Overview

Discourse on popular music frequently describes artists’ recordings and performances as “intimate.” Yet that discourse often stops short of elucidating how a mass-produced commodity such as popular music is able to elicit feelings of intimacy with and among its audience. Through detailed analysis of popular music’s composition, performance, production, and promotion, Musical Intimacy examines how intimacy is constructed and perceived in popular music via its affective and technological affordances. From the recording studio to the concert stage, from collective experience to individual listening and perception, this book presents a working understanding of musical intimacy.

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9781501372254

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Reviews

‘Intimacy’ is one of those terms in popular music scholarship that is used in a dizzying number of contexts, and sometimes deployed in ways that seem downright head-scratching (can a stadium tour really be “intimate?”). Yet the importance of the intimate quality of various musical phenomenon, from studio recordings to live concerts to streaming video, cannot be denied. In Musical Intimacy, Stiegler and Campbell shine much-needed light on this ubiquitous but elusive concept, showing how perceptions of intimacy structure many of our most visceral sonic experiences. * Nathaniel Sloan, Assistant Professor of Musicology, University of Southern California, USA, and host of the podcast Switched on Pop * Many of us love popular music because of the intimate relationships conjured in listeners by artists and recordings. But musical intimacy usually falls into the definitional category of ‘we know it when we experience it.’ Not anymore! In this definitive volume, Stiegler and Campbell clearly elucidate how musical intimacy is defined, constructed in the spaces of popular music, and importantly, in the minds and emotions of listeners. This book should be on the shelf of every popular music scholar. * Norma Coates, Associate Professor, Don Wright Faculty of Music and the Faculty of Information and Media Studies, Western University, Canada * Stiegler and Campbell’s book provides a nuanced, panoramic study of media and culture that pays close attention to production processes, sites of reception, and cultural texts that audiences consume—all through the frame of what they refer to as ‘musical intimacy.’ By analyzing and unpacking several nodes within the circuit of production, this book serves as a valuable resource for students and scholars of communication, media, cultural studies, popular music, and other related subfields. Engaging and rigorous, Musical Intimacy offers insights and analytical tools for a wide range of readers. * Kembrew McLeod, Professor and Chair, Department of Communication Studies, University of Iowa, USA *

‘Intimacy’ is one of those terms in popular music scholarship that is used in a dizzying number of contexts, and sometimes deployed in ways that seem downright head-scratching (can a stadium tour really be “intimate?”). Yet the importance of the intimate quality of various musical phenomenon, from studio recordings to live concerts to streaming video, cannot be denied. In Musical Intimacy, Stiegler and Campbell shine much-needed light on this ubiquitous but elusive concept, showing how perceptions of intimacy structure our many of our most visceral sonic experiences. * Nathaniel Sloan, Assistant Professor of Musicology, University of Southern California, USA, and host of the podcast Switched on Pop * Many of us love popular music because of the intimate relationships conjured in listeners by artists and recordings. But musical intimacy usually falls into the definitional category of ‘we know it when we experience it.’ Not anymore! In this definitive volume, Stiegler and Campbell clearly elucidate how musical intimacy is defined, constructed in the spaces of popular music, and importantly, in the minds and emotions of listeners. This book should be on the shelf of every popular music scholar. * Norma Coates, Associate Professor, Don Wright Faculty of Music and the Faculty of Information and Media Studies, Western University, Canada *

Author Information

Zack Stiegler is Professor of Communications Media at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA, where he teaches courses in communication law, media theory, popular culture, and radio production. Todd Campbell is Assistant Professor of Music and Audio Production at Frederick Community College, USA, where he teaches courses in audio production, studio recording, and MIDI. He is also a performer, producer, and recording engineer whose tenth full-length solo project was released in the fall of 2022.

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