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101 books match the query 'Rock' and 2 start with e

cover of Easy: A Hard Look at Soft Rock

Easy

A Hard Look at Soft Rock

Timothy Gray

University of Iowa Press, 2026

“‘Soft Rock,’ they call it; low-key stuff with wide appeal.” So stated a 1971 Chicago Tribune article on the Carpenters. Over time, Soft Rock became the butt of jokes, yet during its heyday, it fit America’s changing mood, blending rebellion with conservatism. Easy explains how Soft Rock and associated genres emerged in the late 1960s and achieved broad recognition in the 1970s. Tracking hundreds of songs, Timothy Gray supplies Billboard’s chart rankings to show how soft music easily crossed over from one fan base to another. Featuring acts as familiar as Fleetwood Mac and Carly Simon, and as underappreciated as the Three Degrees and J. D. Souther, Easy provides an entertaining aircheck of American culture during a transformational era.
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cover of Ecomusicology: Rock, Folk, and the Environment

Ecomusicology

Rock, Folk, and the Environment

Mark Pedelty

Temple University Press, 2012

Can musicians really make the world more sustainable? Anthropologist Mark Pedelty, joined an eco-oriented band, the Hypoxic Punks, to find out. In his timely and exciting book, Ecomusicology, Pedelty explores the political ecology of rock, from local bands to global superstars. He examines the climate change controversies of U2's 360 Degrees stadium tour—deemed excessive by some—and the struggles of local folk singers who perform songs about the environment. In the process, he raises serious questions about the environmental effects and meanings on music.

Ecomusicology examines the global, national, regional, and historical contexts in which environmental pop is performed. Pedelty reveals the ecological potentials and pitfalls of contemporary popular music, in part through ethnographic fieldwork among performers, audiences, and activists. Ultimately, he explains how popular music dramatically reflects both the contradictions and dreams of communities searching for sustainability.

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