Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres

 

 

Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres, by Kelefa Sannah, 476 pgs

This is a fun read that tracks the kinds of labels we as a culture have used to describe music genres over the years. Sennah writes about some of the most popular genres of music in the 20th century and while I had hoped for more actual historical context regarding major record labels in general, the author does a good job of taking the reader through the myriad of subgenres and micro-categories that are created by music listeners simply by way of consuming music--proto punk, alternative, sippy cup country, trap--there's seemingly no end to the labels and descriptors we'll give to even the slightest deviations and evolutions in popular music. Sennah spent a majority of his writing career covering music for the New York Times in the 2000s before moving over to the New Yorker, and he seems to put away his harshest criticism here, offering a more nuanced voice for his first non-fiction work.  Interestingly, the Rock and R&B chapters are the longest, probably because they have the most history. Sanneh recognizes he's not perfect though as he describes his first takes on Taylor Swift and Beyoncé to be less than ideal, but he has since learned that criticism is more fluid art then anything else. Recommended for adults.