Karen Tongson
Softcover | 12.9 x 1.1 x 19.8 cm | 138 pp
Faber & Faber | 2021 | 9780571369003
In the '60s and '70s, America's music scene was marked by raucous excess, reflected in the tragic overdoses of young superstars such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. At the same time, the uplifting harmonies and sunny lyrics that propelled Karen Carpenter and her brother, Richard, to international fame belied a different sort of tragedy - the underconsumption that led to Karen's death at age thirty-two from the effects of an eating disorder.
In Why Karen Carpenter Matters, Karen Tongson (whose parents named her after the pop icon) interweaves the story of the singer's rise to fame in the 1960s and '70s with her own trans-Pacific journey between the Philippines - where imitations of American pop styles flourished - and Karen Carpenter's home ground of Southern California. Tongson reveals why the Carpenters' chart-topping, seemingly white-washed musical fantasies of 'normal love' have profound significance for her - as well as for other people of colour, LGBT+ communities, and anyone outside the mainstream culture usually associated with Karen Carpenter's legacy.
This hybrid of memoir and biography excavates the destructive perfectionism at the root of the Carpenters' sound, while finding the beauty in the singer's all-too-brief life.
A PITCHFORK MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR
'Tongson serves up a number of astute observations about fantasy, projection, longing, normalcy, and aberrance.'
MAGGIE NELSON
'Deftly weaves memoir, history, and cultural criticism to highlight the dynamic relationship between artists and listeners.'
PITCHFORK
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John Broadley is one of my favorite illustrators and also one of my absolute favorite books ever!
The special shipping to Switzerland arrived very quickly and the book was perfectly wrapped! I E-Mailed the owner for a request to ship the book to Switzerland and he answered really fast and was very friendly.
I'm very happy about my purchase and can only recommend it.
This is the most beautiful book recording the last days of an iconic building. A book to leave open on certain pages, to devour & enjoy as you wish.
Quick delivery and the books are in perfect condition. I cannot recommend Books About art enough. Thank you!
This book made me think & appreciate painters & their work in a different way. Full of concise information to accompany each selected artist. Very glad to have a copy.
An excellent enjoyable book, very comprehensive in all aspects of varying designs. A must for all interested the creation of many things.