Comments on:

By: bcapirigi

bcapirigi — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:50:11 +0000

I’d rather read a good book about an album I’ve never heard (ie. Let’s Talk About Love) than a so-so book about one of my favorite albums. Though ideally, I’d like a good book about an album I love…
My proposal didn’t make the list. I guess the world will just have to wait for my thesis about George Michael’s facial hair.

By: scott pgwp

scott pgwp — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:45:41 +0000

@Nicolars: Fuck, I guess if mine gets picked I'm going to have to come up with a new angle. I thought "give Slint a blowjob" was the way to go, but maybe not...

By: Chris Molanphy

Chris Molanphy — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:46:23 +0000

@DocStrange: Just to clarify: that's because "Lost in You" is the only song Brooks released as a commercial single. Prior to 1998, that was required in order to chart on the Hot 100; the Country chart is all-airplay. So, no offense, but your data point means nothing viz. Brooks's/Gaines's popularity.

By: Ned Raggett

Ned Raggett — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:34:59 +0000

I’m on the shortlist — if I get through, great, but my goal with the book is far more than simply talking about the album in question (it will have a lot to do with technology and the reception/discussion of music and what has become normative over time).

By: DocStrange

DocStrange — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:19:41 +0000

and not only that, but the fact that even though the Chris Gaines album was a failed and laughed at, its first single “Lost in You” remains his only Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 even though its not as good of a song as, say, “The Thunder Rolls”.

By: DocStrange

DocStrange — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:16:26 +0000

@La Mareada: Oh yes, reading about a bad or crazy album would be a much better read than on a great album like "Funeral". But hey, you never know. Maybe the Arcade Fire book will be as interesting as the Masters of Reality book from last year.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:06:19 +0000

For anyone interested in reading one of the proposals that barely missed the cut, here is one of them:
[perfectlines.wordpress.com]

By: the rich girls are weeping

the rich girls are weeping — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:05:51 +0000

@the rich girls are weeping: er, or the popist hits of the 90's and early-aughts for that matter. clearly there will be a smattering of canonized classics in the mix for crediblity, but this just might actually be the year for exile in guyville!

By: the rich girls are weeping

the rich girls are weeping — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 07:57:37 +0000

It's amazing how less and less interested in I am in the whole 33 1/3 folderol the slimmer this list gets.

That being said, I wish I was the one behind that that All Hail West Texas pitch. (ha!) Other than that, though -- the shortlist is beyond yawn-worthy. Then again, if the target audience is entry level-alts, as Hipster Runoff so lovingly describes them, than the greatest indie hits of the 90's and early-aughts is where the $$$ is.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 07:23:47 +0000

@Diglett: Yes, the Paul's Boutique book is quite good- I never knew about that other guy who was involved in the making of the album (the one who is kind of a recluse now), because normally you hear only about the Dust Brothers. Colin Meloy's "Let it Be" is pretty decent, too, coming from the point of view of a young kid in Montana.

I'm still in favor of anything involving "Marquee Moon," X, "Odessey and Oracle," Phil Ochs, or Dinosaur Jr.

I think it's too soon for anything on Kanye, Britney, Arcade Fire or even Mountain Goats.

By: Diglett

Diglett — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:55:35 +0000

My favorite books in the series are those where there isn’t any blowjobbing or hand-wringing at all, but a shitload of fun reporting about the album and the people around/behind it, see: Dan LeRoy’s Paul’s Boutique book. Mine is still kicking, but given the odds I’m definitely trying not to get too excited about said chasing people around.

By: Al Shipley

Al Shipley — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:35:29 +0000

@Jack Fear: I wouldn't say the author of the Zep book is ambivalent toward the record -- ambivalent toward "Stairway" and maybe one or two other songs, but not the whole album.

By: Nicolars

Nicolars — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:59:19 +0000

@Jack Fear: That's my problem with a lot of the indie-skewing 33 1/3 books -- I don't want to read a whole book on why someone thinks Slint is so awesome.

By: Jack Fear

Jack Fear — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:48:41 +0000

@doublewhiskycokenoice: But it's not about the quality of the album-it's about what's going to make an interesting book. The idea that best album = best book shows a complete misunderstanding of how writing works.

The best 33 1/3 books that I've read have been the ones where the author was ambivalent about the record, esp. the Led Zeppelin IV and Use Your Illusion volumes. When the record is an undisputed classic, the treatment gets too reverent - too many of the books are 150-page blowjobs, with no critical thesis or analytical intent behind them.

And do you really want top read 50,000 words that basically boil down to "OMG SO FUCKING AWESOME"?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:45:01 +0000

Have they written one about Manowar’s “Kings Of Metal” album?

By: Lucas Jensen

Lucas Jensen — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:17:28 +0000

Most of the 33 1/3′s I’ve read have not been that good. I kinda stopped reading them.

By: doublewhiskycokenoice

doublewhiskycokenoice — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:14:42 +0000

the fact that young jeezy is on there is a complete joke. if we're going to pick a contemporary rap album, i defy anyone to give me a reason why juvenile's '400 degreez' or big pun's 'capital punishment' wouldn't completely destroy that record.

also, if there is a god, ac/dc's back in black should win out.

By: Poubelle

Poubelle — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:07:26 +0000

Rather than mope that none of the Pulp proposals made it, I will say I think the O Brother soundtrack would yield something really interesting. Also, I just noticed The Chills' Submarine Bells was on there. That'd be cool.

By: La Mareada

La Mareada — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:51:34 +0000

@DocStrange: Most of their commenters don't seem to understand that a recent indie rock fave or a respected classic is likely to be too dull and reverent to read. Arcade Fire as a book? I'd rather read one based on the freaky experiments or the noble failures or the just terrible.

By: Chris B.

Chris B. — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:46:39 +0000

@Dan Gibson: The first thing I looked for on that list was to see if your Michael W. Smith idea was there. It was one of the ones that most intrigued me.

I knew my proposal on Anniemal was doomed when even my friends said "what's that?" when I told them what album I was writing about.