This web site showcases work by students in New York University's new course on the history of 20th century American popular music, taught by Dr. Ethan Hein. For their midterm project, the students choose a recording released in the first half of the century, and for the final project, they choose a recording from the second half of the century. The playlist entries include:
A brief biography of the artist(s)
A brief musicological analysis of the song
A discussion of the song’s context and influences
A discussion of the song’s impact
Over time, the goal is to build the playlist project into a public musicology resource, giving a personal and idiosyncratic survey of American popular music history. We hope you enjoy reading and listening.