WORLDS OF MUSIC: A REVIEW ESSAY *** TIMOTHY J. DOWD This review appeared in the following journal: T.J. Dowd. 2005. “Worlds of Music: A Review Essay.” Qualitative Sociology 28 (1): 123-129. Juilliard: A History. By Olmstead, Andrea. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1999. 368 pages, paperback, ISBN: 0 252 071060 9. Music in Everyday Life. By DeNora, Tia. 2000. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 181 pages, paperback, ISBN: 0 521 62732 X. Rap Music and Street Consciousness. By Keyes, Cheryl L. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2002. 303 pages, hardcover, ISBN: 0-252-02761-2. The study of music is an ambitious endeavor that is not limited to a single discipline. For example, biologists examine neurological processes involved in music appreciation (e.g., Zatorre and Peretz 2001), writers from across the humanities interpret and decode depictions found in lyrics and music videos (e.g., Goodwin 1992), and within disciplines devoted specifically to music (e.g., musicology), scholars grapple with content and the social situation in which it is produced (e.g., Titon 1994). Given the latter group’s concern with the “social,” it is not surprising that some music scholars point to the discipline of sociology, noting the potential that it brings to the study of music (e.g., Scott 1990). Yet for sociologists to live up to this potential, they often need to be eclectic in their approach. For example, by drawing upon the core of sociology, they can ably situate music in its socio-cultural context, and by drawing upon the forte of other disciplines, they can address those aspects of music that sociology has not historically stressed (such as the analysis of musical content). The books featured in this essay should be of great use to sociologists of music and culture. They collectively represent an eclectic approach to music, thereby expanding the