"Dancing in the Distraction Factory: Music Television and Popular Culture" by Andrew Goodwin

The author makes some great arguments and points out a few diffrent connections between MTV and American society. It is very easy to lose interest in the first few chapters but keep going and it will become easier to follow. He goes into depth with various songs and breaks down the actual videos. Definitly an intersting view on the importance of MTV in the 80's. But it is also nice to have some background knowledge on the time period.





Contents
Acknowledgments
Author's Note
Introduction
ONE. Silence! Academics at Work
TWO. From Anarchy to Chromakey Developments in Music Television
THREE. A Musicology of the Image
FOUR. The Structure of Music Video Rethinking Narrative Analysis
FIVE. Metanarratives of Stardom and Identity
SIX. A Televisual Context: MTV
SEVEN. Aesthetics and Politics in Music Television Postmodernism Reconsidered
Concluding Thoughts
Music Television Time Line
Notes
Bibliography
Index