Alex Coles

The role of jazz as a catalyst in rock, pop, funk, new wave, hip-hop, and techno. From music writer Alex Coles, Fusion From Alice Coltrane to Moor Mother traces the origins and legacy of blended musical genres by focusing on twelve dynamic collaborations. From Alice Coltrane working with Carlos Santana in 1974 to Moor Mother sharing the mic with Wolf Weston in 2022, the collaborations-cum-chapters reveal how musicians pursue fusion as a process. With sonic fusion always premised on cultural fusion, each of the collaborations find musicians using the mixing of genres to explore fusions of generations, eras, philosophies, sensibilities, idioms, histories, and even continents. When the musicians hail from contrasting musical genres their collaboration leads to a dynamic tension, typified by free jazz trumpeter Don Cherry recording with Lou Reed, Kendrick Lamar cutting tracks with saxophonist Kamasi Washington, Miles Davis playing with electric guitarist John McLaughlin and synth player Danalogue joining Shabaka Hutchings and Max Hallett to form the Comet is Coming. Fusion pushes the music of overlooked musicians--such as post-punk singer and saxophone player Lora Logic--to the fore while emphasizing overlooked aspects of the oeuvres of better-known figures such as Herbie Hancock, Joni Mitchell, Neneh Cherry and FourTet. To characterize their unique approach to fusion, each of the examples Coles explores are driven by a dynamic sonic principle coined by the musicians themselves.

Crooners sing close to the mic in a soft, intimate style. In this book Alex Coles explores the crooner in popular music from the 1950s to the present. Each chapter focuses on one song and one singer – Frank Sinatra, Scott Walker, Barry White, David Bowie, Bryan Ferry, Tom Waits, Grace Jones, Ian McCulloch, Nick Cave and Nas – and examines in detail how each contributes to the crooner image. The book describes how crooners traverse era, gender, geography and genre – where Barry White developed out of disco, Nick Cave sprang from alternative rock; where Grace Jones was born from reggae and funk, Nas originated from hip-hop. Ultimately, Coles shows how the crooner continues to be a figure that enables listeners to reflect on and communicate their emotions.

On the development of the twisted romantic ballad in contemporary popular song, from Serge Gainsbourg to Tyler, the Creator. Titled after Soft Cell's version of the original 1965 Gloria Jones track, Tainted Love is the first book-length inquiry into the subject of the twisted romantic ballad, giving a sense of both its history and contemporary currency. Sometimes extreme, this twist to the conventional romantic ballad spans across gender and generational boundaries to subvert our understanding of both the genre's function and its behavior. Each chapter of Tainted Love explores a single twisted ballad in depth, examining both its inner workings--lyrics, melody, and vocal approach--and its broader cultural resonance. The analysis developed in the chapters turns on the question: what compels songwriters to compose--and us to listen to--these warped songs? Perhaps the most extreme example of the twisted romantic ballad is Serge Gainsbourg's "Lemon Incest," sung as a duet in 1984 with thirteen-year-old daughter, Charlotte. Playing on the French use of the word zest and its proximity to the word incest, Gainsbourg, ever the provocateur, fashions the ultimate twisted romantic ballad to his daughter. The track's euro-pop eighties' synths provide a cushion for both Gainsbourg's louche rapping and his daughter's high-pitched warble. Close to three decades later, Lana Del Rey's "Off To The Races" pictures a dysfunctional relationship. Underpinned by cloud rap, the track showcases Del Rey's deep, mannered voice as she delivers the lyrics detailing the unusual economy of her romance. In the same period, Tyler, The Creator's "She" details a romantic relationship through the voyeuristic gaze of a previous partner, with the boom-bap beat propelling forward Tyler's rapped lyrics to deliver a further development in the ongoing trajectory of the romantic ballad.

Walter Benjamin is often considered the key modern philosopher and critic of modern art.Tracing his influence on modern aesthetics and cultural history, Introducing Walter Benjamin highlights his commitment to political transformation of the arts as a means to bring about social change.Benjamin witnessed first-hand many of the cataclysmic events of modern European history. He took a critical stance on the dominant ideologies of Marxism, Zionism and Technocracy, and his attempt to flee Nazi Europe ultimately led to his suicide in 1940.With its brilliant combination of words and images, this is an ideal introduction to one of the most elusive philosophers.