'An incredibly wide-ranging critical account of popular music. The book is an essential resource for all staff and students in the field' - John Storey, Centre for Research in Media and Cultural Studies, University of Sunderland

Organized in accessible sections and covering the main themes of research and teaching it examines:

. The key approaches to understanding popular music

. The main settings of exchange and consumption

. The role of technology in the production of popular music

. The main genres of popular music

. The key debates of the present day

Barbazon writes with verve and penetration. Her approach starts with how most people actually consume music today and transfers this onto the plain of study.

The book enables teachers and students to shuffle from one topic to the other whilst providing an unparalleled access the core concepts and issues. As such, it is the perfect study guide for undergraduates located in this exciting and expanding field.

Tara Brabazon is Professor of Communication at University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT).

Introduction: Walking on the Dance Floor
Approaches
Listening to Music
Visualizing Music
Dancing to Music
Thinking about Music
Writing about Music
Music Spaces
Sonic Architecture/Soundscape
City Music and Urban Spaces
Recording Spaces
Clubs and Pubs
Soundtracks and Filmic Spaces
Music Video and Televisual Spaces
Radio, Podcasting and Listening Spaces
MP3 and Downloading Spaces
Instruments of/for Study
Guitar Cultures
Keyboard Cultures
Drumming and Percussion
Voice
Turntablism
iPod
Genre and Community
Country
Folk
The Blues
Rock and Roll
Soul
Reggae and Ska
Salsa
Metal
Punk and Indie
Hip Hop
Disco
House and Post-House Musics
World Music
Debates
Intellectual Property
Censorship and Regulation
Race, Appropriation and Commodification
Girl Groups and Feminism
Boy Bands and Men¿s Studies
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgenderist Musics
Digitization, User-Generated Content and Social Networking
Music: Politics, Resistance and Protest
Conclusion: Walking off the Dance Floor
Sonic Sources
Visual Sources

Tara Brabazon is Professor of Media at the University of Brighton, Visiting Professor at Edge Hill¿s SOLSTICE CETL, and Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (RSA).

Previously, Tara has held academic positions in both Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand. An outstanding teacher, she won six teaching awards, including the Australian National Teaching Award for the Humanities in 1998, along with others in the areas of disability and cultural studies. In 2005, Tara won both the Murdoch University Postgraduate Supervisor of the Year and the Teaching Excellence Award. In 2009 and she won the University of Brighton¿s Teaching Excellence Award, nominated by both undergraduate and postgraduate students. She was a finalist for the 2005 Australian of the Year and also the 2005 Telstra Businesswoman of the Year in the Community Service category. In 1999 and 2002, she was short-listed for the Western Australian Citizen of the Year.