“Da Capo Best Music Writing 2003”, Da Capo Press
“Da Capo Best Music Writing 2003”, Da Capo Press
The writers here range from the famous (Elvis Costello, novelist Jay McInerney, and Greil Marcus), to the obscure, but the pieces chosen by guest editor Matt Groening are uniformly good. Groening, creator of “The Simpsons,” was a music writer for five years ending in 1986.
The articles are generally long for this genre, enabling the authors to explore music by closely examining the personalities and events behind it. While recounting a chauffeured drive with “Mr. Brown” through the impoverished neighborhood where James grew up, Philip Gourevitch describes Brown’s upbringing. He shows how the contradictions between his childhood trauma and huge success seem to lie behind the star’s well known personal problems.
Among the best articles are those about the few remaining “real” blues artists from the South. McInerney describes the relationships between Matthew Johnson, the less-than-stable founder of Fat Possum Records, and his equally colorful roster of artists that include R.L. Burnside. Michael Cochran was “Exhuming the Legend of Washington Phillips,” a gospel bluesman who, like so many others, was tragically under recorded.
Lynn Hirschberg covers pop in “Who’s That Girl?” describing Clive Davis’s attempt to make the twenty-three year old Amanda Latona into the next Brittany. G. Beato details a less well funded, but equally intensive, search for a white female rapper who can break through like Eminem (who also appears in the story).
Standing out like gems in a sea of fluff, the pieces on individual artists are actually interesting, like Elizabeth’s Gilbert’s piece on Tom Waits, Mitch Myers on the late Doug Sahm, and Paul Beston on Warren Zevon’s last appearance on David Letterman’s show.
There are some cultural oddities. Chuck Klosterman examines the cult of Morrissey among young Hispanics. Susan Olsen covers the first African music record store in Paris. A few satires are quite funny, like Bill Tuomala’s alternative history about Van Halen’s career as an underground cult band.
Elvis Costello’s piece for Vanity Fair takes the reader “Rocking Around the Clock,” describing appropriate records to play for all hours of the day and night.
The only exception I take with the book is that it should have been called “Da Capo Best PRINT Music Writing 2003.” I noticed that FMSound authors, for example, were notably absent. Maybe next year.
- Dave Howell
(This article first appeared in the FMSound music site.)
The writers here range from the famous (Elvis Costello, novelist Jay McInerney, and Greil Marcus), to the obscure, but the pieces chosen by guest editor Matt Groening are uniformly good. Groening, creator of “The Simpsons,” was a music writer for five years ending in 1986.
The articles are generally long for this genre, enabling the authors to explore music by closely examining the personalities and events behind it. While recounting a chauffeured drive with “Mr. Brown” through the impoverished neighborhood where James grew up, Philip Gourevitch describes Brown’s upbringing. He shows how the contradictions between his childhood trauma and huge success seem to lie behind the star’s well known personal problems.
Among the best articles are those about the few remaining “real” blues artists from the South. McInerney describes the relationships between Matthew Johnson, the less-than-stable founder of Fat Possum Records, and his equally colorful roster of artists that include R.L. Burnside. Michael Cochran was “Exhuming the Legend of Washington Phillips,” a gospel bluesman who, like so many others, was tragically under recorded.
Lynn Hirschberg covers pop in “Who’s That Girl?” describing Clive Davis’s attempt to make the twenty-three year old Amanda Latona into the next Brittany. G. Beato details a less well funded, but equally intensive, search for a white female rapper who can break through like Eminem (who also appears in the story).
Standing out like gems in a sea of fluff, the pieces on individual artists are actually interesting, like Elizabeth’s Gilbert’s piece on Tom Waits, Mitch Myers on the late Doug Sahm, and Paul Beston on Warren Zevon’s last appearance on David Letterman’s show.
There are some cultural oddities. Chuck Klosterman examines the cult of Morrissey among young Hispanics. Susan Olsen covers the first African music record store in Paris. A few satires are quite funny, like Bill Tuomala’s alternative history about Van Halen’s career as an underground cult band.
Elvis Costello’s piece for Vanity Fair takes the reader “Rocking Around the Clock,” describing appropriate records to play for all hours of the day and night.
The only exception I take with the book is that it should have been called “Da Capo Best PRINT Music Writing 2003.” I noticed that FMSound authors, for example, were notably absent. Maybe next year.
- Dave Howell
(This article first appeared in the FMSound music site.)