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Celine Dion: Let's Talk about Love (33 1/3 Series)
by Carl Wilson
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About This Book
ISBN13: 9780826427885 |
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
Non-fans regard Celine Dion as ersatz and plastic, yet to those who love her, no one could be more real, with her impoverished childhood, her (creepy) manager-husband’s struggle with cancer, her knack for howling out raw emotion. There’s nothing cool about Celine Dion, and nothing clever. That’s part of her appeal as an object of love or hatred — with most critics and committed music fans taking pleasure (or at least geeky solace) in their lofty contempt. This book documents Carl Wilson's brave and unprecedented year-long quest to find his inner Celine Dion fan, and explores how we define ourselves in the light of what we call good and bad, what we love and what we hate.
Review:
"'Let's Talk' about one of the most interesting music books you'll read this year... The always critical and erudite Mr. Wilson actually approached 'Let's Talk About Love' as a non-fan grappling with questions of "good" and "bad" taste... It's almost certainly the only installment in the series to discuss French-Canadian race relations, rockism, and Milan Kundera's thoughts on kitsch."
Idolator.com
Review:
"It was only a matter of time before a clever publisher realized that there is an audience for whom Exile on Main Street or Electric Ladyland are as significant and worthy of study as The Catcher in the Rye or Middlemarch. The series... is freewheeling and eclectic, ranging from minute rock-geek analysis to idiosyncratic personal celebration." The New York Times Book Review
Review:
"Ideal for the rock geek who thinks liner notes just aren't enough." Rolling Stone
Review:
"One of the coolest publishing imprints on the planet." Bookslut
Review:
"These are for the insane collectors out there who appreciate fantastic design, well-executed thinking, and things that make your house look cool. Each volume in this series takes a seminal album and breaks it down in startling minutiae. We love these. We are huge nerds." Vice
Review:
"A brilliant series... each one a word of real love." NME
Review:
"Religious tracts for the rock 'n' roll faithful." Uncut
Review:
"We... aren't naive enough to think that we're your only source for reading about music (but if we had our way... watch out). For those of you who really like to know everything there is to know about an album, you'd do well to check out Continuum's 33 1/3 series of books." Pitchfork
Synopsis:
Carl Wilson is not a fan of Celine Dion's music. Like 99.9% of music writers, he can't stand her music's cosmetic drama or its blaringly bland arrangements. But instead of just whining about it he undertakes what he calls a "Dionyssee" — an odyssey to teach himself to love her music. Ultimately, this book is a riveting investigation of what it means to love music and what it means to hate music.
Synopsis:
33 1/3 is a series of short books about a wide variety of albums, by artists ranging from James Brown to the Beastie Boys. Launched in September 2003, the series now contains over 50 titles and is acclaimed and loved by fans, musicians and scholars alike.
About the Author
Carl Wilson is a writer and editor at The Globe and Mail, Canada's national newspaper, and his work also has appeared in Pitchfork, Slate, The New York Times, Blender and many other publications. His pieces were selected for two of Da Capo Books’ annual Best Music Writing collections, in 2002 and 2007, by guest editors Jonathan Lethem and Robert Christgau. He runs the popular music blog Zoilus.com and is part of the team behind Trampoline Hall, Toronto’s acclaimed nightclub series of lectures by non-experts, which toured America in 2002.
What Our Readers Are Saying
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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
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BarrettChilds, July 9, 2008 (view all comments by BarrettChilds)
When I was reading this little tome that explores (through, the artiface of Carl Wilson, the author, exploring why he viscerally hates the music of Celine Dion) what exactly is "taste" and the implications that taste has for art experience, our society, our concepts of democracy & coolness, etc., I kept thinking, "Man, I want my Mom to read this." Not only is it a pleasingly mind-blowing book due to its interweaving of ideas like those of Kant and Bourdieu and an explaination of the cultural context of Celine Dion in an ever increasingly global media marketplace, but I thought that my Mom should read it because it would be a short-cut way of explaining some of the depth (both negative and positive) of why, for example, I do not like certain things. Even in my adult life, when I've gotten over some of my hang-ups on "cool" (I remember telling her when I was a teenager that even the way she said cool was uncool.) I still find that there is this chasm between us when I express my preferences for certain things. It is almost as if I am unable to explain and she is unable to grasp why we might differ, or why I might even think such things that have never entered her mind. Then I started thinking, "Man this book is brilliant...I should remember to reread it when my kids are teenagers." Then I thought, nah, it will be out of date then. As if Mr. Wilson were reading my mind when he wrote this book, I got to this line, "When we do make judgements, though, the trick would be to remember that they are contingent, hailing from one small point in time and in society." Exactly. So, Mr. Wilson or someone needs to make this book into a college class...so when the time comes, one of your students can put some thought into taste and culture and explain my kids to me! Also, I might add, that the fact that Carl Wilson put himself, and those of us like him (or at least somewhat like him), under the microscope so ruthlessly made the analysis all the more compelling. Mr. Wilson, you are not the ugly American, and not just because you are Canadian, it is because you paused to consider that you might actually BE the ugly American. Cool book.
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JohnnyC, January 31, 2008 (view all comments by JohnnyC)
When I was 15 years old, I wanted to explore Classical music for the first time. I subscribed to a series of Lps and was sent the first lot: it was the 9 Symphonies of Beethoven. When it arrived, my father was outraged. "I don't like this kind of music!". I had to return the Lps and cancel my membership. This started the great divide in taste that was to distinguish me from my Dad in more ways than you can imagine. After reading Carl Wilson's book I came to understand the great divide and how one person's music is another person's noise. Is it possible to convert to the music you don't like? Wilson's extraordinary mission to get on the better side of Celine Dion, will make you consider your own sensibilities and why your taste in music is no better than anyone elses. Have fun!
View all 2 comments
Product Details
- ISBN:
- 9780826427885
- Subtitle:
- A Journey to the End of Taste
- Author:
- Publisher:
- Continuum International Publishing Group
- Subject:
- History & Criticism - General
- Subject:
- Genres & Styles - Rock
- Subject:
- Popular music
- Subject:
- History and criticism
- Subject:
- Composers & Musicians - Country & Folk
- Subject:
- Instruction & Study - Appreciation
- Series:
- 33 1/3
- Publication Date:
- November 2007
- Binding:
- Paperback
- Language:
- English
- Pages:
- 164
- Dimensions:
- 6.52x4.80x.40 in. .35 lbs.
