For his 2007 critically acclaimed 33 1/3 series title, Let's Talk About
Love, Carl Wilson went on a quest to find his inner Céline Dion fan and
explore how we define ourselves by what we call good and bad, what we
love and what we hate.
At once among the most widely beloved and most reviled and lampooned pop
stars of the past few decades, Céline Dion's critics call her mawkish
and overblown while millions of fans around the world adore her "huge
pipes" and even bigger feelings. How can anyone say which side is right?
This new, expanded edition goes even further, calling on thirteen
prominent writers and musicians to respond to themes ranging from
sentiment and kitsch to cultural capital and musical snobbery. The
original text is followed by lively arguments and stories from Nick
Hornby, Krist Novoselic, Ann Powers, Mary Gaitskill, James Franco,
Sheila Heti and others.
In a new afterword, Carl Wilson examines recent cultural changes in love
and hate, including the impact of technology and social media on how
taste works (or doesn't) in the 21st century.