31 Songs

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A great book to read in the loo - Rated
This is a dipping in and out book. It's great when you want something to read that's magazine article length and not too taxing on the brain cells. Each essay is neatly contained and for the music buffs all tracks etc are fully referenced in the appendix. Hornby has a great 'voice' as a writer and if you've read his novels this is a good way to see how much of him is in his fiction and vice versa. It's a great premise, songs that mean something to you and what they actually mean, as we all have them and it invites good debate over dinner in a Desert Island Discs type way.

Good fun - Rated
I enjoyed this light hearted review of 31 Songs that had touched the life of Nick Hornby who is obviously a very talented writer and a knowledgeable music fan. The section on Santana's "Samba Pa Ti" is particularly amusing, as is the essay on Bob Dylan where the author begins by stating that he is not a big fan, but then realises that he has 20 of his albums (sound familiar?). But there is a sadder tone too with the references to Hornby's son and his moving attempts to communicate through music.

good read - Rated
31 Songs consists of essays about songs that Nick Hornby loves. As always he is an easy read. He and I are the same age, so its fascinating to find out what he listened to growing up. He has listened to a lot of music and he writes about English middle class life in a blokish way that seems both recognisable and true.

His selections from the ‘60s and ‘70s includes tracks by the Beatles, Zeppelin, Rod Stewart, Jackson Browne, Springsteen, Richard Thompson, J. Geils Band, Santana, Van Morrison and Dylan. From the punk era he selects Patti Smith and Ian Dury. He also name checks REM, Clash, Costello and The Smiths. It’s stuff that rock critics are supposed to like. He has no embarrassing duds in his selection.

As he explains in the book, in the early 1970s rock music in the UK was an underground music and difficult to hear. The BBC had two DJs who were meant to play cutting edge stuff in the early 1970s, John Peel and Bob Harris. Although highly regarded today, they seemed at the time to be a pair of out-of-touch stoners. Most of us learned about new music by word of mouth, the NME, Melody Maker and by swapping albums.

He claims to have never liked prog-rock which is surprising. Although they may deny it now, between 1971 and 1975 everybody seemed fond of either Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, Tangerine Dream, King Crimson or Caravan.

He notes that not many people of his age are still listening to rock music. For many rock music stopped evolving in the late 1970s and numerous heavily hyped British bands since then have seemed like false prophets regurgitating old licks.

His recent favourites include Aimee Mann, Ben Folds Five, Rufus Wainwright and Badly Drawn Boy. It is music I also like, own and enjoy. But it is also gentle, safe and rather low key. He seems more interested in the words than the music.

Hornby is an intelligent writer and this is a very enjoyable book. He has lots of opinions, he made me think about music and how my taste has evolved over time. He also includes essays on artists I knew nothing about, who are probably worth checking out.

great musical tips - Rated
Thanks very much Nick Hornby. I've read just about all of his books and have always liked his style. After having loved "High Fidelity" - I worked in a record shop at the end of the 70s for a bit after finishing uni - I decided to go for "31 songs" merely because he had written it. I managed to get some great tips regarding people I'd never heard, and sometimes heard of, before as well as re-discovering some old favourites. A nice read.

Mostly pointless subjects, but some pretty good parts - Rated
I've heard that Nick Hornby is a very good author, and this was the first book of his that I read. Firstly, I would like to say that the beginning was pretty engaging and I read the first 100 pages in one sitting, which I think you'll agree is pretty good for the attention span of a fourteen year old boy.
I reckon that this book talks about some really pointless subjects, like losing your virginity to Samba Pa Ti by Santana. What is that all about?! And the kind of music you'll listen to in a body shop! Who cares?
I did enjoy the bit about when Nick was talking about the theme tune from About a Boy... what was it? Something by Badly Drawn Boy. Hornby talks about his son and his disability and that is a very moving section.

In conclusion, I found this book I little bit pointless, yet has its good moments. Dont go out of your way to buy it, get About a Boy or High Fidelity instead!