33 and a turd (1 Viewer)

Cornu Ammonis

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Anyone read many of those 33 and 1/3 books on various albums? I own the one for Neil Young’s Harvest but remember none of it. Got the one for Daydream Nation out from the library and it’s fucking awful. The author just writes some time stamps and then gives us a verbal diarrhoea description using words like seizure, loud, and heavy. Are there any worth reading? I’m obviously interested in the one on 20 Jazz Funk Greats written by Drew from Matmos.
 
Some thoughts: I've a few of them, 10-15 maybe, they're best approached like all cultural writing: it depends on the writer and what theyre interested in and what you're interested in.

The Celine Dion one - a journey to the end of taste- is amazing imho, and even more amazing now that it's out of date and Celine Dion just became a cool hero for Gen Z and younger millennials, but i remember nigglybits hated it because he thought it was a sneery read.

There's a pitchfork writer, Jenn Pelly, who I almost have the exact same taste as but i fucking hate her writing and I hated her 33 and a third about the Raincoats. I keep reading her stuff because I'm kinda fascinated with this weird taste dynamic I have with her.

It's also interesting to read some of the older ones, there's one about ABBA Gold that comes from the assumption that ABBA aren't almost universally loved, and it's kind of a quaint read now in this world of poptimism.
 
The Prince Sign on the Times one is quite well written and full of interesting insights about what it's like to be a Prince fan living in Minneapolis in the 1980s, but also the guy spends half the book bitching about how Prince isn't any good these days and actually, you know what, Sign On the Times isn't actually that good an album now that I think of it.

Kind of a bizarro read. Lots of if this guy did what I wanted him to do and didn't follow his own instincts this album would be better.
 
I had 2 of those. The rolling stones - Exile on main st & DJ Shadow - entroducing.

I haven't read any music books in years. I overdosed on them a while back.
 
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There's a pitchfork writer, Jenn Pelly, who I almost have the exact same taste as but i fucking hate her writing and I hated her 33 and a third about the Raincoats. I keep reading her stuff because I'm kinda fascinated with this weird taste dynamic I have with her.

You aware of her Irish media connection? She worked as an intern for Nialler 9 years ago.

Or perhaps it was her twin sister. One of the Pellys, they were both here.

(This isn't an I know here and she is sound thing, I met her about twice and thought she was reasonably ok.)
 
You aware of her Irish media connection? She worked as an intern for Nialler 9 years ago.

Or perhaps it was her twin sister. One of the Pellys, they were both here.

(This isn't an I know here and she is sound thing, I met her about twice and thought she was reasonably ok.)
I mean, i have no personal opinion on these people interpersonally, I'll seperate the art from the artist you know? But anyway, I know theres a Liz Pelly who writes about streaming and the like for the Baffler and others and I really like her writing! I wondered vaguely if they were related but, come on, stop trying to get me in trouble!

 
I mean, i have no personal opinion on these people interpersonally, I'll seperate the art from the artist you know? But anyway, I know theres a Liz Pelly who writes about streaming and the like for the Baffler and others and I really like her writing! I wondered vaguely if they were related but, come on, stop trying to get me in trouble!


Wasn't trying to drop you in it. Was just adding a semi-interesting local factoid about her career.

(They're twins)
 
I wanted to see if the 33 1/3 books have a website and I ended up instead on the wikipedia page for the series

33 1/3 - Wikipedia

I realised that in looking through the list, it’s easy to take potshots at it for being too rockist, too canonical, too pop, whatever else. but I also realised that just scanning the page, I was being given a series of emotional electric shocks at just the names of so many albums about which I have such profound feelings of connection and deep love.

I think it’s maybe related to the situation of thinking about a current reality where I am reading every day about war, shortages, crisis, climate collapse, all the other awful things. because I looked at this list and felt what I can only describe as a profound gratitude and even bliss at having been able to be alive and hear these sounds and had them affect me so profoundly in myriad ways. at the same time, I also felt an elegaic kind of sadness for what kind of world people’s kids are trying to deal with now.

there have been various bands that have been posting on social media recently about cancelling tour dates — that they are trying to make it possible, but it’s just not economically feasible. what happens to a generation who will never see live music unless it’s stadium-sized? what albums being recorded right now will eventually have a 33 1/3 book about them?

anyway this isn’t a very coherent set of thoughts, but there you go. some of the books are ok, I suppose.
 
does anyone have any 33 and a turd books for albums they don't own or have never heard?
No, but I was looking at the list and I’ve only heard about half of the titles that there’s books for. Less if you count in the Japanese, Brazilian, and the European books listed on Wikipedia. Going to get some more out of the library to compare.

(For those keeping score at home, the Daydream Nation one is a little bit sexist, homophobic (poof, sissy), and ablist (lots of stuff about seizure-inducing riffs))
 
does anyone have any 33 and a turd books for albums they don't own or have never heard?
The Celine Dion one, and I got the Kanye West one not because I loved the album (it's GRAND) but because it was for an album that had only been released a few years before. I actually think it's still the latest album in the whole series, 2010, unless a Kendrick one has been released?
 
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The Celine Dion one, and I got the Kanye West one not because I loved the album (it's GRAND) but because it was for an album that had only been released a few years before. I actually think it's still the latest album in the whole series, 2010, unless a Kendrick one has been released?
There’s a Kendrick one.
 

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