A Reason To Get Your Read On

With modern technology making it so easy to hear and see news and entertainment, many have shied away from the written text. Many newspapers have already taken the plunge to go digital with the enhancement of “video over internet” capabilities. Sometimes the move away from typeface is blamed on ADD and though I won’t deny that television and the internet feeds a “here-now” mentality, one should not buy into these ADD crutches for one’s lack of desire to flip some pages.

Luckily for us music lovers there is a semi-solution to our inability to open a book. 33⅓ is a series of books that chronicle some of the seminal albums in music history in a concise, pocket book format. Each album is covered by one writer which allows for control and an actual literary flow to the arguments and stories that lay in the shadows of some of our favorite albums. My first encounter with 33⅓ came when I picked up the volume on Neutral Milk Hotel’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. Kim Cooper superbly chronicled the making of In The Aeroplane through research and interviews with those connected with the album. Her choice (or possible roadblock) of not interviewing Jeff Mangum for the book adds to the mystery that revolves around the album.

Recently reading the volume on Pet Sounds, I can sincerely say that 33⅓ has created a wonderful resource for the music lover to get a quick and solid incite into one of their favorite albums. With recent additions to 33⅓ being Loveless and Court & Spark and plans for many more in 2006-07, the Content highly recommends going out and getting yourself a copy if not a couple.

[www] Neutral Milk Hotel – In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
[www] the Beach Boys – I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times

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