Fails to give me the horn (31 Songs - Nick Hornby)

Member Name: Glory_FishesII

Product:	31 Songs - Nick Hornby
Date:	08/05/05 (290 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Errrrrr it ends

Disadvantages: Errrr it was made

Having enjoyed ''High Fidelity '' and ''About A Boy'' while considering Nick Hornby to be as much of a music geek as myself, when I came across ''31 Songs'' (including a chapter on my beloved Nick Cave) for £1.99 in my local Oxfam (rrp £6.99) I had to get it.

Given the fact that I like a wide range of music genres I scanned the content list with great interest. But sadly by the time I reached the end of the first chapter this interest was well on the wane.

The actual appearance of the book does not add to the appeal of the subject matrter and in fact detracts from the read in my opinion. With grainy black and white photographs and a double spaced typset it almost seems like you are reading a student thesis and the actual way in which the subject matter is dealth with is just as amateur in comparison to Hornby's novels. I say 'amateur' while the blurb from Uncut magazine says 'candid'.

I have basically had more interesting conversations having spent the monetary equivalent on boozewhile discussing Iggy and The Stooges at 2 am with a good mate, with both of us being equally drunk and opinionated.

You see, Hornby seems to be writing for the sake of it. Although his choices are well justified and intelligently discussed , the whole thing seems self indulgent and for the want of a better word, boring.

The fact that there is an accompanying CD is a good idea, but given the dryness of the book I would be reluctant to buy it.

Hornby uses an analogy of 'eating an overfilled plate of decent but plain food at a grandparent's house' (p.214) and this in my mind also sums up the effort of reading this book.

Things I liked:

* Good initial idea.
*Ecclectic mix of artists
* Handy discography

Things I didn't like:

* Layout
* Waffle

For those of you who would like to have a REAL ecclectic and entertaining music read, forget Hornby and go and seek out John Peel : A Life In Music by Michael Heatley.

Summary: