Elevator Music by Joseph Lanza

Elevator Music by Joseph Lanza

"Lanza takes background music seriously as both music and social utilityIn doing so, he's written one of the few pop-history books that won't put you to sleep - not to mention the only one that dares to probe the very real connections between shopping-mall music and Devo."
--Entertainment Weekly

"Elevator Music is a fascinating tour of the sonic inferno we all unconsciously inhabit."
---J. G. Ballard, author of "Crash" and "Empire of the Sun"

"Snobby musicologists ignore this fascinating topic, but I learned a lot while being well-entertained by Lanza's delightful book."
---Wendy Carlos, composer, soundtracks for "A Clockwork Orange" and "The Shining"

"Snobby musicologists ignore this fascinating topic, but I learned a lot while being well-entertained by Lanza's delightful book."
—Wendy Carlos, composer, soundtracks for "A Clockwork Orange" and "The Shining"

"Lanza takes background music seriously as both music and social utility. In doing so, he's written one of the few pop-history books that won't put you to sleep - not to mention the only one that dares to probe the very real connections between shopping-mall music and Devo."
—Entertainment Weekly

"A fascinating tour of a genuine piece of American surrealism, diligently researched, sparklingly presented, surprising at every turn. Hilarious and at times terrifying."
—Phil Patton, author of Made in the U.S.A.: The Secret Histories of the Things That Made America

Joseph Lanza is currently writing an impressionistic history of romantic pop ballads. He has served as an independent consultant for Time Life Music and was executive producer for the two-disc collection Music for TV Dinners (Caroline Records). His most recent book is about the legendary crooner Russ Columbo.