"French Frenzies" is a lively history of French popular music that responds to a real need: how to understand the cultural differences between France and the English speaking countries of Britain and North America? The book is unique in showing how French forms of cultural expression are rooted in social and political tensions that, although shared by other countries, are not generally commented upon in songs with the same degree of clarity. In France, the persistence of strong literary and political traditions continues to nurture an exceptional current of criticism in songs and musical expression.