| Metal, Rock, and Jazz: Perception |
 by Harris M. Berger 334 pp. Series in Music and Culture. Hanover: Wesleyan University Press,
University Press of New England, 1999. Pp. xi + 334. Notes, glossary, selected
bibliography, index, photos, musical transcriptions. $50.00 cloth; $22.95 paper. This book mixes phenomenological theory with the ethnographic approaches of observation and interviews (many of them feedback interviews) to devise an understanding of three musical genres within northeast Ohio. Berger focuses on both micro and macro levels of musical performance in this book. From his research, he elicits participants' descriptions of specific performance moments while also situating the genres of metal, rock, and jazz in larger social contexts. Additionally, he analyzes musical form, compares his analysis to musicians' perceptions of performance, and comments on how race and class conditions affect the musical atmosphere of the region. Berger's focus on the everyday aspects of musical life reflects an influence by the philosophy of Edmund Husserl. The book is divided into three sections. I. The Ethnography of Musical Practice. Here, Berger describes his research communities in attentive and engaging detail. Berger's six ethnographic communities include two hard rock bands, two heavy metal bands, and two jazz scenes, all based in northeast Ohio (Akron and Cleveland). This section of the book introduces the reader to the cultural setting of this Midwestern area, noting that the contemporary economic situation of the region encourages the presence of these particular musical genres. His social histories of the area address issues of class and race. It is in this first ethnographic section of the book that Berger also addresses the "medial level" of life---the everyday practices of music-making in the lives of his research participants. By focusing on the medial level, Berger attempts to explain how seemingly normalized or everyday behavior is greatly shaped by the participants' complex social relationships with the larger world. II. The Organization of Musical Experience and the Practice of Perception. In the second section of this book, Berger focuses on the individual experience of musical performance for his research participants. He examines how, in the moment of performance, these musicians shift their focus to and from different aspects of their immediate environments. For example, he notes that the metal and rock musicians consciously draw energy from their crowds, creating a feedback loop; if the crowd is energized by the show, the musicians are in turn energized by the audience. The jazz musicians, on the other hand, deliberately dull their awareness of the audience, focusing instead on the music and on their bandmates. Later chapters in this section focus more minutely on individual musicians' experiences during specific performances. What is it that these musicians understand to be happening during their performances? How do they perceive the organization of sound in their own music? III. Music, Experience, and Society: Death Metal and Deindustrialization in an American City. In this third and final section of the book, Berger turns his focus exclusively to the death metal scene of urban northeast Ohio. He sympathetically contextualizes the music scenes in this region, exploring how specific and everyday musical performances are often shaped by much larger political and economic forces. Berger draws from his numerous interviews with death metal guitarist Dann Saladin to trace the connection between Saladin's musical expression and his social beliefs. Berger includes a prosaic synopsis of his interviews, including both direct quotes and the author's own reflective comments on how to balance his research responsibilities with his deepening friendship with Saladin. Berger concludes with a reminder that scholars of ethnomusicology and folklore need to incorporate micro and macro levels of interpretation. He encourages the detailed analysis of musical moments but reminds the reader that every individual is shaped by the larger socio-historical contexts in which he or she creates, interprets, and lives. Cathy Brigham |