| Bubblegum Music Is the Naked Truth: The Dark History of Prepubescent Pop, from the Banana Splits to Britney Spears | 
 enlarge | Authors: Kim Cooper, David Smay
Publisher: Feral House
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy Used: $3.86
You Save: $16.09 (81%)
New (17) Used (22) from $3.86
Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 401308
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.8 x 6.9 x 0.7
ISBN: 0922915695
Dewey Decimal Number: 781.6609049
EAN: 9780922915699
ASIN: 0922915695
Publication Date: May 10, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: There is some minor soiling, and wear and tear of the cover.
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Book Description
From the Archies to Britney Spears, bubblegum music has excited every generation of music lovers. Featuring interviews with many of the genre's major creators, this ambitious anthology dismantles the worst myths about how bubblegum is produced and identifies the gum tendencies of artists as various as the Sex Pistols, Abba, the Monkees, and the Ramones. The book reveals the light and dark sides of the music, telling bitter tales of litigious backstabbing, pistol-wielding producers, and the perversities behind the jingles.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Letter to the Editors July 14, 2005
7 out of 15 found this review helpful
The following is a copy of a letter I wrote to the editors of "Music Is the Naked Truth" - it says all I can say about the book:
I'd been looking forward to reading your book
"Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth" for several years
and finally got hold of copy and read it last month.
I felt like I needed to contact (you) the editors,
if only toexpress my major disappointment.
Your book is advertised as a dark history of bubblegum music
and I was looking forward to some sort of logical outline and
readable history of bubblegum (a type of music I don't know much about)
However, immediately upon reading the introduction and first few
tentative essays, I could see it was going to be rough going.
While planning the book, I'm sure you all thought it would be cute for
your contributors touse as many kooky and coy references
to gum, candy, sugar, sweets, etcas possible.
While delving into your book, initially the candy
references were annoying...then they became plain
excruciating... and then painful. The painful candy references
on almost every page made reading the book an almost impossible chore.
But I'd paid good money for it, so I struggled through all the "gooey,
chewy, yummy" references
Another glaring annoyance in "Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth"
is the fact that there are NO color photographs inside...and what photos you
do place in the book are all 2 X 2 inches and in gray-ish black and white
Oh, wait...I forgot...there IS a large forlorn photo of a Monkees lunch box...
...but why are all the other photos the size of large Puerto Rican postage stamps?
A book about bubblegum music without color photos is
beyond ridiculous. Something along the lines of a thick,
colorful, well-written glossy would have been preferable
and you may have sold a few more books.
I'm sure by now your book as become the "textbook"
on bubblegum music...however, it's clearly not.
And I'm sorry I paid money for it...and I would
feel guilty loaning it to friends or even donating
it to my local library.
Thanks for reading and better luck next time
Give me more, more, more of that bubblegum music November 9, 2003
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
This is a collection of essays about (yes) bubblegum music. Most of them are very interesting. If you like to interested in the lighter side of rock and roll, this book should interest you.
POP! March 7, 2003
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I'm a big fan of bubblegum music (it's not often someone will openly admit that), and I thought this book was going to be interesting. It was, to an extent. All of my favorite bands were listed (1910 Fruitgum Company, Ohio Express, and my personal faves, The Monkees), and a lot of the cartoon rock bands were talked about, too (mostly from Hanna-Barbera Studios, such as The Impossibles, Josie and the Pussycats, and the Banana Splits, just to name a few). Another one of the book's best moments was the "100 Greatest Moments of Bubblegum" list in the beginning (or something like that)However, there were some drawbacks to this book. When they were talking about the producers and record labels, the essays got kind of long, and sort of boring. I got bored with this section very quickly. Another downside to the book was when the authors were talking about the Backstreet Boys, 'NSync, Britney Spears and the like (which in my opinion are NOT bubblegum) and then comparing them to The Monkees (which is totally bogus, becuase the Monkees DID play their own music after the first 2 albums, and 'NSync and the rest have yet to actually pick up a guitar, but I digress). Other than the drawbacks listed, I think you'll get a bang out of this book. It's the perfect thing for those who grew up with the Partridge Family and the Monkees, or those of you who are new fans, and want to know more about the subject of bubblegum music.
 SPLAT! January 22, 2002
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The naked truth, indeed!Editors Kim Cooper and David Smay have outdone themselves in producing the definitive work on the wildly popular yet strangely esoteric world of bubblegum rock, compiling dozens of essays written by some of the finest scribes of the underground press. Case in point: "Looking for the Beagles" by Steve Mandich, the author of the fantastically comprehensive biography "Evel Incarnate: The Life and Legend of Evel Knievel." Here Mandich sheds a similarly swell light on the all-but forgotten rockin' doggie duo the Beagles, who starred in their own short-lived late-'60s Saturday-morning cartoon series and released one gleeful pop album. Other contributors include the comic world's Peter Bagge ("Hate") with a hilariously enthusiastic overview of his young daughter's contemporary bubblegum CDs, Jake Austen ("Roctober") deconstructs KISS, and, in the interest of fairness, Dennis Eichhorn ("Real Stuff") bursts the bubble with "I Hate Bubblegum!" Buy for its long-lasting flavor. Splat!
Amazing essay collection August 17, 2001
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
This was a rarity in non-fiction for me: I couldn't put it down! So many of the essays were so wonderful, I just had to keep reading to see how strong the next one was. There are a few that I can tell were included more for completeness than quality compared to some, but overall this book is highly educational and entertaining at the same time. Worth it for anyone with an interest in pop culture. Also would make a good gift for that too-snobby-for-the-room culture vulture in your life that needs to be reminded that even The Ramones got into kitsch.
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