Book Rec of the Day 4/22/2007

QUIRKY HISTORIES

Vanilla pop is the fizzy and sugary music created by the likes of innocuous bands like The Carpenters and singers like Doris Day. Lanza explains in delightful detail how the tunes are created and why this genre of music really matters. (You would expect no less from the author of Elevator Music: A Surreal History of Muzak, Easy-Listening, and Other Moodsong.) A funky find for the music aficionado.

VANILLA POP: SWEET SOUNDS FROM FRANKIE AVALON TO ABBA, by Joseph Lanza (Chicago Review Press, 2005)