33 1/3

[Lumenskir]

Was kind of unsure whether this was better in this forum or Music, but I figure here is probably the safer bet.

Anyways, for those who don't know, the 33 1/3 series of books are basically short-ish dissertations, each written by a complete musical nerd about a seminal album they love. The list of books is pretty far reaching, and I can't imagine a person who can look at the entire selection and find no album they'd like to read about.

I just finished reading the books on Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. and My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, and I found them both amazingly researched, thought provoking on the nature of music theory, and a great read all around. I'd say that if you have an album that's been the subject of one of the books, the appreciation you feel for the music will spike once you finish reading.

I'm now on the lookout for the book on Radiohead's OK, Computer and, bizarrely, the one about the Celine Dion album. Instead of coming into the writing process as a fan of the album, the guy starts off acknowledging that he hates Dion, but he's outnumbered by the millions of diehard supporters, and through careful analysis of whether musical taste is purely objective or subjective he tries to discover which side is right or wrong. It might just be me, but it sounds fascinating.