I've been walking these streets tonight

The 33 1/3 project is a fun, if occasionally frustrating, reading experience. Each slim volume relates to a specific, seminal album. In Let it Be, Colin Meloy of the Decembrists writes about the intense joy and excitement that music brings in the teen years. For Meloy, one of the most important bands was the Replacements. If you want to learn about the making of the album or anything much about the band, look elsewhere. I really liked it, but I can see how people might feel misled. The volume on Exile on Main Street is much more about the making of the record itself.

Eric Weisbard's book on Use Your Illusion I & II is about GNR's place in the rock world. He notes that the Illusion records were among the last of the blockbuster records. Rarely today do you see people lining up for a new record release, and rarely do you see giant sales either. When Weisbard debates the relative impact and import of the early 90s alternative scene with that of GNR, the book really sings. I enjoyed the cultural analysis of populist vs. elitist rock, as indie eventually became. A good portion of the book is a study of Axl Rose, which I found less interesting. I quite enjoyed the song by song analysis of the record which came at the end. This one is really for fans of the band, but that is true of the entire 33 1/3 series.

As to the GNR albums themselves, I bought them in the first month of my junior year abroad in London. For quite some time they were the only recorded music I had. In listening, I experienced a bit of the Phantom Menace syndrome. I wanted so much to like it, that I did. I didn't come full circle as I did on Phantom Menace, but as Clash fans did with Sandinista!, I ended up making a mix tape of my favorite songs from both albums. I would be hard pressed to fill up a mix tape these days. I still like the more over the top numbers like Coma, but a lot of it leaves me cold today.