Oswald's article predates his recording of the same name. A must read for anyone into sampling. Also reprinted in Cassette Mythos, Robin James, ed. New York, Autonomedia, and at the
official plunderphonics web site.
Noise: The Political Economy of Music, Jacques Attali, 1985, University of Minnesota Press.
Excellent discourses on the power of sound, music, and media over society.
Will Pop Eat Itself?, Jeremy Beadle, 1993, London, Faber & Faber.
Examination of the cyclic nature of dance music and pop culture ripping itself off over and over again, in addition to the artists who sample others as an aesthetic technique.
Stolen Words, Thomas Mallon, 1989, New York, Penguin Books.
Case Studies of literary theft from the Rennaissance to the 1980s.
The Culture of the Copy, Hillel Schwartz, 1996, New York, Zone Books.
Plunderphonics, Pataphysics, & Pop Stars, Andrew Jones, 1995, Wembley, SAF Publishing.
A nice big chapter on John Oswald, another on Chris Cutler, and other less relevant but still extrememly interesting "difficult listening" artists.
File Under Popular, Chris Cutler, 199?, Autonomedia.
An excellent and highly relevant work, especially the chapter called "Neccesity & Choice in Musical Forms," dealing with the history of music how its been effected by written notation and then recording technology.
Fair Use, Negativland,
An huge volume detailing the entire Negativland/U2/Kasey Casem/SST fiasco. Filled with legal documents, letters, faxes, photos, press releases (both real and hoaxed) and essays, including a large appendix of related writings and legal cases. Highly reccommeded.
Silence, John Cage, 1961, Weslyan University Press.
The book to read if you're interested in experimental music. Cage's work and thought is a superset of what we're talking about here, but it is relevant.
The Invisible Generation, from The Ticket that Exploded, William S. Burroughs
Excellent essay by the master of text cut-ups. This is about tape cut-ups, media manipulation and found sound. Recommended.
Cut and Mix, Dick Hebdige, 1987, New York, Comedia
Concentrates on Carribean music, with lots of discussion of technology and recyling of music ("versioning").
Black Noise, Tricia Rose, 1994, Hanover, NH: Weslyan University Press.
Deals with the history of African-American music and the emergence of rap music. Extensive discussion of rap music's use of sampling, reclaiming culture from corporate ownership,etc.
Society of the Spectacle, Guy Debord
The leader of the Situationiste Internationale and great thinker on detournment among
other things. I'm told Debord should be read in the original French.
Simulations, Jean Baudrillard, New York, Semiotext(e).
A classic of postmodernism. All about....well, simulations.
Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Walter Benjamin
Another classic written long before most of the technology that allows us all to sample and mix, but still with valuable insights.
One of the best articles ever on musical appropriation. Particularly interesting is his categorization of different types or degrees of "Importation".
Music Grooves, Charles Keil and Steven Feld, University of Chicago Press, 1994.
Various ethnomusicological essays on popular music and its roots, world music, and commodification of culture. Particularly interesting is Feld's exploration of Murray Schaeffer's concept of "schizophonia", the separation of sounds from their original sources.
The Tuning of the World, Murray Schaeffer, Alfred A. Knopf, 1977.
A study of sound research and acoustic ecology.
Lipstick Traces, Greil Marcus, Harvard University Press, 1989.
Excellent introduction to the history of Lettrism and Situationism, detournement, punk, and the underlying recurrent themes in culture.
Jamming the Media, Gareth Branwyn, 1987.
Title is pretty self-explanatory. Reportedly quite good. There
is a website for the book as well.
Yawn, Smile, and the Copyright Violation Sqaud Bulletin
Plagiarist Publications, Stephen Perkins
A series of small pamphlets addressing concerns of artistic appropriation.
Copy Culture issue of New Observer guest ed. Lloyd Dunn and Stephen Perkins
Each issue of New Observer is guest-edited by different people and features a special topic. This one focuses on Copy Culture, with articles on mail art, the history of the Xerox machine, and more.
Synergy
A four-issue run published by Viral Communications which frequently featured articles on plagiarism and anticopyright.
Xexoxial Endarchy
Contained lots of Xerox art and collage as well as various relevant manifestos. Published by Miekal And and Liz Was.
Rhizome