Now over a year since I finished my blog charting the history of pop music in 365 albums, and about 6 months since the book was published in late summer 2015, I've been taking some time these past few days to reflect on the experience and my record choices. The response from many friends, especially those I've barely been in contact with for many years, was a really positive thing to come out of the process and it's good to think that I might have rekindled some interest in the LP and got people listening to entire albums again. Doing the talk up in Glasgow was a particular highlight, and the act of signing a book to a complete stranger is something I'll cherish for the rest of my days.
Obviously, there was part of me that couldn't help hoping, just after publishing the book, that it might be a surprise success. That didn't happen, but equally I didn't expect to hit three figures in sales (Kindle + physical) so soon after publication. Sounds a cliché, but the (little) money it's raised is so much less important to me than the fact that people bought it (and maybe even read it). If I were to go down the route of writing another book, and nothing concrete's planned as yet, then I think I would like to try and take the traditional route next time. More than anything, I found my ability to promote the book very limited, and a big publisher with contacts and clout would be a huge help. I understand that getting published takes a huge amount of skill, luck and cunning, but we all need pipe dreams.
What's clear to me now is that the album isn't dead, or dying in the dramatic way that I thought was happening when starting this process. The rise in vinyl and the growth of album clubs shows that interest in classic and modern records remains robust, and the format is still favoured by the vast majority of musicians, especially those looking to make a lasting statement. Some of the links I'd recommend as part of this trend of renewed interest in the LP are the Ram Album Club, Classic Album Sundays, and sections of the Vice and Quietus websites.
As for reflecting on the album choices I made in the book, then I'd probably take the following 10 LPs out:
Richie Havens' Mixed Bag
Nick Drake's Five Leaves Left
John Martyn's Bless The Weather
The Mekons' Fear & Whiskey
Nirvana's MTV Unplugged
Wilco's Being There
DJ /rupture's Gold Teeth Thief
Secret Machine's Now Here Is Nowhere
The Liars' Drum's Not Dead
Caribou's Swim
And replace them with these 10 records:
The Velvet Underground's 1969 self-titled album
Tim Buckley's Happy Sad
Laura Nyro's New York Tendaberry
Buffy Sainte-Marie's Illuminations
Fela Kuti's Expensive Shit
The Ramones' Rocket To Russia
N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton
Lucinda Williams' Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
Sufjan Stevens' Carrie & Lowell
David Bowie's Blackstar
I think this would make for a stronger list and also help to tip the gender balance further in the right direction, something that I was acutely aware of while writing the book, even if I'm against any idea of quota systems. Having three Nick Drake LPs and two Bowie albums in the book seems wrong to me, so that's why I'd swap those two, and the same reasoning applies to reversing the fact that John Martyn, Wilco and Nirvana are listed twice, but The Velvet Underground just once. Missing out Tim Buckley and that wonderful Lucinda Williams record was also an oversight, while any book that attempts to chart pop history but leaves out The Ramones (+ The Sex Pistols), N.W.A. and Fela Kuti deserves to be rewritten one day. Maybe I'll get round to it, and I also need to finish the work I started on a huge visual chart that shows the links between the 365 albums, but right now I want to move on to other projects (and focus on integrating the imminent baby No.3 into the fold).
To round things off, I thought I'd re-post my YouTube playlist that collects 69 Bowie videos (for each of his 69 years on this planet), containing all of his hits from official YouTube channels, plus a few curiosities and interviews. So much has been written about Bowie in the past few weeks, and I've spent a lot of time revisiting his music (especially the 80s era and his more recent albums), and while I'm still happy with the two choices I made in Pop 365 (Hunky Dory and Low), my appreciation for his late 70s work (Station To Station, "Heroes" and Lodger) has really deepened. Blackstar would also be a worthy addition to the book, not least because it was so unique in making art out of death, but also because the songs are so breathtakingly virtuoso and moving. Vale Bowie.
Obviously, there was part of me that couldn't help hoping, just after publishing the book, that it might be a surprise success. That didn't happen, but equally I didn't expect to hit three figures in sales (Kindle + physical) so soon after publication. Sounds a cliché, but the (little) money it's raised is so much less important to me than the fact that people bought it (and maybe even read it). If I were to go down the route of writing another book, and nothing concrete's planned as yet, then I think I would like to try and take the traditional route next time. More than anything, I found my ability to promote the book very limited, and a big publisher with contacts and clout would be a huge help. I understand that getting published takes a huge amount of skill, luck and cunning, but we all need pipe dreams.
What's clear to me now is that the album isn't dead, or dying in the dramatic way that I thought was happening when starting this process. The rise in vinyl and the growth of album clubs shows that interest in classic and modern records remains robust, and the format is still favoured by the vast majority of musicians, especially those looking to make a lasting statement. Some of the links I'd recommend as part of this trend of renewed interest in the LP are the Ram Album Club, Classic Album Sundays, and sections of the Vice and Quietus websites.
As for reflecting on the album choices I made in the book, then I'd probably take the following 10 LPs out:
Richie Havens' Mixed Bag
Nick Drake's Five Leaves Left
John Martyn's Bless The Weather
The Mekons' Fear & Whiskey
Nirvana's MTV Unplugged
Wilco's Being There
DJ /rupture's Gold Teeth Thief
Secret Machine's Now Here Is Nowhere
The Liars' Drum's Not Dead
Caribou's Swim
And replace them with these 10 records:
The Velvet Underground's 1969 self-titled album
Tim Buckley's Happy Sad
Laura Nyro's New York Tendaberry
Buffy Sainte-Marie's Illuminations
Fela Kuti's Expensive Shit
The Ramones' Rocket To Russia
N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton
Lucinda Williams' Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
Sufjan Stevens' Carrie & Lowell
David Bowie's Blackstar
I think this would make for a stronger list and also help to tip the gender balance further in the right direction, something that I was acutely aware of while writing the book, even if I'm against any idea of quota systems. Having three Nick Drake LPs and two Bowie albums in the book seems wrong to me, so that's why I'd swap those two, and the same reasoning applies to reversing the fact that John Martyn, Wilco and Nirvana are listed twice, but The Velvet Underground just once. Missing out Tim Buckley and that wonderful Lucinda Williams record was also an oversight, while any book that attempts to chart pop history but leaves out The Ramones (+ The Sex Pistols), N.W.A. and Fela Kuti deserves to be rewritten one day. Maybe I'll get round to it, and I also need to finish the work I started on a huge visual chart that shows the links between the 365 albums, but right now I want to move on to other projects (and focus on integrating the imminent baby No.3 into the fold).
To round things off, I thought I'd re-post my YouTube playlist that collects 69 Bowie videos (for each of his 69 years on this planet), containing all of his hits from official YouTube channels, plus a few curiosities and interviews. So much has been written about Bowie in the past few weeks, and I've spent a lot of time revisiting his music (especially the 80s era and his more recent albums), and while I'm still happy with the two choices I made in Pop 365 (Hunky Dory and Low), my appreciation for his late 70s work (Station To Station, "Heroes" and Lodger) has really deepened. Blackstar would also be a worthy addition to the book, not least because it was so unique in making art out of death, but also because the songs are so breathtakingly virtuoso and moving. Vale Bowie.
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