Let's talk about Celine and tastes

1. In the first two chapters Wilson mentions the story of Celine and Elliott, and how things got personal to him at the Oscars. From what Wilson states, he gives me a feeling that there are always gaps between mainstream pop stars and underground artists, and the tastes of each other are always mutually exclusive. Then at the end of the second chapter, he introduces the story that Wilson was defending Celine Dion in front of others who dislike Celine. All of these make me think about the relation between “tastes and interpersonal relationships.” I guess my question is does people having different tastes really matter that much? Does having different tastes really hinder interpersonal relationships? If not, why we are paying so much attention to it? It seems that people always like to manifest or declare their own tastes, the my-taste-is-better-than-your-taste postures. It seems like people believe what we consume is always a representation of who we are. Yeah, people do have different tastes, but so what? Why we like to make “taste” such a big deal?

2. In chapter four “Let’s Talk About World Conquest”, Wilson brings up the case of Celine in China (P40). “What’s the biggest misconception the Chinese had about the West?” “The Chinese believe Celine Dion makes good music.” “Out of the whole catalog of American, Canadian and British music, the Chinese seem to enjoy primarily four artists: Dion, Mariah Carey, Elton John and Kenny G.” It’s really interesting when I read to this point. I guess one thing I’m thinking about is the marketing strategies. It’s all about accessibility. If Celine and Mariah are all that Chinese media present, these are all that Chinese audiences can get. Wilson wants the Chinese to appreciate Elliott, but I’m sorry, no major Chinese media inform us that there is an Elliott. Another observation of mine is that it seems that Chinese music lovers are more critical/ skeptical about our own Chinese pop music, but hold more open attitudes (even worships) toward western pop music/ stars, just like Americans are more critical about their own pop culture, but maybe more easy-going to Japanese/ French pop culture. They say “distance creates beauty.” Do you think it can be fit in this case—tastes of Chinese fans and Celine? I guess the point I’m trying to make is that the nature of taste is really a complicated matter. One cannot just stand at one place and give the judgments about what is good and what is bad. What do you think regarding this?

3. Just one simple question: People generally think Celine’s French songs are much better than her English songs. Not only Wilson thinks so, but her fan says her French work “seems to have a deeper soul or meaning of it (P109).” Why is that? Let’s put aside the issue of taste, why do people generally enjoy her French songs better? Is it simply because she’s better at conveying her emotions through French?