Fear of Music: The Greatest 261 Albums Since Punk and Disco
‘A thrilling call to go thumbing through your old CDs and vinyl… enthralling. *****’ — Caspar Llewellyn Smith – Observer Music Monthly OBSERVER ‘An infectious enthusiasm that will leave you listening afresh to those Mojo-approved apres-Punk staples… and a long overdue privileging of pop that is black, gay or female.’ TIME OUT ‘Full of short, excitable essays about the records Mulholland still dribbles over… this book’s full of wide-eyed love, as a fan’s testimonies should be.’ THE WORD ‘The brilliantly written work of an enthusiastic and savvy music fan. It’s sexy to look at too. And chunky enough to chuck in those heated arguments about music.’ TIME OUT – Christmas Presents ‘Crisp, witty and insightful reviews… the choices are thought-provoking throughout in a fascinating book and an ideal companion to its predecessor.’ EVENING HERALD ‘Brilliant dip-in/dip-out material, it offers fresh reviews of the elpees that Mulholland would trample over his wife and kids to rescue from a burning house.’
February 11th, 2009 at 6:03 am
Just picked up “Fear of Music,” and I wished I’d leafed through it before purchasing. Now it might be a very good book, and I may find I enjoy it, but there are certain signpost albums from the era that I should have looked for first. Because without them, I have zero trust in the author’s critical sensibilities.
And, unfortunately, the first three signpost albums are missing. We can argue where in the Top 261 the Minutemen’s “Double Nickels on the Dime” (I’d say Top 10), Husker Du’s “Zen Arcade” (Top 50) and Sonic Youth’s “Daydream Nation” (Top 10) belong, but to leave out ll three is unconscionable. Especially when mediocrity such as Prince’s “Around the World In A Day” (some good stuff within, but hardly a strong album) or Husker Du’s “Candy Apple Gray” (worst of all HD albums) are included.
This is far from a reasonable list.