Customer Reviews

Da Capo Best Music Writing 2003: The Year's Finest Writing On Rock, Pop, Jazz, Country & More (v. 4)

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My first impression of the latest addition in this essential series was that guest editor Matt Groening is no Homer, his book no Odyssey. The brains behind The Simpsons admits in his skimpy introduction that during his brief career as a rock critic he realised he "had the enthusiasm but not the discipline" required. Nearly two decades later, he's as likely to be listening to the Chordettes and Frank Zappa as Yma Sumac and Joe Venuti. He can fake it with the obscure stuff, he says, just don't ask him to be knowledgeable about the mainstream. His record collection probably resembles his selections here: an eccentric, eclectic mix full of "style, passion and wit". It's probably not that large, this edition being 25 percent smaller than the series' debut in 2000, and his appendix listing "other notable essays" is woefully short rather than the usual rewarding treasure hunt.
Much of the best writing about music isn't found in magazines dedicated to music. Instead, it's in publishing polar opposites: glossies like The New Yorker, big-city newspapers or cyberspace fanzines such as Perfect Sound, Tin House and the satirical Onion. Now that the music itself is so readily available, it's more of a challenge finding something decent to read among all the dross, and here Groening combined with Google provides a service. One can easily find essays left out such as Eric Idle paying tribute to George Harrison <http://www.dailyllama.com/news/2002/llama157.html> or Andrew Hultkrans' essay on Brian Wilson (subtitle: "When Good Vibrations Go Bad") <http://www.tinhouse.com/Issues/Issue_10/feature.html>
But considering the wealth of material the editors must consider, the appendix could go so much further.
That said, there is plenty of excellent writing in the 288 pages of essays here, I just wish I'd read fewer of them before. It's useful to have permanent copies of essays such as Elvis Costello's annual Vanity Fair contribution (this one selecting 24 hours of music) and Gary Giddins' always wonderful jazz writing for the Village Voice (here it's an accessible guide to post-war jazz). But maybe in future editions, the mainstream essays can just be referenced, while more obscure gems get the spotlight.

Matt Gronening's Best Music Writing 2003 compiles the fourth, latest volume in the series. From a surprising survey of Morissey's most devoted fans - heterosexual Latinos - to the real roots of Detroit rhythm n blues music, this is packed with important insights and fun memoirs musicians will relish.