“Customers who bought “Let’s Talk About Love” also bought:

Heretic Pride – The Mountain Goats
“If You’re Feeling Sinister – 33 1/3″ – Scott P
“Faking It – the Quest For Authenticity In Popular Music” – Hugh Barker
“How Fiction Works” – James Wood
“Loveless 33 1/3″ – Mike McGonigal
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” – Miranda Lambert”

Interesting mix, thought I.

I don’t think the 33 1/3 people have ever come out and said that their mission is to cover influential or “classic” albums. All I’ve read is that they are looking to publish books by people that write about music interestingly. Which includes fiction, and weird fables and short stories, and other thought experiments that succeed or fail in different degrees–usually depending on what a reader expects.
Already a pretty queer pitch, if you asked me.

It reminds me of the Live 8 concert here in Canada, where everyone got a good reception, more or less, save for Dion, whose appearance was made via video from Las Vegas (which in itself was like Timberlake’s reception, more or less, at Sarstock in Toronto two years earlier). There is definitely an audience out there willing to listen to/read about anything in the ‘rock’ sphere but not the pop.

A book that compared, oh, say, Dion with PJ Harvey would be interesting, if only because they are both dramatic and are about the same age.

Aren’t you confusing the 33 1/3 blog with, I don’t know, Stereogum or something? There was definitely apprehension at the 33 1/3 blog, but the theme of the comments seemed to be disappointment, not at the prospect of any of the books in particular but that the commenters’ book proposals had not been accepted.

I blame my typist.

And Autobiography’s and I Am Me’s best is way better than “good” best (the “good” was part of a previous phrase that I’d incompletely deleted).

Also I’m galled that this book is probably going to way outsell my own book – though actually the success of Carl’s book might help books like mine in the long run, and I don’t begrudge Carl the success. But I really raise the issues, in my title, in my preface (where I run Mariah Carey and Courtney Love together).

The lyrics to Celine Dion’s “Taking Chances” has some of its romanticism in common with Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone.” Both songs are about choosing the unknown and looking for a partner to accompany you into it. (So’s Guns N’ Roses’ “It’s So Easy,” which I’m going to post about tomorrow on my livejournal.) Rather than suspending judgment I’d point out why “Taking Chances” vagues out in abstractions, making its lyrics far worse than Dylan’s. But also I’d point out in favor of “Taking Chances” (which I actually like a lot) that it’s far more accessible: the chance takers don’t have to be be Dylan’s desperate and broken losers in the dark bohemian night, they can be anyone falling in love but not sure of whom or what she’s falling for or where it will take her. Also, Kara DioGuardi, who co-wrote “Taking Chances” with Dave Stewart and whom I assume is responsible 100 percent for the lyrics, was a co-writer on most of Ashlee Simpson’s Autobiography (where I assume Kara is about 25% responsible for the lyrics, but I don’t really know at all) and all of Ashlee’s I Am Me, two albums (esp. the first) that at their good best make Blood On The Tracks and Desire (Dylan’s supposedly deep personal relationships albums) seem like evasive bullshit in comparison.

If you want to challenge the “our stuff” vs. “their stuff” dichotomy, you’ve got to really challenge it, whereas from Carl’s post I get more the sense of “Look how I can expand my taste range.”

One of these days I may get around to writing a proper full-length critical appraisal of La Celine – but if I do then I’m going to write it in French.

The general hostility towards this book at the 33 1/3 blog, when it was announced, gave me more proof that rockism does exist.