ROMANCE

Yodel in Hi-Fi: From Kitsch Folk to Contemporary Electronica

by Bart Plantenga
Univ. of Wisconsin. 2013. 316p. photogs. index. ISBN 9780299290542. pap. $34.95; ebk. ISBN 9780299290535. MUSIC
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With this companion volume to his previous (and seemingly comprehensive) Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo: The Secret History of Yodeling Around the World, freelance writer, Amsterdam radio-show host, and American expat Plantenga is becoming theAlan Lomax of not just the yodeling world but yodeling worldwide. This time around, he devotes his attention to the under-the-radar yodeling hoi polloi, whose prodigious talents are imbuing yodeling with contemporary relevance. Chock-full of both amusing and informative sidebars, pictures, and accessible text that is both quasi-academic and popular, Plantenga's book wends its musicological way across a diverse cultural spectrum that includes everything from yodeling's traditional Bavarian alpine roots to a multinational cast of yodelers from Japan, Asia, various Arabic nations, Hawaii, and Latin America, along with the obligatory Europeans.
VERDICT Let's be honest, for most readers, yodeling is the Rodney Dangerfield of musical expression. Yet in a loving and thorough way that weds a fan's intense devotion with a scholar's desire for comprehensiveness, Plantenga is single-handedly changing entrenched yodeling stereotypes. Strongly recommended for musicologists and music hipsters everywhere.
Reviewed by Barry X. Miller, Austin P.L., TX , Feb 01, 2013
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