Heft 04 / Oktober 2017

Zusammenfassung:

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Summary:

Concept Albums as »Great Works« of Popular Music? – Popular music productions are often presented as parts of largely open serial structures comprising short songs (playlists). Nonetheless, one repeatedly finds individual popular music releases appearing with the claim to be a coherent »great work«. The so-called »concept album«, which dates back to around 1970, is a form in which this claim has been expressed. From the perspective of musical research informed by media and cultural studies, the present article engages with this specific form of popular music to develop a concept of music which mediates between media technology, economy and aesthetics in a complex and peculiar fashion.

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