An anthology of essays by a diverse range of thinkers and musicians analyzes how the blues genre reflects universal cultural and emotional issues that render its messages relatable to people on all social levels. Original.
The philosophy of the bluesFrom B.B. King to Billie Holiday, Blues music not only sounds good, but has an almost universal appeal in its reflection of the trials and tribulations of everyday life. Its ability to powerfully touch on a range of social and emotional issues is philosophically inspiring, and here, a diverse range of thinkers and musicians offer illuminating essays that make important connections between the human condition and the Blues that will appeal to music lovers and philosophers alike.
| Foreword |
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| It Goes a Little Something Like This...: An Introduction to Blues -- Philosophy for Everyone |
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xvi | |
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| Acknowledgments |
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xxviii | |
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PART 1 HOW BLUE IS BLUE? THE METAPHYSICS OF THE BLUES |
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1 | (48) |
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1 Talkin' To Myself Again: A Dialogue on the Evolution of the Blues |
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3 | (13) |
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2 Reclaiming the Aura: B. B. King in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction |
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16 | (9) |
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3 Twelve-Bar Zombies: Wittgensteinian Reflections on the Blues |
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25 | (13) |
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4 The Blues as Cultural Expression |
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38 | (11) |
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PART 2 THE SKY IS CRYING: EMOTION, UPHEAVAL, AND THE BLUES |
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49 | (46) |
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5 The Artistic Transformation of Trauma, Loss, and Adversity in the Blues |
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51 | (15) |
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6 Sadness as Beauty: Why it Feels So Good to Feel So Blue |
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66 | (9) |
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7 Anguished Art: Coming Through the Dark to the Light the Hard Way |
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75 | (9) |
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84 | (11) |
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PART 3 IF IT WEREN'T FOR BAD LUCK, I WOULDN'T HAVE NO LUCK AT ALL: BLUES AND THE HUMAN CONDITION |
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95 | (58) |
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9 Why Can't We be Satisfied?: Blues is Knowin' How to Cope |
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97 | (14) |
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10 Doubt and the Human Condition: Nobody Loves Me but my Momma... and She Might be `Jivin' Too |
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111 | (10) |
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11 Blues and Emotional Trauma: Blues as Musical Therapy |
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121 | (10) |
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12 Suffering, Spirituality, and Sensuality: Religion and the Blues |
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131 | (11) |
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13 Worrying the Line: Blues as Story, Song, and Prayer |
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142 | (11) |
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PART 4 THE BLUE LIGHT WAS MY BABY AND THE RED LIGHT WAS MY MIND: RELIGION AND GENDER IN THE BLUES |
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153 | (50) |
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14 Lady Sings the Blues: A Woman's Perspective on Authenticity |
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155 | (12) |
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15 Even White Folks Get the Blues |
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167 | (9) |
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16 Distributive History: Did Whites Rip-Off the Blues? |
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176 | (15) |
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17 Whose Blues?: Class, Race, and Gender in American Vernacular Music |
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191 | (12) |
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| Philosophical Blues Songs |
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203 | (2) |
| Notes on Contributors |
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205 | |
Jesse R. Steinberg is an assistant professor of philosophy and the director of the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. He has been a visiting professor at Victoria University in New Zealand, at the University of California at Riverside, and at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He has published a number of articles on topics including philosophy of mind, metaphysics, philosophy of religion, and ethics.
Abrol Fairweather is an instructor at San Francisco State University and the University of San Francisco. He has published in the area of Virtue Epistemology and sustains interests in philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and philosophy of language. He has contributed to popular culture volumes on Facebook and Dexter. The guitar, vocals, and lyrics of Lightnin' Hopkins and Mississippi John Hurt are major influences.
Series editor:
Fritz Allhoff is an associate professor in the philosophy department at Western Michigan University, as well as a senior research fellow at the Australian National University's Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics. In addition to editing the Philosophy for Everyone series, he is also the volume editor or co-editor for several titles, including Wine & Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2007), Whiskey & Philosophy (with Marcus P. Adams, Wiley, 2009), and Food & Philosophy (with Dave Monroe, Wiley-Blackwell, 2007). His academic research interests engage various facets of applied ethics, ethical theory, and the history and philosophy of science.
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