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Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco |
Author: Peter Shapiro
Published: 2006-10-03 |
List price: $17.00
Our price: $11.56
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As of: December 01st, 2008 12:02:48 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Preachy, Agonizing.
This could have been such a great book... the sermonizing is braided into the text in such a way that you can't skip the preachy segments. Wall-to-wall sub-collegiate sociology clichés.
 definately the HISTORY of disco
THIS WAS SOME HARD READING. I LOVE THE DISCO ERA. THIS BOOK HAS VERY SPECIFIC INFORMATION WITH VERY DETAILED ACCOUNTS OF HAPPENINGS THAT LED UP TO THE DISCO ERA. I FELT LIKE I WAS READING A HISTORY BOOK BACK IN SCHOOL INSTEAD OF AN INTERESTING FUN FILLED ACCOUNT OF WHO WAS DOING WHAT. IF YOU WANT STRAIGHT UP FACTS THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU...IF YOU ARE MORE INTO JUICY STORIES OF WHO WAS DOING WHAT AND TO WHOM LIKE AT STUDIO 54 DONT WASTE YOU TIME.
 More, More, More...
TURN THE BEAT AROUND:THE SECRET HISTORY OF DISCO is a well researched and brilliantly written book by Peter Shapiro that provides an eye-opening look at the underbelly of the disco phenomenon.
Focusing on the clubs, djs, and producers that shaped the "disco sound," Shapiro follows the music of the late '60s from the New York City boroughs to the underground gay clubs in Manhattan to the evolution of music that finally swept across America in the '70s.
With biting humour, Shapiro provides in-depth critical analysis of the night life culture that created the disco craze and provides ample research to back it up. Not only does the author go into analyzing songs, djs, and nightclubs, he also explains what was going on in daily life that caused people to search for "something" outside of themselves.
I found the book exciting and informative. However, if you are looking for a book that focuses specifically on the disco superstars of the day (i.e. Donna Summer, The Bee Gees etc.), this might not be the book for you. Although they are mentioned, TURN THE BEAT AROUND... concentrates on the djs/producers and nightclubs that created disco and not the commercialization of it.
Concise history of disco
I teach a history of popular music class at the college level and am always looking for extra source material to augment my own notes. Thanks to Shapiro's book, I learned more about disco in the first chapter than I have since I started teaching the class. His research is thorough, including specific names of pioneering individuals, groups, and songs, along with vivid descriptions of related places and events. I appreciate the documentation, which includes at the back of the book, insightful end notes, a bibliography of interesting sources, as well as what every history teacher loves - a time line! I will admit, with so many names I actually took notes so I could keep up with all the personalities. I'm glad I did; I also purchased the DVD Disco: Spinning the Story [[ASIN: B0007X1NVU]] and my list helped me recognize and realize the significance of the interviewees. I wish this book had a soundtrack, but since it doesn't, the DVD is the next best thing.
The story of a music genre born from the social and economic turmoil of the 1970's
Turn The Beat Around: The Secret History Of Disco is the story of a music genre born from the social and economic turmoil of the 1970's. Blending elements of post-civil rights African-American culture, the newly out-and-proud gay movement, and the syncopation of the recently developed synthesizer, disco became a craze that flared brilliantly in its time, then fell by the wayside to fond memories and derisive scorn as its pop-culture peers of punk and hip-hop rose in its place. Chapters of Turn The Beat Around explores New York, where disco originated; disco's links to sexuality, its feverish era of popularity, its movement underground, and its legacy today. Turn The Beat Around is a thoroughly researched, plain-terms, no-holds barred scrutiny, recommended for ordinary disco fans and music students alike.
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