This book is a riveting investigation of what it means to love music and what it means to hate music, both of good and bad taste.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 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.
Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love
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"Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste offers a rare combination of compelling research and enormously entertaining writing, a real find for students of popular culture. It's a compact little volume packed with keen insights into the ideologies that have shaped music criticism and scholarship, thought-provoking commentary on problems of aesthetics, and sensitive reflexive analysis. That reflexivity, along with a careful balance of critical theory and field research, makes this work particularly appropriate for courses with an ethnomusicological angle. And as ethnomusicologists continue to cultivate a growing sub-field in popular music studies, Let's Talk About Love is a timely and valuable resource."-Katherine Meizel, Lecturer in Ethnomusicology, University of California, Santa Barbara st1\: *{behavior: url(#ieooui) } ! /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent: ""; margin:0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin: .5in; mso-footer-margin: .5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page: Section1;} >
About the Author
Carl Wilson is a writer and editor in Toronto at the Globe and Mail. He has written a weekly music column there for more than four years. One of his columns was reprinted in Da Capo's Best Music Writing 2002 volume, edited by Jonathan Lethem.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By D Belbin
Format:Paperback
I can't imagine that many people will click through to this page unless they're fans of Celine Dion, yet few people who like Dion are likely to be interested in this book, which is by far the best of the fine 33 1/3 series so far. I devoured it, despite never having consciously heard a single Celine Dion song (I just listened to her Titanic song, which is discussed here, and I already have no memory of it, she's that kind of singer). This is an engrossing, wide ranging book about why people like the things they do, discussing all sorts of subjects from kitsch and Eurovision to various philosophers/sociologists I'd not come across (eg Pierre Bourdieu) before. I picked this up on the back of a rave in the excellent Said The Gramophone MP3 blog. An outstanding contribution to an excellent series.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars
16 reviews
36 of 39 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Let's talk about a little book that packs a powerful punch...
11 Dec 2007
By Cliff Milledge
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
When I took Introduction to Aesthetics in college, I wish we had a text as smart, accessible, funny, and just plain awesome as this little book on Celine Dion to introduce us to the material. What Wilson has done here with his approach to the subject of taste and tackiness is nothing less than stunning. It is a must read for people who write about music and those that love to read about it.
Nota bene: You need not be a fan of Celine Dion to love this book.
Nota bene: You need not be a fan of Celine Dion to love this book.
22 of 25 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best books I've ever read!
28 Feb 2009
By Phil the Hypothetical
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
It took over a year of hearing about this book before I finally caved in and bought it, and now I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy the book when it first came out! It's hard to do Carl Wilson's book justice when it has so much to say, and says it so beautifully. So let's start with the obvious: DO NOT LET THE SUBJECT MATTER TURN YOU OFF! Yes, it's a book about Celine, but it's so much more than that. It's warm, erudite, smart, funny, insightful, provocative, kind, approachable, and ultimately moving. Sure, I can see the argument that the whole concept is a bit of a stunt ("Look, everyone, I'm going to write a book about something I hate!") but when it's done this brilliantly, who cares? This is the kind of book that should be a best seller, and I really hope the author publishes another book soon.
19 of 23 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Highlight of the 33 1/3 Series!
1 April 2008
By Wendy Raffel
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
I've read all of the 33 1/3s, and most of them are great books, each in their own way. So when I say Let's Talk About Love is my new favorite, you should trust me, b/c I know what I'm talking about. And I don't care one whit for Celine Dion... can't stand her. But Carl Wilson is an amazing writer. Maybe the best music critic we've got (visit his blog, Zolius!) and this book is truly a brilliant piece of work that waaaaay exceeds the parameters of its subject.
Check it out - you'll be glad you did, I swear.
Check it out - you'll be glad you did, I swear.
›
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4.2 out of 5 stars
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