
Performing class in British popular music
"Performing Class in British Popular Music examines the role that class signification plays in popular music in the United Kingdom, from its origins in folk music through to the present day. Rather than seeing class as a purely social or economic concept, Nathan Wiseman-Trowse understands it as a mythological concept that is constructed through the musical text in order to assure the listener of the authenticity of a piece of pop music. Using performativity theory, the signification of class is shown to be a means by which to incorporate audiences in an imagined or performed state, through a 'folk voice' that suffuses British popular music. Case studies on folk rock, punk and indie rock show how class signification develops over time and in relation to the popular music industry and culture at a broader level, and how performers make use of class in the music and performances that they create."--Jacket.
Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.
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What the reading experience may hold
A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.
Nonfiction
Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.
No specific content concerns can be confirmed from the available English catalog information. Consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.
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Balanced tone · Steady pace
Works well for a focused weekend or a few concentrated sittings.
A good fit if…
Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.
This book's DNA
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Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc
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A quick reading snapshot
Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.
- ISBN-13
- 978-0-2302-1949-6
- Language
- English
- Edition record
- OL16871679M
A more thoughtful way into this book
This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.
Works well for a focused weekend or a few concentrated sittings.
Begin with its place in Nonfiction, then notice where the book resists that label.
Read for connection, not completion.
Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.
Three questions to carry with you
- Whose perspective organizes the story, and whose perspective remains outside it?
- Which sources or lived experiences carry the author’s central argument?
- How does the book change the way you understand its larger subject?
Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.







