. Keohane