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Michaelangelo Matos

Can't Slow Down: How 1984 Became Pop's Blockbuster Year Hardcover – December 8, 2020

by Michaelangelo Matos (Author)

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Editors' pick Best Biographies & Memoirs

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A Rolling Stone-Kirkus Best Music Book of 2020

The definitive account of pop music in the mid-eighties, from Prince and Madonna to the underground hip-hop, indie rock, and club scenes

Everybody knows the hits of 1984 - pop music's greatest year. From "Thriller" to "Purple Rain," "Hello" to "Against All Odds," "What's Love Got to Do with It" to "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," these iconic songs continue to dominate advertising, karaoke nights, and the soundtracks for film classics (Boogie Nights) and TV hits (Stranger Things). But the story of that thrilling, turbulent time, an era when Top 40 radio was both the leading edge of popular culture and a moral battleground, has never been told with the full detail it deserves - until now. Can't Slow Down is the definitive portrait of the exploding world of mid-eighties pop and the time it defined, from Cold War anxiety to the home-computer revolution. Big acts like Michael Jackson (Thriller), Prince (Purple Rain), Madonna (Like a Virgin), Bruce Springsteen (Born in the U.S.A.), and George Michael (Wham!'s Make It Big) rubbed shoulders with the stars of the fermenting scenes of hip-hop, indie rock, and club music.

Rigorously researched, mapping the entire terrain of American pop, with crucial side trips to the UK and Jamaica, from the biz to the stars to the upstarts and beyond, Can't Slow Down is a vivid journey to the very moment when pop was remaking itself, and the culture at large - one hit at a time.

Print length

480 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Hachette Books
Publication date

December 8, 2020
Dimensions

7.5 x 1.85 x 9.8 inches
ISBN-10

0306903377
ISBN-13

978-0306903373
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From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Review

A Rolling Stone-Kirkus Best Music Book of 2020

Pitchfork, Best Music Books of 2020

Variety, Best Music Books of 2020

Amazon, Best Books of December 2020 (Biographies & Memoir)

Chicago Review of Books, "10 Must Read Books of December (2020)"

Inside Hook, "9 Books You Should Be Reading This December"

Boston Globe, "Fall Music Books Roundup"

Forbes, "2020 Music Book Roundup"

"Imagine a time when people bought millions of CDs, pop musicians had the larger-than-life allure of movie stars, and nearly every genre, from Top 40 to hip-hop to indie, was thriving. That year was 1984, and Michaelangelo Matos' rollicking and deeply researched Can't Slow Down hurls you back to a time when pop music wasn't just thriving; it welcomed anyone and everyone to revel in its crossover dreams."―David Browne, author of Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon& Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY and the Lost Story of 1970

"Can't Slow Down reads like a "We Are the World"-style celebrity mega-single in book form. It is a delightfully jam-packed group bio that brings together characters from Morrissey to Cyndi Lauper, Michael Jackson to Sade. All jostle for their star turns in this ingeniously structured account of pop music's watershed year. Wearing a massive amount of research lightly and displaying his gift for both the industry "big picture" and the (at times hilarious) artist thumbnail sketch, Matos proves himself to be among the most entertaining and erudite chroniclers of contemporary American popular music."―Emily J. Lordi, author of The Meaning of Soul

"Through rigorous research and engaging storytelling, Michaelangelo Matos offers a comprehensive look at a breakthrough year in pop music. By giving equal weight to major and lesser-known cultural signposts, Can't Slow Down is an insightful read for even the staunchest music fan."―Marcus J. Moore, author of The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick LamarIgnited the Soul of Black America

"At last-the whole glorious saga of the 1984 pop explosion. Can't Slow Down has the full untold story of how rockers and rappers and dance-floor rebels came together to invent the future, changing how music has sounded ever since. Michaelangelo Matos tells this epic tale in all its detail-it's a definitive scholarly history, but he also turns it into a thriller and a love story, with an infectious joy that practically dances off the page. A pure delight."―Rob Sheffield, author of Dreaming theBeatles

"[A] savvy, effervescent, and definitive document of a pivotal time in pop."―Kirkus Reviews

“Pop fans with an appetite for nostalgia will find much to like.”―Library Journal

"Drawn from a wealth of archival material, including oral history transcripts, books, and magazines, Matos’ in-depth look encompasses that landmark year’s hits, stars, and trends and the cultural, social, and financial conditions that helped change the face of popular music. This robust volume provides an abundance of material here for music fans, especially those fascinated by 1980s pop culture, to savor."―Booklist

"[A] carefully researched and remarkably ambitious work that immediately takes a place on the shelf of indispensable books about music in the 1980s.” ―Slate

“[A] warm trip down musical memory lane.” ―Houston Press

"The book feels like an ensemble television show, prioritizing shifting perspectives over a tightly-organized narrative. It’s informative, entertaining, and fully immersive."―Pitchfork

"Informed and witty... [with] volumes of information and perspectives even for those of us who were there."―Variety

"Compared to other music periods, the 1980s have been short-shrifted when it comes to critical studies. But with Matos' book... that period's exciting music and times have been now depicted in an important and accurate historical light."―Forbes

“[This book is] suffused with such entertaining and illuminating vignettes, and unlike a lot of music books, it doesn’t trade gossip or legends... it sets an awfully high bar for future books on ‘80s music that will hopefully follow.”―Washington Examiner

“Phenomenal... [and] detail-rich."―Mother Jones

"[The] definitive account of pop music in the mid-1980s.”―The HYPE Magazine

“Music fans who miss, or missed, the long party that was mainstream music in the mid-’80s will be skillfully taken back to fast times.”―Arts Fuse

“A phenomenal piece of research.”―And It Don't Stop

About the Author

MICHAELANGELO MATOS is the author of The Underground Is Massive: How Electronic Dance Music Conquered America (Dey Street, 2015) and Sign 'O' the Times (Bloomsbury, 2004). He contributes regularly to Mix-mag and the New Yorker and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

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Product information

Technical Details

Publisher

‎Hachette Books (December 8, 2020)

Language

‎English

Hardcover

‎480 pages

ISBN-10

‎0306903377

ISBN-13

‎978-0306903373

Item Weight

‎1.59 pounds

Dimensions

‎7.5 x 1.85 x 9.8 inches

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Top reviews from the United States

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Tony c

Great subject, but ridiculous, unreadable writing

Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2021

Verified Purchase

I wanted to love this book. Really. Everything about the subject matter appeals to me. But as much as I wanted to love this, it is almost unreadable. The author insists on attempting to impress the reading audience with the use of vocabulary that even I as a double major in English and communications need a dictionary to understand. I’m actually pretty certain he made some of these words up. Unnecessary. Within the first few chapters, I got so frustrated with that aspect that I just gave up. This should be a light and fun read. It is anything but that. It feels like I’m back in college again with a self important professor trying to come off as worldly and highly intelligent, but instead puts his audience to sleep. So disappointing.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Wade Dizdar

Have to wonder, about a book that Rolling Stone and R. Christgau applaud

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2021

Verified Purchase

As with today's proud Tokenism, this author rests easy on a system where white skin and any range of attitudes means, all and Anything Goes. The Wilder, the better. While success and black skin only mean, it's only time until their sexual crimes "are known by all of us."

Lots of information, but you are led into a Mein Kampf view; one has to exit this Mein Kampf view all of the time these years, and it is always shuffled and such attitudes deflected on all the wrong people and upon Usual suspects.

Whole chapters on Motley Crue, Saxon, etc; The Police, etc. Sex never mentioned. He reaches Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby and the author, to Robert Christgau's and Rolling Stone Magazine's delight, rises to lead us in a prayer that culture will cancel all successful and substantially influential black men, who will be denounced as perverts, to the delight of "Oh! Everyone."

Avoid the stupid book. Would be a guilty pleasure, if guilt had survived the years which it did not.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Paul Rinker

Not a trip down memory lane and how the music made you feel

Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2021

Verified Purchase

This book is NOT a trip down memory lane if that is what you are looking for. Well researched but that’s about it. Very disjointed and haphazardly put together. Chances are good he insults something you like about that time. Reminded me it was about the music coming out of the speakers that made you feel good or brought back memories, not a rock critics opinions. Forced myself to finish it.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kenneth Raymond Lim Ti

Fun read but there's really nothing new

Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2021

Verified Purchase

For Gen X readers like me this was a nice trip down memory lane, but I got the feeling that the author just put together various articles to come up with a coherent story (which he did) and I didn't get the sense of buildup to a great story. Still it is pleasant enough to remember those times that this book recounts in detail.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

RLantz

Informative and attention-grabbing

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2021

Verified Purchase

Great insight that ties together many different strands of music and events from 1984.

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2021

I was so excited to receive a copy of Can't Slow Down for review from NetGalley and Hachette. Not just about pop, Can't Slow Down is a insanely well researched book, delving into rap, country, metal, reggae and other genres. 1984 was just about the time I started discovering music on my own, and I definitely enjoyed this educational trip down memory lane. To be honest, I probably could have read this a lot faster if I hadn't been compelled to head to YouTube to queue up a few dozen music videos during each reading session -- not that I'm complaining! If you're not a music nerd this may not be the book for you, but if you're a fan, definitely check it out. I would love to read more books like this about other years.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Brian Quay

Brilliant and Engaging.

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2021

The scope and depth of this book is breathtaking. Matos makes you feel like he was there every step of the way. 1984 was the year I started reading music journalism thanks to my mom who gave me a subscription of Rolling Stone. She also helped me set up cable in my apartment which enabled me to to watch MTV and all those groundbreaking videos.

It was also the first year I started hanging out in record stores. I thought about music day and night and went to record shows and attended concerts. I saw Springsteen live during his "Born in the USA" tour. Over time I became enthralled with the British weeklies like Melody Maker and NME. Shops were full of zines Matos cites in the book like Creem and Musician plus UK imports like the glossy teen Smash Hits and the more upscale The Face. My curiosity knew no bounds back then.

Matos pithily covers so much territory with aplomb. No musical style or category is neglected and of course the big players like Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson, U2, Bruce Springsteen and others are given extra attention. No stone is left unturned. Matos also has a sly sense of humor. I learned a lot I didn't know.

I would recommend this book to be taught in every high school history class in the country. Replete with audio and visual supports. Imagine how many students would rush to sign up for that class?

Thanks to Mr. Matos for wonderfully and accurately covering a year in music that brought so much pleasure to so many people. What memories!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

JRincker1978

An extremely long trip down memory lane

Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2021

Being born in 1978, this book brought back a lot of nostalgia, especially about Micheal Jackson. His accident on the Pepsi commercial, him singing "Billie Jean" at the awards show and introducing the moonwalk for the 1st time. This book also taught me why there is a disclaimer at the beginning of "Thriller" about the occult and how the Jehovah Witnesses almost banned him from the church because of the song. I enjoyed reading about some of the others as well. However, a lot of the artist and/or people I did not recognize. A lot of this book was extremely long, boring, and redundant, and would quickly jump from one subject matter to the next. I can tell the author did a lot of research as the book is very long (or seemed so). So in parts it was enjoyable, but other parts I struggled through. I received this copy for an honest review.

Helpful