Why Karen Carpenter Matters

- 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.'Engrossing . . . a triumphant delight.' 4COLUMNS'Heartfelt . . . excellent . . . breathtaking.' EXCLAIM!'Will resonate with readers who have never even heard of Carpenter.' LITERARY HUBMUSIC MATTERS: SHORT BOOKS ABOUT THE ARTISTS WE LOVE- Why Solange Matters by Stephanie Phillips- Why Marianne Faithfull Matters by Tanya Pearson- Why Karen Carpenter Matters by Karen Tongson [Publisher's Text]

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