Overview

Civilization has always mistaken silence for order. From the earliest days of American history, noise has been treated as a threat-something to be banned, regulated, demonized, or controlled. But the sounds most feared have never been random. They have come from outsiders, from marginalized communities, and from people speaking or playing without permission. In Feedback Nation, Kevin L. Whitworth uncovers the hidden history of noise as power. This is not a book about music trivia or nostalgia. It is an investigation into audibility-who gets to be heard, who is forced into silence, and why loudness itself has always unsettled authority. Tracing a throughline from outlawed drums and condemned blues to distorted electric guitars, moral panics, and digital feedback loops, Feedback Nation reveals a recurring pattern: a new sound emerges → panic follows → the sound is condemned → then regulated → and finally repackaged for profit, stripped of its danger and its origin. What survives is the sound. What disappears is the story-and the people who paid the price for being heard first. Blending cultural history, social critique, and sharp investigative prose, Feedback Nation shows how America was not built quietly-but through argument, rhythm, disruption, and feedback. And why every attempt to tame noise ultimately fails. This book is for readers who want to understand how culture actually changes-long before it becomes acceptable.

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