Sub Pop

By: Theo Cateforis (Syracuse University) // From What’s That Sound? An Introduction to Rock and its History, Fourth Edition, by John Covach and Andrew Flory (W. W. Norton & Company, 2015) On April 30, 1991, Nirvana signed with Geffen Records, leaving behind the tiny Seattle indie label Sub Pop, who had released their acclaimed 1989 …

Rock Music in Video Games

By: William Gibbons (Texas Christian University) // From What’s That Sound? An Introduction to Rock and its History, Fourth Edition, by John Covach and Andrew Flory (W. W. Norton & Company, 2015) Consider these three moments from video games: (1) While taking my “borrowed” car for a spin in Grand Theft Auto V (2013), I …

Becoming an American B(r)and: Pre-Existing Popular Music in Television Commercials

By: Joanna Love (University of Richmond) // From What’s That Sound? An Introduction to Rock and its History, Fourth Edition, by John Covach and Andrew Flory (W. W. Norton & Company, 2015) Relationships between the American advertising and popular music industries date back to the turn of the twentieth century. Songs like “In My Merry …