The Thrills: Michael Jackson, MTV and Multi-Platinum SuccessThe Thrills: Michael Jackson, MTV and Multi-Platinum Success

Released in 1982, Michael Jackson's Thriller album went on to become the biggest selling album of all time, with sales of over 54 million copies. By investigating the context in which the album was released, what preceded it and what was to follow, and by analysing the music and performance that continues to capture youth today, this book outlines the reasons for Thriller’s enormous success, how it set new standards and the changes it impacted on the music industry, musical aesthetics and music in American society.

The Funk: A Cultural Response to the Disappointments of Post-Civil Rights Era AmericaThe Funk: A Cultural Response to the Disappointments of Post-Civil Rights Era America

In The Funk, pop culture commentator, San Sharma draws parallels between changes in American society and consciousness and the emergence of funk music. He provides a detailed study of the theory and aesthetics of this musical genre through a loving analysis of the work and careers of James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone and George Clinton, and demonstrates a relationship between ‘black pop’ and politics, how and why this association occurs, and the employment, if at all, by each other.