Reviews for French Frenzies: A Social History of Pop Music in France

The average rating for French Frenzies: A Social History of Pop Music in France based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-09-05 00:00:00 Chuck Bond Often fascinating, especially when White joins a working band and plays some shows. He doesn't strike me as all that well-versed a music guy, frankly: he talks about how bandleaders are autocratic Big Men, which mimics the logic of Mobutu's regime, which of course explains, um, James Brown. And to say that taking all these titles like "general" shows some sort of imbibing of authoritarian thought patterns...as Robert Christgau points out, that's kind of common elsewhere, too. But there is a ton of fascinating stuff here about how soukous bands work in the Congo these days, particularly libanga, or commercialized mentions in songs: for a mere $1000, you could get a whole song named after you, or get your name "shouted" for a little less. (One song has 110 mentions.) Jill Sobule, I think it was, sold mentions on her last album, but this goes far beyond that.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-05-11 00:00:00 Edmund Blash The high? His time as a stand-in atalaku. The low? Lyric analysis; White should be commended for putting together a readable book that balances a compelling personal story with academic rigour