Love songs : a hidden history

Summary: Uncovers the unexplored history of the love song, from the fertility rites of ancient cultures to the sexualized YouTube videos of the present day, and discusses such topics as censorship, the legacy of love songs, and why it is a dominant form of modern musical expression.

Record details

ISBN: 9780199357574 (hardback : alk. paper)
ISBN: 0199357579
Physical Description: print
xiii, 315 pages ; 24 cm
Publisher: New York : Oxford University Press, [2015]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 275-284) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Birds do it! -- Procreative music -- Sappho and Confucius -- Love in ancient Rome -- Debauched maidens and lustful harlots -- The North African and Middle Eastern connection -- The troubadours -- The triumph of romance -- A love supreme -- Profane love -- Divas and deviancy -- Folk songs and love songs -- Love songs for the mass market -- The African connection (again) -- Crooners, torch songs and bobbysoxers -- Rock 'n' roll and the summer of love -- As nasty as they wanna be.