33 1/3 Series of books

the best chapter of carl's book is that fucking AMAZING chapter 7, i think, ending with the buddy holly/love-scene bit. devastating. the book's quebec bits were for me, by far, among the least-interesting sections - but that's why i'm not really the 33 1/3 market demo anyway. loved the intersection of the very PERSONAL with ideas of aesthetic philosophy and the problems-with-music-crit. can i say again it's fantastic?

xp

Yeah, I just finished reading the excerpt myself (finally!). Really great shit, John; can't wait to read the rest. Now where the heck is my copy of Master of Reality?

For some bizarre reason, I have like 10 versions of Master... in all sorts of different formats.

Agree with Sean about that Buddy Holly bit in Carl Wilson's book - I've read that out loud to friends a couple of times, and on both ocassions I haven't managed to get to the end, because of the tears. Is there supposed to be a book on Brian Eno coming out in this series? can't find anything relisable about it anywhere...

God I love Master of Reality.

No shit, it's about as fucking mind-blowing as you can get. I think I played Into the Void like 40 times in a row one time.

Still waiting for the Master Of Reality book..

..but I'm really loving the 20 Jazz Funk Greats book. (And the "Daniel Drew" thing has been fixed) Drew wondered if people would start to dig on TG after reading this book... I haven't finished the book yet, but I do see a POV of extreme curiosity at the very least. I don't think Throbbing Gristle are a band that anyone can write a good book about and people will just starting going "yeah yeah yeah sounds so raaaad", much less evoke excitement. Drew's discovery story (specifically the discovery of the "place", sorry can't spoil it here) is a perfect setup for that curiosity, which I can't imagine being done better by someone else offhand.

Of course, if you're a TG fan, you will LOVE LOVE LOVE this book, or even a fan of the related groups (Chris and Cosey, Coil, Psychic TV, etc.) You will get plenty of quote/interview & story love from Chris, Cosey, Sleazy, and Gen.

Sorry, I posted too soon. I thought people above already bought the Master Of Reality book, instead of talking about the album.)

Notes:

- I am 100% behind the Wilson
- a surprisingly large part of that is just based on marveling at his skill with organizing thought patterns and evidence
- not to mention the few smack-on-the-head moments where he makes some kind of incredibly astute / mature aside about human relationships

I really enjoyed the GnR UYI book because it was written completely from memory. He hadn't listened to the record in like ten years, then finally revisits the album in the final chapter. Pretty great approach to criticism IMO.

:)

This approach is lifted from Nicholson Baker's U and I, a critical study of John Updike's novels written from memory. Or at least that's what I think it was; I haven't read it in years.

I'm sympathetic to Carl's aims--there quite simply isn't any commercial venue to talk about issues of music at a length longer than an article (and most academic volumes are super dry), and so if you've got a book, you should be spending a significant amount of time talking about ideas. It's just your duty as a critic. There is lots of info about Celine elsewhere. When I've disliked a 33 1/3 book it's due to the author focusing on the music too much, if anything. (Not naming names of course, though Matos' focused on the music in exactly the right way, I think.)

I haven't read the full book yet (though some guy in my class last week mentioned having his mind blown by it) so no comment there.

yeah, Weisbard acknowledges the Nicholson Baker debt; he refers to his own book at times as UYI & I.

Yes, he cites where he got the idea in the introduction. But regardless of the inspiration, I thought it worked here. I was entertained and I don't know that I've even heard those records played start to finish. Nor do I care to.

oh, it definitely worked; I liked the book a great deal, especially the introduction, where he contrasts the early '90s blockbuster moment with now (the--please forgive me--blogbuster moment?)

I actually disliked the GnR book. A little too smarmy, a little too hard on Izzy, a little too reverential to the Pfork legacy in it's 'so over this' tone.

But I just started the Trout Mask Replica book and love it so far. I'm pretty vanilla when it comes to these, I find - I don't want 'novellas,' or 'stories insired by' the albums or word jumbles, or any other nonsense. I like them to read like liner notes. Like I give a fuck about Colin Meloy's life.

hahaha "reverential to the Pfork legacy"--by a guy who'd been writing a decade before Pitchfork even existed

I'm just saying, it's very 'new journalism,' very self righteous. Maybe I'm just old fashioned.

The Carl Wilson book is the best book on music I've read in many years. So refreshing to read something about pop culture that's all smarts & no snark.

Is the Eno out? Anybody read it?

I'm reading 20 Jazz Funk Greats right now and loving it.

a little too hard on Izzy

I didn't read the GnR book. What's this about? Izzy is my fave member. He's the main diff between bad and good GnR, I think.

from the silence on the publishers blog, i'm guessing that the eno book isn't even written yet?

The books will come out if/when they come out.

This goes for any book, Eno or not.

I thought Geeta said somewhere it was finished or almost finished.

"I'm reading 20 Jazz Funk Greats right now and loving it."

me too. a+

I got my galleys/press copy of my book this week. I have to say, since "writer" was the second thing I ever wanted to be in the world (the first was "conductor" - lotsa of albums with Toscanini or Bernstein on the cover in the living room when I was toddlin'), that seeing a bound copy of something I'd written was a thrill comparable only to the first time I got a test pressing back from a vinyl pressing plant. But better, really.

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Congrats! I cannot wait to read that come April.

nice

awesome, dude.

i totally can't wait to read your book, john -- congrats!

They should release the book with that cover. Metal!

I was thinking the same thing!

Not to derail, but, John, "Lovecraft In Brooklyn" is one of your best songs ever!!

and yes i'm psyched to read this as well...

i'm off to berlin for the first time next month. how is the bowie 'LOW' book?

yes, the Bowie book by Hugo Wilken (sp??) is one of the best I've read in the series - good research, concise, evocative, and smart.

agreed.

I finished reading my copy of the Black Sabbath book last night and it left me emotionally cleaned out. Wow. Don't think I've heard that particular voice articulated so clearly and so movingly before.

Very much looking forward to reading that and Drew D's TG one.

Yeah, I wrote about John's book on my blog yesterday. It's fucking brilliant.

Is it actually officially out now?

I tried to get the Master Of Reality book at Easy Street last night, and they didn't have it, never got it in :(

well Easy Street aside (shame to hear that) yes the book came out yesterday! thank you for your kind words pf & emily, really appreciate it, book was hard to write so if it works for people then it was totally worth it

I can't wait to read this.

Now that this thread's resurfaced, I've gotta drop props for David Smay's Swordfishtrombones. Fun read.

the LOW one is ace agreed.

Totally agree about the Tom Waits book - it's a toss-up between that one and the Zeppelin book for the funniest/wittiest book in the series.

carl wilson's celine book really is as phenomenal as everyone says, great great book.

already posted this to the NB, but hell, while I'm at it . . .

I am having a reading from my 33 1/3 book tonight, and I am DJing a Throbbing Gristle happy hour beforehand around the corner from the bookstore. Please come!
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The Minutemen book isn't much more than extended liner notes for Double Nickels, which I finally realized was just the approach I wanted taken. Lots of inside references explained by Watt, though Hurley didn't participate. Anyway, the author gets huge credit-to-humanity points for bringing MacKaye to his punk rock class for show and tell:
Who Brought the Cool Kid?
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