33 1/3 Series of books

It might just be generational nostalgia though

Yeah, that has to be why I wound up giving it a chance too. I don't want to read a memoir in a 33 1/3 book, but damn, if I didn't find myself relating to it.

OK, I just finished the Pavement one--very odd to feel that the memoir-y stuff at the beginning is the best part. no structure to this book. it jumps from the memoir into albeit interesting interviews, then it's over. And hids reading that Flux=Rad is about sex as opposed to holding on to punk like your mother's apron strings (styles come and go but I don't want to let you go-I have always assumed he was doing his Cobain primal scream here) is just bizarre. I liked the book overall because I'll read anything about a band I like, and hell, I couldn't do write one, but these books vary real widely
I guess file this unrequested review under "OK then..."

"his reading", sorry

Loved Weisbard's book. The only one that deeply disappointed me was Dusty in Memphis.

My favorites:

Low
Sign o' the Times
Court and Spark
Use Your Illusion I and II

agreed on all four. i've yet to hear the record dusty in memphis so maybe i'll buy the book and record in tandem.

Yeah the Court and Spark book is great.

Zaireeka is good and basic, very much a beginner's guide to the Flaming Lips, and I polished it off in no time. Geeta's I read in advance and of course like. Just began Weingarten's, which is terrific so far (though disco wasn't in its velvet-rope phase yet in 1973; that happened four years later, when Studio 54 opened).

anyone have suggestions on which one(s) i should read next based on my list posted a bit upthread? how's the Achtung Baby book?

Master of Reality by John Darnielle (I think my #1)
Live at the Apollo by Douglas Wolk
Paul's Boutique by Dan LeRoy (not sure if you're a Beasties non-fan, but I recommend this even if so; it's really well done and gives great insight to that whole time and place)

yeah i'm not huge into the Beasties in general but that one seems worth checking out -- i think Whiney described it as similar to his but in his opinion better

Has anyone ever submitted a Roxy Music one for this series?

― iago g., Sunday, May 23, 2010 7:06 PM (6 days ago) Bookmark

Pitched Avalon about two years ago, got a response saying "Great idea! Wait till the next open call!" and never followed up.

I have a different one in mind now but I'm uncharacteristically intimidated. I mean, if I'm going to write a book - even a short one - I'd have to do nothing but. No internet, no records, no food. And my life doesn't currently allow me to make that kind of commitment.

I just hope whenever they do a Roxy one, that it's not one of the first two albums. I love them, but there has been too much ink spilt about the Eno years. My vote is for one of the next three (unsurprisingly) or Avalon--the latter is a GREAT subject for one of those books, such a deeply weird record

I just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed reading the Nation Of Millions book by Christopher Weingarten of this parish over the last couple of days. It's a great, punchy piece of journalism. The extended comparison of the changing line up of the J.B.s to the progression of various tracks on the album is masterful and he nails the oft suggested but rarely convincingly well explained theory that hip hop can be seen as an Afro American form of folk music (with the recontextualization of samples and raps working in the same way as folk memory) in a few short, crystal clear passages.

I'd also recommend the Matmos guy's book on 24 Jazz Funk Greats. In fact his own theorising is much more illuminating than the actual interview sections.

Finally got my first few of these. I'm not going to name the ones I don't like, but I really, really love Drew's 20 Jazz Funk Greats book.

friend loaned me the In the Aeroplane Over the Sea one. it was okay. reading about how Schneider got the distortion on there was probably the most interesting thing, but I imagine I could've found that out from Tape Op or something if I had really cared. was surprised at how little this record actually sold, always seemed to me like it was way more popular than it actually was.

Is the Skiz Fernando 36 Chambers book ever coming out?

― Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Sunday, May 23, 2010 Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i just read the Big Star Radio City one -- pretty great overall. Nice to have some tech-y info on a lot of this stuff + some pretty good access to all of the bandmembers including Chilton. Even the personal stuff, detailing the author's time playing with Alex, is well done. way fucking better than the bio that came out a little while ago.

so far i've read and enjoyed:

Led Zeppelin IV
Let's Talk About Love: A Journey To The End Of Taste
Sign o' the Times
Master of Reality
Another Green World
Armed Forces
ABBA Gold
Endtroducing

have but need to get to:

Live at the Apollo
Exile On Main Street
Low
Use Your Illusion I and II
Loveless

Live At The Apollo is the best I've read, keep it top of your list

Read the Eno book a week or two back - it's great. Hoping to get to the Wire and Big Star books soon.

Whiney's was terrific. I've always had in my head a want to get a FREEDOM IS A PATH SELDOM TRAVELLED BY THE MULTITUDE tattoo and now I know the whole story, I want it even more so. Thinking that next payday it will happen. It sucks beyond belief that Wattstax isn't available on dvd over here yet.

are you sure you can't make yr DVD multi region somehow? Wattstax would reward any such efforts grandly

the only one I've read is the Forever Changes one...that was really good!!

have read two of these in the past couple days - the 'another green world' one is fantastic, i recommend. props 2 geeta if she still reads ILX! the bowie 'low' one is ok, something a touch dissatisfying about it that i can't quite put my finger on.

Any idea when the next call for submissions will be?

the last 2 rounds were in early '07 and early '09, so if they're doing it on any kind of steady schedule there might be another in a few months, although I have no idea if that's actually the case.

Have read three over the last week, including Whiney's "Nation Of Millions" one, which was excellent and really made me want to school myself better in all its sources and antecedents. Even though I grew up through the ascendance of hip-hop, my daily life, and my access to non-chart music, was so constrained that outside of "Rapper's Delight," Run-DMC's "Walk This Way" and the Beasties, it all pretty much passed me by. Currently reading Franklin Bruno's "Armed Forces."

thanks Phil!

and Sam P and Doran... wow!

Did the Tori one threatened/promised many years ago ever surface?

if Marooned was ILX the book, 33 1/3 is at least in part ILX the book series

cant wait for cankles's take on Big Star

more accurately, ILX's book & ILX's book series

I'd not read any of these before today, but I bought Dan Kois' book about Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's Facing Future. I got it mostly because it was the first book in the series where I know/knew absolutely nothing about the artist or album. Pretty interesting so far. Hope to finish it tonight/tomorrow.

eno book was okay, felt a little dry, like it was walking the perimeter of the album. but i dunno what i was expecting.

Throbbing Gristle one is my favorite.

i was a little disappointed by the book on "another green world" too. it only seemed to scratch on the surface or something. i mean it is such a rich album and a booklet with hundred small pages cannot do it justice. what was missing too was the personal touch. if you write a book about an album you need to have a story of your own listening experience with it. otherwise it is rather pointless, i think.

whiney i havent read yours but i'm looking forward to the time where i can put on the album sit down and chill w it

:)

whiney i would enjoy having an in-depth nerd-out about the original recording of 'funky drummer' sometime

In stock!

The world is yours.

ha! seeing all the responses to my eno book on this thread now...i should read ILX more.

i met eno in person recently, and was gratified to learn that he had read the book (and loved it!) i wrote about the experience here:

http://www.theoriginalsoundtrack.com/2010/11/meeting-brian-eno/

Whoa!

omg fantastic, looking forward to reading that entry later tonight

Congratulations Geeta. That's amazing. What a great note.

aw that's great. i recall reading somewhere recently that eno was giving copies of yr book to any friend who'd accept it, anyone remember where that was?

read the NMH one, it's a great insight to the recording of the music and a lot more, rather than just somebody talking about how much they love it.

Rites of Spring - 'I poised,bottled it, keeled over, and had a massive panic attack. And survived.'

i recall reading somewhere recently that eno was giving copies of yr book to any friend who'd accept it, anyone remember where that was?

I guess he only has four friends?

bono, the edge, adam clayton, larry mullen jr