September 26, 2008 12:46 PM
Tom Moon on his book '1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die'
Mark_Wolf(Q) Welcome Tom Moon, author of 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die.
Tom_Moon(A) Thanks for having me. Great to be in Denver on such a beautiful day
Mark_Wolf(Q) Tell us about the genesis of the book and how long it took you to write it.
Tom_Moon(A) I spent 3 and 1/2 years working fulltime on it. As for the genesis, I was sitting in a cubicle similar to this one (in the Rocky's newsroom) at the Philadelphia Inquirer in summer 2004 when I got an email from an editor at Workman Publishing. They were looking to expand the 1000 Places series and wanted to do a music book.
Tom_Moon(P) Before I even answered the email I was making lists in my head....we music critics love lists.
Mark_Wolf(Q) How long have you written about music and for whom?
Tom_Moon(A) I started in 1983, as a freelancer for the Miami Herald. At that time I was making my living as a musician, and the concert reviews were a nice fit for off nights, etc.
Tom_Moon(P) Since then I've written for Rolling Stone, Spin, GQ, Esquire, Musician (a long gone but much beloved music mag), Vibe, etc. I also do reviews for NPR's All Things Considered.
Mark_Wolf(Q) How much of the list came off the top of your head and how much was new discoveries?
Tom_Moon(A) The beginning phase was primarily "World Culture Greatest Hits" stuff that everyone would expect in a book like this...Michael Jackson's Thriller, Beethoven Symphonies, etc. From there I went in 2 directions: Back through my years of interviews and forward in generating new interviews with artists
Tom_Moon(P) In just about every interview w/ artists I do, I ask what they consider to be "essential" music...things they want people to hear. Recording artists are the best guides.....they know how hard it is to capture magic in a studio, etc
Once I had the no-brainer list, I began to seek input and information from liner notes, books, etc....I had a guru helping me w/ classical and opera, and lots of friends contributing too. I'd show up at a party w/ my notebook and basically go "OK, here's my assignment, what needs to be in the book?"
Mark_Wolf(Q) What do you want people to take away from the book?
Tom_Moon(A) The goal is to encourage music exploration. We're at a point where everything is available at our fingertips, and yet it can be difficult to sort thru the New Releases pages online (and instores) to find quality music. The labels are not exactly making it easy to go back and discover old music....
Mark_Wolf(Q) Did you encounter or revisit one recording that gave you new insight into an artist/genre?
Tom_Moon(A) I tried to listen to everytthing thru the "filter" of this project -- I was looking for peak experiences and that meant going back and re-listening to lots of records I thought I knew well. One mindblower for me was John Coltrane: I had a terrible time deciding between individual titles. A whole bunch of his records, like at least ten or 12, are classics worthy of inclusion.
Tom_Moon(P) Also found myself very surprised by Brazilian music. I love Jobim, and knew the bossa stuff would be well represented, but I didn't expect to find so much truly uplifting incredible music after bossa -- Milton Nascimento, Os Mutantes, etc...incredible stuff!
Mark_Wolf(Q) One of the pleasures of reading the book is the "Aha" moment of coming upon a band you loved but almost nobody else had heard of. That was my reaction to the Big Star entry..
Tom_Moon(A) Thanks...that's incredible that more people don't know Big Star. I think Alex Chilton is one of the more gifted songwriters of the rock era.
Tom_Moon(P) I love learning about those kinds of records -- that's part of the job of a music critic as far as I'm concerned -- and it was incredible to be able to consider some of those, and shine a light on them
Mark_Wolf(Q) I smiled in surprise when I discovered the Baby Huey and the Babysitters entry. I grew up listening to WLS and I have that album.
Tom_Moon(A) wow. that's incredible. some people have recalled seeing that band -- they say it was one of the most powerful live performances they ever witnessed. It's truly a shame that we don't have a full album at least from him.
Mark_Wolf(Q) A few live albums made the list, notably James Brown Live at the Apollo, at Fillmore East. What do you think about live albums in general?
Tom_Moon(A) For me live albums are key, because live music is really key. It's one thing to hear Sonny Rollins in the recording studio, and quite another to hear him at the Village Vanguard, in a "familiar" environment, working in front of an audience. not every artist can change the air in a room.
Mark_Wolf(Q) The Beatles have six citations (Hard Day's Night, Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, the White Album and Abbey Road). Are they the "champions" of the book? And why Hard Day's Night?
Tom_Moon(A) Why Hard Day's Night? It's the first record with all Lennon/McCartney compositions. the first movie. every song is a gem -- think it's the best representation of the early Beatles. I actually think Beethoven is represented more in the book. in addition to the entries under his name, there are a few entries featuring performers playing Beethoven. to be truthful, I tried to not worry about keeping a tally, and tried to keep the focus on the things I found that felt essential. same goes for the different genres: I didn't want to have a quota for any given type of music
Mark_Wolf(Q) You must certainly be the only writer in history to Include Ovid and Pantera in the same paragraph.
Tom_Moon(A) haha. gotta love those books of quotations. sometimes while I was listening I would page through them, just looking for interesting connections. that was one of those. I tried to avoid the obvious Shakespeare quotes but some others I couldn't resist.
Mark_Wolf(Q) Big hole between the Four Freshmen and the Four Tops. How, sir, could you leave out the Four Seasons????
Tom_Moon(A) Good question. The musical was breaking big during the time I was working on the book, too. and they may actually be represented on that doowop box., which sorta covers lots of the music of that period. I don't honestly remember if the Four Seasons are on that. I just didn't feel those singles when I went back and re-listened.
Mark_Wolf(Q) Is Britney Spears' Toxic the only song from this century?
Tom_Moon(A) No. there are albums by the Mars Volta and Arcade Fire....as for singles, though, yes. and that was my thinking; I forced myself to find one track that summed up the state of the pop single post the year 2000. Gnarls Barkley Crazy came really close.
Mark_Wolf(Q) How many artists/albums were left on the cutting room floor? And what would have been 1,001?
Tom_Moon(A) 1001: an entry on the Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed that talks about the incredible string of three great Stones recordings; Let It Bleed, Beggars Banquet and Sticky Fingers. that's an essential run from one of the great bands. if I ever get the chance to update this, that will be in there. at the expense of what I don't know....
Tom_Moon(P) The list at its largest was 3500 titles. I wrote an extra 70 or 80 entries. most of those got cut because I didn't make a compelling case, not because the recordings weren't worthy.
Mark_Wolf(Q) No Rush?
Tom_Moon(A) Grace Under Pressure was on the big list, and at some point fell off, again because I wasn't a huge fan and probably didn't do the best job of advocating for them -- my editor was often like "I don't buy this" and she was nearly always right. another one like that was Supertramp Crime of the Century. A great record that I loved in high school and couldn't seem to argue properly for. I wrote four versions of that entry.
Mark_Wolf(Q) Little Richard and Elvis are both included for gospel albums.
Tom_Moon(A) Sure. for many people, Elvis was an introduction to gospel, and a pretty great one. And Little Richard's gospel records are some of his most exciting work. very different from Elvis obviously...
Mark_Wolf(Q) I'm guessing Minnie Riperton will be a found joy for many folks.
Tom_Moon(A) I hope so. Another incredible voice and just a totally poised singer. One of Stevie Wonder's favorites, and we know he has good taste....that Syreeta Wright record he produced also in the '70s is pretty stunning.
Mark_Wolf(Q) How did you deal with the classical music/opera selections?
Tom_Moon(A) I had a guru. My colleague at the Inquirer, David Patrick Stearns, walked me through the repertoire and offered suggestions for specific recordings. Often he'd lend me two or three versions of the same piece, and I'd do compare/contrast and find one that hit me, then he'd give me a background on the piece and that version. it was an incredible learning experience, and it taught me that if you go into something with an open mind, it's possible to absorb a ton. you don't have to be an expert in any style of music to enjoy and be uplifted by it.
Mark_Wolf(Q) Chicago is in for their debut album (Chicago Transit Authority) but no Blood, Sweat and Tears.
Tom_Moon(A) I sometimes had to hope that one or two albums would lead curious listeners to others -- that's why there are those suggestions of other titles in the artist's catalog, and then suggestions for similar artists. those first few BST records are great, but I found myself more enchanted with Chicago. I wrote up that one and recommended BST as a band to check out next.
Tom_Moon(P) Similarly, I didn't include Van Halen. My thinking was if you digest Deep Purple Machine Head and Aerosmith Toys in the Attic, both in the book, you can find your way to 1984. at least that's my hope.
Mark_Wolf(Q) The inclusion of a Julie London album will raise a few eyebrows. Why did she make the cut?
Tom_Moon(A) She's a really sexy singer. she understood restraint, and how to be coy, and how to translate her Hollywood visual persona to records. (she's one of the best ever at that, I think). At least on the At Home/At Midnight record we featured, it's like she's singing just for you. that's sort've a lost art.
Mark_Wolf(Q) I love Mitch Ryder but he wouldn't come to mind immediately in this context. Why did he make the list?
Tom_Moon(A) Those double-A-side singles are just ballistic! He's there because he knew how to get people moving, and taught a whole bunch of subsequent artists (Springsteen being the most obvious) how to do that. Of course he's not the only one to perform at that energy level, but he and his band were really among the best at it.
Mark_Wolf(Q) The book starts with ABBA. What makes them worthy and why did you format the book alphabetically?
Tom_Moon(A) Abba: Not my favorite but it's hard to argue with this track record of singles. and when I went back I discovered that there's a hint of something more inside the lyrics -- that these exuberant pop songs sometimes carry a little bittersweet story, some dimension that you might not pick up if you're an Abba hater. plus every track they did was immaculately crafted.
Tom_Moon(P) The book was organized alphabetically to encourage exploration. Didn't want an Opera ghetto. It seemed a great way to send the message that there's a lot of great music out there, and it's great no matter what you call it, and why not check it all out? I love the fact that country pioneer Earnest Tubb sits across from hiphop pioneer Tupac Shakur, and James Taylor is next to jazz piano maverick Cecil Taylor
EP(Q) Hi Tom, are there any entries in the book that you honestly can't stand but couldn't make a sincere case for not including them?
Tom_Moon(A) When I started this I didn't know Celtic music and didn't like it at all. Bagpipes! But I forced myself to listen to some of it, learned a lot, and found that even the New Age Celtic stuff (Enya in the book) actually had lots of interesting ideas inside it. I don't love it but I felt it was important to represent it -- again, in the spirit of diverse discovery.
Mark_Wolf(Q) How do you come down on the classic Motown argument: Who's better: Temptations or Four Tops? From reading the entries I'm guessing you're more a Tops guy.
Tom_Moon(A) Well I had a great Al Green quote about David Ruffin of the Temps singing Ain't Too Proud To Beg, and that allowed me to not prattle on too much about the Temps. but those early Four Tops singles, Bernadette and all the rest, are just so intense...some of the best examples of Motown songcraft. I guess I am more a Tops guy.
Tom_Moon(P) I tried to include quotes from artists like that, to vary the appproach. not every entry needed the same kind of analysis.
EP(Q) Conversely, were there many entries that were omitted because you felt that even though you really liked them, they couldn't be justified to get in the book?
Tom_Moon(A) Just in this conversation we've touched on a couple, like Supertramp. also my favorite Pink Floyd album is Wish You Were Here, but I felt in terms of cultural influence and everything else I couldn't ignore Dark Side of the Moon.
EP(Q) I would agree, even though I'm not much of a Floyd fan. Do you foresee a follow up with the ones that made the cutting floor?
Tom_Moon(A) I would love to do a followup. among the lessons this project taught me is this: Music is endless. And there are no wrong answers....
Mark_Wolf(Q) Did you have much appreciation for Broadway soundtracks before you started the book? Anything surprise you in your show tune research?
Tom_Moon(A) there aren't as many original casts as we'd wanted at the very start, and that's because some were recorded quickly and don't sound great now, and also because it's a different experience hearing the music without seeing the show. (same is true of opera.) I had trouble narrowing down Sondheim...I love Company, for one that got excluded.
Mark_Wolf(Q) Did you consider Moby Grape?
Tom_Moon(A) yes. briefly.
Mark_Wolf(Q) Thanks to Tom Moon,author of "1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die." It's a terrific read.
Tom_Moon(A) Thanks much for having me!!!
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