From Publishers Weekly
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bunch recounts his search for America's "best" jukebox, somewhat ambiguously defined as the one whose selection of songs is "in perfect sync with its time and place." The book's subtext, however, is generational angst. Self-classified as a member of "Generation Y," Bunch takes up his mission as an expression of the restless, youthful energy he fears will be suppressed by his recent decision to marry and move to the suburbs. His anxiety about his personal shift in direction translates into concern about cultural changes: the jukebox, a symbol of regional identity and cultural diversity, is threatened by the increasing homogenization of society. While Bunch does find pockets of authenticity in rural Mississippi and in inner-city Chicago and Detroit, he juggles too many thematic balls--jukeboxes, his personal life, the state of American society--to maintain a clear focus. Portraits of individual keepers of the jukebox faith met along the way are memorable; ultimately this volume is more successful as an American travelogue than as a music-lover's journal.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Bunch, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for New York Newsday, became hooked on an unusual brand of nostalgia. After a quasimystical experience in a West Side Manhattan bar, he embarked upon a quest for the country's greatest jukebox-or rather for the greatest jukebox collection representing the golden 45s of his youthful recollection. In this account, he tells of visiting bars in Chicago; Hoboken, New Jersey; Greenville, Mississippi; and beyond, recounting conversations and adventures from his somewhat patchwork geographic, as well as personal, journey. Most absorbing are his talks with the locals as they reminisce about the early roots of the jukebox's greatest stars (Frank Sinatra, Patsy Cline, and more). This breezy quest will appeal to pop and country music fans and their libraries.
Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, N.J.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, N.J.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
