The Bookseller.com

29th August 2008

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Faber turns on the music

08.07.08 Benedicte Page

Faber fiction editor Angus Cargill has drawn on his personal love of music to produce a book of music lists chosen by high-profile literary names.

Hang the DJ: An Alternative Book of Music Lists (Faber, October) contains eclectic top 10 song choices from writers such as Jonathan Lethem, Hari Kunzru, Patrick McCabe and Michel Faber, as well as from musicians including folk singer Kathryn Williams and singer/songwriter Tom McRae.

Jonathan Lethem contributes “10 Smutty Moments from Bob Dylan”, David Peace offers his “10 Favourite Japanese Bands”, and Cargill has also included his own list of “10 Songs of Heartache, Misery and Woe”, which include “Let Me Down Easy” by Betty Lavette and Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”.

Cargill said: “We did a book last Christmas called Ten Bad Dates with De Niro [by Richard T Kelly] which was a film compilation and did nicely, so we had the idea of doing a musical equivalent. A lot of writers I know and know of are very passionate about music and I thought they would be receptive to writing about it in a light-hearted way.”

He added: “Interestingly, Tom Waits was by far the most cited artist, much more so than The Beatles or The Stones.”

The book comes alongside other music-related projects from Faber. Earlier this year Cargill himself published Northline, the second novel from Richmond Fontaine singer/songwriter Willy Vlautin, together with a free original score by the artist on CD.

In July 2009, Faber will produce the first issue of Loops, a new pop music magazine dedicated to extended writing on music, being launched together with independent label Domino.

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