The Ringtone Dialectic: Economy and Cultural Form. By Sumanth Gopinath. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2013. 416 pp. ISBN 978-0-262-01915-6

Citation

Avdeeff M (2016) The Ringtone Dialectic: Economy and Cultural Form. By Sumanth Gopinath. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2013. 416 pp. ISBN 978-0-262-01915-6. Review of: The Ringtone Dialectic: Economy and Cultural Form. By Sumanth Gopinath. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2013. 416 pp. ISBN 978-0-262-01915-6. Popular Music, 35 (1), pp. 144-146. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0261143015000719

Abstract
First paragraph: A ding ding ding ding dididing ding bing bng Pscht(-ng) Dom, bomb om bedom bey bom Bedum bum bum b-b-bom bom boe-m bom bom Ra ma me ma-b'ra Ba bla blarorrrrrim brram drrrrrrrran drrrrrrrrrrrra Ba ba ba ba beh Wheeeee! (p. 139) Among the ringtone transcriptions by Sumanth Gopinath in The Ringtone Dialectic: Economy and Cultural Form, the above literal transcription of Crazy Frog best represents the struggle of seriously engaging with a seemingly trivial phenomena. In The Ringtone Dialectic, Gopinath provides a rich and, at times, information-dense examination of the rise and fall of the ringtone. This historical overview, through a theoretical lens of political and labour economy, documents an ephemeral media that has permeated, and continues to permeate social and acoustic landscapes.

Keywords
Music; Cultural Studies

Journal
Popular Music: Volume 35, Issue 1

People

Dr Melissa Avdeeff

Lecturer in Digital Media, Communications, Media and Culture