Bloom on Pop Music

Emily Esfahani Smith, a gal with a middle name to remember, has a nice review of the high points of Allan Bloom’s take-down of rock/pop music in his Closing of the American Mind , which has a 25th anniversary this year. Worth pondering if you haven’t read Bloom’s masterpiece, or worth recalling if you have.

Bloom is perhaps even more brilliant on music in the relevant part of his commentary on the Republic .  Those familiar with my Rock Songbook, or even my old No Left Turns comments on rock music know that I do part ways with Bloom on the music issue a bit, but his musical writing were a major, major influence on my own thought about rock.

Ms. Smith of the said fabulous Isfahan -esque middle name also links to an excellent piece by Andrew Ferguson on the book’s anniversary, but of course what she really needs to read is the SONGBOOK!

My latest one (scroll down) is a good one for starters, but the one that is Most Allan Bloom Influenced should also be of interest, as would be  the Songbook’s sexual revolution opener.