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Title: Songbook by Nick Hornby, Marcel Dzama ISBN: 0-9719047-7-4 Publisher: McSweeneys Books Pub. Date: December, 2002 Format: Hardcover List Price(USD): $26.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.15 (27 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: my awesome mix tape #38
Comment: I bought this book, sight unseen, simply because of the description, which was: Nick Hornby, one of my favorite writers, had written a book about a bunch of his favorite songs. That's all I needed to know, that sounded great to me, I was sold.
I've been a Hornby fan since Fever Pitch. When High Fidelity (the book) came out, I was amazed: it felt like Hornby had been eavesdropping on my mind, because I tend to agree with a lot of his opinions about music and music lovers. Similarly, I'm a big fan of the reviews he wrote for The New Yorker a few years ago.
So I ordered the book and it showed up in my box and I immediately turned to the table of contents to see: which songs did he write about??? And I was surprised, and a bit disappointed, to see that I only recognized about a dozen of the titles. And there wasn't one song in the bunch that I considered a personal favorite. And when I listened to the songs I didn't know (included on a handy-dandy CD)... they didn't blow me away. But that's the beauty of a mix tape and, despite the fact that it's printed on paper, this is a mix tape.
And this one comes with great liner notes. Hornby's a smart, entertaining, intuitive writer. I may sound like a disappointed fan trying to make the best of a book that didn't satisfy me 100%, but even when Hornby's writing about music I haven't heard, it's still enjoyable, it's still worthwhile, it's still exposing me to things I previously didn't know about.
Even when he's confessing to not being a huge Dylan fan and confesses to preferring a Rod Stewart cover of one of my favorite Dylan songs to the original (which is, of course, the true road to enternal damnation), he does so in a way that's completely relatable even to a Dylan fanatic.
Even when he's extolling the virtues of a song I find to be "sad bastard" music (like he does in his essay about Mark Mulcahy's "Hey Self Defeater") he manages to include a great, conversational subtext about the virtues of small, privately owned, slowly-becomming-extinct record stores with a personal touch.
This is also a beautifully designed McSweeny book, with a beautiful "Maxell XL-II" mix-tape cover and with clever illustrations by Marcel Dzama. The book also benefits Treehouse Trust and 826 Valencia, organizations that are extremely worthy of the extra money.
Hornby should do one of these a year, I think. And next time, it'd be nice if he'd touch on his favorite Stones songs, his favorite Stax songs, his favorite Steve Earle songs, his favorite blues, his favorite jazz, his favorite Clash songs, etc, etc. If he'll write it, I'll read it.
Rating: 4
Summary: Gentle, astute reflections on music and taste
Comment: What makes a person like a song? What makes a person love a song? Nick Hornby's reflections on songs he's loved, and why he's loved them, became, for me, one of those works of art that makes me think as much about my own experiences as the author's. He got me considering what music I've loved and why, giving his book a deeper meaning and greater enjoyment than you'd expect to find on its surface.
Sure, this isn't great literature. I wouldn't expect him to rake in the literary awards for "Songbook". But reading it was a quietly enjoyable experience, like sitting down for coffee with a good friend and talking about life, love, and art. Hornby's writing style is, as always, deceptively casual. Accessible, astute, and precise, but not self-satisfied or self-concious. I envy that.
I won't disagree with the critics here who were disappointed that the included CD only contains a few of the selections Hornby describes. But I give you this: Most of the selections on the CD are songs I'd never heard of and wouldn't have been able to find easily. Others that aren't included on the disc, like, say, "Thunder Road", a person might already own. Or could find somewhere, quickly. Given the market pressures that I'm sure shaped the CD selection I'm pretty satisfied with what we've been given. These songs, though, form a nice, mellow soundtrack to read by. I like, too, that they all seem to have the same sort of rhythm to them, and similar lyrical styles. They made me feel like I was getting yet another peek into Hornby's mind, on a more personal level than through his words alone.
Rating: 5
Summary: Love Music
Comment: Hornby loves music. He expresses his love in this short book of essays. When he talks about music, he means pop, but not in the narrow sense of the term. Pop by his definition includes rock, reggae, country, R&B, rap, and so on. Through examining 31 songs, Hornby explores the many facets of pop. Some people would claim that pop is just junk or throw-away music, but Hornby claims this is actually one of the good points of pop music. Pop doesn't reach for immortality because it has the maturity to admit that immortality is impossible. Hornby is particularly critical of classical music. He claims it makes no sense to listen to music that has already been over-analyzed and has had the life drained out of it. There's nothing new to learn or experience. Whereas pop fans will always find something new or refreshing. Fans of pop enjoy the mystery of "figuring out" a song and when they're done, they move on to the next one. The puzzle is never complete. The challenge is eternal.
If you're a fan of music, you have to read this book. Even if you don't agree with Hornby's opinions, you'll think about pop music in a different way. You'll find new life in your CD collection. Rediscover your love of music.
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Title: Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby ISBN: 1573226882 Publisher: Riverhead Books Pub. Date: March, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Speaking With the Angel by Nick Hornby ISBN: 1573228583 Publisher: Riverhead Books Pub. Date: 06 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: High Fidelity by Nick Hornby ISBN: 1573225517 Publisher: Riverhead Books Pub. Date: August, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 by Michael Cart, Dave Eggers ISBN: 0618246940 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 15 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: How to Be Good by Nick Hornby ISBN: 1573229326 Publisher: Riverhead Books Pub. Date: 30 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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