English music hall songs, often comic in essence, were omnipresent in the United Kingdom from around 1850 until after 1918. Reflecting societal, political, racial, and gender attitudes, these concentrated communications reflected their historical moment. Sighing for the Silvery Moon: English Music Hall Songs Reexamined by Benjamin Ivry, a biographer and cultural reporter, focuses on the songs themselves in performance as preserved on early recordings and films. As reflections of bygone sensibilities they are time capsules, displaying the aspirations and character of a nation.

French popular songs from 1870 to 1940 dynamically epitomize anguished eras of upheaval. Boldly advancing views on societal, political, economic, racial, and gender issues, these charming, alluring tunes express an expectation of life as tragedy. "Parlez-moi d'amour: Themes in French Popular Song from the Commune to World War II" by Benjamin Ivry, a biographer and cultural reporter, focuses on the songs themselves in performance as preserved on recordings. They encapsulate the positive and negative elements of Gallic culture, as they communicate love and hatred, exultation and woe.