Decomposed

The Political Ecology of Music

Kyle Devine (Associate Professor of Popular Music, University of Oslo)

$59.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Massachusetts Inst of Tec
15 October 2019

Music; Advertising & society

Series: The MIT Press

The hidden material histories of music.

Music is seen as the most immaterial of the arts, and recorded music as a progress of dematerialization-an evolution from physical discs to invisible digits. In Decomposed, Kyle Devine offers another perspective. He shows that recorded music has always been a significant exploiter of both natural and human resources, and that its reliance on these resources is more problematic today than ever before. Devine uncovers the hidden history of recorded music-what recordings are made of and what happens to them when they are disposed of.

Devine's story focuses on three forms of materiality. Before 1950, 78rpm records were made of shellac, a bug-based resin. Between 1950 and 2000, formats such as LPs, cassettes, and CDs were all made of petroleum-based plastic. Today, recordings exist as data-based audio files. Devine describes the people who harvest and process these materials, from women and children in the Global South to scientists and industrialists in the Global North. He reminds us that vinyl records are oil products, and that the so-called vinyl revival is part of petrocapitalism. The supposed immateriality of music as data is belied by the energy required to power the internet and the devices required to access musiconline. We tend to think of the recordings we buy as finished products. Devine offers an essential backstory. He reveals how arange ofapparently peripheral people and processes are actually central to what music is, how it works, and why it matters.

By: Kyle Devine (Associate Professor of Popular Music University of Oslo)
Imprint: Massachusetts Inst of Tec
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 203mm, Width: 137mm, Spine: 21mm
ISBN: 9780262537780
ISBN 10: 0262537788
Series: The MIT Press
Pages: 328
Publication Date: 15 October 2019
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Kyle Devine is Head of Research and Associate Professor in the Department of Musicology at the University of Oslo.