Guardian review and online writing

The 10th edition of Best Music Writing got a great write up by Gareth Grundy in the Guardian UK recently. I especially liked the end:

For several years, the series has included work first published online. Generally, the zippier, funnier articles, such as Carrie Brownstein from the band Sleater-Kinney's spoof record reviews, survive the transition to old media the best. That said, Tom Ewing's thoughtful posting on the legacy of the late John Peel and his annual compilation, the Festive 50, should convince the last remaining digital refuseniks that the music journalism of the future won't be entirely made up of links and YouTube clips. At least, not just yet.

This has been a major goal of mine since taking the book's editorial helm, and I thank Grundy for pointing it out. The industry of music writing has changed drastically in that time, and the way in which writing functions has changed dramatically as well. We all now have so much or access to reference sounds, images, videos, and writing. But two things never change 1) music is a site for debate, critical engagement, and story telling 2) good writing articulates the most important, controversial, poignant, or overlooked parts of these conversations.

The one thing I have noticed throughout this whole process is that the best music writing is that which is either edited by someone else or written by someone who has honed the craft of editing. It is the single most important skill a writer can have.

Blogs, webzines, and online forums are just another place where a good writer can show off her craft, and I welcome the changing formats, styles, and approaches that online writing has taken. Actually, I crave even more challenging work than what gets routinely submitted to me (I suspect people send me their more conservative, "traditional" work). So, if you're reading this and want to submit some online writing that you did last year (or this year) but think it's too wacky - JUST SEND IT. The least it could do is brighten my day as I slog through 300 MJ tributes.

Send wacky/innovative/online writing (hopefully that is well edited) from 2009 to: musicwriting@gmail.com

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Best Music Writing

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This year's book

Best Music Writing 2009 October 2009
Buy it at Powell's

Praise for the BMW Series

"Essential, as usual."—Booklist, 2009

"The Best Music Writing series from Da Capo Press has been putting out consistently impressive collections of each year’s most important music writing for the last decade, and this year’s special 10th anniversary edition is no exception."—PopMatters, 2009
“The stories behind the music can be as inspiring as the music itself…
will likely inspire the reader to seek out a lot of new music.”—New York Press

“…one of the few regular publications to be dependably open to every type of music imaginable…Whether an authoritative aggregation or merely a starting point,
it’s a shame it’s only an annual.”—Relix

“In all it’s quite a celebration of the vast enterprise known as music.”—Signal to Noise

More praise for BMW

“Our favorite year-end read.”—Cleveland Scene

“Terrorism, sexual misconduct, and wholesome nostalgia, treated with a discernible backbeat and sprightly writing make for an excellent anthology.” ––Booklist

“the book finally reflects the current state of not just music journalism but music listening… These essays encapsulate a chilly, malefic year for music indeed.” —The Stranger

“Da Capo’s Best Music Writing 2006’s essays create a confrontational, challenging, and varied portrait of music criticism that highlights a visceral reaction to music over academic posturing…”—VenusZine

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