The 33 1/3 thread.... (the book series)

I thought there was a dedicated music book thread somewhere but couldn't find it so thought I would post this here.
A great read so far.
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As a fellow Southerner, I did enjoy this book and thought it was a nice tangent, but related, from Dusty in Memphis - which to some extent is built on the idea of a "myth of the south." It was better than the Harvest/Village Green ones (I liked Harvest more than Village Green), which were a little dry recitations of opinions about the songs.

I do think the one about Southern Rock Opera did a better job handling the disparate influences of the "myth of the south"

Southern Rock Opera was my first read in the series. And while I'd have loved something a little more DBT-focused, I was grateful for the exploration of the "myth of the south" and for it introducing me to Grinderswitch, Mother's Finest and Col. Bruce Hampton.
 
Yea, for the Prince one it seemed like the common complaint was that its content was more about what the album meant for the author. I don't need that. I only care what the album means to me.

I'd like a fly-on-the-wall experience or writing about it in the greater context of an oeuvre or something more insightful and universal - not just someone's impression.

Definitely more about what the album meant for the author than the album itself but I found it to be quite a breezy and enjoyable read, nevertheless. That said, I'll read pretty much anything about Prince ever, and do very much enjoy this kind of creative non-fiction. I doubt I'd recommend it strongly to anybody that isn't already a huge Prince fan, and even then it would depend. But I did like it far more than the reviews led me to believe I might. For whatever that's worth.
 
So I read the Endtroducing... book over 3 sittings today, and loved the 3/4 of it that is direct dialogue from the author's conversations with DJ Shadow.

The introduction, however, is nearly 25% of the book and fortunately reads quick, but it's a little tiresome at times throughout - particularly a couple of stretches that are paragraph-long lists of artists, songs or albums that read more like a high school kid trying to pad out the word count on a homework essay than an engaging read with a good flow. It's not horrendous but did cause me to roll my eyes a few times.
 
So I read the Endtroducing... book over 3 sittings today, and loved the 3/4 of it that is direct dialogue from the author's conversations with DJ Shadow.

The introduction, however, is nearly 25% of the book and fortunately reads quick, but it's a little tiresome at times throughout - particularly a couple of stretches that are paragraph-long lists of artists, songs or albums that read more like a high school kid trying to pad out the word count on a homework essay than an engaging read with a good flow. It's not horrendous but did cause me to roll my eyes a few times.
This is why I never bought the 69 love songs book. It's a fucking dictionary. Literally.
 
At least with Low, the writer placed the album within its career context etc. Felt a bit of an exercise in doing a deep dive into only lyrics, not even really understanding where Bowie was mentally at the time.
 
Currently reading the Public Enemy ~ It Takes a Nation Of Millions to Hold Us Back 33 1/3. Turns out to be an interesting read on the source of the samples for the album. Lots of references to James Brown & the Wattstax festival. I'd never heard of the Wattstax festival before, that was a good rabbit hole to go down as well. Highway 61 Revisited and Vs. are up next.
 
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