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A review by _feargus
31 Songs by Nick Hornby
4.0
In 26 essays Hornby covers 31 songs and, in particular, which elements of each emotionally resonate with him. The song choice is fantastic, ranging from tunes by Springsteen, to Royksöpp, to Nelly Furtardo, and all the way back to Patti Smith. My edition also includes 5 additional essays, covering 14 albums, written for the New Yorker.
Here Hornby truly captures what makes us love pop music. Written in his usual provocative yet free-flowing style, I can't say I agreed with every take, but it was enough to make me laugh and think. It's fun to listen to songs before and after each essay, they really do push you to re-evaluate your opinions. It turned me on to a few new favourites, namely "Born For Me" by Paul Westerberg. Truth be told, whilst I love the Replacements his solo material had never encapsulated me. I didn't even like the song much when I first listened to it before reading the essay; however, on my succeeding listen my doubts were soothed. The extra essays, whilst intriguing, are nowhere near as convicting as the rest of the book. Perhaps that's what happens when writing for the New Yorker. With that being said, Hornby's writing on Aimee Mann and Steve Earle are worthwhile.
All in all, as with the rest of Hornby's work, I can't recommend this enough to any intelligent individual obsessed with pop culture and, most importantly, music.
Here Hornby truly captures what makes us love pop music. Written in his usual provocative yet free-flowing style, I can't say I agreed with every take, but it was enough to make me laugh and think. It's fun to listen to songs before and after each essay, they really do push you to re-evaluate your opinions. It turned me on to a few new favourites, namely "Born For Me" by Paul Westerberg. Truth be told, whilst I love the Replacements his solo material had never encapsulated me. I didn't even like the song much when I first listened to it before reading the essay; however, on my succeeding listen my doubts were soothed. The extra essays, whilst intriguing, are nowhere near as convicting as the rest of the book. Perhaps that's what happens when writing for the New Yorker. With that being said, Hornby's writing on Aimee Mann and Steve Earle are worthwhile.
All in all, as with the rest of Hornby's work, I can't recommend this enough to any intelligent individual obsessed with pop culture and, most importantly, music.