Reading Pop

'There is a typically perspicacious new introductory chapter from Middleton, which helpfully gives a summary of the entire terrain of popular music studies for the newcomer... this collection is invaluable in that it gives a 'greatest hits' selection from a journal which some undergraduates may not have access... In the main, the writing in this collection is admirable and the concerns refreshingly pluralistic.' -Years Work in Critical and Cultural Theory 'Extensive introduction is particularly valuable... the paperback price is worth it for the introduction, and the Bjornberg and Tagg essays, alone.' -Allan More, British Journal of Music EducationReading Pop collects together key essays on the interpretation of pop songs previously published in the journal Popular Music. In sixteen varied studies by many of the best-known scholars, all the most influential approaches are represented. A newly written introduction by leading pop academic Richard Middleton puts them into context and outlines the main debates. A select bibliography of other writings on pop music analysis adds to the usefulness of the book, which will become a central text in popular music studies.