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Long Players
Long Players: Writers on the Albums That Shaped Them | Tom Gatti
8 posts | 3 read | 11 to read
Our favourite albums are our most faithful companions: we listen to them hundreds of times over decades, we know them far better than any novel or film. These records don't just soundtrack our lives but work their way deep inside us, shaping our outlook and identity, forging our friendships and charting our love affairs. They become part of our story. In Long Players, fifty of our finest authors write about the albums that changed their lives, from Deborah Levy on Bowie to Daisy Johnson on Lizzo, Ben Okri on Miles Davis to David Mitchell on Joni Mitchell, Sarah Perry on Rachmaninov to Bernardine Evaristo on Sweet Honey in the Rock. Part meditation on the album form and part candid self-portrait, each of these miniature essays reveals music's power to transport the listener to a particular time and place. REM's Automatic for the People sends Olivia Laing back to first love and heartbreak, Bjork's Post resolves a crisis of faith and sexuality for a young Marlon James, while Fragile by Yes instils in George Saunders the confidence to take his own creative path. This collection is an intoxicating mix of memoir and music writing, spanning the golden age of vinyl and the streaming era, and showing how a single LP can shape a writer's mind. Featuring writing from Ali Smith, Marlon James, Deborah Levy, George Saunders, Bernardine Evaristo, Ian Rankin, Tracey Thorn, Ben Okri, Sarah Perry, Neil Tennant, Rachel Kushner, Clive James, Eimear McBride, Neil Gaiman, Daisy Johnson, David Mitchell, Esi Edugyan, Patricia Lockwood, among many others.
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Pinta
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^p34 Patricia Lockwood on “It‘ll End in Tears” by This Mortal Coil, connecting w/ Liz Fraser‘s voice

P101 Will Harris on Warren G: “Rhythm exceeds what can be said; it transcends material hardship […]. But in the moment of flow, everything becomes synonymous. It‘s a philosophy you feel in your toes, an aporia in which sound and self dissolve and become briefly one whole. Which is to say, you can only understand it while you‘re listening to it.”

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Pinta
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Writers (mostly Brits) reflect on albums that shaped them. Lovely evocations of deep listening, the way songs interweave into eras, life moments. P109 “One consequence of musical purchases being so fraught with risk for my generation was that we remember the ‘virgin plays‘ of albums for the rest of our lives.” P134 “There is just nothing better in this world than Sly Stone‘s purr. If he doesn‘t make you feel real you must already be dead.” 2021

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Leftcoastzen
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Much love for this volume of writers & the music they love.Streaming & playlists lack something often described in these essays.Going to the record store , & plunk down that hard earned cash to take home a LP that‘s going to be all you listen to for awhile.Of course,the joy of streaming outlets , you can check out the songs & artists you don‘t know.I was amazed I never came across Steeleye Span!

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readordierachel
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Today's modest library haul 📚

I only get Once Were Wolves for 2 weeks, so I will start with that one. And I think I will dip in and out of Long Players, as the entries seem pretty bite-sized. I loved The Hunger by Alma Katsu, so I am looking forward to The Deep🤞🏼

ReadingOver50 I just got The Deep for Christmas. I‘m excited for it! 3y
BarbaraBB I so hope you‘ll love Wolves! 3y
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Reggie I didn‘t know this but Alma actually worked for the CIA as a secretary I think for many years and her last book had to do with a spies. She had to let them read it before she got to sell it. 3y
readordierachel @BarbaraBB So far I am really enjoying it! 3y
readordierachel @Reggie Whoa! That's wild. Makes me very curious about that book 3y
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