TURNTABLE LAB

33 1/3
A Tribe Called Quest: People's Instinctive Travels Book

The popular 33 1/3 "pocket book" series is back. This time they get author Shawn Taylor ("Big Black Penis: Misadventures In Race And Masculinity") to lay down some of his most personal memoirs and insights as they relate to one of hip hop's most acclaimed albums, A Tribe Called Quest's "People Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm." The writing is half-documentary, half-anecdotes, but all in all, is a perfect recipe representing an era that was playful and serious, poetic and strong. Taylor's notes don't leave you hanging either. He includes unique angles into the artists' identities, while tying it into the pop culture, the Native Tongues and society in general. There's also an in-depth 20 question interview with Bob Power, the engineer for the album. 116 pages.
reviewed by C'mish

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33 1/3
Beatles: Let It Be Book

Continuum's 33&1/3 series is back with another round of intricate looks at classic albums! In this edition, rock critic Steve Matteo (Rolling Stone, Blender, New York Times, among others) takes on The Beatles' Let It Be. 141 pages.
reviewed by Hires

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33 1/3
Belle & Sebastian: If You're Feeling Sinister Book

Continuum's pocket-sized 33 1/3 series has been praised by everybody from the New York Times to Vice Magazine and consistently features some of the top music critics around. Each volume in the series revisits and breaks down (in meticulous detail) a classic album, giving up every piece of inside info you could want, from recording techniques to the inspirations behind the songs themselves. This volume features Belle & Sebastians wistful indie pop classic If You're Feeling Sinister, as written by Pitchfork associate editor Scott Plagenhoef. 105 pages.
reviewed by Larri Byrd

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33 1/3
Black Sabbath: Master of Reality Book

Continuum's pocket-sized 33 1/3 series has been praised by everybody from the New York Times to Vice Magazine and consistently features some of the top music critics around. In this volume (#56), the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle goes experimental and hears Black Sabbath's classic third album "through the ears of Roger Painter, a young adult locked in a southern California adolescent psychiatric center in 1985." It's not your typical 33 1/3, but a great read nonetheless. 101 pages.
reviewed by Larri Byrd

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33 1/3
DJ Shadow: Endtroducing Book

Another quality installment of the 33 1/3 series of books, this one focusing on DJ ShadowÌs landmark LP Endtroducing. Unlike the edition on Meat Is Murder (which is fiction) and Unknown Pleasures (which is meticulously researched and written in unapologetic Pitchforkese: "alien thwack" to describe a tom drum, anyone?), this one is based on a series of frank and revealing phone interviews between the author and Shadow. Did you know Shadow had a nervous breakdown? That the "What Does Your Soul Look Like" suite was primarily inspired by an epic depression? That Automator was instrumental in the production of the album? That James Lavelle was basically Malcom McLaren? All this and more is related by Josh Davis firsthand, progressing chronologically from his early primitive pause-tape beat compositions to Endtroducing to UNKLE to the Private Press. If you like X, you will like Y. 136 pages, softcover.
reviewed by the mgmnt

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33 1/3
Elliott Smith: XO Book

Continuum's 33&1/3 series is back with another round of intricate looks at classic albums! In this edition, writer and musician Matthew LeMay (Pitchfork.com) takes on Elliot Smith's XO. 124 pages.
reviewed by the mgmnt

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33 1/3
Guns N' Roses: Use Your Illusion I & II Book

Continuum's pocket-sized 33 1/3 series has been praised by everybody from the New York Times to Vice Magazine and consistently features some of the top music critics around. Each volume in the series revisits and breaks down (in meticulous detail) a classic album, giving up every piece of inside info you could want, from recording techniques to the inspirations behind the songs themselves. In this volume (#41), former Village Voice music editor Eric Weisbard "looks back to a time when rock was bigger and brasher, and when a man with access to the amplifier of the gods sat at his piano and tried to make beautiful music." 125 pages.
reviewed by Larri Byrd

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33 1/3
James Brown: Live At The Apollo Book

More pocket-sized knowledge gems for dat azz! If you're a NYC/BK denizen (or resident of any metro area), we know you'll believe when we say how many times these books have saved us during that long wait on the train platform. There's never been a better time to go back and learn more about the life and times of James Brown, what with the recent untimely passing of the Godfather of Soul. Noted music journalist Douglas Wolk (I seen you in that Jandek movie!) takes on the daunting task of breaking down JB's monumental live album, Live At The Apollo. He painstakingly breaks down the details of the show (both what you hear on the record and what you don't), revealing not only the musical but the social ramifications of JB's performance. (Remember, this was recorded in 1962, at the height of the Cold War.) Essential reading. 117 pages.
reviewed by Chris Lemon-Red

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33 1/3
Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures Book

Part 9 of the 33 1/3 mini-book series that spotlights landmark albums. This one investigates the development and lasting effects of Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures (so hipster right now), here's the synopsis: "Joy Division's career has often been shrouded by myths. But the truth is surprisingly simple: over a period of several months, Joy Division transformed themselves from run-of-the-mill punk wannabes into the creators of one of the most atmospheric, disturbing, and influential debut albums ever recorded. Chris Ott carefully picks apart fact from fiction to show how Unknown Pleasures came into being, and how it still resonates so strongly today." 117 pages.
reviewed by the mgmnt

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33 1/3
Nirvana: In Utero Book

More pocket-sized knowledge gems for dat azz! If you're a NYC/BK denizen (or resident of any metro area), we know you'll believe when we say how many times these books have saved us during that long wait on the train platform. You may not be an angst-ridden teenager anymore, but it doesn't mean you can't still appreciate Nirvana's In Utero. Gillian G. Gaar (or "G-Cubed," like her friends call her) breaks down the before, during and after of In Utero, detailing Nirvana's effort to "recapture their punk rock ethic." She leaves no stone unturned, even pointing out symbolism and meaning in the imagery-laden music videos from the album. Damn, these little books are addictive. 105 pages.
reviewed by Chris Lemon-Red

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33 1/3
PJ Harvey: Rid of Me Book

Continuum's pocket-sized 33 1/3 series has been praised by everybody from the New York Times to Vice Magazine and consistently features some of the top music critics around. In this volume (#48), first-time novelist Kate Schatz creates a story which isn't about PJ Harvey's sophomore album, "but because of it." The story concerns Kathleen and Mary, "two women who end up in a strange, abandoned cabin in the dark forest that borders their depressed valley town.... The result is a twisted, gripping fairy tale of kidnapping, dreams, murder, sex, revenge, and love." 112 pages.
reviewed by Larri Byrd

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33 1/3
Prince: Sign 'O' The Times Book

Continuum's pocket-sized 33 1/3 series has been praised by everybody from the New York Times to Vice Magazine and consistently features some of the top music critics around. Each volume in the series revisits and breaks down (in meticulous detail) a classic album, giving up every piece of inside info you could want, from recording techniques to the inspirations behind the songs themselves. This volume features Prince's Sign 'O' The Times album, written by Seattle Weekly music editor (and bloggerator) Michaelangelo Matos. 121 pages.
reviewed by Larri Byrd

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33 1/3
Radiohead: OK Computer Book

Continuum's pocket-sized 33 1/3 series has been praised by everybody from the New York Times to Vice Magazine and consistently features some of the top music critics around. Each volume in the series revisits and breaks down (in meticulous detail) a classic album, giving up every piece of inside info you could want, from recording techniques to the inspirations behind the songs themselves. This volume features Radiohead's modern classic, OK Computer, as written by music professor Dai Griffiths. 123 pages.
reviewed by Larri Byrd

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33 1/3
Ramones: Ramones Book

Continuum's pocket-sized 33 1/3 series has been praised by everybody from the New York Times to Vice Magazine and consistently features some of the top music critics around. Each volume in the series revisits and breaks down (in meticulous detail) a classic album, giving up every piece of inside info you could want, from recording techniques to the inspirations behind the songs themselves. This volume dissects the Ramones' self-titled album, the definition of a classic punk album, as written by Nicholas Rombes (Exquisite Corpse, McSweeney's). 120 pages.
reviewed by Larri Byrd

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33 1/3
Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation Book

Daydream Nation is one of those albums a lot of people own just because they think they should – it pops up on "best of" lists all the time, gets praised by tons of critics and musicians and just has a generally mysterious air about it. But it's also kind of imposing, and trying to decode what the hell Thurston Moore is talking about is just too taxing sometimes. Never fear: in this installment of the 33 1/3 series, Resonance magazine contributor Matthew Stearns breaks down the hype behind Sonic Youth's finest album, and he does it in the best way possible – track-by-track. Each of the album's 14 songs is assigned its own section, wherein Stearns attempts to decipher some of those stream-of-consciousness lyrics, expounds on the dense, epic style of the album and more. The best bits are the interviews with SY members interspersed throughout: my favorite revelation is that the album's overly-serious artwork was all a big joke by the band, who assigned themselves "symbolic rock identities" a la Led Zeppelin, used a "Heavy Metal-ish" typeface on the track listing and incorporated "a prog-style song trilogy" just to take the piss. Also includes a foreword from SY co-founder and guitarist Lee Ranaldo. 160 pages.
reviewed by Chris Lemon-Red

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33 1/3
Steely Dan: Aja Book

Continuum's pocket-sized 33 1/3 series has been praised by everybody from the New York Times to Vice Magazine and consistently features some of the top music critics around. Each volume in the series revisits and breaks down (in meticulous detail) a classic album, giving up every piece of inside info you could want, from recording techniques to the inspirations behind the songs themselves. This volume features Steely Dan's Aja, as written by studio musician Don Breithaupt. (Who better to write a Steely Dan book than a studio musician??) 130 pages.
reviewed by Cmish

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33 1/3
Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key of Life Book

More pocket-sized knowledge gems for dat azz! If you're a NYC/BK denizen (or resident of any metro area), we know you'll believe when we say how many times these books have saved us during that long wait on the train platform. Neither I nor the author of this book (the astute Zeth Lundy of PopMatters) really need to tell you what a classic album Songs In The Key Of Life is - in fact, you're probably already thinking of ordering this, aren't you? Folks are just drawn to Stevie, and Lundy does a solid job of explaining why here. (The fact that Lundy lists Mr. Wonder's stated objective as squeezing "life itself into vinyl grooves" says something.) There's a reason this record is in your dad's collection AND all your cool friends' collection. 150 pages.
reviewed by Chris Lemon-Red

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33 1/3
The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds Book

More pocket-sized knowledge gems for dat azz! If you're a NYC/BK denizen (or resident of any metro area), we know you'll believe when we say how many times these books have saved us during that long wait on the train platform. Jim Fusilli (who you may know from The Wall Street Journal or National Public Radio… or maybe not, if you're reading TTLab…) does an amazing job of debunking some of the many, many myths surrounding the Beach Boys' classic Pet Sounds album, while raising many more pertinent questions and delving deeper into the mind of Brian Wilson than most would dare to go. If you consider yourself an appreciator of pop music, you owe it to yourself to find out how one of the best albums of all time was made. Get to it! 121 pages.
reviewed by Chris Lemon-Red

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33 1/3
The Smiths: Meat Is Murder Book

Part 5 of the 33 1/3 mini-book series that spotlights landmark albums. This one focuses on The Smiths' Meat Is Murder via a fiction story, here's the synopsis: "A Catholic high school near Boston in 1985. A time of suicides, gymnasium humiliations, smoking for beginners, asthma attacks, and incendiary teenage infatuations. Infatuations with a girl (Allison), with a band (The Smiths) and with an album, Meat is Murder, that was so raw, so vivid and so melodic that you could cling to it like a lifeboat in a storm." 102 pages.
reviewed by the mgmnt

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33 1/3
Velvet Underground: Velvet Underground & Nico Book

Continuum's pocket-sized 33 1/3 series has been praised by everybody from the New York Times to Vice Magazine and consistently features some of the top music critics around. Each volume in the series revisits and breaks down (in meticulous detail) a classic album, giving up every piece of inside info you could want, from recording techniques to the inspirations behind the songs themselves. This volume features the Andy Warhol-produced Velvet Underground & Nico album, written by Fort Apache Studios co-founder / co-owner Joe Harvard. 152 pages.
reviewed by Larri Byrd

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33 1/3
Wire: Pink Flag Book

Continuum's 33&1/3 series is back with another round of intricate looks at classic albums! In this edition, Wilson Neate takes on Wire's Pink Flag. 150 pages.
reviewed by Hires

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