Swinging the machine : modernity, technology, and African American culture between the World Wars

In any age and any given society, cultural practices reflect the material circumstances of people's everyday lives. According to Joel Dinerstein, it was no different in America between the two World Wars-an era sometimes known as the "machine age"-when innovative forms of music and dance helped a newly urbanized population cope with the increased mechanization of modern life. Grand spectacles such as the Ziegfeld Follies and the movies of Busby Berkeley captured the American ethos of mass production, with chorus girls as the cogs of these fast, flowing pleasure vehicles. Yet it was African American culture, Dinerstein argues, that ultimately provided the means of aesthetic adaptation to the accelerated tempo of modernity. Drawing on a legacy of engagement with and resistance to technological change, with deep roots in West African dance and music, black artists developed new cultural forms that sought to humanize machines. In "The Ballad of John Henry," the epic toast "Shine," and countless blues songs, African Americans first addressed the challenge of industrialization. Jazz musicians drew on the symbol of the train within this tradition to create a set of train-derived aural motifs and rhythms, harnessing mechanical power to cultural forms. Tap dance and the lindy hop brought machine aesthetics to the human body, while the new rhythm section of big band swing mimicked the industrial soundscape of northern cities. In Dinerstein's view, the capacity of these artistic innovations to replicate the inherent qualities of the machine-speed, power, repetition, flow, precision-helps explain both their enormous popularity and social function in American life. Frontmatter Illustrations (page ix) Acknowledgments (page xi) Introduction: Bodies and Machines (page 3) 1. The Tempo of Life Is Out of Control...and Then Righted (page 29) 2. The Jazz Train and American Musical Modernity (page 63) 3. African American Modernism and the Techno-Dialogic: From John Henry to Duke Ellington (page 105) 4. Swinging the Machines: Big Bands and Streamliner Trains (page 137) 5. The Standardized White Girl in the Pleasure Machine: The Ziegfeld Follies and Busby Berkeley's 1930s Musicals (page 182) 6. Tap Dancers Rap Back at the Machine (page 221) 7. America's National Folk Dance: The Lindy Hop (page 250) 8. The World of Tomorrow...in the Groove: Swinging the New York World's Fair, 1939-40 (page 283) Conclusion: The Continuing Importance of Swinging the Machine (page 312) Notes (page 325) Index (page 401) Introduction, Bodies And Machines -- The Tempo Of Life Is Out Of Control, And Then Righted -- The Jazz Train And American Musical Modernity -- African American Modernism And The Techno-dialogic : From John Henry To Duke Ellington -- Swinging The Machines : Big Bands And Streamliner Trains -- The Standardized White Girl In The Pleasure Machine : The Ziegfeld Follies And Busby Berkeley's 1930s Musicals -- Tap Dancers Rap Back At The Machine -- America's National Folk Dance : The Lindy Hop -- The World Of Tomorrow...in The Groove : Swinging The New York World's Fair, 1939-40 -- Conclusion: The Continuing Importance Of Swinging The Machine. Joel Dinerstein. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.