Has the global phenomenon that is Pop Idol ruined pop music, or is it just the natural evolution of a genre of music that has always been manufactured? From Tin Pan Alley to The Monkees, Bay City Rollers, Spice Girls, and boy bands, Bubblegum showcases the rise of Pop Idol and its many predecessors, in the process creating a witty, thorough history of what is arguably the most popular musical genre ever. This colorfully illustrated look at pop's manufactured mega-brands includes original interviews with the movers and shakers of the pop world.
Bubblegum The History Of Plastic Pop
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Svengalis all,
By muzakologist (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bubblegum: The History of Plastic Pop (Paperback)
I've been reading up on bubble-gum music and I found this to be one of the better books. It follows a chronological pattern and covers "prefab" music from the 1950s (not really Tin Pan Alley) through about 2002, treating it by decades. Especially interesting was the focus on managers who, realizing they had the formula down, would reinvent it in the next wave of music with a new band in a new style. The author also admits the fuzziness between "well-packaged" and "plastic," including a discussion of Beatles vs. Stones as nice boys/bad boys. The vignettes about individual stars and groups were useful to read in counterpoint to the narrative, but the layout meant every 4 paragraphs I was interrupting my train of thought to read about another band. The book is British (read "gigging" for "jobbing"), and as such is probably more balanced across the Atlantic than some American books on the subject, but it also means they make a few mistakes about American phenomena like understanding Toni Basil only in terms of the song "Micky" and omitting Davy Jones' pre-Monkees Broadway stint as the Artful Dodger in Oliver. The typos are pretty minimal for this sort of book, and the photos are great. The author's tone is generally pretty matter-of-fact about his subject in a "that's show-biz" sort of way: he only occasionally scoffs at a group or fawns over another one. Occasionally he is quite witty.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing,
By Harold Lime (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bubblegum: The History of Plastic Pop (Paperback)
Although ambitious in scope, this is carelessly (though sometimes cleverly) written. The author seems to have relied on his memory for various information, with the result that new, "What the...?" bits of disinformation are added to the unsurprising appearance of long-held popular falsehoods. Worth $1.25, but don't believe everything in here.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Francis Avallone believed himself first and foremost to be a musician. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
manufactured pop, bubblegum pop, plastic pop, session singers, eaten itself, payola scandal, chart success, surf music, session musicians Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Billy Fury, Larry Parnes, Spice Girls, Marty Wilde, Pete Waterman, Take That, Simon Fuller, Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Tommy Steele, Milli Vanilli, Frankie Avalon, Van Day, Bow Wow Wow, The Archies, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, New Kids On The Block, Simon Napier-Bell, Spandau Ballet, The Sweet, The Teenagers, Bucks Fizz, New Edition, New Romantic New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Francis Avallone believed himself first and foremost to be a musician. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
manufactured pop, bubblegum pop, plastic pop, session singers, eaten itself, payola scandal, chart success, surf music, session musicians Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Billy Fury, Larry Parnes, Spice Girls, Marty Wilde, Pete Waterman, Take That, Simon Fuller, Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Tommy Steele, Milli Vanilli, Frankie Avalon, Van Day, Bow Wow Wow, The Archies, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, New Kids On The Block, Simon Napier-Bell, Spandau Ballet, The Sweet, The Teenagers, Bucks Fizz, New Edition, New Romantic New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 17
books:
See all 17 books this book cites
- Lost in Music by Giles Smith on page 96, and Back Matter
- Bits and Pieces: Penguin Book of Rock and Pop Facts by Steve Smith on page 44
- To Cut a Long Story Short by Tony Hadley on page 92
- Take It Like a Man: The Autobiography of Boy George by Boy George in Back Matter
- Girl Power (Spice Girls) by Clive Dickenson on page 134
See all 17 books this book cites
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