Short books about albums. Published by Bloomsbury
Vs. roils with fury—and at times, gently steams over the trappings of fame, human faults, and societal injustice. Tapestry is both an anthemic embodiment of second-wave feminism and an apotheosis of the Laurel Canyon singer-songwriter sound and scene. To coincide with our latest releases, authors Clint Brownlee and Loren Glass continue to explore these two albums, expanding upon their work right here on the blog.
In honor of Black History Month, we’re celebrating some of the most important musicians in Black history and culture. From classics like Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin to modern icons like Kanye and Janelle Monáe, our newest playlist has a little something for everyone. We’re featuring some of our favorite 33 1/3 artists alongside some of the most recent additions to the series and exciting upcoming releases. Listen now on Spotify and learn more about our latest books.
Wherever you’re celebrating this year, whether you’re going all out in your favorite costume, planning a Halloween Zoom bash, or just chilling on the couch with a bowl of candy, you still need some spooky tunes to jam out to. Listen now by following our Halloween playlist on Spotify or using this compiled list, and be sure to click the links below to learn more about each artist and order your own 33 1/3.
With summer now a hazy memory and October dragging into its 17th week, it is fitting to reflect on the moody album once described by Rolling Stone’s Arion Berger as “romantic fatalism”: Blondie’s Parallel Lines. I have been pining for the glamorous while exclusively dressing in well-worn athletic wear and never leaving home. Debbie Harry’s vocals, accompanied by a reading of Kembrew McLeod’s “gloriously revisionist history” (MTV News) of this album, offer a refreshing dose of allure.
Ayanna Dozier on Janet Jackson, cyber culture, and more. Technophilia and Technophobia were the rage in the late 1990s. As the approaching new millennia loomed on the horizon, society was facing a technological expansion hitherto experienced before. The internet transformed not only our communicative habits but our awareness of space and time itself, producing what scholar John B. Thompson writes as a space-time distanciation (Thompson 1995). This concept refers to how time, regardless of geographic location, now feels as if it operates on a global simultaneity; we feel like we…
Grab your headphones and your reading glasses and settle into your favorite cushy chair, because today marks the publication of 3 new 33 1/3 titles—Suicides’s Suicide, Janet Jackson’s The Velvet Rope, and Various Artists’ I’m Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen.
Our own version of a 2020 playlist with a back-to-school twist! Whether you’re online or on campus, you’ll enjoy this mix of music while studying, planning or taking a well-deserved break. Follow our playlist on Spotify or check out this compiled list, and be sure to click the links below to learn more about each artist and order your own 33 1/3.
Help us help independent bookstores and record stores. Buy the latest 33 1/3 books at one of these fine stores! Don’t see your store listed here? Tell us by commenting below or emailing 33proposals@gmail.com Austin, TX Waterloo Records Bloomington, IN Landlocked Music Boston, MA Museum of Fine Arts Harvard Bookstore Harvard Coop Buffalo, NY Talking Leaves Chicago, IL Seminary Co-Op Denver, CO Twist and Shout Durham, NC Regulator Bookshop Houston, TX Brazos Bookstore Indianapolis, IN Indy CD and VINYL Los Angeles, CA Arcana Books Skylight Books Vroman’s New York, NY…
Dear Readers, For the past 11 years we’ve been publishing these tiny little books on the best-loved (sometimes hated), most popular and often most misunderstood albums in pop, rock, soul, hip-hop and electronic music. And we’re still going VERY strong. Thanks to an amazing crop of books over the past two years, the 33 1/3 series re-launch under Bloomsbury Academic has been a huge success. Special congratulations are due to Jordan Ferguson for his book on J. Dilla, which was our bestselling title in 2014. And of course to Carl…
Been to IKEA recently? Well, you might need to make the trip soon to stock up on BILLY bookcases because you’re going to need a lot of shelf space. You may have noticed that we recently published our 100th volume in the 33 1/3 series and we had a great anniversary party last week in Brooklyn with authors Susan Fast and Carl Wilson. One hundred? That’s a lot of books. Here’s some 33 1/3 math for you. Each book is approximately 0.33 inches thick. With 100 books, that’s about thirty…