You Spin Me Round

by Adrian Duncan (Editor), Niamh Dunphy (Editor), Nathan O'Donnell (Editor)

You spin me round is an illuminating collection of essays, an essential mixtape that takes elements of music – songs, performances, albums, gigs – as points of departure. Some of the finest writers at work today reflect on what music has meant to them at different moments in their lives.

The writers sift through the material artefacts of their music worlds – torn ticket stubs, creased flyers, worsted wristbands – those items that slip out of a book or the back of a drawer, or that appear crumpled in the pocket of an old coat. You spin me round is a compilation of totems, a distillation of ineffable musical experiences.

With contributions by Ciaran Carson, Brian Dillon, Wendy Erskine, Aingeala Flannery, Peter Geoghegan, Colin Graham, M. John Harrison, Tabitha Lasley, Declan Long, Jayne A. Quan, McKenzie Wark, and Sydney Weinberg.

Genres: Music, Essays, Nonfiction

143 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2024

Reviews

[Peter Boyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short collection of essays on music from a host of talented Irish writers. There is a sense of nostalgia to most of the pieces, with the authors looking back to formative periods in their lives. And as we all know, there is nothing like a fondly remembered song to evoke warm memories of a particular time and place.

Ciaran Carson takes us back to a pub in 1980s County Clare, hushed and smoky, as the punters wait in pure excitement to hear the finest Irish traditional music. Declan Long recalls a particular car journey as a boy, travelling back from a visit to a pair of aunts, when the radio played Laurie Anderson's O Superman and blew his tiny mind. My favourite of all was Aingeala Flannery's submission - vignettes of pop history from her adolescence that made me laugh and stirred my heart. This book is a wonderful celebration of the countless ways in which music provides meaning in our lives.

[Vartika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful collection of essays exploring music as memory, as something that moves through you – a medley of voices rising to emotion and experience instead of technicalities. There's a lot to say (and indeed a lot been said) about the evocative power of music and how fluidly it lends to nostalgia, but this is likely the first time I have felt so acutely transported by writing about songs, gigs, bands and performances that I wasn't at all familiar with, most of it by writers I hadn't previously heard of.

I particularly enjoyed Declan Long's "'O Superman': Laurie Anderson, 1981", McKenzie Wark's "'Good Life'", Tabitha Lasley's "Nostalgia, Ultra: Ennui and Excess in Late Nineties Suburbia" and Wendy Eskine's "'Hot Legs'" – each reaching to its subject with such brilliance that the reader need not even play the tunes if they don't want to. But here's the magic: you will want to.

[Emma kask · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nii mõnus lugemine. Spotify ja google ja notes app pidi küll kogu aeg kõrval olema, aga see tegigi huvitavaks. Nii põnev oli lugeda mis lood ja mälestused on inimestel heliloojate, bändide ja lauludega. Ja samal ajal mõelda milline on minu seos Arvo Pärdiga ja millal kuulasin esimest korda Natalie Imbruglia “Torn”. Aitäh overpriced berliini raamatupood ja raamatu kaane järgi hindamine.

[Gabriel Swarbrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really beautiful array of essays that succeeds because of the spread of voices. Reaching for the emotion and the feeling of music instead of for its technicality. Places you in some fantastic nostalgia bubbles incredibly effectively. Some stand out pieces which really shine. Very much enjoyed.

[Kelsey Zange · Rating 4 out of 5]

delightful and fun and diverse. from Eric Clapton to Shostakovich to Iggy Pop to Bob Dylan to Céline Dion to Charli XCX to Rod Stewart, this collection of essays hits it all. such a fun book club pick

[Anton Astudillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some close-to-the-heart essays that makes you FEEL things man. I find that the best music writing always comes from looking to nostalgia and fond memories.

Shouts out to the Porto bookstore/record store Materia Prima which introduced me to this gem.

[Sally Clegg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely little stories about music, especially loved Declan Long’s O’ Superman. Brought music to my ears and joy to my wee heart.

[Crimson Downing-Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Endearing collection of thoughts on music. Favourites were Sydney Weinberg, Wendy Erkskine and Ciaran Carson.

[Lizzie Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the concept, the nostalgia but found a couple of them quite hard to follow / get through