33 1/3 series editor David Barker has announced the 11 books that will be the next batch published in the series, each covering one album. Thus brings to a close a six-month process during which Barker narrowed the initial list of 597 to 170 (of which, my proposal for a book about the Police's Synchronicity, was one), then to 27 and now to 11.

The books will be published in 2010 or 2011. And they are:

Portishead's Dummy, by RJ Wheaton
Johnny Cash's American Recordings, by Tony Tost
Television's Marquee Moon, by Bryan Waterman
Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville, by Gina Arnold
AC/DC's Highway to Hell, by Joe Bonomo
Ween's Chocolate and Cheese, by Hank Shteamer
Radiohead's Kid A, by Marvin Lin
Dinosaur Jr.'s You're Living All Over Me, by Nick Attfield
Aretha Franklin's Amazing Grace, by Aaron Cohen
Slint's Spiderland, by Scott Tennent
The Rolling Stones' Some Girls, by Cyrus Patell

That's a solid list of books. It's hard to argue with the marketability of the Rolling Stones, AC/DC or Radiohead, though I do wonder how many copies of You're Living All Over Me they'll move. I know of at least one, however, as I'll be curious to see if Nick Attfield can get more than the grunts and long pauses out of J Mascis that he has frustrated me with in interviews.

For those paying close attention, Barker reports that the Portishead proposal was not on the last shortlist: "I changed my mind on that one, late in the day."

Congrats to Barker and all of the selected authors. A lot of great writing about music is on the way.

Labels: 33 1/3, books, music

So, word came down Friday night that my Synchronicity proposal for Continuum's 33 1/3 series had been passed over. It made the first cut, one of 170 out of the original 597, but is not part of the next list of 27 from which the final selections will be made. I'm disappointed, but not surprised. The odds were still against me (and everyone else) with 20 picks expected from that very long shortlist.

I did think that commerce was in my favor, however. When series editor David Barker reported earlier this month that "economy related goings-on" at Continuum meant the selection process was on hold, I figured having a proposal about a band that had the highest-grossing tour in the country two years ago -- selling $350 million in tickets -- might be particularly appealing at a time when it's hard to pry money from people.

Alas, it was not to be. Instead, we have these 27 proposals from which who knows how many books will be selected:

AC/DC - Highway to Hell
Aretha Franklin - Amazing Grace
The Beatles - The Beatles
Bob Dylan - Time Out of Mind
The Cramps - Songs the Lord Taught Us
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo
Dinosaur Jr: You're Living All Over Me
ELO - Out of the Blue
Grateful Dead - Closing of Winterland
Johnny Cash - American Recordings
Kiss - Destroyer
Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen
Lil' Wayne - Da Drought 3
Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville
Lou Reed - Metal Music Machine
Neil Young - Tonight's the Night
Operation Ivy - Energy
Paul Simon - Graceland
Radiohead - Kid A
Rolling Stones - Some Girls
Slint - Spiderland
Television - Marquee Moon
Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes
Ween - Chocolate and Cheese
White Stripes - White Blood Cells
Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth

I could certainly make a case for most of these, though I do wonder about how many people would buy books about Operation Ivy or Young Marble Giants. I'm sure both proposals are stellar -- Barker hasn't really gone wrong yet on his picks -- but knowing the marketplace is a consideration, they are surprising. Regardless, I see a dozen books I'd buy tonight if they were on the shelf, so I look forward to the eventual publication of those selected.

Barker reports that the final selections will be announced by the end of April. So, those who did make the cut have a few more weeks to stew, while those of us who missed out can wait and watch without pressure.

I've read a lot of blog posts about these books and this process, and most folks seem to want to read proposals. So, since mine isn't doing any good any more, you can download it here. I haven't included my bio, but it at least gives you a sense of what I had hoped to do, and gives future prospective writers a look at an idea that made the first cut. Perhaps I'll do something with it someday, but in the very least the research, writing and anticipation were enough of a blast to make the entire process worthwhile.

Labels: 33 1/3, books, music

Carl Wilson, author of the 33 1/3 series entry on Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love, acquitted himself well last night on "The Colbert Report." Wilson's book deals with issues of musical taste, and Colbert actually engages him somewhat on that topic. Of course, he cracks wise, but the focus remains very much on Wilson's work. It's a great bit of publicity for the book and for the series. View it here.

Labels: 33 1/3, books, music

Word came tonight that my 33 1/3 book proposal for the Police's Synchronicity is on the shortlist under consideration. The original 597 proposals have been whittled to 170. That means my odds have dropped from about 3.3 percent (how fitting) to about 1 in 8. Series Editor David Barker writes that this next step of winnowing the long list to create this round's slate of selections will take six to eight more weeks. So, while it's a relief to make it this far, the pressure remains.

Parsing the list -- which includes many albums that I'd love to read about -- I'd say I'm really competing against 150 or so proposals. I stripped 20 out because there were either two for the same album or for the same group, and they'll obviously not pick two proposals about the same book and aren't likely, given the limited number of books they can put out, to do two by the same artist in the same batch. All just speculation, of course, but it makes me feel better.

In the next few weeks I plan to approach the camps of Andy Summers, Stewart Copeland and Sting to see if I can gauge their interest in participating. If they don't, there still is a wealth of information out there to fuel a book.

I have been Twittering about the band and the proposal process over the past few weeks and will continue to do so. To follow me, go here.

Labels: 33 1/3, books, music

That image there is just wishful thinking, but I have a 1 in 597 shot of seeing something like it on bookshelves one day. I filed a proposal during the latest open call for 33 1/3 submissions from Continuum Books in December, punching up and significantly expanding my plan for a book about The Police's Synchronicity.

I felt good about the proposal last time out, but feel exponentially better about this one. Again, if chosen I plan to explore the animosity in the band as it reached its end, but I've come to realize that this is not only a tired angle, but one that misses the mark. Seeing the band on its reunion tour and hearing subsequent live recordings, I'm struck by how simpatico these three musicians are and how what each brings to the table meshes with that offered by the others to create something unreplicated in pop.

I'm glad my proposal improved, for the competition is even more fierce. Last time, there were 449 proposals for 380 different albums.This time? The just-published longlist includes 597 proposals for 490 albums! I'm happy to report mine is the only Police submission, so there's no competition there, but based on the fact that I'd love to read books about many of these proposed albums, I know decisions facing series editor David Barker are tough. As usual, the proposals range from the head-scratching (Dag Nasty?) to the obvious (Liz Phair, Radiohead, etc.). One surprise: seven proposals for Slint's Spiderland.

Barker says 20 to 25 books are likely to be contracted from this batch, so the odds are about as tough as getting into the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop down the road from me here.

Labels: 33 1/3, books, music