Da Capo Best Music Writing 2006: The Year's Finest Writing on Rock, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Pop, Country, & More (Paperback)

~ Mary Gaitskill (Editor), Daphne Carr (Editor)
Key Phrases: don omar, daddy yankee, torture music, Doctor Atomic, Bloc Party, Sri Lanka (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Guest editor Mary Gaitskill says she put together this edition of Da Capo's annual to be "like a mix tape of sounds a person might hear in life," some of which "enter your imagination and take strange dream-shapes." Manifesting strangeness are Kevin Whitehead's disquisition on the "hidden affinity" between the music of Art Tatum and that of Thelonious Monk, Raquel Cepeda's thoughts on the rise of "reggaeton," and David Thorpe's biting commentary on R. Kelly's notorious sexcapades. Moustafa Bayoumi reports on American use of music in the war on terror: "usually heavy metal or hip-hop but sometimes . . . Barney the Dinosaur" is "pumped at detainees with such brutality [as] to unravel them" without leaving the telltale marks of bodily violence. Of particular interest to classic-rock fans and aging boomers is Tom Ewing's remembrance of August 1966, when the Beatles' two-hit single, Eleanor Rigby/Yellow Submarine, topped the charts. Terrorism, sexual misconduct, and wholesome nostalgia, treated with a discernible backbeat and sprightly writing, make for an excellent anthology. Mike Tribby
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Review

"Excellent and eclectic...[Gaitskill] has created the literary equivalent of a mix tape...Worthy of the 2006 criticism canon." -- PopMatters, 12/01/06

"Like hiring [someone] to comb through a year's worth of...music magazines and clip out all the stuff worth reading." -- Bookgasm.com, 11/10/2006

"Lives up to other entries in the series and provides hours of intelligent reading for the curious music lover." -- ThatDevilMusic.com, 2/12/07

"Music journalism nerds rejoice in the most intriguing, well-written articles and reviews from across the globe." -- Chart, November 2006

"One of the few regular publications to be dependently open to every type of music imaginable...More eclectic than ever." -- Relix, February/March 2007

"Our favorite year-end read...The best pieces...will ring long after they're over." -- Cleveland Scene, 11/15/2006

"Provocative...A controntational, challenging, and varied portrait of music criticism that highlights a visceral reaction to music." -- Venus Zine, 12/01/06

"Quite a celebration of the vast enterprise known as music." -- Signal to Noise, Spring 2007

"The widest range of authors possible...exhibit a great diversity of rhetorical voices and writing styles...An essential read." -- Library Journal, 11/15/2006

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; Revised edition (October 23, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306814994
• ISBN-13: 978-0306814990
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #688,669 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)