Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste (33 1/3) Review

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(More customer reviews)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.

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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.

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The Beach Boys: The Complete History Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is bigger than a phone book. It has a lot of great info, basically everything that's on the wikipedia pages. The book could have been downsized a bit if there was some editing with pages. Some pages might just have a couple of lines (references/links) then the next page starts the next article. The pictures on the site are the same as in the book, but they're black and white. It's been updated all the way until about a year ago. I only say that because it doesn't have a review or mention Brian's new album (BW Reimagines Gershwin). The only info given is the start of his collaborations on two of Gershwin's songs. Great reference guide if you don't have a computer to go to right off hand.

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The Beach Boys formed in 1961 and quickly gained popularity for their close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a Southern California youth culture of cars, surfing and romance. The Beach Boys have often been called "America's Band." The group has had 36 Top 40 hits in the U.S. - the most of any U.S. rock band - and 56 Hot 100 hits, including four number-one singles. Rolling Stone magazine listed The Beach Boys as number 12 in the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. According to Billboard, in terms of singles and album sales, The Beach Boys are the No.1 selling American band of all time. This book gives you an in-depth look at all the intimate details about each of their albums, including a complete list of every song ever written or recorded by the Beach Boys and a thorough analysis of the meanings and circumstances surrounding the writing and recording of each song. All of the customary song specifications are included (year, recording/release dates, album names, genre, length, label, writers, producers, personnel, instruments played, etc), but the heart of the book details the band's lyrical inspirations, collaborative efforts, the actual recording session drama and what occurred behind closed doors. It delves into the effect of the politics of the day on the boys' music and lifestyle, the critical reception of the music and, most importantly, the sometimes controversial relationship between the Beach Boys themselves. This is a WikiBits book - a compilation of related copyright-free Wikipedia articles and listings that have been crafted into a physical book that you can take with you.

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