The Aesthetics of Rock
Encyclopedia
The Aesthetics of Rock is a book by Richard Meltzer
(born May 10, 1945). Written between 1965 and 1968, it was published in 1970. Da Capo Press
in 1987 published an unabridged edition with a new foreword by Meltzer. It is one of the first major works of rock-music criticism and analysis. He wrote it as an undergraduate at the State University of New York at Stony Brook
and as a graduate student at Yale University
, from which he was, as he relates in his foreword, "kicked out toot-sweet on my rock-roll caboose" for writing papers with rock-music themes for philosophy classes.
Writer Greil Marcus
, in his introduction to the Da Capo edition of Aesthetics, maintains that the book is "the best and most obsessive book about the Beatles ever written," and that the work seeks to illuminate "the collapse of art into everyday life, and vice versa."
Richard Meltzer
Richard Meltzer was one of the earliest rock music critics. His first book, The Aesthetics of Rock, evolved out of his undergraduate studies in philosophy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and graduate studies at Yale University...
(born May 10, 1945). Written between 1965 and 1968, it was published in 1970. Da Capo Press
Da Capo Press
Da Capo Press, is an American publishing company with headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1964 as a publisher of music books, as a division of Plenum Publishers. it had additional offices in offices in New York City, Philadelphia and Emeryville, California...
in 1987 published an unabridged edition with a new foreword by Meltzer. It is one of the first major works of rock-music criticism and analysis. He wrote it as an undergraduate at the State University of New York at Stony Brook
State University of New York at Stony Brook
The State University of New York at Stony Brook, also known as Stony Brook University, is a public research university located in Stony Brook, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island, about east of Manhattan....
and as a graduate student at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, from which he was, as he relates in his foreword, "kicked out toot-sweet on my rock-roll caboose" for writing papers with rock-music themes for philosophy classes.
Writer Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a much broader framework of culture and politics than is customary in pop music journalism.-Life and career:Marcus was born in San Francisco...
, in his introduction to the Da Capo edition of Aesthetics, maintains that the book is "the best and most obsessive book about the Beatles ever written," and that the work seeks to illuminate "the collapse of art into everyday life, and vice versa."