''Love for Sale: Pop Music in America'' is a 2016 book by ''
The Nation'' music critic
David Hajdu, in which he chronicles the 100-plus year history of pop music in the
United States. The book features previously published material as well as interviews, including an interview with legendary
folk singer Dave Van Ronk.
Chronologically, ''Love for Sale'' takes the reader from the origins of
ragtime in the 19th century through to the present era of
streaming
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
music. The author also sequential discusses the rise of tapes, CDs, and MP3s. The title of the book is derived from the 1930
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film.
Born to ...
song of the same name.
''Love for Sale'' constitutes Hajdu's attempt to answer the question: “What is the history and meaning of pop music?”
Reception
The ''
New York Times'' gave the book a generally favorable review, calling it, "very educational and entertaining". Still, the review cautioned that, "If
he book
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
were an album, it would be a collection of singles and B-sides meant to hold the fans at bay until the next major release."
The ''
Boston Globe'' described ''Love for Sale'' as, "idiosyncratic romp through the history of the American popular music industry."
The book was favorably reviewed by the ''
Wall Street Journal'', ''
Associated Press'' and ''
Vanity Fair'', among others.
References
External links
David Hajdu Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Love for Sale: Pop Music in America
2016 non-fiction books
American non-fiction books
Books about rock music
Books about pop music
Books of music criticism
Books of interviews
Farrar, Straus and Giroux books