...this book is recommended reading for anyone interested in cultural practices in music making. It bears cosideration for its conclusions about how and why different cultures adopt a musical technology and share musical behaviors, and for its look into the ways authors from different cultures think about these issues..
–Thom Gencarelli, Montclair State University
Product Description
The karaoke machine is much more than an instrument which allows us to be a star for three minutes. Using the theoretical framework of thinkers from Erving Goffman to Foucault, the contributors to this volume consider the technological, spatial, communicative, ethnic, national, political, musical and gender aspects of karaoke in specific places and times across the globe. This study explores the influence of karaoke in such different societies as the United Kingdom, North America, Australia, Italy, Sweden, Brazil, Korea and Japan. The essays not only answer a variety of questions about this phenomenon, but also open up possible ways of theorizing contemporary music practice in the future.
See all Editorial Reviews
