130,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Overnight NZ-wide delivery 🚀 | Visit our Auckland bookstore • Open 7 days, 8:30am–5pm

Rock: The Primary Text

Developing a Musicology of Rock
By Allan Moore and Remy Martin
Series: Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series
0.0 (0 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
This thoroughly revised third edition of Rock: The Primary Text, co-authored by Allan F. Moore and Remy Martin, delves into the sounds of rock music as its primary text. It incorporates new material on rock music theory, style changes, and the hermeneutic method, discussing a wide range of musicians from early beat and rhythm and blues styles to punk, metal, and progressive rock. The book also explores rock music as a medium of self-expression and examines its evolving musical styles.
Read More
Format: Hardback
$34100
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for students, scholars, and enthusiasts of musicology, especially those interested in rock music theory and history.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

This thoroughly revised third edition of Allan F. Moore's ground-breaking book, now co-authored with Remy Martin, incorporates new material on rock music theory, style change, and the hermeneutic method developed in Moore’s Song Means (2012).

An even larger array of musicians is discussed, bringing the book right into the 21st century. Rock's 'primary text' – its sounds – is the focus of attention here.

The authors argue for the development of a musicology particular to rock within the context of the background to the genres, the beat and rhythm and blues styles of the early 1960s, 'progressive' rock, punk rock, metal, and subsequent styles. They also explore the fundamental issue of rock as a medium for self-expression, and the relationship of this to changing musical styles.

Rock: The Primary Text remains innovative in its exploration of an aesthetics of rock.

Series: Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series

View all
  • Blixa Bargeld and Einstürzende Neubauten: German Experimental Music
    At the end of his life, Pierre Schaeffer commented that his musical and sound experiments had attempted to go beyond 'do-re-mi'. This had a direct bearing on Einstürzende Neubauten's musical philosophy and work, with the musicians always striving to extend the boundaries of music in sound, instrumentation and purpose. The group are one of the few examples of 'rock-based' artists...
    By Jennifer Shryane
    Hardback
    $37600
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Popular Song in the First World War
    Popular Song in the First World War
    What did popular song mean to people across the world during the First World War? For the first time, song repertoires and musical industries from countries on both sides in the Great War, as well as from neutral countries, are analysed in one exciting volume. Experts from around the world, with very different approaches, bring to life the entertainment of...
    Hardback
    $34100
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Rock: The Primary Text
    Rock: The Primary Text
    This thoroughly revised third edition of Allan F. Moore's ground-breaking book, now co-authored with Remy Martin, incorporates new material on rock music theory, style change, and the hermeneutic method developed in Moore’s Song Means (2012). An even larger array of musicians is discussed, bringing the book right into the 21st century. Rock's 'primary text' – its sounds – is the...
    By Allan Moore and Remy Martin
    Hardback
    $34100
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781138592100

Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 02 October 2018

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Routledge

Edition: 3rd edition

Illustration: 90 Line drawings, black and white; 90 Illustrations, black and white

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Width: 156.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 684g

Pages: 322

Collections

Allan Moore Arts & Culture Music & Musicians Non-Fiction Remy Martin Series: Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series

About the Author

Allan F. Moore is Professor Emeritus in Music at Surrey University and holds various Visiting Professorships. He is best known for work on the analysis and hermeneutics of popular music, particularly in major monographs (Rock: The Primary Text; Song Means), 70 academic papers and 70 (mainly BBC) broadcasts, and also in overseeing various edited collections (Bloomsbury's forthcoming Handbook of Rock Music Research, Ashgate's Critical Readings in Popular Musicology and The Library of Essays in Popular Music). Long-time editor of Popular Music, co-founder of Twentieth-Century Music, he is on various other advisory boards, and edits Routledge's newly commissioned series Music's Interdisciplines.

Remy Martin is a Senior Lecturer at Leeds College of Music, where he lectures on a wide range of topics and music styles from analytic, cultural and philosophical perspectives. A graduate of the University of Surrey, Remy previously led popular music analysis and hermeneutics modules there. In his research Remy examines popular music listening experience, drawing from musicology, phenomenologically-oriented theories of embodiment, social theory, ecological psychology and ethics. After gaining early experience in punk and alternative rock bands, Remy went on to specialise in performance and has gigged as a rock, pop, folk and country guitarist.

More from Arts & Culture

View all
  • Dylan's Pick
    Bold Types
    A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...
    By Jane Ussher
    Hardback
    $5999
    Elsewhere:
    $7000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    I’ll Believe in Anything
    From Jacob Tierney, the creator of Heated Rivalry, in partnership with Brendan Brady and Accent Aigu, comes I’ll Believe in Anything, an official and complete collection of annotated scripts for the biggest cultural sensation of the year, with all new exclusive behind-the-scenes content.Based on Rachel Reid’s blockbuster Game Changers book series, Heated Rivalry premiered on Crave and HBO in late 2025 and immediately took the world by storm. I’ll...
    By Jacob Tierney
    Hardback
    $5499
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Shirl's Pick Shirl's Pick
    Home Again
    Join rock-legend, former Shihad frontman and lead singer of The Adults, Jon Toogood in this unflinching and no-holds-barred memoir Home Again.This is more than a rock story. Toogood looks back on a 37-year career that helped define New Zealand rock music, and the personal cost that came with it. From a music-obsessed childhood in Wellington to the deafening roar of international stages, this...
    By Jon Toogood
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Odyssey
    Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travellers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative....
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3599
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Iliad
    When Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017—revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that was "fresh, unpretentious and lean" (Madeline Miller, Washington Post)—critics lauded it as "a revelation" (Susan Chira, New York Times) and "a cultural landmark" (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an...
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Birdlands Birdlands
    New Release
    Birdlands
    A rare, intimate journey into the wild islands where Aotearoa's birds live beyond the reach of most human lives. In the most remote outposts of Aotearoa, our islands are populated not with people, but with birds. From the storm-lashed Subantarctic Islands in the deep south to the scattered volcanic islands of Tikapa Moana/Hauraki Gulf in the north, Birdlands offers a...
    By Edin Whitehead
    Hardback
    $4199
    Elsewhere:
    $5000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far you’ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...
    By Monique Fiso
    Hardback
    $4499
    Elsewhere:
    $5299
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Split Enz
    New Release
    Split Enz
    'My favourite band. Ever! And certainly the best dressed.' Sam Neill Split Enz were never designed to fit. Emerging from art school mischief in early-1970s New Zealand, they turned pop into surreal theatre: costume, character and melody colliding in a rock band that refused to behave like one. At the centre of that vision was Noel Crombie—percussionist, performer and the...
    By Michael Dwyer and Noel Crombie
    Hardback
    $5199
    Elsewhere:
    $6500
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Artist's Way
    The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron is a transformative guidebook that has captivated millions, including luminaries such as Elizabeth Gilbert and Tim Ferriss. With its profound ability to inspire and elevate, this book invites readers to embark on an enriching creative journey, fostering a deeper connection to one's artistic process and sense of purpose. The heart of Cameron's groundbreaking programme...
    By Julia Cameron
    Paperback
    $3700
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • This Angry Pen of Mine
    This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...
    By Layne Staley
    Hardback
    $7299
    Elsewhere:
    $8999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • A Life in Lyrics
    Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest showmen of the twentieth century. With his unparalleled voice and searing on-stage energy, he was a great pretender, a killer queen and a champion of the world. But behind the glamour lived a musician and lyricist talented beyond measure, and the creative force behind one of the most culturally significant and musically diverse...
    By Freddie Mercury
    Hardback
    $5000
    Elsewhere:
    $6500
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Starside
    Enter the enchanting and deadly world of Starside, where swords have magic and power isn’t inherited – it’s claimed, from No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Alex Aster.Hundreds of years ago, a brutal war split a land in two. Starside is the realm of magic and immortals – the descendants of the gods, living in a power-rich paradise. Stormside...
    By Alex Aster
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3899
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

Arts & Culture lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all