Let’s Talk About Love by Carl Wilson: A NEW AND EXPANDED EDITION

Bloomsbury is thrilled to announce the publication of a new and expanded edition of Carl Wilson’s Let’s Talk About Love. Coming to a bookstore near you on March 13, 2014.

Let's Talk About Love

In 2007, Continuum published the fifty-second volume in the 33 1/3 series. Its title, Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste, seemed to suggest that it would be a book about Céline Dion. But it turned out to be so much more than that. Let’s Talk About Love, or LTAL as we have fondly christened it at Bloomsbury, is a book that invites the reader to second guess the way they think about the things they love and the things they hate.

Some nice things people said:

“Constantly interesting and thought-provoking…and I think he can teach us a few valuable things about criticism, for what it’s worth.” –  John Mulvey, Uncut, UK

“This erudite and eye-opening book attempts to explore not only Dion’s polarizing appeal but also the very concept of “taste.” Along the way, Wilson traces his loathing for Dion back to her Oscars performance alongside Elliott Smith, examines the meaning of “schmaltz” and Dion’s French-Canadian roots, meets her adoring fans, sees her Vegas show, reviews the album (it’s the one with that Titanic song), and analyzes theories on taste from David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and Pierre Bourdieu (turns out social distinction plays a big part). By the end, Wilson has set the blueprint for a kind of music criticism that “might put less stock in defending its choices and more in depicting its enjoyment, with all its messiness and private soul tremors– to show what it is like for me to like it, and invite you to compare.” In other words, let’s talk about love.” –  Pitchfork feature “Our 60 Favorite Music Books”

“Music criticism is often just guy-world. Wilson’s the real thing. I can’t praise this small book enough. Smart, but humane.” –  Heather Mallick, CBC News: Analysis and Viewpoint

“A book pondering the aesthetics of Céline risks going wrong in about 3,000 different ways…Instead, this book goes very deeply right.” –  Sam Anderson, New York Magazine

Given the great response, Bloomsbury and Carl Wilson decided to create an expanded, standalone edition. Part I is the original text of Let’s Talk About Love from the 33 1/3 series and Part II is a set of essays on the book’s themes contributed by a wide range of prominent writers, musicians and scholars.

Don’t worry, the original 33 1/3 version will remain in print.

9781441167217

Here is a peek at the Table of Contents.

PART I
Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste
Carl Wilson
1. Let’s Talk About Hate
2. Let’s Talk About Pop (and Its Critics)
3. Let’s Talk in French
4. Let’s Talk About World Conquest
5. Let’s Talk About Schmaltz
6. Let’s Sing Really Loud
7. Let’s Talk About Taste
8. Let’s Talk About Who’s Got Bad Taste
9. Let’s Talk with Some Fans
10. Let’s Do a Punk Version of “My Heart Will Go On” (or, Let’s Talk About Our Feelings)
11. Let’s Talk About Let’s Talk About Love
12. Let’s Talk About Love

PART II
Essays: This Is What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
Carl Wilson, “Introduction”
Nick Hornby, “The Artists We Deserve”
Krist Novoselic, “With the Lights On, It’s Less Useless”
Ann Powers, “If the Girls Were All Transported”
Mary Gaitskill, “The Most Obvious Thing”
Jason King, “Compared to What?”
Daphne Brooks, “Let’s Talk About Diana Ross (In Memory of Trayvon Martin)”
Drew Daniel, “Deep in the Game”
Sukhdev Sandhu, “Children of the Corn”
James Franco, “Acting In and Out of Context”
Marco Roth and the Editors of n+1, “Too Much Sociology”
Jonathan Sterne, “Giving Up on Giving Up on Good Taste”
Owen Pallett, “When I Come Home”
Sheila Heti, “Playlist: Let’s Listen to Love”

PART III
Afterword
Carl Wilson, “Let’s Talk Later”

You can follow Carl Wilson on twitter here.

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0 Thoughts to “Let’s Talk About Love by Carl Wilson: A NEW AND EXPANDED EDITION”

  1. Is it ok for me to like Taylor Swift’s music?

    Why wouldn’t it be OK? Because she’s very successful pop, and thus not particularly cool? Liking or disliking something because of perceived coolness is forgivable if you’re a teen and still trying to find an identity for yourself. But on your 20th…

  2. […] brings me to Let’s Talk About Love by Carl Wilson, from the 33 1/3 series of books where various writers respond to a particular album. Let’s […]

  3. […] later, Wilson’s Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste is getting a reissue. It comes complete with an expanded section that features a series of essays from other critics, […]

  4. […] April 8 at 7:30pm (FB event) at the Monarch Tavern, Carl Wilson is relaunching his amazing book Let’s Talk About Love – now made even more amazing by amazing contributors. […]

  5. […] Novoselic, has kind words for Celine Dion fans over at Time. It’s a contribution to a new, expanded edition of a 2007 book praising the Quebecois songbird’s massive 1997 album, Let’s Talk About […]

  6. […] Krist Novoselic, has kind words for Celine Dion fans over at Time. It’s a contribution to a new, expanded edition of a 2007 book praising the Quebecois songbird’s massive 1997 album, Let’s Talk About […]

  7. […] Krist Novoselic, has kind words for Celine Dion fans over at Time. It's a contribution to a new, expanded edition of a 2007 book praising the Quebecois songbird's massive 1997 album, Let's Talk About […]

  8. […] Wilson for the win! Did you know that just last week we put out a NEW and EXPANDED edition of Let’s Talk About Love with essays by Nick Hornby, James Franco, Krist Novoselic, Mary Gaitskill and […]

  9. […] what a month. A discipline-defining Sound Studies conference in Berlin, the announcement of a new and expanded edition of Carl Wilson’s 33 1/3 on Celine Dion AND the release of the first 33 1/3 after an 18 month dry […]

  10. […] in the semi-regular position of putting together the reading list for early 2014. (One prediction: the expanded edition of Carl Wilson’s Let’s Talk About Love will make an appearance.) It’s something I value a lot — getting to talk about books […]

  11. […] which published Let’s Talk About Love as part of its 33 1/3 series, has just announced an expanded edition of the book, due out March 13. The book will feature a new cover and 13 essays, including entries from Franco, […]

  12. […] An expanded edition of Carl Wilson’s Let’s Talk About Love is coming next year from Bl…, featuring essays from the likes of Sheila Heti, Ann Powers, Daphne Brooks, and James Franco. […]

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