You are here

Music, popular

Last Updated: 13-Oct-2015

Resources for the study of popular music, including rock, metal, rap, and punk.

Subject Librarians

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

Subjects

Music
Popular music

Related guides

Music business and industry
Music research essentials
Songs and singing

Reference works

Grove Music Online
Always an excellent place to begin research in music. Entries are written by the foremost scholars in their fields, and list important sources in the bibliographies. While Wikipedia may be more current in some cases, Grove is the most reliable source of information. The article on Popular Music provides a broad overview. See also these entries:
Pop Rock & Roll Disco Funk
Rap Rhythm & Blues Soul Dance Music
Reggae Heavy Metal Punk Country
Hip Hop Singer-Songwriter    

 

Additional online encyclopedias:

These works are both online and in print.

The encyclopedia of popular music / edited by Colin Larkin.
4th ed. New York : MUZE : Oxford University Press, 2006.
Music Library » Reference » ML102 .P66 G84 2006 V.1
A good source for artist biographies.
The Garland encyclopedia of world music / advisory editors, Bruno Nettl and Ruth M. Stone ; founding editors, James Porter and Timothy Rice.
New York : Garland Pub., 1998-2002.
Green Library » Information Center » ML100 .G16 1998 V.1
Provides thoghtful overviews of popular music in many countries and regions.

On the reference shelf

These are useful titles in the Music Reference Room:

Popular music culture : the key concepts / Roy Shuker.
3rd ed. London ; New York : Routledge, 2012.
Music Library » Reference » ML102 .P66 S58 2012
The rock song index : the 7500 most important songs of the Rock and Roll era, 1944-2000 / Bruce Pollock.
2nd ed. New York : Routledge, 2005.
Music Library » Reference » ML128 .R6 P65 2005
Blues, funk, rhythm and blues, soul, hip hop, and rap : a research and information guide / Eddie S. Meadows.
New York : Routledge, 2010.
Music Library » Reference » ML128 .P63 M43 2010
The rough guide to heavy metal / by Essi Berelian.
1st ed. London ; New York : Rough Guides, 2005.
Music Library » Reference » ML102 .R6 B47 2005
Encyclopedia of punk music and culture / Brian Cogan.
Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2006.
Music Library » Reference » ML102 .R6 C64 2006
Encyclopedia of indie rock / Kerry L. Smith ; foreword by Marcus Congleton.
Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2008.
Music Library » Reference » ML102 .R6 S63 2008
Encyclopedia of great popular song recordings / Steve Sullivan.
Archive of Recorded Sound » Reference » ML156.4 .P6 S87 2013 V.1

Books and articles

Books

Find books on pop music subjects and performer biographies in SearchWorks, the library catalog.

Browse the stacks at these call number ranges:

ML 420 Individual artist biographies
ML 421 Performing groups
ML 3470 General works and subgenres
ML 3475 By region or country
ML 3531 Rap
ML 3534 Rock
   
See also:  
   
ML 82 Women and music
ML 3916 Social and political aspects of music
ML 3970 The music trade

 

Articles

Search for articles in these databases. Some results will link to full text entries; others provide the citation only--you'll want to look up the journal title in SearchWorks to find the printed copy.

Academic search premier [electronic resource].
Ipswich, MA : EBSCO Pub.
Stanford University Libraries » Online resource » eResource
The music index online [electronic resource].
[Ipswich, Mass.] : Ebsco Publishing.
Stanford University Libraries » Online resource » eResource

Browse a list of popular music journals in the Stanford Libraries.

Databases and links

Databases

Music industry data.
Stanford University Libraries » Online resource » eResource
"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."
rock'sbackpages [electronic resource].
London : Rock's Backpages.
Stanford University Libraries » Online resource » eResource
"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... "
Entertainment industry magazine archive [electronic resource].
[Ann Arbor, MI] : Proquest.
Stanford University Libraries » Online resource » eResource
"An archival research resource containing the essential primary sources for studying the history of the film and entertainment industries, from the era of vaudeville and silent movies through to 2000. The core US and UK trade magazines covering film, music, broadcasting and theater are all included, together with film fan magazines and music press titles."

Links

Useful websites:

Billboard
Includes pop music news, hot domestic and international charts, trending videos, photo galleries, and more.
Rolling Stone
Music industry news, culture and politics, celebrity interviews.
Spin
Music news, record reviews, interviews, photo galleries.
Soul Patrol
"Great black music from the ancient to the future"
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
See also their new Library & Archive.
Rocklopedia Fakebandica
A wiki listing fake bands in popular culture.
Am I Right?
"...a famous music humor site dealing in misheard song lyrics (Mondegreens) for pop songs of the past 50 years including Country, Christian music, and Christmas music. Music humor of all kinds can be found here, such as song parodies, jokes, quotes, band name manipulations, lyrics observations, and music trivia."

Recordings

Find circulating CDs and DVDs in the SearchWorks library catalog.  They will be located in either the Music Library or in the Green Media & Microtext Center. While Stanford Libraries do not generally collect recent popular music releases in depth, an increasing number of significant recordings and concert videos are added to the collections each year. 

Find historical recordings in the Archive of Recorded Sound.

The Archive also collects discographies and other supporting material, such as the Great Indie Discography; you may browse discographies online or in person.

 

Streaming music databases provide access to a small amount of popular music, primarily from non-Western traditions. A growing number of commerical sites allow access to streams for free or for a small fee.  See this review of sites in PC Magazine.

Staff favorites include Pandora Internet Radio, Slacker Radio, and Spotify.

 

Printed music is generally represented by piano/vocal arrangements of popular songs. Search the catalog, or browse in the Music Library stacks, at ML 1630.18. More information may be found in the Songs & Singing topic guide.