By Taylor Long
If you were to compile the sound track of your life, what sounds would you choose, and why? This is the question British novelist Nick Hornby answers in his recent book, Songbook.
A mix between an autobiography and a book of music history and criticism, Songbook explains the significance of 31 songs, both in the music world and Hornby’s life. But this isn’t some bland collection of songs by a handful of similar artists. The songs he has chosen range from the blues-metal riff filled Led Zeppelin tune “Heartbreaker,” to Suicide’s twisted tale of “Frankie Teardrop” and even the overplayed Top 40 hit, “I’m Like A Bird” by Nelly Furtado.
The first song/chapter, Teenage Fanclub’s “Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From” is host to the introduction, in which Hornby explains the over arching theme of all the songs in the book, and why he wanted to write it. “I wanted mostly to write about what it was in these songs that made me love them, not what I brought to the songs,” he explains.
In the next chapter, about Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road,” Hornby writes of his connection to the song, and confesses that this is mostly due to the song’s themes of “becoming famous, or at least achieving some kind of public validation through his art.”
One of the most compelling chapters is about “Born For Me” by Paul Westerberg, in which Hornby talks about the extended solo during concerts and walking out of shows during them. He even admits to (gasp!) walking out during Led Zeppelin’s show at Earl’s Court to go to a pub “for a game of pool and a pint,” which he says he doesn’t regret.
Today’s artists don’t go without acclaim. In the chapter about Ben Folds Five’s “Smoke,” he writes that the song is “lyrically perfect,” and of Badly Drawn Boy’s “Minor Incident” he gives the song credit for giving him a different perspective on his novel About A Boy. The most recent edition of the book comes with five additional essays, one of which is titled “Pop Quiz,” in which Hornby writes about his reaction to purchasing and listening to the ten best-selling albums in the United States of 2001 (which were albums by Alicia Keys, P. Diddy & The Bad Boy Family, D12, Staind, Destiny’s Child, Jagged Edge, Blink 182, Lil’ Romeo, Melissa Ethridge and Linkin Park).
Hornby gets the most personal in the chapter about Gregory Issacs’ “Puff The Magic Dragon,” in which he writes of his son’s exposure and reaction to music at an early age, and the influence of his son’s being diagnosed with autism, “when you have a child with a disability, you learn to let go of the ambitions you once had for him very quickly.”
In the back of the book, there is a discography, telling you what albums you can find the 31 songs on, with short comments about each of the albums. He also includes a list of his “new favorite songs” from 2002 and 2003.
The writing here is impeccable, done in a polished-up (but still fun to read) diary-like form. Each chapter is intriguing and easily flows into the next, and the whole novel is a breeze to read through in just a few days.
Anyone who makes any kind of emotional connection to music will be able to understand and appreciate this book (though one amazon.com reviewer claims that Hornby is “too nice” in comparison to Lester Bangs). The hardcover edition even includes a CD with all the songs on it.
Songbook is a great idea that translated into a great book-this is the sound track to Hornby’s life, and it’s a pleasure to listen to.