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Stepping out of the shadows: music, the bass guitar, and the rhetoric of revolution

PWR 2RT - Spring 2013 - Instructor: Rod Taylor
Last Updated: 11-Feb-2014

This guide lists resources and links for Rod Taylor's PWR 2 class.

Subject Librarians

Ray Heigemeir
Public Services Librarian for Music
(650) 384-9985

Subjects

Books and media

Use the SearchWorks library catalog to find books and media related to your topic:

  • Enter search terms
  • Try different combinations of search terms. Sometimes fewer terms are better than more
  • Cast a wide net. General terms may be better than specific terms

 

  • Limit results using choices in the left side column (by format, location, more specific topic terms, etc.)
  • Look at individual results and note the call number and which library has the item
  • You can select several items and message or email the list to yourself (see choices in the upper right corner)

 

Formats you can choose from:

 

 

Try a subject search using the pulldown menu next to the search box:

 

Try subject term combinations such as these:

Music political aspects

Popular music social aspects

Rock music political aspects

Jazz political aspects

Music 20th century political aspects

Music social aspects

Musical criticism (book containing critical essays as we as "how to write criticism)

Music and the internet (about digital music and commerce)

Sound recording industry

Music trade (about the music business as a whole)

Political activism

 

Reference works and databases

These resources are better than Wikipedia (trust me!). Why?  Because they are written by experts in the field, and often include reliable lists of important additional resources in the bibliographies and footnotes. Wikipedia may be good for the most current information but authors are anonymous, entries may be incomplete, and bibliographies are scarce.

Some titles below are online and in print; some are in print only. Be sure to note location (online, Music Library, or Green Library)

Premium collection Oxford ; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, c2002-
Stanford University Libraries » Online resource » (no call number)
Acces over 100 reference works online to research your topic, including dictionaries, language and subject encyclopedias, etc.
New York : Garland Pub., 1998-2002.
Green Library » InfoCenter (non-circulating) » ML100 .G16 1998 V.1
Arranged by continent, region, cultural group; good multidisciplinary essays on music traditions and contemporary practices, often outlining the political and social landscape.
Malden, MA : Wiley-Blackwell, c2009.
Green Library » InfoCenter (non-circulating) » JC491 .I58 2009 V.1
Find people, groups, movements.  The lexicon (vol. 1) lists entries under broad thematic groups.
New York : Longman, c2000.
Music Library » Reference (non-circulating) » ML3797 .B4 2000
Outlines different types of writing assignments including criticism, concert reviews, program notes and research papers; audience, use of source material, clarity, and style are also covered.

Databases

Stanford University Libraries » Online resource » (no call number)
"A single search of international charting albums and singles under exclusive academic licence from Billboard, the Official Charts Company. Sophisticated tools allow you to interpret, graph, analyse, compare and contrast musical trends and interactions at the touch of a button. Listen to audio samples for each track and album quickly and easily."
London : Rock's Backpages.
Stanford University Libraries » Online resource » (no call number)
"The online library of pop writing. The ultimate archive of music journalism. Thousands of classic articles on artists ...on all genres from rockabilly to hip hop... "

Articles

Find articles in these databases.  Keep in mind:

  • Articles are not in SearchWorks, but the journal/periodical titles are
  • Some database search results will provide full text online access; others have citations only. In these cases you'll then want to searrch for the journal title in SearchWorks.
  • Database interfaces may differ but all allow you to srearch by keyword, and then narrow recults by type of article. You may also limit results to peer-reviewed journals
  • Use subject headings in article recults to continue exploring your topic
A multidisciplinary database which provides full-text for over 4,650 scholarly publications, more than 3,600 of them peer-reviewed. Includes topics in the social sciences, humanities, general science, education and most areas of academic study.
Subject-author guide to music periodical literature...the editor/librarians have surveyed data from more than 850 music periodicals from over 40 countries. Indexes international music periodicals which cover every aspect of the classical and popular world of music. A broad range of subjects are indexed, covering musicological or organological topics, plus book reviews, record reviews, first performances, and obituaries.
Provides page images of back issues of the core scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and basic sciences from the earliest issues to within a few years of current publication. Users may browse by journal title or discipline, or may search the full-text or citations/abstracts. New issues of existing titles and new titles are added approximately on a weekly basis.
While not a source of scholarly articles per se, this is a great place to read concert reviews; opinion/editorial writings on music, politics, and social issues; and more.