Music and Technology in the Twentieth Century (review)

This much-needed collection of critical essays addresses sound art from many new and interesting perspectives. While some of the authors have taken on certain issues, such as Hans Joachim Braun's "Movin' On: Trains and Planes as a Theme in Music," others such as Andre Milliard have delved deep into the meaning of recorded audio as a phenomenon. From reading this book, one gets the impression that sound art is rediscovered periodically but never really seems to find its place. This is due to the fact that it always gets diluted by the pure abstraction of art or the concrete nature of written music. In between, there are numerous sub-genres, and each has its passionate adherents. From the earliest days of the Theremin to contemporary DJ mix-and-scratch compilations, there are plenty of examples of music that is not quite music. And in the same vein, there are many artists who do sound art as a side practice, or are influenced by nonmusic. Braun's essay "Movin' On" reveals the connection between the industrial age and the art produced during that time. Many composers, Braun asserts, were affected by the intensity of these big, loud machines that roared through towns. He singles out Duke Ellington's "Daybreak Express" as "perhaps the greatest piece of train-inspired music." He mentions the birth of both swing and jazz and the love of rhythm and wild time signatures as being all connected.

My favorite essay is Andre Milliard's "Tape Recording and Music Making." Here Milliard surprises us with an account of how Chuck Berry was quick to purchase a tape recorder, apparently upgrading from his clunky old wire recorder. Milliard also mentions how Buddy Holly's voice was subtly enhanced by his usage of tape effects in the recording studio—in particular on Holly's "Words of Love" from 1957, which gives the impression of several voices in harmony. What I like about this collection is that there is even enough room for over-the-top academia. I am speaking of Rebecca McSwain's aptly titled "The Social Reconstruction of a Reverse Salient in Electric Guitar Technology: Noise, the Solid Body, and Jimi Hendrix." Her essay in four sections seeks to pick apart the history of the guitar in the context of its existence as a tool for social expression.

While I am glad that such an important social issue is being addressed, her essay shows just how hard it can be to approach music (or film for that matter) as a critic or historian. After all, music, especially that made with guitar, is inherently one thing: entertainment. Because of this, the essay often comes off as if this were her first encounter with the guitar as an object. Interestingly, this is both painfully academic and yet breathlessly devotional, an interesting marriage of sentiments. Braun did a nice job of bringing together these 17 very strong and personal voices, which in the end make for good, thought-provoking reading.