Reviews

Perfect Sound Whatever, by James Acaster

jaw_999's review against another edition

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funny informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.0

moonmoonbarneymcgrew's review

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4.0

Pretty good, yeah. Maybe 3.5. Don't think I'll read it again.

sofialibrary's review against another edition

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funny informative lighthearted slow-paced

3.25

georgia5xg's review against another edition

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4.25

I imagine if I was a music snob this would be an easy 5/5. I thought this was so well told and interesting the full way through, almost skipped it after reading his 'classic scrapes', incredibly glad I didn't. Loses some points for pushing kanye so much.

softrosemint's review against another edition

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4.0

Not naming any names but this happened to my friend who for no reason read 200+ books (and the majority of "Bleach") in a year.

In "Perfect Sound Whatever", James recounts one of the most difficult years of his life and how obsessing over music released in 2016 became his fixation, his project. He has done the mature thing to have only compiled this book only after improving his own mental health. In that sense, the book does an amazing job at both introducing the reader (listener) to a variety of new artists and music and documenting one's breakdown in an honest manner. A part of me felt less alone after.

ffionrose's review

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dark funny lighthearted reflective sad

5.0

prisonkenny's review

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5.0

I don‘t think I‘ve ever written an actual review on goodreads before but this book was amazing. It gave me a new appreciation for new music and listening to whole albums as a work of art instead of just singular tracks. It also gave me a new appreciation for genres and artists I might not have listened to before (though not all of them vibed with me, but that‘s okay). I‘m currently still listening to all the recommendations he gives us in the book and I don‘t think I could have picked a better time to read this book than during the 2020 Covid 19 pandemic. I also had to come back home from a trip to Australia and New Zealand that was cut short due to the pandemic (I never made it to NZ unfortunately) and this book and listening to the albums gave me a way to be distracted from feeling sorry for myself. And it gave me the possibility to experience the feeling of learning something new/experiencing something new every day that I listened to a “new” 2016 album, during a time where I wasn’t allowed to leave the house.

Now this review is probably a bit long and it’s all about just me enjoying the music. But the book itself is a great read too! I feel like even people who might not know James Acaster that well, would enjoy this book, because the way he writes about the artists and albums is very engaging and it makes you want to immediately listen to all the albums you just read about. I also think his descriptions make you appreciate the music a bit more, even if it’s a genre you wouldn’t normally listen to.

Anyway, enough of me rambling! Go read the book and listen to some 2016 masterpieces!

jasminekearneyy's review

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

3.25

patkay85's review against another edition

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funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

2.0

abbeyx's review against another edition

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funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.25