Book: The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide To The Greatest Songs From Punk To Present
Author: many, edited by Scott Plagenhoef and Ryan Schreiber
Year: 2008
Year: 2008
There are several reasons I should hate this book. Foremost among them is that this book is only about songs. I’m a diehard album-format loyalist, trying to swim against the tide in an increasingly iPod/mixtape-centric world. The idea of trying to boil down my favorite era of music (1977-present) into 500 songs, as opposed to 500 albums, is contrary to everything I believe about music.
However, music history doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with me on this matter. As the book’s preface points out, there are many excellent and influential songs that never graced an official studio album (The Specials “Ghost Town” is an obvious example). This is the case with many older songs, from the days where singles could actually be a unique thing instead of album tracks dressed up for radio airplay. Because of this, I found myself tremendously enjoying this book. There are very few books on music out there that cover single songs as opposed to albums and I think the diversity is necessary to understanding music history as a whole.
Then there’s the issue of being published by Pitchfork, probably the most beloved and hated music website around. I know a lot of people who bash Pitchfork, because the website doesn’t cover their beloved “underground post-spazzcore folk-metal” scene or some such bullshit. I don’t buy this at all. Personally, I’m a big defender of Pitchfork, mostly because there is no other place online to get quality, up-to-date music news. As for their reviews, just like with anything else, they must be taken with a grain of salt, but they’re excellent at starting discussions about any particular album. Besides, I find that my personal musical tastes dovetail with theirs more often than not. Forgive me for liking a site I agree with.
The Pitchfork 500 definitely veers strongly into the “alternative” chunk of music, something they readily admit. However deserving you think they might be, you’re not going to find big singles by Britney Spears or the Spice Girls or anything in that vein here. But, within the boundaries they draw for themselves, the Pitchfork writers have captured a colossal range of music. Punk and traditional alt-rock are represented in spades, as is hip-hop, electronic music, avant-guard and any combinations thereof. This book is an excellent primer on the huge mess of music that usually goes unheralded for a variety of reasons. Overall, The Pitchfork 500 is a very quality read and reference source.
However, music history doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with me on this matter. As the book’s preface points out, there are many excellent and influential songs that never graced an official studio album (The Specials “Ghost Town” is an obvious example). This is the case with many older songs, from the days where singles could actually be a unique thing instead of album tracks dressed up for radio airplay. Because of this, I found myself tremendously enjoying this book. There are very few books on music out there that cover single songs as opposed to albums and I think the diversity is necessary to understanding music history as a whole.
Then there’s the issue of being published by Pitchfork, probably the most beloved and hated music website around. I know a lot of people who bash Pitchfork, because the website doesn’t cover their beloved “underground post-spazzcore folk-metal” scene or some such bullshit. I don’t buy this at all. Personally, I’m a big defender of Pitchfork, mostly because there is no other place online to get quality, up-to-date music news. As for their reviews, just like with anything else, they must be taken with a grain of salt, but they’re excellent at starting discussions about any particular album. Besides, I find that my personal musical tastes dovetail with theirs more often than not. Forgive me for liking a site I agree with.
The Pitchfork 500 definitely veers strongly into the “alternative” chunk of music, something they readily admit. However deserving you think they might be, you’re not going to find big singles by Britney Spears or the Spice Girls or anything in that vein here. But, within the boundaries they draw for themselves, the Pitchfork writers have captured a colossal range of music. Punk and traditional alt-rock are represented in spades, as is hip-hop, electronic music, avant-guard and any combinations thereof. This book is an excellent primer on the huge mess of music that usually goes unheralded for a variety of reasons. Overall, The Pitchfork 500 is a very quality read and reference source.
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