An audio taster of my book The Sound of Nonsense. The taster includes samples of recordings of the work of some of the novelists, poets, musicians and performers who are used as case studies in the book. The tatser is designed to both provide an overview of the subject matter of the book and to model one of the types of sonic nonsense discussed in…[Read more]

In 1587 the Flemish composer Carolus Luython, employed by Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, published an unusual motet collection in Prague. Titled Popularis anni jubilus, the collection describes the sounds and rituals beloved by Central European peasants, recasting them as the ecstatic songs of rustic laborers (jubilus) famously celebrated by Saint…[Read more]

In the United States, most middle-class listeners often have passive contact with bossa nova. In recent decades, this contact is often in the context of restaurants, bars, and increasingly in spaces more directly affiliated with commerce such as clothing stores, coffee shops, and bookstores. As common as bossa nova and other Brazilian musical…[Read more]

This chapter examines the role of independent labels in mobile music consumption and distribution in Brazil. It explains the division between independent and major labels and their relationship with digital consolidation services, and it discusses the role of iMúsica as one of the main mobile content aggregators for the major and independent…[Read more]

Ever since appearing in Disney’s Saludos Amigos (1942), Ary Barroso’s musical ode to the Brazilian motherland, “Brazil,” is among the most recognizable songs circulating in Western Culture about Brazil. This essay shows how the song became detached from its roots as a nationalist samba to represent in audiovisual media such divergent ideas as tro…[Read more]