Popular Music in Contemporary France: Authenticity, Politics, Debate

Description

While music lovers from all over the world have tried to recreate the ambience of French cafes by playing music from stars such as Piaf, Trenet and Chevalier, intellectuals, sociologists and policy makers in France have been embroiled in passionate debate about just what constitutes 'real' French music. In the late 1950s and 1960s a wave of Anglo-American rock 'n' roll and pop hit Europe and disrupted French popular music forever. The cherished sounds of the chanson were sidelined, fragmented or merged with pop styles and instrumentation. From this point on, French music and music culture have been splintered into cultural divides - pop culture vs high culture; mass culture vs 'authentic' popular culture; national culture vs Americanization. This book investigates the exciting and innovative segmentation of the French music scene and the debates it has spawned. From an analysis of the chanson as national myth, to pop, rap, techno and the State, this book is the first full-length study to make sense of the complexity behind the history of French popular music and its relation to 'authentic' cultural identity.

David L. Looseley Professor of Contemporary French Culture, University of Leeds

'This is an excellent book. Clearly and simply written but yet with an uncompromising ambition to deal with popular music in a seriously analytical way, Popular Music in Contemporary France provides an invaluable critical discussion of French music and music culture from the 1960s to the present-day.' Web Journal of French Media Studies 'Ideal for university students or specialists in popular culture and music history or theory, Popular Music in Contemporary France showcases pertinent issues in pop music discourse and ways to critically approach conflicting perspectives.' Christy Wampole, University of North Texas in French Review (Vol. 78)