A review by jonallanson
Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres by Kelefa Sanneh

5.0

I went into this expecting to like it, but still I was surprised by just how much I did enjoy reading it. This is an incredibly well-written book, and the author makes some convincing points about popular music. The book takes a historical approach to the genres of popular music it focuses on, and presents stories, facts, quotes, and numbers in ways that draw you into the subject matter. When the author was telling stories about how artists came to write their hits, I knew I would be enthralled. I did not anticipate being equally as interested in how the author discussed chart positions or sales numbers of those same hits. I'm still enjoying the novelty of reading "history" books about times I lived through, and this book contains some of that to sweeten the deal as well. Lots of nostalgia for many of the songs and artists mentioned, but also lots of thoughts provoked by the way the author discussed those songs and artists. The best part, far from prescribing what you should think about popular music, the author makes the best case for being self-reflective and unapologetic about the music you like. Popular music is after all popular, and that shouldn't be a bad thing. Recommended.