Library Rock's Backpages

Strike the Band: Pop Music Without Musicians

Tony Scherman, The New York Times, 10 February 2001

IN THE 1950s and '60s, the recording studio became an instrument. From its humble origins documenting live performances, the studio turned into a music-maker itself, retooling raw material — the work of musicians — into a finished product. Once mere "records" of musical events, recordings were now something much more exotic and autonomous, painstakingly layered confections. But even after multitrack recording had severed music making from real time, somebody still had to play that guitar.

Total word count of piece: 2615

Subscribe

Becoming a member is easy. Membership gives you access to all the thousands of articles in the library.

Click here to go to Subscribe page.

Click here for academic and other group subscriptions.