One man embarks on a quest to read each of the 53 books in the one-tome-per-album 33 1/3 series. First up: Two of the books that are by actual musicians, Joe Pernice’s take on Meat Is Murder and Franklin Bruno’s cataloging of Armed Forces. [KEXP Blog]
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I just knocked out “Use Your Illusion I and II.” Interesting read.
Joe Pernice is a first-class writer, and the Meat is Murder book is excellent. Can’t wait for his novel.
The Meat Is Murder one is actually fiction, with Meat Is Murder as sort of a soundtrack to it. It was okay but I was expecting non-fiction. The Paul’s Boutique book is also really good.
If that guy finishes “Rid of Me,” I’ll be shocked.
Does Colin Meloy’s book not count?
Oh wait, just answered my own question.
@encyclopediablack: Forgot to mention that–it’s the one entry in the 33 1/3 series that isn’t actually about the album.
Something tells me I’m probably the only person who thought Pernice’s Meat is Murder was weak and schlocky. (Meloy’s Let it Be was actually more readable, and dare I say it? Pretty good.)
I, too, tried, tried, tried to get through Armed Forces, but it was all just a bit too trainspottery for me, and that’s saying a lot, you know. (Sorry, Franklin!)
i’ve got captain beefheart sitting on my shelf unread; right next to the album, unlistened to.
doesn’t lg beghtol count as a musician? i mean, he does sing a bunch of songs on the album he wrote about. not that i read that one. actually, rid of me’s the only one i’ve read.
I paid exactly one dollar for that Let It Be book, and feel it was an appropriate amount to spend after reading it. I have high hopes for the John Darnielle tome, though - full price, all the way!
@encyclopediablack: you were expecting fiction when the book is prefaced with a note saying it’s a novel, huh?
@CloudCarrier: Well, clearly, Mr. Darnielle’s book will rule.
To be honest, I wish MORE of them would deviate from the norm and be fiction or head out into more interesting pastures than just the history of the albums, though I have enjoyed many of them.
The Dusty Springfield was an enlightening read about culture, race and the myth of the South, Low was a cool little dissection of a very obtuse album, and Paul’s Boutique was just fun to read about the Beastie’s terrorizing L.A. with eggs. I just finshed Pink Moon which dovetailed nicely with this blogs focus on what “real” music is in new media, and what is just hype, then I move on to 20 Jazz Fun Greats, written by Drew Daniel from Matmos. I love this series!
If anyone wants to read a book-length interview that sadly reveals very little insight about the album in question, then Endtroducing… is where it’s at.
@Michaelangelo Matos: Bought it without reading the preface which I don’t always read before I buy a book. I’m goofy like that. I bought it off the strength of the series and my love of the album. Not saying it was horrible because it was fiction, just thought I was getting a book specifically about the album. Thanks for the words (c)David Cross.
I adored Let’s Talk About Love but this is way too meta for my blood.
When I first heard of this series, I was pretty intrigued. I picked up a couple books and was impressed. It got to the point where I’d buy them up, assuming the series could do no wrong. Well, I was wrong. There are definitely a few duds out there. Readers beware! Examples? The ones about Led Zeppelin and The Band are atrocious.
Psyched to see 33 1/3 getting some love here! Bergthol’s and Bruno’s have been my faves of the ten or so I’ve read so far. I’m dying to read the Carl Wilson book. Also, for anyone interested in the series, the two “Greatest Hits” anthologies (excerpting the first 40 installments) are essential for weeding out the weaker books before investing in them.
“If the act of listening to music requires some degree of participatory commitment from the listener, and if that commitment itself takes place as a kind of merging and identifying with the action and drama of the record, then Daydream Nation asks for one hell of a commitment. Based on the sheer scope of its attack, Daydream Nation poses a direct, imminent threat to the safety and well being of its listeners.”
Oh, for…
“At the very least, it threatens the security and structural viability of its listener’s ears. This record eats ears — chews them up with its gnarled sonic teeth (something covered later) and swallows them whole.”
Gnarled sonic teeth are covered later in the book? WTF? Stop. Just please stop.
“In this sense, it’s perfectly appropriate, and not shameful at all, to be slightly frightened by Daydream Nation.”
No more. Please.
“By reputation and in size, it stands as a kind of outsized rock ‘n’ roll behemoth — an overwhelming monstrosity (in the sense that monsters typically tend to be born of extremes, rife with power, difficult to contain, and mythic in proportion — Daydream Nation certainly meets all of these qualifications) capable of crushing the will of the most resilient, well-intentioned listener if the necessary preparations haven’t been made.”
Consider my will crushed.
I thought Bill Janovitz’s take on Exile On Main St (#18 in the series) was insightful.
Oh, and do recall Elvis C.’s dictum: “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.”
Let’s dance, then…..
My checklist so far:
Ramones: Terrible, ~20 pages about the album.
The Stone Roses: Good.
In the Aeroplane Over The Sea: Great.
Bee Thousand: Good, about 50% too long.
Doolittle: Very Good.
Use Your Illusion: About 50% through, so far seems to be a big mental jerkoff by the author.
Paul’s Boutique: Very Good.
In Utero: Very Good.
Not a bad record, but to be fair I have probably avoided a few duds by reading what other people thought before taking one on.
The one on Pink Moon was written mostly about the VW commercial that used the title song as its soundtrack. It’s one of the most unintentionally hilarious things I’ve read in ages, especially when the author interviewed the painfully self-impressed creative director who came up with the highly overrated ad.
And Meloy’s book is pretty useless unless you’re a Meloy fan, as it’s mostly a bunch of autobiographical anecdotes that go absolutely nowhere, much like a Decemberists record, except without all the references to Japanese folklore and the Civil War.
And is that Rid of Me book as awful as its cover blurb makes it sound? Yeah, I’m a geek who actually likes the books when they get all nerdy and obsessive and describe how the songs were written and who played what instruments and whatnot. I realize that if the entire series of books were written that way, its appeal would be limited. Unfortunately, the books in the series that I’ve read in which it seems some hack decides he/she is going to write a series of autobiographical sketches loosely based upon whatever CD happened to be in their CD player that day have all been pretentious flops, in my opinion.
But hey! I actually like most of the titles I’ve read, including the ones devoted to Led Zep IV, OK Computer, Unknown Pleasures and Forever Changes.
I’ll try to sell David Barker my pitch for Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell and show you all how it’s done.
There are two more columns up, six books written about now. Good reading.