American Lit Remixed: Music in Twenty-First-Century American Literature

176 Pages·2021·1.688 MB·English

by  Melissa J. Strong

American Lit Remixed
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American Lit Remixed
Music in Twenty-First-Century
American Literature
Melissa J. Strong
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© LEXINGTON BOOKS
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giryp Lanham • Boulder • New York • London
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Published by Lexington Books
An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefeld Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www .rowman .com
6 Tinworth Street, London SE11 5AL, United Kingdom
Copyright © 2021 The Rowman & Littlefeld Publishing Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems,
without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote
.de passages in a review.
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ser sth British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
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tgn ISBN: 978-1-4985-9477-6 (cloth : alk. paper)
ixeL ISBN: 978-1-4985-9478-3 (electronic)
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02 © ∞ ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
th National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
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To my mother, for the music
To my grandfather, for the records
To the fip side, for the possibility
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1 Intro: “A New Soundtrack” for American Literature 1
2 Fiction on Record: A Visit from the Goon Squad 25
3 Alexie’s iPods and Cover Songs 65
4 Remixes on the Stage and the Page 99
5 Outro 141
Bibliography 147
Index 159
About the Author 165
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Acknowledgments
Like Lou Reed, I always believed that I have something important to say,
and I did my best to say some of it in this book. I am grateful to all who
helped me on the way. Thanks to the artists for making the art, especially
Jennifer Egan, Patti Smith, Hilma af Klint, Martha Graham, and the Beatles.
To A. O. Scott for characterizing criticism as a creative endeavor. To Broad
Street Review and Moviejawn for reminding me that I love to write. To my
BSR editors, Wendy Rosenfeld, Alaina Johns, and Kyle V. Hiller, for taking
chances on me, boosting my confdence, and connecting me with other writ-
ers, all of which provided indirect yet crucial support for this project. To Gil
Gigliotti at Central Connecticut State University for years of good advice. To
the Northeast Modern Language Association, Critique, and Lindsey Porambo
for opportunities that got this project started and sustained its momentum.
To music librarian Perry Genovesi at the Free Library of Philadelphia for
talking through ideas in the earliest stages. To Jolie Sheffer at Bowling
Green State University for thoughtful suggestions that strengthened my argu-
ment, focus, and methodology. To Charlie Harding at Switched On Pop for
music industry insight. To Joyce Angelucci for interlibrary loan magic. To
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.sko often resembled music therapy. To Julie VanNoord, Mat Wolfson, South
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n Philadelphia Community Acupuncture, and my communities at the Christian
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nixe Street YMCA and the Greater Philadelphia Y Live for well-being. To my
L .1 students for exploring art, ideas, expression, and ukulele songs with me.
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02 To my colleagues at Community College of Philadelphia for camaraderie.
©
th To Eric McCauley for beginning this journey with me. To Jason Tucker for
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ix
x Acknowledgments
meeting me near the fnish line. To my friends, my courage teachers, for
life support. I am especially grateful to my oldest friend, Jeanne Swadosh,
the living archive of my words and mixtapes. I would not be the writer I am
without her. To Pat Swadosh, a force of good. To Oddfellows Playhouse in
Middletown, Connecticut, for a transformative experience in my teen years.
And to my parents, Alane and Michael Strong, for my love of music, my
sense of humor, and things that helped me become myself. Art, like love, is
a mixtape—creative, generative, constructive, inherently collaborative, and
endlessly possible.
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