Idolator Presents Second-”Best Music Writing 2008″ (Part Three)

Right: one of my pieces is linked in here. My apologies. I like it still, if that helps any. Anyway, as with the second batch, I found myself hooked on one piece here in particular: Michael Martin’s New York story about the preparation for Broadway of Xanadu, one of the worst movies ever made. Two lines in particular knocked me sideways: “(Andy Gibb, a Newton-John friend and Beck’s doppelgänger, had originally signed but dropped out, perhaps wisely opting to stay home and snort cocaine instead.)” And this absolute mind-bender:

Shortly thereafter, he quit the studio and went on an existential surfing trip to El Salvador, where, he says, “I was thinking, What am I going to do when I get back? I think I’ll get the rights to Xanadu.’ ”

PART THREE: K-R

Dana Kletter, “Eminence grise,” March 27, 2007, Boston Phoenix [here]

Michael Martin, “Springtime for Xanadu,” May 28, 2007, New York [here]

Michaelangelo Matos, “Project X: Bringing the Family Along,” July 9, 2007, Idolator [here]

Kelly Mellott, “Life Takes a Visa,” Spring 2007, Venus [here]

Paul Morley, “Northern Lights,” September 16, 2007, The Guardian [here]

Jenny Offill, “Candy Says,” March 2007, Moistworks [here]

Mark Owens, “Graphics Incognito,” February 2007 [issue 12], Dot Dot Dot [.pdf file downloadable from here]

Randall Roberts, “Are You Not Devo? You Are Mutato,” December 5, 2007, L.A. Weekly [here]

Chris Ryan, “Kingdom Come,” February 2007, Vibe [here]