Singing Poets: Literature And Popular Music in France And Greece, 1945-1975 (Legenda Studies in Comparative Literature) (Legenda Studies in Comparative Literature)

Singing Poets: Literature And Popular Music in France And Greece, 1945-1975 (Legenda Studies in Comparative Literature) (Legenda Studies in Comparative Literature) Review

Between 1945 and 1975, both France and Greece developed an interplay between literature and popular music, each making a new national canon. Literature provided the aesthetic criteria, the cultural prestige and the institutional basis for what aspired to be a higher form of popular song. Published poems were turned into popular songs, while a critical discourse, in return, celebrated songwriters not only for being as good as poets, but for being singing poets in their own right. In France, there were Georges Brassens, Leo Ferre and Serge Gainsbourg: in Greece, the presitigious title of tragoudopoios (maker of songs) was awarded to Mikis Theodorakis, Manos Hadjidakis and Dionysis Savvopoulos. This challenging and stimulating study draws on a wealth of materials, from theoretical writings by poets, through their lyrics, to the record sleeves and posters used to promote them.

Popular Music in France from Chanson to Techno: Culture, Identity and Society (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series)

Popular Music in France from Chanson to Techno: Culture, Identity and Society (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series) Review

In France during the 1960s and 1970s, popular music became a key component of socio-cultural modernization as the music/record industry became increasingly important in both economic and cultural terms in response to demographic changes and the rise of the modern media. As France began questioning traditional ways of understanding politics and culture before and after May 1968, music as popular culture became an integral part of burgeoning media activity. Press, radio and television developed free from de Gaulle's state domination of information, and political activism shifted its concerns to the use of regional languages and regional cultures, including the safeguard of traditional popular music against the centralizing tendencies of the Republican state. The cultural and political significance of French music was again revealed in the 1990s, as French-language music became a highly visible example of France's quest to maintain her cultural "exceptionalism" in the face of the perceived globalizing hegemony of English and US business and cultural imperialism. Laws were passed instituting minimum quotas of French-language music. The 1980s and 1990s witnessed developing issues raised by new technologies, as compact discs, the minitel telematics system, the Internet and other innovations in radio and television broadcasting posed new challenges to musicians and the music industry. These trends and developments are the subject of this volume of essays by leading scholars across a range of disciplines including French studies, musicology, cultural and media studies and film studies. It constitutes an attempt to provide a complete and up-to-date overview of the place of popular music in modern France and the reception of French popular music abroad.

Popular Music in Contemporary France: Authenticity, Politics, Debate (French Studies)

Popular Music in Contemporary France: Authenticity, Politics, Debate (French Studies) Review

While music lovers from all over the world have tried to recreate the ambience of French cafés by playing music from stars such as Piaf, Trénet 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.

France at the Flicks: Trends in Contemporary French Popular Cinema

France at the Flicks: Trends in Contemporary French Popular Cinema Review

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This book focuses on the evolutions that have occurred in French popular cinema in recent years. It provides an extensive overview of some of the significant changes affecting a film market which is showing strong signs of revitalisation after years of Hollywood dominance. A number of domestic productions released since the late 1990s have rivalled American blockbusters in terms of audience figures and many of these big commercial successes are discussed in detail in this volume. The strength of this book lies not only in its timeliness in terms of its publication, but also in the fact that it combines case studies of films which enjoyed international appreciation as well as productions which were not distributed abroad. Consequently, the volume affords a unique insight into French films which resonate with audiences outside of France as well as those which are purely available to and enjoyed by local, domestic viewing groups. Moreover, many of the contributors to this volume extend beyond film analysis and explore the production, distribution and exhibition contexts as well as critical and audience reception. As a result, the book as a whole makes an original contribution to the growing area of French Film Studies and is intended to be enjoyed by students and scholars as well as keen followers of cinema in France.

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Jul 27, 2011 16:10:50