i'm reading ben ratliff's every song ever
halfway through it now and it has been rewarding in the sense that my musical education (the various phases of my interests in music) has well prepared me for the various references the author makes and he mentions a bunch of bands and singers that i haven't really gotten around to (sarah vaughan, dean martin, art tatum). the author, i'd guess, is probably twelve years my senior. so there's a Cool Older Cousin Effect going on here that i'm enjoying.
as far as a work of ekphrasis, it succeeds. he's obviously a close listener. as a work of philosophy of music, the chapters are a bit short to really deep dive into the concepts. kind of a bathroom read in that respect.
simon reynolds reviews it
here and i reckon he's right about criticizing ratliff's dismissal of true believer one-genre types. we need those tunnel-visionaries to push their genres forward.
ratliff's treatment of nick drake was sort of rough. his skepticism about nick drake's depression and his treatment of sadness in music as a superficial style...