press release

"It is an impressive work dealing with one of the most important innovations in music in recent years. There is no doubt that Robert Moog was the creator of a new range of instruments adding to the palette of tone colors that had largely been unchanged since the time of Mozart."
--Sir George Martin, C.B.E.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Rose Ann Miller, Publicist
Phone. 617.495.4714 Fax. 617.496.2550

LONG LIVE ROCK N'ROLL

Back in the early 1960s, rock and roll's earliest pioneers began the tradition of treating music as a transgressive act--a way to simultaneously express emotions and political sentiments through song. This "transgression" encompassed not only the music itself but also the way in which it was played and presented to the masses. Musical groups as diverse as the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, and the Grateful Dead were all searching for new electronic sounds. Lucky for these artists, one young man--who had spent the 1950s in his schoolboy basement messing with transistors--was also obsessed with creating new musical sounds that could be manipulated and shaped by musicians. This young man, a shy engineer by trade, was Robert Moog, inventor of the Moog electronic synthesizer. His invention would not only shape the history of the sixties, but also would influence and be a part of technological musical innovations that persist even today.

In Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer (Harvard University Press; October 30, 2002; $29.95), Trevor Pinch and Frank Trocco tell the story of the invention of the Moog electronic synthesizer, the people who created it, and its impact upon music and popular culture. The book focuses on what Pinch and Trocco call the "analog days"--the early years of the synthesizer, between 1964 and the mid-1970s, before the technology went digital. The authors trace the development of the Moog synthesizer from its first conception as a huge modular instrument for studio use though to the Minimoog--the first portable keyboard instrument typical of today's synthesizers. As they relate the history, Pinch and Trocco show how electronic sounds, once considered marginal or weird, entered our mainstream culture, producing a revolution in the way that music is produced and consumed.

The story of the synthesizer is the story of a special moment in our musical culture. Looking back on the 20th century, the two most important new musical instruments were the the electric guitar and the Moog. Unlike the electric guitar, the Moog was capable of emulating conventional instruments and making totally new sounds. Musicians such as Wendy Carlos used the Moog to play Bach "switched on," and others, like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, used the Moog for its unusual timbres and spacey effects. The special effects of the Moog were added to some of the best-known pop music of the 60s (Emerson Lake and Palmer's "Lucky Man;" and the Beatles' "I Want You," "Maxwell's Silver Hammer," and "Because").

Robert Moog's life is an integral thread in Analog Days. In 1964 Moog was a graduate student at Cornell University supporting himself using Theremin kits. (One of the first electronic musical instruments, the theremin responds to the motions of a player's hands in the vicinity of two metal rods, controlling pitch and volume, that are attached to a wooden cabinet.) By 1968 he had invented the synthesizer, he had been on the "Today" show, and he was the subject of a feature article in Time. Almost overnight, Moog's synthesizer was seen as a 60s icon and he was courted by Hollywood and rock stars. Boom turned to bust, however, and in 1971, Moog, driven under by high costs and new competition, was forced to sell his company. By documenting the origins and growth of Moog's invention, Pinch and Trocco show how a major new instrument is shaped by the wider culture. In addition, Moog's story provides an alternative lens through which to look at the 60s, the history of technology, and music.

Based on first-person interviews of the original inventors, engineers, musicians, and salespeople who were involved in the development of the Moog, Analog Days captures a piece of history directly from the mouths of the participants. Highly engaging, oftentimes funny, and vastly informative, Analog Days is a trip back in timeÉthough not a strange one! It will appeal to people interested in the history of the 60's and 70s, and music aficionados (listeners, musicians, technicians, and scholars).

ANALOG DAYS
THE INVENTION AND IMPACT OF THE MOOG SYNTHESIZER
By Trevor Pinch and Frank Trocco
Foreword by Robert Moog
Harvard University Press
Publication date: October 30, 2002
ISBN 0-674-00889-8; Price $29.95
368 Pages

To arrange an interview with Trevor Pinch, contact Rose Ann Miller at 617.495.4714