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Long Players

Writers on the Albums That Shaped Them
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( 216 ratings, 48 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Long Players brings together fifty esteemed authors who reflect on albums that profoundly shaped their lives. From Deborah Levy’s tribute to David Bowie to Daisy Johnson's take on Lizzo, this collection blends music writing with personal memoir. Each essay captures music’s unique ability to transport listeners through time and place, revealing intimate stories linked to iconic records spanning vinyl's golden age to the streaming era.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This is ideal for readers who appreciate arts and culture, enjoy music memoirs, and are interested in the intersection between music and writing. Fans of authors like Ali Smith, Marlon James, and Bernardine Evaristo, as well as those passionate about albums from vinyl to modern streaming, will find this particularly rewarding.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

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.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

A collection of writers' love letters to treasured albums, described as brilliantly edited and a captivating mix of memoir and music writing. Reviews praise it as informative and entertaining, with pieces that are considered, colourful, and frequently surprising. The essays reveal the profound power of music to shape lives and minds, making it a must-read for music lovers.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781526625762

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 31 March 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 160g

Pages: 224

About the Author

Tom Gatti works at the New Statesman, where Long Players began life as a feature. He joined the magazine in 2013 as culture editor; before that he was Saturday Review editor at The Times, where he also wrote book reviews, features and interviews. From 1995 to the present, he has listened to Radiohead's The Bends more times than is strictly necessary.

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