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Mike Alleyne

Middle Tennessee State University, Recording Industry, Emeritus

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Mike Alleyne is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Recording Industry at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). He is the co-editor of the award-winning collection, Analyzing Recorded Music: Collected Perspectives on Popular Music Tracks (Routledge 2023), author of The Essential Hendrix (Cognella 2020), co-editor of Prince and Popular Music (Bloomsbury, 2020), author of The Encyclopedia of Reggae: The Golden Age of Roots Reggae (Sterling Publishing, 2012) and contributing editor of Rhythm Revolution (Cognella, 2014). He is also the author of numerous book chapters and peer-reviewed articles in Popular Music & Society, Rock Music Studies, Ethnomusicology Forum, Journal on the Art of Record Production, and Grove Music Online. Prof. Alleyne also contributed liner notes to The Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap multi-disc CD box set (2021).

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University of Huddersfield

Graduate Center of the City University of New York

Ruben López-Cano

Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya

Timothy N Laurie

University of Technology Sydney

M. A. Katritzky

The Open University

Wilfrid Laurier University

Samantha Bennett

The Australian National University

Birmingham City University

Ying-fen Wang 王櫻芬

National Taiwan University

Darrell G Baksh

The University of the West Indies at St. Augustine Trinidad and Tobago

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Papers by Mike Alleyne

Billy Preston and the Beatles Get Back : Black Music and the Wisdom of Wordplay and Wit

Babylon makes the rules": the politics of reggae crossover

Social and economic studies, 1998

... ISSN: 0037-7651 "BABYLON MAKES THE RULES": THE POLITICS OF REGGAE CROSSOVER ... Thi... more

“In a Sky Full of People”

Focal Press eBooks, Nov 23, 2022

Special Issue: ‘Dream Factories: Prince, Sign o’ the Times, Box Sets and Cultural Artefacts’

Interactions: Studies in Communication & Culture, Sep 1, 2022

This editorial examines historical and artistic contexts within which Prince's Sign o' the Times ... more This editorial examines historical and artistic contexts within which Prince's Sign o' the Times box set reissue might be viewed and heard, while also considering the overall posthumous output from the Estate. The discussion therefore explores the commercial and other functions of box sets in general and Prince's reissued recordings in in particular, potential symbolic signification, and the critical polarization that often accompanies such releases. Moreover, the box metaphor is employed to address academic partitioning and intellectual conservatism in Prince historiography.

Housing the quake: The Todd Herreman interview

Interactions: Studies in Communication & Culture, Sep 1, 2022

This interview features Todd Herreman who worked for Prince as a general keyboard technician betw... more This interview features Todd Herreman who worked for Prince as a general keyboard technician between 1986 and 1987 when material for the Sign o’ the Times album was being recorded. Herreman, credited on the 2020 Super Deluxe edition as an assistant engineer, recalls how he first became involved in working with Prince, the overall nature of his support roles, the challenges of recording a prolific artist and aspects of tracking the sessions for Madhouse, one of Prince’s many side projects. The interview sheds further light on the creative realities surrounding Prince during one of his most productive artistic phases.

Inside Out: Dancehall and the "Re-Cooperation" of Meaning

Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism, 2006

The function of metaphor and role-play in Caribbean popular culture is not always fully understoo... more

Globalization and commercialization of Caribbean music

Popular Music History, Sep 6, 2009

This article discusses the impact of globalization on Anglophone Caribbean popular music—calypso ... more This article discusses the impact of globalization on Anglophone Caribbean popular music—calypso and reggae—chronologically addressing its aesthetic and economic transformations from the early 1900s through to the twenty-first century. It explores the artistic and commercial consequences of unequal transcultural interaction in both aural and visual realms, and also assesses the implications surrounding the recent international impact of performers from Barbados.

Inside Out: Dancehall and the "Re-Cooperation" of Meaning

Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism, 2006

After the Storm: Hipgnosis, Storm Thorgerson, and the Rock Album Cover

Rock Music Studies, Aug 22, 2014

The London-based design agency known as Hipgnosis, comprising primarily Storm Thorgerson, Aubrey ... more The London-based design agency known as Hipgnosis, comprising primarily Storm Thorgerson, Aubrey Powell and later Peter Christopherson (along with several itinerant freelance collaborators), stood at the forefront of rock’s imaginative leap from the mundane to the magical (and also occasionally into the absurd and grotesque) during its operation from 1968 to 1983. The studio helped to make the album cover more integral to a record’s artistic totality, effectively translating sonic experiences into still images and accelerating the rock album cover’s development.

Special issue ofRock Music Studies: Bob Marley

Popular Music and Society, Jul 11, 2016

REVIEW: Uncovered Roots

Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism, Mar 1, 2001

Bob Marley: Recorded, Recoded, and Revisited

Rock Music Studies, May 4, 2019

This special section of Rock Music Studies on reggae icon Bob Marley was compiled to roughly coin... more This special section of Rock Music Studies on reggae icon Bob Marley was compiled to roughly coincide with the fortieth anniversaries of albums that solidified his international superstar status: Rastaman Vibration (1976) and Exodus (1977). While both records established Marley as a popular music commodity (further reinforced by the Kaya LP in 1978), they also provided a global platform for his often acerbic critiques on politics, society, history, justice, and religion, with particular reference to Rastafarianism. Following his death at age 36 in 1981, Marley's music and aura have demonstrated significant longevity, becoming ever more deeply embedded within international popular culture, although his ubiquity and transformation into a merchandising commodity on products with only a peripheral connection to his artistic legacy simultaneously threaten to dilute the potency of his messages. For example, the Marley estate's cannabis-related affiliation with the Ivy League private equity company Privateer Holdings, announced in 2014, carries acute resonances of colonial piracy and exploitation in that company's title. The philosophical validity of this commercial association with marijuana, a herb enthusiastically promoted by Marley, is undermined by the contradictory context within which it appears (Alleyne, "Marketing"). This journal section implicitly queries how our past perceptions of Marley influence how we address his music and cultural legacies today, confronting perennial issues surrounding authentic representation and global contexts. The two essays included here are not specifically limited to Rastaman Vibration and Exodus, instead discussing Marley's career in broader contexts while also referring to the albums in question within their respective analyses. Mike Hajimichael explores peculiarities related to Marley's radio interviews in America and Britain and the overall paradox of his scarce presence on the airwaves despite his growing international popularity. Matthew Bannister considers the representations of Marley in Aotearoa/New Zealand in film, music, and print, placing the musician's legend within Pacific contexts of colonialism and remediation. That discussion confronts what Marley means to audiences beyond the Euro-American mainstream with their own historical and cultural specificities. To supplement these essay perspectives, this introduction focuses heavily on the recorded musical texts and how those reverberant echoes are manifesting themselves in celebratory reissues, rearticulating Marley's music and meanings. The existence of these repackaged records speaks, alongside the essays, to Marley's twentyfirst-century aura and to the reiteration of his philosophical premises for audiences who were not yet born when he died. The Island Records releases through which Marley's global CONTACT Mike Alleyne

White reggae: Cultural dilution in the record industry

Popular Music and Society, Mar 1, 2000

It is difficult to understate the importance of the idea that&quot; there is a rough correspo... more It is difficult to understate the importance of the idea that&quot; there is a rough correspondence between the&#x27;commercialization&#x27;of popular music and its&#x27; cooptation&#x27;&quot;(Garofalo 79). The wide cultural exposure which has enhanced the recognizability of reggae has been achieved ...

Prince and popular music : critical perspectives on an interdisciplinary life

Bloomsbury eBooks, Jun 11, 2020

Prince's position in popular culture has undergone only limited academic scrutiny. This book ... more Prince's position in popular culture has undergone only limited academic scrutiny. This book provides an academic examination of Prince, encompassing the many layers of his cultural and creative impact. It assesses Prince's life and legacy holistically, exploring his multiple identities and the ways in which they were manifested through his recorded catalogue and audiovisual personae. In 17 essays organized thematically, the anthology includes a diverse range of contributions - taking ethnographic, musicological, sociological, gender studies and cultural studies approaches to analysing Prince's career

Authenticity in Music Production

Trajectories and themes in world popular music: globalisation, capitalism, identity

Ethnomusicology Forum, Sep 2, 2018

Analyzing Recorded Music

by Mike Alleyne and William Moylan

Focal Press eBooks, Nov 23, 2022

Tracks And Transformations in the Wailers' “Concrete Jungle” (1973)

Focal Press eBooks, Nov 23, 2022

Reviews/Recensions

Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies / Revue canadienne des études latino-américaines et caraïbes, 2012

Sería vano, en el exiguo espacio de esta reseña, intentar realizar un resumen ni mucho menos un a... more Sería vano, en el exiguo espacio de esta reseña, intentar realizar un resumen ni mucho menos un análisis de Transculturación narrativa en América Latina, conjunto de ensayos de uno de los más influyentes pensadores de Latinoamérica de las últimas décadas del siglo XX aparecido originalmente en 1982. No porque el libro haya “envejecido” mal: al contrario, todavía puede y podrá decirse mucho a propósito de esta obra y de la de Rama en general, así como de la de coétaneos suyos como Antonio Cornejo Polar y Antônio Cândido. Este trío de “tenores” de los estudios latinoamericanos sigue inspirando a un buen número de críticos literarios y culturales actuales, aunque quizá menos de lo que sería de desear, quizá porque han sido poco traducidos al inglés: en el caso de Rama, sólo La ciudad letrada y, ahora, Transculturación narrativa han gozado de este privilegio. Estos autores quizá pertenezcan a la última generación de humanistas latinoamericanos que, aun ocupándose primordialmente de aspectos literarios, poseían un vasto y extremadamente variado bagaje cultural. Si desde hace unos años “lo interdisciplinario” es ya un lugar común del discurso académico –explícitamente “rompiendo” fronteras, sí, pero reafirmándolas de modo tácito–, estos autores no tenían necesidad de hacer referencia a “lo interdisciplinario”: simplemente, lo practicaban en sus escritos de modo completamente espontáneo. Un buen ejemplo de ello es el libro que nos ocupa, en el cual el autor uruguayo toma prestado –y expande– el concepto de “transculturación” inicialmente acuñado por el antropólogo cubano Fernando Ortiz (Contrapunteo cubano del tabaco y el azúcar, 1940) como clave principal de comprensión de una oleada de textos y autores aparecidos hacia mediados del siglo pasado en regiones apartadas geográfica y culturalmente de las

Billy Preston and the Beatles Get Back : Black Music and the Wisdom of Wordplay and Wit

Babylon makes the rules": the politics of reggae crossover

Social and economic studies, 1998

... ISSN: 0037-7651 "BABYLON MAKES THE RULES": THE POLITICS OF REGGAE CROSSOVER ... Thi... more

“In a Sky Full of People”

Focal Press eBooks, Nov 23, 2022

Special Issue: ‘Dream Factories: Prince, Sign o’ the Times, Box Sets and Cultural Artefacts’

Interactions: Studies in Communication & Culture, Sep 1, 2022

This editorial examines historical and artistic contexts within which Prince's Sign o' the Times ... more This editorial examines historical and artistic contexts within which Prince's Sign o' the Times box set reissue might be viewed and heard, while also considering the overall posthumous output from the Estate. The discussion therefore explores the commercial and other functions of box sets in general and Prince's reissued recordings in in particular, potential symbolic signification, and the critical polarization that often accompanies such releases. Moreover, the box metaphor is employed to address academic partitioning and intellectual conservatism in Prince historiography.

Housing the quake: The Todd Herreman interview

Interactions: Studies in Communication & Culture, Sep 1, 2022

This interview features Todd Herreman who worked for Prince as a general keyboard technician betw... more This interview features Todd Herreman who worked for Prince as a general keyboard technician between 1986 and 1987 when material for the Sign o’ the Times album was being recorded. Herreman, credited on the 2020 Super Deluxe edition as an assistant engineer, recalls how he first became involved in working with Prince, the overall nature of his support roles, the challenges of recording a prolific artist and aspects of tracking the sessions for Madhouse, one of Prince’s many side projects. The interview sheds further light on the creative realities surrounding Prince during one of his most productive artistic phases.

Inside Out: Dancehall and the "Re-Cooperation" of Meaning

Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism, 2006

The function of metaphor and role-play in Caribbean popular culture is not always fully understoo... more

Globalization and commercialization of Caribbean music

Popular Music History, Sep 6, 2009

This article discusses the impact of globalization on Anglophone Caribbean popular music—calypso ... more This article discusses the impact of globalization on Anglophone Caribbean popular music—calypso and reggae—chronologically addressing its aesthetic and economic transformations from the early 1900s through to the twenty-first century. It explores the artistic and commercial consequences of unequal transcultural interaction in both aural and visual realms, and also assesses the implications surrounding the recent international impact of performers from Barbados.

Inside Out: Dancehall and the "Re-Cooperation" of Meaning

Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism, 2006

After the Storm: Hipgnosis, Storm Thorgerson, and the Rock Album Cover

Rock Music Studies, Aug 22, 2014

The London-based design agency known as Hipgnosis, comprising primarily Storm Thorgerson, Aubrey ... more The London-based design agency known as Hipgnosis, comprising primarily Storm Thorgerson, Aubrey Powell and later Peter Christopherson (along with several itinerant freelance collaborators), stood at the forefront of rock’s imaginative leap from the mundane to the magical (and also occasionally into the absurd and grotesque) during its operation from 1968 to 1983. The studio helped to make the album cover more integral to a record’s artistic totality, effectively translating sonic experiences into still images and accelerating the rock album cover’s development.

Special issue ofRock Music Studies: Bob Marley

Popular Music and Society, Jul 11, 2016

REVIEW: Uncovered Roots

Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism, Mar 1, 2001

Bob Marley: Recorded, Recoded, and Revisited

Rock Music Studies, May 4, 2019

This special section of Rock Music Studies on reggae icon Bob Marley was compiled to roughly coin... more This special section of Rock Music Studies on reggae icon Bob Marley was compiled to roughly coincide with the fortieth anniversaries of albums that solidified his international superstar status: Rastaman Vibration (1976) and Exodus (1977). While both records established Marley as a popular music commodity (further reinforced by the Kaya LP in 1978), they also provided a global platform for his often acerbic critiques on politics, society, history, justice, and religion, with particular reference to Rastafarianism. Following his death at age 36 in 1981, Marley's music and aura have demonstrated significant longevity, becoming ever more deeply embedded within international popular culture, although his ubiquity and transformation into a merchandising commodity on products with only a peripheral connection to his artistic legacy simultaneously threaten to dilute the potency of his messages. For example, the Marley estate's cannabis-related affiliation with the Ivy League private equity company Privateer Holdings, announced in 2014, carries acute resonances of colonial piracy and exploitation in that company's title. The philosophical validity of this commercial association with marijuana, a herb enthusiastically promoted by Marley, is undermined by the contradictory context within which it appears (Alleyne, "Marketing"). This journal section implicitly queries how our past perceptions of Marley influence how we address his music and cultural legacies today, confronting perennial issues surrounding authentic representation and global contexts. The two essays included here are not specifically limited to Rastaman Vibration and Exodus, instead discussing Marley's career in broader contexts while also referring to the albums in question within their respective analyses. Mike Hajimichael explores peculiarities related to Marley's radio interviews in America and Britain and the overall paradox of his scarce presence on the airwaves despite his growing international popularity. Matthew Bannister considers the representations of Marley in Aotearoa/New Zealand in film, music, and print, placing the musician's legend within Pacific contexts of colonialism and remediation. That discussion confronts what Marley means to audiences beyond the Euro-American mainstream with their own historical and cultural specificities. To supplement these essay perspectives, this introduction focuses heavily on the recorded musical texts and how those reverberant echoes are manifesting themselves in celebratory reissues, rearticulating Marley's music and meanings. The existence of these repackaged records speaks, alongside the essays, to Marley's twentyfirst-century aura and to the reiteration of his philosophical premises for audiences who were not yet born when he died. The Island Records releases through which Marley's global CONTACT Mike Alleyne

White reggae: Cultural dilution in the record industry

Popular Music and Society, Mar 1, 2000

It is difficult to understate the importance of the idea that&quot; there is a rough correspo... more It is difficult to understate the importance of the idea that&quot; there is a rough correspondence between the&#x27;commercialization&#x27;of popular music and its&#x27; cooptation&#x27;&quot;(Garofalo 79). The wide cultural exposure which has enhanced the recognizability of reggae has been achieved ...

Prince and popular music : critical perspectives on an interdisciplinary life

Bloomsbury eBooks, Jun 11, 2020

Prince's position in popular culture has undergone only limited academic scrutiny. This book ... more Prince's position in popular culture has undergone only limited academic scrutiny. This book provides an academic examination of Prince, encompassing the many layers of his cultural and creative impact. It assesses Prince's life and legacy holistically, exploring his multiple identities and the ways in which they were manifested through his recorded catalogue and audiovisual personae. In 17 essays organized thematically, the anthology includes a diverse range of contributions - taking ethnographic, musicological, sociological, gender studies and cultural studies approaches to analysing Prince's career

Authenticity in Music Production

Trajectories and themes in world popular music: globalisation, capitalism, identity

Ethnomusicology Forum, Sep 2, 2018

Analyzing Recorded Music

by Mike Alleyne and William Moylan

Focal Press eBooks, Nov 23, 2022

Tracks And Transformations in the Wailers' “Concrete Jungle” (1973)

Focal Press eBooks, Nov 23, 2022

Reviews/Recensions

Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies / Revue canadienne des études latino-américaines et caraïbes, 2012

Sería vano, en el exiguo espacio de esta reseña, intentar realizar un resumen ni mucho menos un a... more Sería vano, en el exiguo espacio de esta reseña, intentar realizar un resumen ni mucho menos un análisis de Transculturación narrativa en América Latina, conjunto de ensayos de uno de los más influyentes pensadores de Latinoamérica de las últimas décadas del siglo XX aparecido originalmente en 1982. No porque el libro haya “envejecido” mal: al contrario, todavía puede y podrá decirse mucho a propósito de esta obra y de la de Rama en general, así como de la de coétaneos suyos como Antonio Cornejo Polar y Antônio Cândido. Este trío de “tenores” de los estudios latinoamericanos sigue inspirando a un buen número de críticos literarios y culturales actuales, aunque quizá menos de lo que sería de desear, quizá porque han sido poco traducidos al inglés: en el caso de Rama, sólo La ciudad letrada y, ahora, Transculturación narrativa han gozado de este privilegio. Estos autores quizá pertenezcan a la última generación de humanistas latinoamericanos que, aun ocupándose primordialmente de aspectos literarios, poseían un vasto y extremadamente variado bagaje cultural. Si desde hace unos años “lo interdisciplinario” es ya un lugar común del discurso académico –explícitamente “rompiendo” fronteras, sí, pero reafirmándolas de modo tácito–, estos autores no tenían necesidad de hacer referencia a “lo interdisciplinario”: simplemente, lo practicaban en sus escritos de modo completamente espontáneo. Un buen ejemplo de ello es el libro que nos ocupa, en el cual el autor uruguayo toma prestado –y expande– el concepto de “transculturación” inicialmente acuñado por el antropólogo cubano Fernando Ortiz (Contrapunteo cubano del tabaco y el azúcar, 1940) como clave principal de comprensión de una oleada de textos y autores aparecidos hacia mediados del siglo pasado en regiones apartadas geográfica y culturalmente de las

Book Review: Archipelagos of Sound: Transnational Caribbeanities, Women and Music

Book Review - The Art of Record Production: The Theory and Practice (Fourth Edition)

Analyzing Recorded Music: Collected Perspectives on Popular Music Tracks

by Mike Alleyne and William Moylan

Analyzing Recorded Music: Collected Perspectives on Popular Music Tracks, 2023

Authenticity in Music Production

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Music Production, 2020

Prince and Popular Music

by Mike Alleyne and Kirsty Fairclough

https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/prince-and-popular-music-9781501354656/