Below is a complete list of all the proposals we've received. If you don't see your album on here, let me know as soon as you can - and if yours is one of the albums with multiple proposals, then you can be pretty confident we received it. (Or email me to check, if you really really need to!)
Quite how we're going to whittle this down, I have no idea. But we have a team of people here at Continuum HQ who will be dedicating their "holiday" weekend to reading each and every one of these, and then we'll all have a massive fight on Tuesday, to see if Galaxie 500 trumps Supertramp.
Thanks to all of you who sent in a proposal, and feel free to comment on this list below. We'll try to get back to everyone by the end of March.
Right, I'm off for a lie-down.
***
AC/DC – Back in Black
AC/DC – Back in Black
AC/DC – Back in Black
AC/DC – Back in Black
Bryan Adams – Waking Up the Neighbours
Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker
Afghan Whigs – Black Love
Afghan Whigs – Gentlemen
Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen
Herb Alpert – Whipped Cream and Other Delights
Allman Brothers – At Fillmore East
Tori Amos – Little Earthquakes
Tori Amos – Little Earthquakes
Tori Amos – Boys for Pele
Tori Amos – Boys for Pele
Tori Amos – Boys for Pele
Tori Amos – Boys for Pele
Aphex Twin – Richard D. James
Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works Vol 2
Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works 85-92
Arcade Fire – Funeral
Avalanches – Since I Left You
B-52s – Cosmic Thing
B-52s – B-52s
Bad Brains – Rock for Light
Badfinger – Straight Up
Beck – Guero
Ben Folds Five – Whatever and Ever Amen
Big Star – No. 1 Record
Big Star - #1 Record / Radio City
Big Star – Radio City
Big Star – Radio City
Bikini Kill – The CD Version of the First Two Records
Bjork – Homogenic
Bjork – Homogenic
Bjork – Vespertine
Black Flag – My War
Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath – Master of Reality
Blondie – Plastic Letters
Blondie – Parallel Lines
Blue Nile - Hats
Blur – Modern Life is Rubbish
Blur - Blur
Bonnie “Prince” Billy – I See a Darkness
Bonnie “Prince” Billy – I See a Darkness
Boston – Boston
Billy Bragg – Workers Playtime
Billy Bragg – Talking with the Taxman about Poetry
Bran Van 3000 – Discosis
Breeders – Pod
Bright Eyes - Lifted or the Story is in the Soil So Keep Your Ear to the Ground
Bright Eyes – Fevers and Mirrors
Jackson Browne – Running on Empty
Buffalo Springfield – Last Time Around
Buffalo Springfield – Buffalo Springfield Again
Jimmy Buffett – Songs You Know By Heart
Vashti Bunyan – Just Another Diamond Day
Burzum – Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
Butthole Surfers – Locust Abortion Technician
John Cale – Paris 1919
Camper Van Beethoven – Key Lime Pie
Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison
Johnny Cash – American Recordings
Cat Power – Moon Pix
Cat Power – What Would the Community Think?
Celtic Frost – To Mega Therion
Manu Chao - Próxima Estación: Esperanza
Cheap Trick – Cheap Trick at Budokan
Cheap Trick – Cheap Trick at Budokan
Cheap Trick – Cheap Trick at Budokan
Cheap Trick – Dream Police
Leonard Cohen – Songs from a Room
Leonard Cohen – Songs of Leonard Cohen
Coil – Love’s Secret Domain
John Coltrane – Blue Train
Cornershop – When I Was Born for the 7th Time
Cramps – Songs the Lord Taught Us
Cream – Disraeli Gears
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Pendulum
Cult – Sonic Temple
Cult - Electric
Culture – Two Sevens Clash
Cure – Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
Cure – Pornography
Cursive – Domestica
D’Angelo – Voodoo
D’Angelo – Voodoo
Miles Davis – Bitches Brew
Miles Davis – Bitches Brew
De La Soul – De La Soul Is Dead
Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism
Decemberists – Her Majesty the Decemberists
Decemberists – Castaways and Cutouts
Def Leppard - Hysteria
John Denver and the Muppets – A Christmas Together
Depeche Mode – Violator
Depeche Mode – Songs of Faith and Devotion
Destroyer – Destroyer’s Rubies
Devo – Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
Digable Planets – Blowout Comb
Dinosaur Jr. – You’re Living All Over Me
Dismemberment Plan – Emergency & I
Divine Comedy – Promenade
Doors – The Doors
Dream Syndicate – Days of Wine and Roses
Drive-By Truckers – Southern Rock Opera
Drive-By Truckers – Southern Rock Opera
Dukes of Stratosphear – Chips from the Chocolate Fireball
Duran Duran – Rio
Electric Light Orchestra – Out of the Blue
Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP
Brian Eno and David Byrne – My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
Brian Eno and David Byrne – My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
Fairport Convention - Unhalfbricking
Fairport Convention – Liege and Lief
Bryan Ferry – These Foolish Things
Firesign Theatre – Don’t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers
Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin
Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin
Flaming Lips – Zaireeka
Flaming Lips – Zaireeka
Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Flatlanders – One Road More
Fleetwood Mac – Tusk
Fleetwood Mac – Tusk
Flipper – Album
Flying Burrito Brothers – Gilded Palace of Sin
Flying Burrito Brothers – Gilded Palace of Sin
Kim Fowley - Outrageous
Aretha Franklin – I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
Fugazi – Repeater
Fugazi – 13 Songs
Funkadelic – Maggot Brain
Peter Gabriel – So
Peter Gabriel – Us
Galaxie 500 – On Fire
Marvin Gaye – Here, My Dear
Genesis – Foxtrot
Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Geto Boys – The Geto Boys
Philip Glass – Songs from Liquid Days
Grandaddy – The Sophtware Slump
Grateful Dead – Europe 72
Grateful Dead – Anthem of the Sun
Grateful Dead – Anthem of the Sun
Grateful Dead – Reckoning
Grateful Dead – Workingman’s Dead
Al Green – Call Me
Guster – Ganging Up on the Sun
George Harrison – All Things Must Pass
Donny Hathaway – Everything Is Everything
Isaac Hayes – Shaft
Isaac Hayes – Hot Buttered Soul
Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra – Nancy and Lee
Lee Hazlewood – Requiem for an (Almost) Lady
Richard Hell and the Voidoids – Blank Generation
Bill Hicks - Rant in E-Minor
Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America
Hole – Live Through This
Hole – Live Through This
Hole – Live Through This
Hole – Celebrity Skin
Husker Du – Flip Your Wig
Husker Du – Flip Your Wig
Husker Du – Zen Arcade
Husker Du – Zen Arcade
Ice Cube – Death Certificate
Iggy and the Stooges – Raw Power
Iggy and the Stooges – Raw Power
Janet Jackson – Control
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Jam – Setting Sons
Jane’s Addition – Nothing’s Shocking
Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene
Keith Jarret – The Koln Concert
Jawbreaker – Bivouac
Jawbreaker – Dear You
Jawbreaker – 24 Hour Revenge Therapy
Jay-Z – The Blueprint
Jefferson Airplane – Crown of Creation
Jefferson Airplane – After Bathing at Baxter’s
Jefferson Airplane – After Bathing at Baxter’s
Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow
Waylon Jennings – Dreaming My Dreams
Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, Tompall Glaser – Wanted! The Outlaws
Jesus and Mary Chain – Psychocandy
Joan Jett – I Love Rock’n’Roll
Billy Joel – Songs in the Attic
Israel Kamakawiwo’ole – Facing Future
Carole King – Tapestry
King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King
King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King
King Crimson - Discipline
KISS – Destroyer
KISS – Destroyer
KISS – KISS Alive
Kraftwerk – Trans Europe Express
Kraftwerk – Computer World
Kraftwerk – Computer World
Kraftwerk – Computer World
Kraftwerk – Computer World
Kraftwerk – Computer World
La’s – The La’s
Langley Schools Music Project – Innocence and Despair
Latin Playboys – Latin Playboys
Left Banke – Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina
Lemonheads – It’s a Shame About Ray
John Lennon – Plastic Ono Band
John Lennon – Plastic Ono Band
John Lennon and Yoko Ono – Double Fantasy
Jerry Lee Lewis – Live at the Star Club
Jerry Lee Lewis – Live at the Star Club
Jerry Lee Lewis – Live at the Star Club
Libertines – Up the Bracket
Libertines – Up the Bracket
Little Richard – Here’s Little Richard
Living Colour – Vivid
Love and Rockets – Earth Sun Moon
Low – Trust
Nick Lowe – Labour of Lust
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Second Helping
Madness – One Step Beyond
Madvillain – Madvillainy
Bob Marley and the Wailers – Catch a Fire
Martha and the Muffins – This is the Ice Age
Steve Martin – A Wild and Crazy Guy
John Martyn – Grace and Danger
Massive Attack – Blue Lines
Massive Attack – Blue Lines
John Mayer – Room for Squares
Curtis Mayfield – Superfly
MC Hammer – Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em
Meatloaf – Bat Out of Hell
Meatloaf – Bat Out of Hell
Mekons – Rock’n’Roll
Mekons – Rock’n’Roll
Mekons – Fear and Whiskey
Mekons – So Good It Hurts
Mercury Rev – Deserter’s Songs
Mercury Rev – Deserter’s Songs
Metallica – Master of Puppets
Metallica – Master of Puppets
Charles Mingus – Presents Charles Mingus
Ministry – Psalm 69
Ministry – Psalm 69
Minor Threat – Complete Discography
Misfits – The Static Age
Moby Grape – Moby Grape
Modern Lovers – The Modern Lovers
Modest Mouse – The Lonesome Crowded West
Monkees – Headquarters
Monkees – Headquarters
Morphine – The Night
Motley Crue – Shout at the Devil
Motley Crue – Shout at the Devil
Mountain Goats – All Hail West Texas
Mountain Goats – Sweden
Mudhoney – Superfuzz Bigmuff
Music Machine – Turn on the Music Machine
Nas – Illmatic
Me’Shell N’Degeocello – Peace Beyond Passion
Negativland – Escape from Noise
Willie Nelson – Red Headed Stranger
New Order – Substance
New Order – Power, Corruption and Lies
New Order – Power, Corruption and Lies
Joanna Newsom – Ys
Randy Newman – Good Old Boys
Randy Newman – Good Old Boys
NOFX – Punk in Drublic
N.W.A. – Straight Outta Compton
N.W.A. – 100 Miles and Runnin’/EFIL4ZAGGIN
Phil Ochs – Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Crush
Os Mutantes – Os Mutantes
Osmonds – Crazy Horses
Osmonds – The Plan
Outkast – Stankonia
Outkast – Aquemini
Outkast – Aquemini
Outkast – Aquemini
Outkast – Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
Van Dyke Parks – Song Cycle
Van Dyke Parks – Song Cycle
Van Dyke Parks – Discover America
Parliament – Mothership Connection
Gram Parsons – Grievous Angel
Pavement – Crooked Rain Crooked Rain
Pavement – Crooked Rain Crooked Rain
Pavement – Slanted and Enchanted
Pavement – Slanted and Enchanted
Pavement – Wowee Zowee
Pavement – Wowee Zowee
Pavement – Wowee Zowee
Pearl Jam – Vitalogy
Pearl Jam – Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam – Vs.
Pere Ubu – The Modern Dance
Pet Shop Boys – Behaviour
Pet Shop Boys – Very
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Damn the Torpedoes
Tom Petty – Full Moon Fever
Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville
Phish – Junta
Phish – Hoist
Pogues – If I Should Fall from Grace with God
Pogues – Rum, Sodomy and the Lash
Pogues – Rum, Sodomy and the Lash
Pogues – Rum, Sodomy and the Lash
Police – Outlandos D’Amour
Police - Sychronicity
Polyphonic Spree – Beginning Stages of the Polyphonic Spree
Iggy Pop – Lust for Life
Prefab Sprout – Steve McQueen
Elvis Presley – From Elvis in Memphis
Pretenders – Learning to Crawl
Pretenders – Learning to Crawl
Primal Scream – Screamadelica
Psychic TV – Dreams Less Sweet
Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back
Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
Public Image Ltd. – Metal Box
Pulp – Different Class
Pulp – Different Class
Pulp – His ‘n’ Hers
Queen – A Night at the Opera
Queen – Flash Gordon
Raekwon the Chef – Only Built for Cuban Linx
Otis Redding – Live in Europe
Lou Reed – Metal Machine Music
Lou Reed – Metal Machine Music
Lou Reed – Metal Machine Music
Refused – The Shape of Punk to Come
Rap Reiplinger – Poi Dog
Todd Rundgren – Nearly Human
Rush – A Farewell to Kings
Rush – 2112
Rush – Moving Pictures
Arthur Russell – World of Echo
Santana - Abraxas
Saturday Night Fever (Original Soundtrack)
Scritti Politti – Cupid & Psyche 85
Pete Seeger – At the Village Gate
Sex Pistols – Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols
William Shatner – The Transformed Man
Shins – Oh, Inverted World
Silkworm – Firewater
Simon and Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water
Simon and Garfunkel – Bookends
Paul Simon – Graceland
Paul Simon – Graceland
Skinny Puppy – Too Dark Park
Slayer – Reign in Blood
Slayer – Reign in Blood
Sleater-Kinney – Dig Me Out
Sleater-Kinney – Dig Me Out
Sleater-Kinney – Dig Me Out
Sleater-Kinney – Dig Me Out
Slint – Spiderland
Slint – Spiderland
Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream
Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream
Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Elliott Smith – XO
Elliott Smith – XO
Soft Cell – Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
Spacemen 3 – The Perfect Prescription
Sparks – Kimono My House
Specials – More Specials
Sufjan Stevens – Illinois
Sufjan Stevens – Illinois
Sufjan Stevens – Seven Swans
Sting – The Dream of the Blue Turtles
Stranglers – Rattus Norvegicus
Strokes – Is This It?
Donna Summer – Bad Girls
Sun Ra – Visits Planet Earth
Supertramp – Crime of the Century
Sweet – Desolation Boulevard
311 – Music
T.Rex – Electric Warrior
Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense
Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense
Talking Heads – Fear of Music
Talking Heads – Little Creatures
Talking Heads – Talking Heads 77
Talk Talk – Laughing Stock
Television Personalities – And Don’t the Kids Just Love It
Terrorizer – World Downfall
They Might Be Giants – Lincoln
Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak
Throwing Muses – Throwing Muses
Throwing Muses – Throwing Muses
Thunderclap Newman – Hollywood Dream
Thursday – War All the Time
Traffic – John Barleycorn Must Die
Triffids – Born Sandy Devotional
Triffids – Born Sandy Devotional
Uncle Tupelo – No Depression
Uncle Tupelo – No Depression
Van Halen – Van Halen I
Van Halen – 1984
Van Morrison – Astral Weeks
Various – The Country Blues
Townes Van Zandt – Live at the Old Quarter
Townes Van Zandt – High, Low and In Between
Scott Walker – Scott 4
Wall of Voodoo - Call of the West
Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues
Wedding Present – George Best
Wedding Present - Seamonsters
Weezer – Blue Album
Weezer – Blue Album
Weezer – Pinkerton
Weezer – Pinkerton
Weezer – Pinkerton
Weezer – Pinkerton
Weezer – Pinkerton
Weezer – Pinkerton
Weezer – Pinkerton
Kanye West – The College Drop Out
White Stripes – White Blood Cells
Wilco – Being There
Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Wilco – Summerteeth
Wire – Pink Flag
Wire – Pink Flag
Bill Withers – Just As I Am
Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Robert Wyatt – Rock Bottom
Robert Wyatt – Rock Bottom
X – Los Angeles
XTC – English Settlement
XTC – Skylarking
XTC – Skylarking
XTC – Skylarking
Yo La Tengo – I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One
Young Marble Giants – Colossal Youth
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention – Freak Out!
Warren Zevon – Warren Zevon
Warren Zevon – Excitable Boy
ZZ Top – Tres Hombres
167 comments:
keeeeeeee-rist!
O! My! Goodness!
Too bad nobody proposed George Harrison's "Thirty-Three & 1/3" . . .
Good luck!
there are some weird picks in there too. that of montreal album JUST came out, didn't it? And John Mayer? I hope that's a funny proposal like the Celine Dion one.
The list has me wanting to run off to my record/CD library--or to iTunes.
Hey it's a great list, but now I'm morose, because I wasn't as original as I thought I was. Can you share any criteria for how you might choose one proposal out of a few that were submitted for the same album?
Don't be morose! How do we choose? I guess it's just whichever proposal grabs/excites/persuades us the most. Also, just because there are several proposals on one album, doesn't mean we'll necessarily sign up any of those. Damn it, now *I'm* morose.
A quick count (via Word) gives me 449 proposals. Good gugga mugga.
I'm the only one who picked my album, but not the only one who picked my artist--which of course has me second-guessing (and wishing I'd gone for yet another album by that artist instead).
Don't be morose, David. Just be glad for the evidence that people are excited about the series. (Or maybe that people are salivating over the prospect of being published...OK, now *I'm* morose.)
If we break it down to artists, again using word, then it's 276 possible books, assuming the 'one per artist' rule stands, and being reasonably logical about what counts as 'the same artist'.
I'm a little surprised not to see the Slits, X-Ray Spex, or Raincoats in this list. I thought the Slits would get pitched for sure.
Nice to see an Arthur Russell pitch, though. That would be a great book.
Glad to see Scritti Politti, Blue Nile, PSB, OMD (but Crush? really?), and Kraftwerk on the list.
What, no Roxy Music?
what, no Waterboys? thanks to all the talk i've read here, i had to go and pull out my copy of This is the Sea. Such a brilliant record!
I have cash in hand ready to purchase 38 books from this list.
Waterboys is there: Fisherman's Blues
ah! i missed it. a great album...
Agree with Bruce - I'd pay good money to read Scritti and Blue Nile - but I'd draw the line at OMD! Also Prefab Sprout, XTC and Wire piqued my interest.... some mouthwatering prospects.
David - is there a limit to how many you can publish this time?
Is this an OK place to be morose and self-loathing for missing the deadline by a few hours?
:: stabs eye with rusty internet cable ::
Great list, either way.
Just noticed "Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus" on the list.
Many years ago, when the Village Voice carried his "Real Life Top Ten" column, Greil Marcus reviewed a book on Picasso's "Guernica" and wondered what album might sustain a book-length essay. I wrote -- and never sent -- a 4-page letter proposing "Mingus Presents Mingus" -- such a wealth of political, historical, and, above all, musical interest there. Marcus went on to write a book about the "Basement Tapes." I thought about proposing "Mingus Presents Mingus" or Rahsaan Roland Kirk's "Volunteered Slavery" to this series but decided not to -- glad to see someone else did!
I usually share David's stand on "no repeated artists," so the only way around this bothersome rule is for Continuum to publish all three METAL MACHINE MUSIC proposals together between the same covers as one gigantic book!
A question: if one of us who submitted a proposal on the above list was quixotic/dedicated/determined/crazy enough to go ahead and write the book before being green-lighted, should we inform you? If you had a choice, would you prefer to make your decision based on the proposal or a book that's already ready to roll? Would the readiness of a book for publication help one's case?
In your 100 proposals posting, you mentioned receiving a proposal on Television, but I only see Television Personalities on the final list -- in case that indicates an oversight.
I'm not a math whiz, but it looks like Pinkeron was the most pitched. Wow. Cool album but a bit of a surprise - last time around I don't even think Weezer got multiple submissions.
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to read either of the Decemberists proposals, but mainly Her Majesty. That album is just...man. But there's so many great choices up there. Oh man oh man.
Christ!
File Under Yay!
Blue Nile, Prefab Sprout, Robert Wyatt, Scott Walker, XTC, Arthur Russell, Randy Newman, Monkees, The Jam, ELO.
Ha! After all that.. no one pitched the Zombies.
Is there a limit to how many we can publish? Yes, but I don't really know what it is. At a guess, perhaps putting out more than 15 books a year in the series might be problematic. As for the question about books being written sooner rather than later - no, that won't come into our thinking. And as for Television: my bad. We already have a Marquee Moon book under contract, being written by Peter Blauner.
some pretty exciting picks: slayer, flatlanders, sabbath, hell & the voidoids, public enemy, queen (flash!), new order, genesis, modern lovers, iggy & stooges.
the abundance of weezer submissions suggests the band is best left to webpages.
looking forward to the 333 page discussion of Metal Machine Music...
I would love to read every one of these actual proposals.
To the anonymous wanting to read the Her Majesty proposal, I'll email it to you if you'd like. Mine is slippyoink@gmail.com
WOW! Now that's a list. I'm most excited about the Waterboys, Fisherman's Blues being on there, as well as The Jam, Uncle Tupelo, The Flaming Lips(!!)and the Afghan Wigs. Those would be books I'd grab in a heartbeat.
I do not envy you having to go through all those proposals and only getting to choose 15.
Good Luck David and Co.!
AFGHAN WHIGS PLEASE!!!!!!!
PLEASE GOD LET THE TALK TALK PROPOSAL BE A GOOD ONE!!
Im really excited to see this list, alot of great titles! I love this series!
Good to see some old school new wave represented: B-52's, Blondie, Devo, Sparks, Talking Heads. Exciting time for music that usually get short shrift.
wow, just an amazing bunch of music here, like bitches brew or kraftwerk or even duran duran id' read about duran duran, rio rocks! also some good album stories too like tusk and back in black could be some good stories. i'm curious to see what approaches people offered for such interesting music!
well it looks like if you need any help wittling the entrants down, you could always post a few proposals on this here blog and let your readers argue it out.
What a list. Since I wrote one already I couldn't propose a new one, and I'd have really loved to throw Moby's Play or Live/Dead on the pile just to see what happened. Good luck!
so wait - how many are there total?
A book on Gentlemen by the Afghan Whigs would make a phenomenal read, as would Rum, Sodomy and the Lash from the Pogues. Punk in Drublic also has good book potential, I think.
Wow, so many of these books I would absolutely spend my hard earned money on, but for a top 5 i'll pick:
*Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang
*Pogues – If I Should Fall...
*Lemonheads – It’s a Shame About Ray
*Flaming Lips – Zaireeka
and especially: Afghan Whigs – Gentlemen (!!!!)
Please make this book happen!
there are also some really wierd submissions too, some of this stuff is still fresh on the shelves, does Destroyer's Rubies really deserve a book right now? And I won't even touch the Bryan Adams one...
I've always been curious about the Phaedra song cycle, so I'm keen to read about Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood (no, it wasn't my proposal!). Ditto Young Marble Giants.
Given the staggering amount of proposals this time around, I'm curious to know the breakdown of the writers themselves. Are they music writers, musicians, bloggers, novelists, college students? Thus far most of the authors in the series have published many pieces elsewhere (though it has seemed that 33 1/3 was the first book for many of the writers). Does this still hold true?
You know, it's about time Black Love gets accepted; the Whigs certainly deserve a proper write-up, at the very least!
Glad to see that album in particular up for consideration.
Top 6 (I didn't pitch but) would buy in a heartbeat for love of the record. Kudos to whoever pitched em!:
Aphex Twin - Richard D James
Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved A Man the Way I Loved You
Lee Hazlewood - Requiem for an (Almost) Lady (OMFG HOPE THIS BOOK HAPPENS!)
Nas - Illmatic
Pet Shop Boys - Actually (ok that album wasn't pitched, but why not? WHY NOT?!)
Wu Tang Clam - 36 Chambers
Oh my god, I just noticed Shatner. That is genius. Or is it folly? No, GENIUS.
I'm also gratified to see some '50s figures on here (Here's Little Richard, From Elvis in Memphis which is '69 but still). No The "Chirping" Crickets or Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger or St. Louis to Liverpool or The Genius of Ray Charles, alas.
Amazing how some just pop out at you as oh yeah, of course. Also cool to see so many repeats. Peace on earth. Whoohoo to Deserters Songs. Twice on the list! Send proposals to me! It will be months before the book is out.
so many freaking proposals..... i felt unoriginal just having one on the list, period, nevermind that someone else proposed mine.
i'd be interested to read all of these proposals and know a little about everyone. part of that would be just so i could judge how mine stacks up against the others, but also just to see what the typical submitter looks like. though i'm not sure how any of us would organize something like that.
in any case, now i'm ready for a month and a half of nervousness and insecurity whenever i think about this until my fears are confirmed/assuaged.
This is very exciting.
In all of this asking, and pleading, we've lost sight of what made all this come together: and it's your wonderful series.
Just wanting to hear from your readers and have them pitch you their ideas is amazing, and practically unheard of.
I think all of us in this list would like to thank you guys VERY VERY MUCH for all of your efforts!!
THANKS DAVID!!!
NOW ON TO THE BOOKS!!!!
Let's make an Afghan Whigs book happen! Their retrospective is out this year - good timing.
these are my 15:
Badfinger – Straight Up
Brian Eno and David Byrne – My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
Buffalo Springfield – Buffalo Springfield Again
Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin
Flying Burrito Brothers – Gilded Palace of Sin
Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Jesus and Mary Chain – Psychocandy
Willie Nelson – Red Headed Stranger
Os Mutantes – Os Mutantes
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Damn the Torpedoes
Simon and Garfunkel – Bookends
Talk Talk – Laughing Stock
Thunderclap Newman – Hollywood Dream
Townes Van Zandt – Live at the Old Quarter
Wilco – Being There
A book on Pink Flag would be great. Wire are some serious dudes. It warms my heart to see THREE (different!) Jawbreaker proposals.
And what about the Cash proposals? Folsom Prison is the easily better record (and could make for a great narrative), but American Recordings could allow for an interesting look at his Ruben-aided resurgence...
Some excellent choices, and some sadly obvious/indie-centric ones.
Hooray for some metal shout-outs this time around.
***
I'd buy all of these:
Aphex Twin - either one
Bad Brains - Rock for Light
Black Flag - My War
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (wink)
Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician
Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion
Cure - Pornography
DEVO - Are We Not Men?...
Funkadelic - Maggot Brain
Genesis - Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Bill Hicks - Rant in E-minor
Iggy & the Stooges - Raw Power
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Kraftwerk - Trans Europe Express (Why computer world?!)
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Mudhoney - Superfuzz Migmuff
Os Mutantes - Os Mutantes
Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions...
Queen - either one
Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music
Rush - any (emphasis on 2112 though)
Slayer - Reign in Blood (kinda mandatory)
Terrorizer - (crazy choice--awesome!)
They Might Be Giants - Lincoln
X - Los Angeles
Frank Zappa - Freak Out
Holy crap! What a gigantic list.
I'd like to see:
Big Star – No. 1 Record
Fleetwood Mac – Tusk
Husker Du – Flip Your Wig
Randy Newman – Good Old Boys
Pavement – Slanted and Enchanted
Talking Heads – Little Creatures
I'm a HUGE Lou Reed fan, but "Metal Machine Music"? No no no; "Transformer" or "The Blue Mask" or "New York." And PLEASE do the Flaming Lips (Soft Bulletein or Yoshimi) and PLEASE do the Kraftwerk "Computer World" book. How can you not? This is a blog; proposals were submitted electronically and will be notified digitally. Look around; we LIVE in a computer world.
I think these are the 25 best "stories" to be told, every thing else being equal. I know I read the series for the stories behind the records more than being a fan of the album often. That was all I could narrow it down. So many great ones! Good luck!
AC/DC – Back in Black
Afghan Whigs – Gentlemen
Badfinger – Straight Up
Buffalo Springfield – Buffalo Springfield Again
Culture – Two Sevens Clash
Cure – Pornography
D’Angelo – Voodoo
Duran Duran – Rio
Fleetwood Mac – Tusk
George Harrison – All Things Must Pass
Richard Hell and the Voidoids – Blank Generation
Jane’s Addition – Nothing’s Shocking
Jawbreaker – Dear You
Israel Kamakawiwo’ole – Facing Future
John Lennon – Plastic Ono Band
Willie Nelson – Red Headed Stranger
N.W.A. – Straight Outta Compton
Pearl Jam – Vitalogy
Iggy Pop – Lust for Life
Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back
Pulp – Different Class
T.Rex – Electric Warrior
Wilco – Being There
Wire – Pink Flag
Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Other than the zombies, i'm a little shocked no one picked any of my three favorite Talking Heads records, Speaking in Tongues, Remain in Light, and More Songs about Buildings and Food.
Little Creatures? Are you people insane?
I've only recently become addicted to the 33 1/3 books, but I have to say this is all very exciting. It's nuts that a lot of these artists/albums haven't been written about yet, but given a limit, I'd most like to see Randy Newman, Pavement, Paul Simon and/or Simon & Garfunkel make the cut. I'd also love to read about Whatever and Ever Amen and Summerteeth; they're top 10, all-time favorites of mine. A great assortment, though I would have liked to have seen Emmylou Harris or Linda Ronstadt represented. Nevertheless, it should be interesting to see what pulls through.
All right, I'd love to see these (full disclosure: I made a pitch for one of them):
Badfinger – Straight Up
Blondie – Plastic Letters
John Coltrane – Blue Train (vastly underrated)
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Pendulum (though there are other CCR albums I'd rather read about)
Miles Davis – Bitches Brew
Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP
Keith Jarrett – The Koln Concert
Carole King – Tapestry
John Lennon – Plastic Ono Band
Charles Mingus – Presents Charles Mingus
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Damn the Torpedoes
Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville (Yes! Yes! Yes! And no, that's not the one I picthed, though I thought about it.)
Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back
Saturday Night Fever (Original Soundtrack)
Sex Pistols – Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols
Paul Simon – Graceland
Van Morrison – Astral Weeks
Weezer – Blue Album
Kanye West – The College Drop Out
Wire – Pink Flag
Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
I definitely would like to see some jazz in the series.
I can't believe Odessey & Oracle didn't get a pitch. I thought about pitching that one, too. I kind of wish I did, since the one that I did pitch was pitched by someone else as well.
Yowza.
It's. . . monstrous.
A lot of books I'd pick up--either because I love the artists/albums or because I'd be insanely curious. Likewise it's interesting to see that a lot of bands I assumed had been covered haven't--Pavement, namely. That Slint album (which, I think, can be argued to be THE Slint album). A lot of records that I remember from last time didn't even show up a second time (and a lot fewer Bright Eyes pitches).
It's intresting to see so many new-er records being pitched--though I agree it may be too early for that Of Montreal book--unless somehow directly linked to the production of the album, can someone really gain an attachment to an album in a month and a half? I can understand 'Rubies', 'Y's', and the Hold Steady record; while they may be really new, there's been a lot of time for them to grow into people's lives.
Unless, of course, the Of Montreal album was the soundtrack to some crazy American Graffiti like night.
Thursday's 'War all the Time'? Really? That's probably my least played of their disco. I'd love to see that Modest Mouse book based wholly on it's status as 'top selling indie' for so long.
But the Low book. Dear sweet Jesus, I want to read that book right now. As in right now, tonight.
There are far more than thirty books here that I'd buy sight unseen.
Hrm. It's looking harder and harder for a pitch to be chosen. Curses, all of you with your good taste. Curses!
I'd totally read about both of those Osmonds albums. "Crazy Horses" is actually heavy riff-rock stuff, and "The Plan," which is also pretty rockin,' is an insane concept album about Mormonism.
And that Moby Grape record- their label released 7 singles at once! Heavy, man! There's a great story there about the '60s, marketing, crazy Skip Spence attacking band mates with fire axes...that's a book waiting to happen!
i'd like to see these published:
AC/DC – Back in Black
D’Angelo – Voodoo
Miles Davis – Bitches Brew
Funkadelic – Maggot Brain
Isaac Hayes – Hot Buttered Soul
Ice Cube – Death Certificate
N.W.A. – 100 Miles and Runnin’/EFIL4ZAGGIN
Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
yeah, that's all good and fine, but I don't think 90% of these titles will sell 8000 copies to the general public
I'd like to see:
Weezer – Pinkerton
Lou Reed – Metal Machine Music
Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Decemberists – Her Majesty the Decemberists
Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Wow, great stuff. I'm surprised that some obvious artists are either not on the list at all or there is only one proposal - eg. Astral Weeks, The Doors, Can, CSN. I thought they'd be many more multiple entries - but someone counted about 270 unique artists out of 450 proposals, that's an amazing spread.
What about a book of proposals?! or a compilation of linked titles? (I think you've done a best of too?); but I suppose that might dilute the original idea of the series?
i'm not gonna tell what i pitched, but i love that it stirs up a bit of controversy, as expected. i'm incredibly excited and totally blown away by the number and variety of submissions here and the quality of thought that the titles list itself suggests. if the argument really comes down to sales figures, i'm sure that some of the entries are immediately toast, and others will endure and easily leap any number of hurdles set before them. so, i hope it's not just about that. and, some of the titles proposed, taken at face value, are just daft. i agree with folks who hail pavement; i'm shocked that it's taken so long, so i hope above all that pavement gets a book. the sheer number of indie records, i'd agree, is suprising, with so many great older records out there. that said, i have to share what struck me:
wilco "yankee hotel foxtrot"
uncle tupelo "no depression"
slayer "reign in blood"
pavement "slanted and enchanted" or "wowee zowee" (tough call there)
husker du "zen arcade" (amazing pitch, would be my first pick if everything else about it is right)
afghan whigs "gentlemen"
destroyer "rubies" -- (maybe sneaky, potentially great, should also cover "your blues" and maybe even vancouver in general)
cheap trick "cheap trick at budokan"
galaxie 500 "on fire" -- incredible pick, especially with all that damon and naomi stuff
leonard cohen -- "the songs of leonard cohen" the man is worthy of tomes filled with coverage
little richard --"here's little richard"
dream syndicate -- "days of wine and roses"
duran duran "rio" -- it'll sell, and what a testament to training brigades of suave youth!
carole king -- "tapestry"; almost overlooked that one, one hell of a record
slint -- "spiderland' ... a pinnacle, watershed. how can one write this without writing about tortoise?
van halen --" van halen I" -- hell yes
wire "pink flag" -- we hear wire, but do we know wire?
pere ubu -- "the modern dance"
x "los angeles" and black flag "my war" -- would've picked a different black flag record but still great
xtc "skylarking"
surpised to not see ...
zombies
boards of canada "music has the right to children"
blue oyster cult "agents of fortune" or "secret treaties"
gang of four "entertainment"
blondie "parallel lines"
jonathan richman & modern lovers
iggy pop "raw power"
run dmc "raising hell"
bauhaus "the sky's gone out"
marvin gaye "let's get it on"
joe jackson -- "look sharp"
bob marley
tortoise "Millions Now Living Will Never Die"
pj harvey "dry"
willie nelson "stardust"
elliott smith -- "either/or"
fiery furnaces -- "blueberry boat"
john mclaughlin and mahavishnu orchestra
red house painters "songs for a blue guitar"
thelonious monk "straight no chaser"
todd rundgren "something/anything"
brian eno "warm jets"
laurie anderson "big science"
johnny cash "at fulsom prison"
mc5 "kick out the jams"
devendra banhart "cripple crow"
frankie goes to hollywood
dead kennedys "fresh fruit for rotten vegetables"
chrome "alien soundtracks" or "half machine lip moves"
soundgarden "badmotorfinger"
belle and sebastian "if you're feeling sinister"
glen campbell "wichita lineman" ... the "first existential country song"? amazing
... not that any of these are great or sellable ideas for books. it's interesting to see what wasn't pitched and what was.
does anyone want to read about psychic tv?!?
Interesting how US-centric a lot of these proposals are, considering this is a series that publishes in the UK and the US:
A lot of these books - Weezer, Whigs, Cheap Trick, Bad Brains etc. - would be lucky to sell 20 copies in Britain.
My vote - for what it's worth - would go to books on acts with both a real mystique and a genuine cross-board appeal: Kraftwerk, the Blue Nile, and the brilliant Sufjan Stevens....
PLEASE PLEASE The Afghan Whigs 'Black Love'!
Man, an Afghan Whigs book would be super. Especially for Black Love. Fantastic. I agree with the poster above - timed with Rhino's band retrospective this year, a surefire hit.
... and don't forget SK records forthcoming tribute CD to the Afghan Whigs. Just another reason to go Whigs in '07!
I agree with the previous post. The list does have quite a US flavour. Would the final shortlist be different for the slightly differing markets of US or UK? Or could there be two different short lists (increases the UK author chances)!
Great to see the Afghan Whigs. Where is Spiritualized? Please add.
Thanks!
agreed...too US orientated, to sell in the UK we need classic rock/indie albums, here's the one's i'd definitely buy & wud probably sell:
AC/DC – Back in Black
Blondie – Parallel Lines
Cream – Disraeli Gears
Doors – The Doors
Fairport Conv. - Unhalfbricking
George Harrison – All Things Must Pass
Jam – Setting Sons
Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow
King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King
John Lennon – Plastic Ono Band
Meatloaf – Bat Out of Hell
Queen – A Night at the Opera
Paul Simon – Graceland
Things I almost pitched that didn't get any pitches:
Stereolab: Transient Random-Noise...
Roxy Music: Stranded
Suede: Dog Man Star
Lou Reed: Berlin
Manic Street Preachers: Holy Bible
I'd rather read about Suede or the Manics than Blue or Oasis... but figured they wouldn't do three Brit-Pop books and Blur, Oasis, Pulp would all get the nod before Suede/Manics due to their larger popularity in the US.
Hey Dave... Just out of curiosity... what percentage of total sales come from UK vs the US? If you can share. I know I'm not the only one but... I pitched something knowing it had a heavier UK flavor and feeling that, regardless of quality, it put my proposal at a slight disadvantage. Level-headed assessment or artistic paranoia?
my picks for top 5 thing rock fans love:
1. lists
2. lists
3. lists
4. lists
5. lists
very exciting, but a little headache inducing!
very cool list!
i was going to pitch lou reed's "new york", but did not for time reasons. maybe next round of pitches?
i lived in manhattan during the time it was recorded/released and recreating the pulse of the city at that time would make a fantastic read.
i also feel the one artist rule should be lifted for bob dylan.
(yay for ac-dc, waterboys and black flag!)
I know its an obvious question but do all the books have to sell? Someone said none of them would sell 8,000 copies which is probably true but it'd still be nice to see some of the more obscure ones for completeness and academic purposes. I wonder how many sales are needed to cover the cost of a title?
Afghan Whigs-Gentleman or Black Love, without a doubt.
Also, Cheap Trick's self-titled debut is criminally underrated and begging for anaysis.
for the life of me, never been able to fathom the appeal of the Afghan Whigs I just have an aversion to Greg Dulli in general, so maybe thats it. i know some people can't stand some of the artists I live either, so to each his/her own.
Hopefully ther'll be more women selected next time as well
Wow, I find some of these choices quite interesting, some pretty bewildering and others just laughable.
My top 15 personal choices would be:
Afghan Whigs – Black Love
Afghan Whigs – Gentlemen
Tori Amos – Boys for Pele
Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works 85-92
Bjork – Homogenic
Bjork – Vespertine
John Coltrane – Blue Train
Cult – Sonic Temple
Duran Duran – Rio
Bryan Ferry – These Foolish Things
Iggy and the Stooges – Raw Power
Metallica – Master of Puppets
Modest Mouse – The Lonesome Crowded West
Iggy Pop – Lust for Life
Sufjan Stevens – Seven Swans
Honestly, though, I wouldn't have necessarily chosen the same albums for the artists listed.
Wow. I was ready to be depressed when I saw how many entries I was going up against but I'd honestly want to read a book on almost any of those.
Don't sleep on the Raekwon the Chef Proposal though, "Only Built for Cuban Linx" is as good an album as "Enter the 36 Chambers" (and it's a great proposal ;-)
The US/UK thing is tricky. And it doesn't always make sense, either - the Neutral Milk Hotel book has sold twice as many as the Stone Roses book in the UK, for example. On the other hand, 7 of the 10 best-selling books in the series are on albums by British bands. But the market for these books is clearly bigger in the US (by a ratio of about 3:1 currently), so we don't want to sign up too many books by bands without a following in North America. As for signing up a slightly different list of books for the US and UK markets - with the way Continuum works, we can't do that, I'm afraid. But at least you people in Britain get to see "Hot Fuzz" this weekend - it's not out here until the middle of April!
what, no buffalo tom?
is it just me or did some afghan wigs web site tells its readers to come try to sway the decision making process?
Ha! I'm sure a few cries of "YOU MUST DO THIS ALBUM" ain't gonna make a crap proposal into a good book.
I'm confident that the pros (if that's not an insult to the good folks of Continuum!) know what they're doing and will make their decision based on: the standard of the proposals; covering as wide a range of artists and types of music as possible; and selling books. Certainly, if there is one type of music that is over-represented in the media it is US guitar rock.
http://www.summerskiss.com/
"33 1/3: Whigs Book Proposals
February 15th, 2007
The excellent 33 1/3 book series has published their list of new proposals over at their blog. There were three Afghan Whigs proposals, two for Gentlemen and one for Black Love.
They’re in the process of selecting books for publication next year. I don’t suppose it would hurt for you to go over there and leave a comment in favor of a Whigs book. Wouldn’t hurt a bit."
Hmm, one of my top pitch choices was Suede's self-titled album, but I deferred because I wasn't sure how many people would buy it. I ended up going with a big American album that I am honestly more qualified to write about. Still, it'd be nice if a Suede book came out at some point. Maybe next time.
Hey, if some website wants to send some people here, therefore a) promoting the series and b) giving the editors a look at how enthusiastic a fan base there might be for an afghan whigs book, who am I to condemn them?
And I say that having submitted an album about as different from the Afghan Whigs as can be.
Afghan Whigs book all the way!
That's interesting about the Afghan Whigs. As someone who I thought was fairly well up on rock music I'm ashamed to say I'm not sure I'd even heard of them before (I'm in the UK obviously)!
Thank you to all the Afghan Whigs fans (especially those coming over from Summer's Kiss). I made the point in my proposal that you were engaged and literate, and you're proving my point. So please, keep it up!
(I'm the Black Love proposer.)
I think it's always good when the fans mobilise. Had a look at the site listed above and on the homepage they're advertising the Twilight singers EP (logically) - which is worth it just for the cracking version of Live With Me - and The Pipettes LP which was one of the highlights of last year. Clearly people of taste.
I'm actually rooting for the Silkworm book. What happened to them was just too sad for words.
i hope that Minor Threat book gets made, too, but I would settle for some Fugazi.
Wow... this massive list makes me grateful I got my Neutral Milk Hotel pitch in a couple rounds back; I would have expected "Aeroplane" to reach Weezer levels of interest, and honestly, I don't know how you cats who now know you've tripled up (and more) can bear the strain.
There's a lot of cool stuff on the list, but it's these 20 that immediately say to me "I'm a book you wanna read":
1. Blondie – Plastic Letters (not because disco sucks, but because they were so cool then, and the record is so great and so neglected compared to //)
2. Vashti Bunyan – Just Another Diamond Day (interviewed her about her life for Scram, and was blown away by the sweetness and magic of her road experiences)
3. Divine Comedy – Promenade (smart, funny, exquisitely melodic, and very much in need of footnotes)
4. Dream Syndicate – Days of Wine and Roses (it changed my life, and Steve Wynn continues to do things with the guitar that are good for the deep soul)
5. Fairport Convention – Liege and Lief
6. Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra – Nancy and Lee
7. Lee Hazlewood – Requiem for an (Almost) Lady
8. Richard Hell and the Voidoids – Blank Generation
9. Left Banke – Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina (kind of like the art-rock Partridge Family... I've always wondered about the relationship between the teenage bandmates and band genius Michael Brown and his studio cat dad)
10. Misfits – The Static Age (how did these lunkheads make such great, weird punk rock?)
11. Music Machine – Turn on the Music Machine (everything people say about the Monks, it's true and then some about the Music Machine... only their music is GOOD! Did Mike Stax pitch it?)
12. Phil Ochs – Gunfight at Carnegie Hall (psychodrama city, from the most poignant songwriter of the folk scene, sometimes the funniest, and by this point the most mad)
13. Osmonds – Crazy Horses
14. Osmonds – The Plan
15. Iggy Pop – Lust for Life
16. Simon and Garfunkel – Bookends
17. Townes Van Zandt – Live at the Old Quarter
18. Townes Van Zandt – High, Low and In Between
19. Scott Walker – Scott 4
20. Warren Zevon – Warren Zevon (the only successful LA singer-songwriter of the mid-1970s whose life and (especially) studio work I wanna read about... and speaking of people who didn't succeed, where's the Judee Sill pitch?)
David, would you ever consider publishing the pitches that do and don't get chosen (with the authors' permission, natch), on this blog or the Continuum site or elsewhere online? I know I'm not the only one who'd like to read some, and it seems a shame that all this fevered brainstorming doesn't get read by the folks who would most enjoy it.
As another anonymous pitcher, I gotta second (or third, or fourth, whatever) the idea of publishing the best rejected pitches in book form. Or let the second-string pitchers rework their ideas into articles, chapters in a book as opposed to full books ... get me? I'm guessing that with this many pitches, you're gonna be passing on some writers you'd actually wanna work with (even if publishing finances dicate otherwise).
Thank you for the Afghan Whigs (I think that Gentlemen would be great)!
Cheers also for the Cure...but no Disintegration??!
Great to see The Flatlanders and the Crue (though Too Fast for Love would be even better)
I would hope the two proposals for Raw Power are each about a different mix (Bowie / Iggy)
whoever submitted the proposal for the mekons' so good it hurts, you are my hero. good luck and godspeed.
Great idea from anonymous about making a book of second string articles/chapters. I think this book could be the best of the lot and the first I'd buy! You'd get some fascinating varied concentrated writing about some obscure classic albums (that might not warrant a whole book alone) but would serve to introduce many readers to previously unknown pleasures! (whereas I think the current single subject books are probably 99% bought by people who have the album already?). Such a book would therefore be attractive to a whole new market of music lovers/book buyers. I'd let the proposers redraft though as a proposal is different to an actual article for publication (although I admit it would be interesting to see the approaches in the proposals - both successful and unsuccessful, especially to compare the ones on the same album). I can't wait!
Surprised that Kraftwerk's Computer World comes in ahead of Autobahn, Man Machine, Radioactivity etc - earlier albums that really were ground breaking before they went a bit off form.
I agree about this book compiled of chapters about albums. As long as you could thematically tie the albums/artists together in some way. Approaching each album differently just as the series does... only 30 pages instead of 120. Very interesting to think about.
David: Interesting . . . 98 comments. I wish I had known earlier about the series and offered up Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or Gabriel - III. Maybe next time. Phil Harland
Such a hard choice, many many proposals of equal merits I would imagine. My 15 favourites would be(I'm trying to judge on the potential stories not necessarily the actual music)
ACDC
Black Sabbath - definately, as above
John Cale - well done proposer, a lovely eccentric album too!
Miles Davis
George Harrison - a change from the other Beatles
King Crimson
Kraftwerk
Bob Marley
John Martyn
Gram Parsons
Lou Reed
William Shatner? - yes, seriously, it's the story, not the music remember
Van Morrison - well, having said that, this one for the music
Zappa
and that leaves one, maybe the Muppets, if there are pictures, for the kids.
I must be a bit out on a limb here as my list looks a bit different to most the others.
i'm curious as to what a yankee hotel foxtrot book could do that the movie hasn't done already besides musical analysis or another novella or something. the story of the album's creation is probably one of the most well-known of any other in recent memory.
Imagine the gorgeous cover alone if there were to be a book for The Afghan Whigs' Gentlemen.
I can't think of a better idea for a book, either, considering the subject matter.
My Top 30 (I couldn't narrow it any further; all would make my wish list if published):
Afghan Whigs – Black Love
Avalanches – Since I Left You
B-52s – B-52s
Bjork – Homogenic
Black Sabbath – Master of Reality
Blur – Modern Life is Rubbish
Breeders – Pod
Jackson Browne – Running on Empty
Camper Van Beethoven – Key Lime Pie
Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison
John Coltrane – Blue Train
Cornershop – When I Was Born for the 7th Time
Miles Davis – Bitches Brew
Depeche Mode – Violator
Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin
Iggy and the Stooges – Raw Power
Jane’s Addition – Nothing’s Shocking
Jesus and Mary Chain – Psychocandy
Lemonheads – It’s a Shame About Ray
Pavement – Slanted and Enchanted
Pogues – Rum, Sodomy and the Lash
Iggy Pop – Lust for Life
Primal Scream – Screamadelica
Pulp – Different Class
Sleater-Kinney – Dig Me Out
Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Talking Heads – Fear of Music
Van Morrison – Astral Weeks
Weezer – Pinkerton
Wire – Pink Flag
I was tempted to put in a proposal for the Throwing Muses debut myself - is there a better album written by teenagers about being a teenager? - until I remembered I couldn't write about music to save my life. Good to see a couple of writers are making sure this isn't overlooked.
Also looking forward to shelling out for books on the Breeders, Johnny Cash, Cat Power, John Coltrane, Michael Jackson, Massive Attack, Joanna Newsome, NWA, Nas, Outkast, Pavement, Raekwon and probably a dozen more.
Really don't envy the people who have to whittle down this list.
What? No Bay City Rollers? Oh David don't let the triumph of the geeks prevail! The gems are the ones that rise above the chuckles and trends...the ones that still have a story that AllMusic, Mojo et al. haven't already told. My picks:
1. Tori Amos – Little Earthquakes
2. Black Sabbath- Black Sabbath
3. Fairport Convention – Liege and Lief
4. Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin
5. Fleetwood Mac – Tusk
6. Kraftwerk – Trans Europe Express
7. Metallica – Master of Puppets
8. Modern Lovers – The Modern Lovers
9. Phil Ochs – Gunfight at Carnegie Hall (as long as
it’s not a fat Elvis end of career type of rave)
10. Pavement – Crooked Rain Crooked Rain
11. Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions To
Hold Us Back
12. Slint – Spiderland
13. Talking Heads – Fear of Music
14. Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues
15. XTC – Skylarking
...and one for fun
16. Herb Alpert – Whipped Cream and Other
Delights.
It's great to see more hip hop titles on the list. Hope they make the cut. A wu-tang proposal should be a given. Nas also. Though both might be tough getting the artists behind them. Outkast might be a little early, but still a good choice. Public Enemy, De La Soul, and N.W.A are three great groups/albums that give you a range of the hip hop spectrum. No offense, but The Blueprint is not the best selection from Jay-Z's catalog. Eminem is always a good name, but there's a lot out there on him, how do you keep it fresh? Ice Cube, not bad. Digable Planets, tough seller, but it's nice to see someone's thinking about them. Kanye and Raekwon are too soon.
I'd like to see some of the choices move beyond the hipster rock canon. I would be especially excited to see Willie Nelson, either of the Cash albums (probably lean towards American Recordings since so much has already been said about Folsom), or the Wanted! The Outlaws album (awesome submisssion idea). Wu-Tang, Herb Alpert, Isaac Hayes, Litte Richard, and ZZ Top would all be interesting, too.
wow, the strong bias against the "hipster"/"stupid indie rock" thing is really disheartening (as is the concurrent Afghan Whigs "Amen Corner")- I for one would love to read a Willie Nelson _Stardust_ offering, but why dont we have some faith in David and Continuum's judgement that they will pick the best and most interesting proposals, regardless of genre, and our own biases and very prominent narrow mindedness. and it's not like the 33 1/3 series has studied many notable indie "canon-holders" to this point - what, besides Neutral Milk Hotel and the Guided by Voices?
If an album has changed someone's life and the writer can make it interesting to the rest of us, isn't that the point?
Jeez . . .an objective look at the list doesn's yield a disproportionate amount of hipster fodder - unless you're counting Motley Crue, Jimmy Buffett, and Boston?
Some of you "rockers" need to get a grip and let the professionals do their job.
ok vent over, sorry - go Moby Grape!!!!
#1: Crazy Horses
Yo Mike H, David did ASK what people would like to see more/less of, ya know? With 30 releases over the next couple years, I'm sure they'll spread the love enough to satisfy everybody.
I have two copies of the first Afghan Whigs "Up In It" on vinyl (one black, one orange). Bought that record back when you could trust a new release on Sub Pop (hard to imagine now).
After that first one, they lost me entirely. I wonder if anyone who pitched an Afghan Whigs book heard the band before that second record came out. I sure hope so...
Yeah, we shouldn't forget that one of the pleasures of this series is reading on how a record has influenced a person's life. And that could from either a more mainstream band or an indie one.
Just wanted to cast yet another vote in the author vs. album school. Some of the biggest disappointments in the series for me thus far were books done on my favorite records -- Joy Division, OK Computer, and, most recently Loveless. The first was a reiteration of facts that any fan interested in picking up the book would already know; the second a case study in achieving the seemingly impossible task of boring the shit out of readers in a book on one of the most universally loved records of its era. And while it's pretty cool to score an interview with the elusive Mr. Shields, the writer seemed to be so enamored with said journalistic coup that he forgot entirely his obligation to actually use quotes to craft an insightful story (even the much hyped chicken-eating contests and chinchilla ranch ended up being so much nothing in his hands).
By contrast, Sean Nelson's Court and Spark is my favorite book in the most recent batch (I have a couple left to go, so this may change). I'm not sure that I could even recognize a single song off that record, but sentence by sentence, Nelson is so good at his craft that I stayed with him.
At this point, it's clear that the series has hit a point that it attracting amazing writers is no problem (449 proposals!). And while certain albums beg to be added to the canon -- I'd particularly like to see the trend of adding more post-punk records and '90s classics continue -- I'd much rather wait for an interesting, well-written book on my favorite records than have the title taken permanently off the list of possibilities with a not-so-great treatment. I like the idea of using the popularity of the series to keep it a refuge for writing on truly amazing records that might not be big enough to attract the interest of more commercial publishers, as well as smart, original takes on classic albums that have been treated in a less interesting manner elsewhere. If you can find the more or less the same story in music mags or in Barnes & Noble, it doesn't seem 33 1/3 worthy.
Wow... There are many albums on the list that I was considering proposing, and the one I did submit has multiple entries.
A lot of great entries. Looking forward to see what you guys picked.
Good luck!
Nice to see other people supporting the Flaming Lips.
All the proposals sound good to me, but I'm especially excited to see the entries in genres that haven't been written about yet.
De La Soul sounds awesome.
So excited to read the next line of books.
Finally, some ska (Madness and Specials--where are the [English] Beat?), along with the womenfolk of rock (Liz Phair and Pretenders). Hurray for Santana, too. Still no Shonen Knife, alas!
alex green notified me that my galaxie 500 proposal had been pitted against supertramp, so i am curious as to who will be the victor.
someone mentioned the lack of raincoats or slits proposals, and i should care to say that i made a strong, concerted effort in coercing ana da silva and gina birch to taking time out for the book. they seemed disinterested, so i moved on and got the go-ahead from dean wareham of galaxie.
additionally, i've not heard the afghan whigs, but i suppose this towering amount of proposals in their favor means i should. any ideas where to start?
quite a list. i think there is a good bit of diversity amongst the offerings upon closer examination. Apart from the proposal I made, I would want to hear more about what a talented writer and researcher could say about the selections from the Flatlanders, D'angelo, the Drive-by-Truckers, Donny Hathaway, Waylon, and Randy Newman. Each of the albums selected for those artists is..."definitive"..so I imagine that would give a good bit of space for someone to work with
I was the person disappointed by the lack of proposals for either the Slits or the Raincoats. Pity neither Gina nor Ana were interested —do they feel that the story has been told definitvely already? I think there's a lot more to be said about the Raincoats. But it doesn't HAVE to be said with the band's involvement (necessarily). The songs themselves are incredibly rich.
A Galaxie book would be fun, though!
I thought that whole thing about the Galaxie 500 and Supertramp was an ironic joke...
neither gina nor ana gave much of a reason, really. i corrsponded with ana for a while and she just seemed kind of hesitant about the whole thing. i mainly thought that their involvement would increase interest, as they are still kind of wildly unknown for some reason.
i'm excited someone proposed the yo la tengo and young marble giants albums. a bit surprised that it was lust for life as opposed to the idiot for iggy, though.
no one picked kenny chesney?
You could make a pretty cool compendium on heartbreak out of this list? - Ryan Adams Heartbreaker, John Martyn Grace and Danger, Marvin Gaye Hear My Dear, Liz Phair Exile in Guyville, Elliot Smith Xo.....
Such the list....
Glad to see my submission made it (and made it again, below). The proposals make the man, so to speak, but I thought a few of these below were transcendent of careers, or at least where the floodwaters crested.
Camper Van Beethoven – Key Lime Pie
Dinosaur Jr. – You’re Living All Over Me
Grateful Dead – Anthem of the Sun
Mekons – Fear and Whiskey
Mudhoney – Superfuzz Bigmuff
Negativland – Escape from Noise
Willie Nelson – Red Headed Stranger
Tom Petty – Full Moon Fever
Iggy Pop – Lust for Life
Slint – Spiderland
Van Halen – 1984
Afghan Whigs? More Paul K covers (Amphetamines and Coffee/Chalk Outline). Congregation was the transition; Gentleman pushed me back to Up in It, where I've stayed ever since.
A primer on the Afghan Whigs: "1965" is the party album, "Black Love" is the downer album, "Congregation" is a genuine attempt to infuse grunge with soul, and "Gentlemen" is flat-out perfect, every note. The entire canon is a perceptive and chilling study of masculinity, and a restless search for darkness at the heart of even the poppiest love song.
Looking for a place to start? Grab the "Uptown Avondale" EP and watch Greg Dulli find something beautifully ugly and true in what always seemed like relatively chipper and superficial soul songs from the sixties and seventies. If "Band of Gold" doesn't slay you, I don't know what will.
"Up in It" isn't even their first record, guy with two copies. Me, I get off after "Gentlemen," which is indeed perfect. Even considering the Paul K covers, can't imagine anyone preferring "Up In It" to that one anymore than I can imagine anyone preferring "Black Love" to it.
Different primer on Afghan Wigs: like Bob Mould's "Black Sheets of Rain" but not nearly as good.
Gentlemen by The Afghan Whigs is incredible, but Black Love is worth writing a book about... it plays like a movie and has a lot of heavy stuff going on. I want to know more about what drove this album. Gentlemen? Boils down to: Greg Dulli had some girl problems.
At what point did this turn into a fanzine for the Wigs--and why? Is someone trying to hype their proposal?
Dear Anonymous of 8:31 AM,
Apparently an AW fansite took David's request to "comment on the list below" to heart. Several dozen comments later, someone asked where to start with listening to them. Hence this discussion.
Dear Anonymous of 8:31 AM,
Apparently an AW fansite took David's request to "comment on the list below" to heart. Several dozen comments later, someone asked where to start with listening to them. Hence this discussion.
I see. By now, it's well past tedious.
Well, sorry to try your patience, Anonymous. Feel free to change the subject.
Best thing about this whole list? No Eagles. Fuck the Eagles. Hard.
Would totally go buy: Boston, Soft Bulletin, Album, Anthem of the Sun, Zen Arcade, After Bathing at Baxter's, Escape From Noise, Red Headed Stranger, Wowee Zowee, Behavior, It Takes..., Shape of Punk..., Reign in Blood, Spiderland, Perfect Prescription, Enter the Wu..., Tres Hombres and one copy of my own so's I could tell my mom somebody actually bought it.
[bold = hell yeah]
*sigh*...it's going to be a long wait...
Not a single pitch on The Fall? For shame.
Nice to see someone casting a vote of confidence for the Anthem of the Sun and Baxter's proposals. I was starting to feel like the old man here (which maybe I am). But I suspect the Crown of Creation book would have more to say about Baxter's than the Baxter's book would say about Crown, so I'll opt for that one. Am disappointed that no one proposed The Move's Shazam, Richard and Linda Thompson's Shoot Out the Lights, or The Mason Williams Phonograph Record.
Isn't shoot out the lights already scheduled as one of the books?
no point in making books about crap american indie bands, they went to college, got beat up, joined a band, made an overrated album. end of...we need books on real band e.g. black sabbath, cream & AC/DC!
yeah, I'm sort of kicking myself also about my proposal after seeing all the other indies picthed, and the apparent bias towards them, at least on this comment list haha!!lol
Shoudl have pitched _Stardust_ or maybe a Can album - maybe nexttime!! waiting with bated breath . . .
Re: The Fall
I actually have a half-written pitch on The Wonderful And Frightening World Of The Fall, but I felt that of any Fall record, that one would not be published. It would be Hex Enduction Hour and god knows I couldn't write that book. I wasn't pleased with what I came up. The Fall is tough.
I'd pick up the one on Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention's "Freak Out".
I second the missed opportunity for a Can pitch.
I like the less obvious choices like Blur, Primal Scream, and Depeche Mode, particularly the fact that "Screamadelica" and "Songs of Faith and Devotion" are less mainstream than other albums by these artists. I can imagine books on these two would be quite interesting! I'd buy both!
The Zappa book sounds interesting, though there is sooooo much written about him (even album by album...Ben Watson) that the book would have to reveal something new and interesting. That said, if it did this, it would be a great service to Zappa-dom. Freak Out! is contemporaneous with Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper's, but doesn't get nearly enough attention relative to the other two albums.
Also, AW Gentlemen is their best album (though other albums have great songs) - I'd suggest beginning with it and working outwards in either direction chronologically.
I'd sure love to see also these books written;
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Dinosaur Jr - Bug
Spiritualized - Ladies and gentlemen, we are floating into space
Gong - Camenbert Electrique
Faust - IV
Can - Tago Mago
Mastodon - Leviathan
William Shatner - The Transformed Man!
He had visions! In the desert!
Now that I think about it, I'd rather read about "Professor Long Hair Live on the Queen Mary".
I would love to read Toure on D'Angelo's Voodoo, particularly since his collection of RS writings has such interesting D'Angelo stuff; the gulf between D'Angelo during the Voodoo tour heights and talking to ?uestlove for The Believer are ridiculous. I mean, who's to say he's one of the submissions, but that would be so great. I saw D'Angelo during that tour and he ran into the crowd with a wifebeater on and ran back onstage with a string tied around his neck. People were crazy.
Also: do write about more females, but I think a sleater kinney book would be a little boring, potentially. And there's probably one by greil marcus anyways.
I almost submitted a proposal for the Afghan Whigs' Black Love myself. I would KILL for a good book on this album, which is as dark as dark gets.
(speaking of dark-- no proposals for Lou Reed's "Berlin"? FOUR for "Metal Machine Music" and none for "Berlin"? For shame!)
I'd for sure rush out and purchase:
1. The Music Machine - "Turn on The Music Machine" Pure fuzz and ferocity! And Sean Bonniwell is a maaaaaaaadman!
2. T.Rex - "Electric Warrior"
No one has bettered it since, and Bolan is one of the most enigmatic figures in 70s rock in the sense that he put so little of himself into his music. It's so impersonal and yet triumphant - it begs to be explored!
3. Simon and Garfunkel - "Bookends"
If you have to ask why you haven't listened to it.
4. Pavement - "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain"
Again, if you can listen to this and remain unmoved, you are a sad and sorry soul indeed. Few things are as energizing as "Unfair."
5. George Harrison - "All Things Must Pass"
Without question, alongside McCartney's RAM, the BEST post-Beatle output!
So there!
I'm not sure that ANYONE needs a 33 & 1/3 on ANY Grateful Dead LPs, but that's just me.
I can't believe that no one's stuck up for Afghan Whigs' Congregation. It's better written and more emotionally involved than Gentlemen, which is great but has a few too many similar songs. After that, their albums stray into fairly boring mainstream territory. As much as I like some of these later records, they're not terribly unique. I really don't understand the commotion here.
Fer cryin' out loud! What the h-e-double-hockey-sticks is goin' on with the Afghan Whigs here? For me, they're destined forever to remain one of those bands that I "don't get," along with, say, the MC5 (sorry, but they've never done ANYTHING for me and I LOVE the Stooges), or maybe The New York Dolls. All reputation/hype and nothing to latch onto. You're SUPPOSED to like them, but who gives a rodent's bum whether you're SUPPOSED to like anything? Of course, all music fandom must remain gleefully in the world of the subjective, although I must agree with Sid Griffin's liner notes for the reissue of Gene Clark's first solo LP, when he wrote something along the lines of "...one must be deaf or evil to disagree" that Gene was the heart and soul and the BEST thing about the first two Byrds LPs.
Sheesh! Enough with the fershlugginer Afghan Whigs already!
Man, how about those Afghan Whigs, huh?
This may be the toughest wait since waiting to get laid for the first time.
Afghan Whigs. Nuff said.
A Fan from Indy.
I was going to pitch the Fall, but what the heck can you say about them that would make any sense ;)
captain beefheart - troutmask replica
I'd LOVE to read
X-Los Angeles
Husker Du - Zen Arcade
Black Flag-My War
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Artie, I guess they're not there cos you didn't propose any of them....
David, as a HUGE, HUGE fan of this series, or at at least the idea of this series, I would love to offer the constructive criticism of acting a little choosier in your writers. When this series started i totally geeked out over it, but i can honestly say everyone of these books, that I've read anyhow, have been a mild disappointment. Maybe that's just me, but the consensus i get from a lot of music geeks is the concept is fantastic, but the execution leaves little to be desired. I hope the quality only continues to go up. my 2 cents.
Just received my form-email rejection for my proposal to the series. Alas. Better luck to others.
Does "form-email" suggest that it's one generic message then?
I take it these are only the submissions for the next batch of books? My year-old+ pitch isn't in there...
Van Dyke Parks - Song Cycle
i see some talking heads listed, but "REMAIN IN LIGHT" should be highly considered as well
i second Skinny Puppy's "Too Dark Park"
as well as Throwing Muses self titled album.
is their just not enough information on THE RESIDENTS? this series could be a good place to start peeling back the onion.
Danzig - Danzig
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