{"product_id":"play-it-again-sam-samuel-jay-keyser-9780262552325","title":"Play It Again, Sam: Repetition in the Arts","description":"\u003cb\u003eWhy we enjoy works of art, and how repetition plays a central part in the pleasure we receive.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLeonard Bernstein, in his famous \u003ci\u003eNorton Lectures\u003c\/i\u003e, extolled repetition, saying that it gave poetry its musical qualities and that music theorists' refusal to take it seriously did so at their peril. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003ePlay It Again, Sam \u003c\/i\u003etakes Bernstein seriously. In this book, Samuel Jay Keyser explores in detail the way repetition works in poetry, music, and painting. He argues, for example, that the same cognitive function underlies both how poets write rhyme in metrical verse and the way songwriters like Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn (\"Satin Doll\") and Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart (\"My Funny Valentine\") construct their iconic melodies. Furthermore, the repetition found in these tunes can also be found in such classical compositions as Mozart's \u003ci\u003eRondo alla Turca \u003c\/i\u003eand his \u003ci\u003eGerman Dances\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as in galant music in general. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe author also looks at repetition in paintings like Gustave Caillebotte's \u003ci\u003eRainy Day in Paris\u003c\/i\u003e, Andy Warhol's \u003ci\u003eCampbell's Soup Cans, \u003c\/i\u003eand Jackson Pollock's drip paintings. Finally, the photography of Lee Friedlander, Roni Horn, and Osmond Giglia\u003ci\u003e--\u003c\/i\u003eGiglia's \u003ci\u003eGirls in the Windows\u003c\/i\u003e is one of the highest-grossing photographs in history--are all shown to be built on repetition in the form of visual rhyme. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe book ends with a cognitive conjecture on why repetition has been so prominent in the arts from the Homeric epics through Duke Ellington and beyond. Artists have exploited repetition throughout the ages. The reason why is straightforward: \u003ci\u003e the brain finds the detection of repetition innately pleasurable. Play It Again, Sam\u003c\/i\u003e offers experimental evidence to support this claim.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Samuel Jay Keyser\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0262552329\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780262552325\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e MIT Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/27\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 308\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"Samuel Jay Keyser","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46838435119359,"sku":"9780262552325","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_19345284-2505-4e7e-bbcf-d06c3c457752.jpg?v=1746589826","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/play-it-again-sam-samuel-jay-keyser-9780262552325","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}