Da Capo Best Music Writing 2004

Da Capo Best Music Writing

by Mickey Hart (Editor), Paul Bresnick (Editor)

Now in its landmark fifth year, Da Capo Best Music Writing has become one of the most eagerly awaited annuals of them all. Celebrating the year in music writing by gathering a rich array of essays, missives, and musings on every style of music from rock to hip-hop to R&B to jazz and more, it is essential reading for anyone who loves great music and accomplished writing. Scribes of every imaginable sort-novelists, poets, journalists, musicians-are gathered to create a multi-voiced snapshot of the year in music writing.Past contributors have Lynn Hirschberg * Chuck Klosterman * Elizabeth Gilbert * Jay McInerney * Elvis Costello * Susan Orlean * Jonathan Lethem * Lorraine Ali * Greil Marcus * Richard Meltzer * Robert Gordon * Sarah Vowell * Nick Tosches * Anthony DeCurtis * William Gay * Whitney Balliett * Lester Bangs * Rosanne Cash * Eddie Dean * Selwyn Seyfu Hinds * Alec Wilkinson * David Hadju * Lenny Kaye * The Onion * Gary Giddins * Luc Sante * Monica Kendrick * Kalefa Sanneh

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Essays

384 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

Reviews

[M. D. Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual, I found myself impressed by music criticism in general -- the best of it is often better than most contemporary poetry criticism that I read. The critics seem to care about the actual music more than "placing" in artist in some sort of critical continuum or to flog some theory or another. Music criticism can be banal too, of course, but not as consistantly so as lit crit.

As for this book, it was a tad spotty, thus my middling rating. The good stuff was quite good, the rest mediocre. Barry Mazor's "The Legacy of Little Miss Cornshucks" was perhaps my favorite piece -- a legacy-restoration exercize that was informative and really well put together. But Dan Baum's medical-musical investigation into "Jake Leg" was un-put-downable. Gene Santoro's profile of Willie Nelson at 70 interested me far more than the subject it addressed...and then I came around to the fact I have probably underestimated Willie. Must remedy this some day. Michaelangelo Mantos' list of 69 love songs by year underscores my ignorance and made me want to be a better listener.

This is the old fogey stuff, of course, but I'm an old fogey. The youngsters impressed me with their verve, but I was baffled much of the time too. But that's not necessarily their fault. Robbie Fulks' account of playing at the Grand Ol' Opry was wonderful. But "Emo: Where the Girls Aren't" and some of the hip-hop things were too in-the-know for me to figure out what was going on. But I'm hardly the ideal audience for such stuff.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Baum's essay "Jake Leg" is alone worth reading this book. "Jake Leg" is a malady from the 1930s. Jake was a popular alcoholic "medicinal" beverage widely drunk during prohibition. It also turned out to be highly poisonous, causing extensive and long-term paralysis. Baum explores the phenomenon of "Jake Leg" and the blues songs written about the affliction in this essay.

That's not the only great piece: I also enjoyed the Chuck Klosterman sample, an essay about Nina Simone, an essay about Blind Willie Johnson, and an article about Little Miss Cornshucks.

[JBP · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like these Da Capo best music books as they are filled w/ hit and miss essays on every kind of music--from hip hop to blues to rock to country. Some essays I really love and some not so much.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed bag...some good essays, some weak ones.