
33 Revolutions Per Minute (Paperback)
Dorian Lynskey (author)Published: 01/11/2012

From Billie Holiday to Steve Earle, the history of the protest song is a singularly gripping one, bound up with social change and political insurgency. Lynskey’s examination deftly highlights different causes and the artists’ complex relationship with them, revealing as much naked opportunism as genuine outrage.
33 Revolutions Per Minute tracks the turbulent relationship between popular music and politics, through 33 pivotal songs that span seven decades and four continents, from Billie Holiday singing 'Strange Fruit' to Green Day raging against the Iraq war.
Dorian Lynskey explores the individuals, ideas and events behind each song, showing how protest music has soundtracked and informed social change since the 1930s. Through the work of such artists as Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Fela Kuti, The Clash, Public Enemy and Gil Scott Heron, Lynskey examines how music has engaged with racial unrest, nuclear paranoia, apartheid, war, poverty and oppression, offering hope, stirring anger, inciting action and producing songs which continue to resonate years down the line.
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 9780571241354
Number of pages: 864
Weight: 660 g
Dimensions: 200 x 130 x 50 mm
Edition: Main
MEDIA REVIEWS
'Lynskey has a strong command of the music and its makers.' - The Wall Street Journal
'Longtime music critic, Lynskey presents up-close details to ballast the book's larger historical sweep.' - The Los Angeles Times
'...lovely writing...Let's praise the agile, many-tentacled writer Mr. Lynskey can often be, because I loved bits of this book; you can pluck out the many tasty things like seeds from a pomegranate.' - The New York Times
'This book is impressive in scope.' - The New Yorker
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