Reviews for Pop Music: Technology and Creativity - Trevor Horn and the Digital Revolution (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series)

1. It Ain�t What You Do, It�s the Way That You Do It

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, July 12th, 2004

   The first paragraph of this excellent book says it all :

   "This book is intended for all those - students and teachers, specialists and non-specialists alike - who wish to approach pop music as an artistic, and not primarily as a social, cultural or historical phenomenon. Its main argument is that musical creativity in pop music is inextricably bound to developments in audio technology and the working practices which ensue. Because of the strength of this relationship, pop music differs in a number of important and significant ways from other kinds of popular music. This aspect is exemplified in this study through analysis of several recordings by Trevor Horn, who is widely acknowledged as the most important, innovative and successful British pop record producer of the early 1980s."

   Clearly the book is not about Trevor Horn: the book discusses the close relationships between technology and creativity in the case of pop music and uses some of Mr. Horn's work to exemplify those ideas. Trivia buffs with a yen to know whether he works with a Chipmunk 451 or a Pinky and Perky 452 will undoubtedly prefer books in the style of Howard Massey's where such gratuitous urges are amply satisfied. For those of a more enquiring mind who prefer to ask 'why' rather than 'what'; who prefer a book couched in unusually accessible academic prose rather than a list of supernumerary studio equipment; to those who are party to the secret that "It Ain't What You Do, It's the Way That You Do It"; then this book is for you. That said, there is actually plenty of information on the equipment Mr. Horn uses and, more importantly, to what creative purpose.

   For the serious student and for the teacher of popular music, the book is replete with a wealth of original insight and incisive analysis that ranges from visual to musicological to technical (the latter including, for the uninitiated, useful definitions of terminology such as compression). Worth mentioning are the points made on sampling. Prima facie, sampling may seem to be the final nail in the coffin of human musicality; a dry digital technique capable of replicating ad infinitum and with machine-tooled precision the utmost nuance of the human musical experience. To Warner though, samples and samplers offer "ways of countering the sonic impact of purely machine-driven and machine-generated music" and "their imperfections provide their aesthetic significance".

   The book's author is quite right when he pinpoints that textual analysis of popular/pop music has suffered as a result of the dominance of cultural studies and is forthright in making the case that pop music is a worthy subject for textual academic study. Furthermore, the central thesis that technology is inextricably bound to creativity in pop music marks an important new departure in the academic study of popular music. Certainly, there have been writings on the use of or development of technology in the recording industry (Chanan for example), but these tend to be historical. There have been textual analyses of pop music (Tagg etc.), but these have ignored or bypassed the influence of technology. It would not be stretching a point too far to say that Timothy Warner's book is the first major work to provide the spark in the gap missing in previous endeavours. For that fact alone the book is to be both commended and recommended.

   Finally, a cat among the pigeons quote from Trevor Horn in response to the question that forms the crux of the book Is pop music a fundamentally technological art form?: "Yeah. That's a fascinating question. In a lot of respects, even though the classical - you know the straight music people - might fancy themselves, we've got them fucking licked...".

   Good reading!

2. Definitely a �must�.

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, July 12th, 2004

   Pop Music, Technology and Creativity is the most original and wide-ranging book on pop music I have ever read. While focusing on the use of technology, which Warner considers to be one of the distinctive traits of pop music, this book is obviously not intended for the « techies ». Warner is careful to avoid all unnecessary jargon, and technology is always discussed in terms of its creative potential - never in a vacuum.

   One of the many strengths of this extremely well informed book is that pop music is seen as a complex and multifaceted artefact produced by people who are both commercially aware and aesthetically motivated. Trevor Horn is a particularly good example of this, as confirmed by the long interview with him that concludes the book.
   
   But this is not a book about Trevor Horn; it is about pop music and British pop music in particular. The seven recordings carefully analysed by Warner serve to highlight one or more interesting aspects of pop such as: the way in which the complexity of the production techniques can be reflected in the lyrics ('Video Killed the Radio Star'); scratching and sampling, and all their implications (McLaren's 'Buffalo Gals'); the interaction between performer and producer ('Owner of a Lonely Heart'); the use of repetition and the importance of remixes ('Relax'); the manipulation of timbre and space (Who's afraid of the Art of Noise) ; the merits of the sequencer (Propaganda) ; the use of the Fairlight (Slave to the Rhythm), etc.

   Far from being a narrow, self-contained, unit, each of the analytical chapters echoes and/or develops points touched upon previously. Furthermore Warner is always happy to elaborate on the wider musical implications of the points he makes and never ignores the visual or cultural aspects of the final product.

   The result is a rich, subtle and multifaceted book which may irritate and frustrate readers with narrow expectations, but which I found well written, informative, full of surprises and highly stimulating. Definitely a 'must'.

3. Poor old Trevor deserves much better than this awful book

   Rated 2 out of 5 stars, November 12nd, 2003

   This book is very irritating to read. It has no academic merit and is relatively expensive for what it is. That said – the subject is worthy and any information concerning Mr Horn’s work will sell.

   The book attempts the difficult task of dissecting a critical age in the development of modern recording techniques. Unfortunately for the reader, this is done using methods which are either inappropriate or incomplete. Worse than that, mostly the analysis brings nothing new, either of note, or interest.

   Thus, the awesome and stunning soundscapes that characterize the brilliance of Trevor Horn’s productions are reduced to banal statements of technical observation.

   Additionally, the technical language is devoid of meaning for most audio engineers. In 172 pages, the word ‘compression’ is not mentioned once. How can anyone write a book with this title and never mention compression?

   The author seems more interested in commenting upon the social frameworks and imagery, rather than the techniques and methods and this is therefore hugely disappointing and a major lost opportunity.

   Despite this book - M. Horn’s work will stand the test of time because of its elegant detailed arrangements and stunning technical qualities - not as this author seems to be suggesting – for its social comment or artistic pretensions.

   The author wastes valuable space pondering the artwork of album covers for example, rather than cutting to the meat of the matter and discussing whether Trevor prefers an Alan Smart SSL bus compressor or an 1176 – sadly we never get to find out.

   Instead, we get an in depth discussion of what the Art of Noise, Frankie goes to Hollywood and ZTT represented in terms of fashion and high art. The technical discussion of the music is dealt with in dry statements. These include how much sampling there is – and analysis of how repetitive certain songs are.

   If I had wanted to read about the fashion impact of Grace Jones – there would be lots of historically more accurate material available in the music press of the day.

   I also found the book incomplete: Bruce Woolly and the Camera Club and the excellent and talented Thomas Dolby hardly get a mention at all. Similarly, there is little discussion of the great British Recording Studios that provided the working spaces (or of SARM East and SARM West, or of Jill Sinclair’s influence and role) although to be fair there is a brief discussion of the importance of the Fairlight and Synclavier samplers.

   The interview with Trevor Horn in Appendix One at the end of the book is great – what a pity we had to read through 142 dreary pages to get there.

   Its hard not to conclude that Trevor Horn should have let Howard Massey write a book about him instead. Howard Massey’s excellent book 'Through the Glass' is everything this book should have been and could have been, but wasn’t.

   Do buy this book – but be aware that what’s inside is as smudgy and indistinct as the orange and brown cover artwork. If such artwork had appeared on an album of Trevor Horn’s, I get the impression that the author would have made a very great deal of it indeed (it would read something like this: 'The indistinct browns are a metaphore for change, both in colour and form: thus mirroring Trevor Horn's love of ambiguity').

   The book is littered with rubbishy statements of a similar kind of nature and as a result, is constantly making the reader grind their teeth with irritation at these meaningless conclusions.

   The book has a worthy and difficult subject – but I would suggest the wrong author and the wrong approach. This book is more of a social and cultural appraisal than a technological appraisal. As a technological appraisal, it fails miserably.

   Change the title and it becomes more acceptable, but Ive already decided - I’ll not be keeping my copy. I suggest many potential readers are waiting for a full description of Mr Horn's working techniques - but not this.