Da Capo Best Music Writing 2002: The Year's Finest Writing on Rock, Pop, Jazz, Country, & More

brilliant writing by a brilliant under-appreciated artist/writer/ songwriter who transcends the limits of many genres, boundaries, expectations

...and Frank Zappa is still wrong: rock music journalism does not have to be people who can't write interviewing people who can't speak for people who can't read. This installment of the Da Capo "Best Music Writing" series features a wide range of pieces both stylistically and in terms of subject matter. Nik Cohn's article "Soljas" on the New Orleans rap scene, originally published in Granta, is an astonishing piece of writing and would deserve to be in a collection of "Best Writing of 2002," music-oriented or not. Three other contributions are striking for their biographical writing, illuminating broader, non-musical themes: RJ Smith on the LA enigma Korla Pandit, Michael Hall on Texas psychedelic rocker Roky Ericson, and Matthew C. Duersten on jazz diva Anita O'Day. There are more traditional musicological contributions (David Cantwell "Help Me Make It Through the Night") and humorous satire from the Onion. A very enjoyable volume. Would make a good gift for anyone interested in popular music or just good writing.

Da Capo Best Music Writing 2002 is the third volume in a series which hand-picks the year's best writing about music, covering all genres and providing a host of literary articles reflecting on music's personalities, evolution, and content. From a survey of the underground New Orleans rap scene from an insider's stand to a composer of haiku for Eminem and details on Bob Dylan and Louie Armstrong, Da Capo Best Music Writing 2002 holds something for everyone.