33 1/3 Series of books

like American justice

I've never seen this brand as a guarantee of quality. It's always been wildly variable

sure, you and I and ILM realize that but I'm not sure the casual browser in Waterstones or Amazon would.

personally i think one of the series' greatest strengths is that each volume is such a relatively small investment of time/money that it's not a huge disappointment if a book here or two misses the mark, if it enables them to take a risk on publishing so many (often great) little books by mostly unknown authors on pretty niche topics. consistency is sacrificed for the sake of other virtues.

That league table goes to show that most people don't read reviews or recommendations the books that have been available for the longest amount of time have generally sold the most copies--with a few notable exceptions. The league table thing is more of an interesting thing to look at, sort of like amazon "sales ranks" (which may or may not have anything to do with sales), but as a piece of information it's not incredibly useful.

I agree that some are better than others, and the series IS wildly variable, but it's interesting to see how many people both love and hate the more outre books and how many people both love and hate the volumes that focus on mic placement and chord progressions, etc. So it boils down to different strokes/folks, really. I'm of the opinion that that variability is a big part of the reason the series has continued, where other similar projects have fizzled out.

Maybe. I'd be interested to know how many owners of the OK Computer book really rate it though - I haven't heard a good word about it. Even taking into account the obvious advantage of being published earlier (hey I noticed that too), sales suggest that a mediocre-to-bad book about a prestige album will sell more than a brilliant one about a more niche one. (Unfortunately for the purposes of 33 1/3 buyers albums by black artists, even when they're the biggest stars of their day, count as niche.) Unsurprising, perhaps, but discouraging. The good news coming out of the figures as that the books continue to sell, albeit modestly. A lot of music books published the same year as the first 33 1/3 batch are out of print by now.

Let's just say that I agree that some are better than others and leave it at that... but your point about the books continuing to sell and stay in print is a good one.
It's also worth noting when looking at the league table that when the series began in 2003, the economy was strong, there were many more indie and chain bookshops, and e-books were more of a futuristic notion than a reality. Kindle sales aren't tallied into the league table list. I would venture to guess that it would look VERY different if so.

[Though I will also say that while publishing a not-good book about a prestige album may be a safer bet, the editor is in no way cynical enough to do that on purpose.]

Of course. Nobody publishes a bad book on purpose. They still have to pay the writer the same. And I haven't read anything unpublishably bad - dull or gimmicky seems to as bad as it gets.

Interesting that ebook sales aren't counted in that table.

I didn't know you could even get these as eBooks. Are they Kindle only? Because they certainly aren't available for the Nook.

I got some Kindle ones during that sale and put them on my Nook. Problem solved.

yeah, i missed out on that sale and i'm not sure i would have figured out how to transer them without screwing it all up

I just googled how to remove it with Calibre plug-in and Voila!

Another review of Lethem's book, which I totally forgot about. Will Kindle it today: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/159606-fear-of-music/

Portishead book is overlong and goes nowhere basically.

there's really no way of telling which ones are considered any good/ better than any other with these things you know, when you're in a shop. usually front and back covers of music books (in the UK at least) are covered in rave quotes but there's rarely (if ever?) press quotes on a given 33.. book, just usually chatter about the series in general inside somewhere. i know some ILX folk might consider themselves above all that stuff and that's fair do's, but if i read say, a real rave from The Graun, The Indy or whatever on a cover, or from a writer i like then it will get me that bit more psyched.

yeah it's not like there's a lot of easy ways to observe or measure consensus about diff't books in the series outside of, like, this thread

Even this thread isn't totally in agreement about all but like maybe the top five.

I'm still pissed I missed the Kindle sale. Most of these are priced at $8.99, which I think is too high for a mini e-book. That said, along with Fear Of Music, I do want to buy one of the following: Marquee Moon, You’re Living All Over Me, Another Green World, Pink Flag, Horses, Swordfishtrombone, Troutmaskreplica, Rid Of Me. Decisions, decisions.

Don't buy YLAOM. Another Green World is great.

Marquee Moon and YLAOM aren't great books but i enjoyed them well enough as a fan of the albums

Me too on the Dino Jr, not great lit but really satisfying if you love the album. I couldn't get into the Eno one...

The Paul's Boutique one I've just read is in the enjoyably solid category. The prose is rock-crit boilerplate but it's a great story, thoroughly researched, which shines a light on A&R man Tim Carr and co-producer Matt Dike, who, to my shame, I didn't realise was such a big part of the sound of the album. The second half is, again, methodical rather than inspired but does a good job of explaining the samples and lyrical references: basically extended sleevenotes.

Lethem's Fear of Music is one of the best I've read. It wrongfooted me into thinking it would be a quasi-memoir but it's really a story of obsession spanning 30 years. So many ideas, so wittily put across. It made me hear the record with fresh ears, which is what all the best 33 1/3 books do.

Looks like the chosen few will be announced shortly. Just received my rejection email :-(

Me too. Neither 2112 proposal made it to the finals.

That's a real bummer.

Never read the Replacements one. Some of the others are OK, nothing spectacular.

That is, do yourself a favor and never read.

Or whatever. Read it godgammit.

Sry

lol @ "do yourself a favor and never read."

That's from Philip Larkin, innit?

I also received an email yesterday rejecting my proposal. I simply can't understand it. I had such high hopes for my book about the Sulayiti Kalungi Ensemble of Kampala's classic album "Uganda - Music of the Baganda People" that I'd gone ahead and started researching and writing it. I'd already made two trips out to Kampala and was planning a third.

The thing is, the Ganda people - of whose daily life, rituals and spirit this album is the most transcendent encapsulation, as I explain in Chapter 36 - aren't doing too well at the moment, economically or spiritually. There was the big topsoil erosion last year, of course, then the desecration of their traditional burial grounds, a shocking atrocity I cover in depth in Chapter 70. Things are on a knife-edge. It could go either way for the Ganda.

Over the last few months, news that this book was likely to appear spread like wildfire through these disheartened people, and on my last trip I saw a new sparkle in the eyes of their children. "David Barker will give his assent to a book about the Ganda through Bloomsbury Publishing," said one little girl, her feet bare because her parents can't afford shoes. "At long last all is turning out for our people!"

I'm not a superstitious man, but I swear that birds in those desecrated burial grounds were heard singing again after decades of silence. There was even a rumour that Kintu and Nambi - the Adam and Eve of the Ganda - were said to be planning a great rally in Kampala to congratulate the fifty-two re-united tribes and preside over an entire week of feasting, music, dancing, jubilation and thanksgiving sacrifice to the ancestral spirits.

And then this. Civil war is a virtual inevitability in Buganda now, and the tribal heartlands will soon be an open wound searing with ebola, anthrax and vermin as orphaned children stagger between burning huts, screeching the names of parents whose machete-hacked flesh is already being stripped from their skeletons by wild dogs. Barker you bastard.

scoring from the judges on this one?

I'm guessing they'll announce the final 18 on Monday morning. Curious.

I am not in the writing business. What are the advantages of being a part of this series over self-publishing?

distribution. a brand that people recognize. and the fact that nobody reads self-published books unless they are about teen werewolves.

OTM Scott.

Getting three rejections from Continuum has definitely made me re-evaluate how important it is to have a contract in advance though. I personally believe that if I just write a good book, it will get published. Time to quit putting the cart before the horse.

Latest batch to get commissioned:

Andrew WK: I Get Wet, by Phillip Crandall
Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works Vol II, by Marc Weidenbaum
Beach Boys: Smile, by Luis Sanchez
Bjork: Biophilia, by Nicola Dibben
Bobbie Gentry: Ode to Billie Joe, by Tara Murtha
Danger Mouse: The Grey Album, by Charles Fairchild
Dead Kennedys: Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, by Mike Foley
Devo: Freedom of Choice, by Evie Nagy
Gang of Four: Entertainment! by Kevin Dettmar
Hole: Live Through This, by Anwyn Crawford
J Dilla: Donuts, by Jordan Ferguson
Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, by Kirk Walker Graves
Michael Jackson: Dangerous, by Susan Fast
Oasis: Definitely Maybe, by Alex Niven
Richard Hell and the Voidoids: Blank Generation, by Pete Astor
Serge Gainsbourg: Histoire de Melody Nelson, by Darran Anderson
Sigur Ros: ( ), by Ethan Hayden
They Might Be Giants: Flood, by Alex Reed and Philip Sandifer

http://www.33third.blogspot.com/2012/08/18-new-titles.html

nice interesting variety, gotta say

Richard Hell and the Voidoids: Blank Generation, by Pete Astor

The Weather Prophets/Wisdom of Harry dude?

(Not saying that in a surprised way, I could totally see that being an album he locked into as punk started happening.)

Any ilxors in there?

just Nicola "deeznuts" Dibben

Intrigued by at least 5 of those.

who's the guy doing the dilla?

five women total.

(represented in 3 books. 3 out of 18.)

evie nagy i know her!

evie rulz

got totally fucking excited at dude love writing a dead kennedys book. and... oh, MIKE foley.

donuts should be great. and live through this. kanye will suck because you can't be all 'lol cocaine' yet. grey album has potential.

lol the bjork choice.