Synopses & Reviews
It's here: the third and latest volume in the series that you have come to rely upon for your music-reading fix. The 2002 volume will celebrate the year's best writing about music and its culture, as selected by Jonathan Lethem, best-selling novelist, music hound, and self-confessed closet rock-writer. With pieces on a dazzling array of topics from more than a hundred sources, the collection brings you remarkable essays by journalists and authors who are as serious about writing as they are about music. It's required reading for anyone who loves either art.
- Nik Cohn infiltrates the New Orleans rap scene
- Greil Marcus revels in Kelly Hogan, just when he needs it most
- Lenny Kaye and Carl Wilson remember Joey Ramone
- Sasha Frere-Jones composes haiku for Eminem
- Steve Erickson counts down Los Angeles' top 100 songs of all time
- Mark Jacobson gets all tangled up in Bob
- Gary Giddins summons the voice of Louis Armstrong
- Kate Sullivan takes on J.Lo and her metal bikini
- The Onion does what it does best (beware Marilyn Manson)
- David Gates measures the constant sorrow of Ralph Stanley
- Kelefa Sanneh gets some business tips from Jay-Z
- Luc Sante considers English roots music
Review
"Marvelously written pieces... first rate." Baltimore Sun
Review
"A sparkling, superbly eclectic compendium." The Boston Phoenix
Review
"Pure music-geek rapture." Entertainment Weekly
Synopsis
It's here: the third and latest volume in the series that you have come to rely upon for your music-reading fix. The 2002 volume will celebrate the year's best writing about music and its culture, as selected by Jonathan Lethem, best-selling novelist, music hound, and self-confessed closet rock-writer. With pieces on a dazzling array of topics from more than a hundred sources, the collection brings you remarkable essays by journalists and authors who are as serious about writing as they are about music. It's required reading for anyone who loves either art. Past contributors have included: David Rakoff Mike Doughty Lorraine Ali Greil Marcus Richard Meltzer Robert Gordon Sarah Vowell Nick Tosches Anthony DeCurtis William Gay Whitney Balliett Lester Bangs Rosanne Cash Susan Orlean Eddie Dean Selwyn Seyfu Hinds Alec Wilkinson David Hajdu
Synopsis
Announcing the third annual collection of the year's best essays and articles on music. It's "music-geek rapture."-Entertainment Weekly
About the Author
Jonathan Lethem's novels include
The Fortress of Solitude;
Girl in Landscape; and
Motherless Brooklyn, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award. His essays have appeared in
The New Yorker, The London Review of Books, and
Rolling Stone. He lives in Brooklyn.
Paul Bresnick has edited many award-winning music books. Also a literary agent, he lives in New York City and East Hampton.
Exclusive Essay
Read an exclusive essay by Jonathan Lethem