Toronto – Now I is not often (maybe never?) that we review books on this blog, but since we are music related blog, it only makes sense to review a book about music. The folks at Simon & Shuster were kind enough to provide me with a copy of Pitchfork’s book called “The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present“. Obviously, this gave me the idea for “The Panic Manual 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs Ever”, but given our production rate, that would take about eight years to complete and would be about 12 pages long. Also, 35 songs would be by Suede.
The book is what you think it is. Which brings me to this clip:
So this book is what you think it is! It is a list of songs grouped by 3 year time periods, that the writers at Pitchfork think are important. Each song is accompanied by a paragraph about why the song is special, and sometimes has a lil anecdote about the band or whatever. Anyone knowing their music chops can probably list about half the songs that a site like Pitchfork would deem important, and thats what makes this book so great – it’s just as interesting to see what songs left off, as songs that are put on.
I think the book encapsulates music in the past few decades quite well, they even have one page descriptions of some lesser known music genres such as IDM and Booty Bass, followed by a collection of songs that fit each of these genres. The usual Pitchfork tone is in this tone as well, as one writer wrote that Raine Maida of Canadian band Our Lady Peace was ‘Perry Farrell’s third gamey cousin’ which had me laughing.
Overall, if you are looking for a Christmas present for your indie friend, this would be a great idea. You can probably buy it at your local bookstores, and thru Simon and Shuster, or Pitchfork.
Or you can enter our contest and WIN THIS BOOK FOR FREE!
Here is a cover of a song that made the list.
