33+1⁄3 (Thirty-Three and a Third) is a series of books, each about a single music album.[1] The series title refers to the rotation speed of a vinyl LP, 33+1⁄3 RPM.[2]
Originally published by Continuum,[3] the series was founded by editor David Barker in 2003.[1] At the time, Continuum published a series of short books on literature called Continuum Contemporaries. One-time series editor Ally-Jane Grossan mentioned that Barker was "an obsessive music fan who thought, 'This is a really cool idea, why don't we apply this to albums'.[3] PopMatters wrote that the range consists of "obscure classics to more usual suspects by the Beach Boys, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones".[1]
In 2010, Continuum was bought out by Bloomsbury Publishing, which continues to publish the series.[3] Following a leave, Barker was replaced by Grossan in January 2013.[2] Leah Babb-Rosenfeld has been the editor of the series since 2016.[4]
Several independent books have been spun off of the series. The first, Carl Wilson's 2007 entry on Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love, was expanded for a 2014 Bloomsbury reissue with material not specifically pertaining to the Dion album and retitled Let's Talk About Love: Why Other People Have Such Bad Taste. Joe Bonomo, at the invitation of Barker, expanded his 33+1⁄3 proposal on Jerry Lee Lewis's Live at the Star Club, Hamburg album into a full-length book about Lewis, the album, and his career titled Jerry Lee Lewis: Lost and Found, published by Continuum in 2009. A rejected proposal from writer Brett Milano for an entry on Game Theory's 1987 album Lolita Nation was instead expanded by Milano into a biography on the band's leader Scott Miller; that project, titled Don't All Thank Me at Once: The Lost Genius of Scott Miller, was released by 125 Books in 2015.[5]
In August 2017, Bloomsbury announced the launch of 33+1⁄3 Global,[6] an extension of the 33+1⁄3 series to popular music from around the world. The first two sub-series launched were 33+1⁄3 Brazil, edited by Jason Stanyek, and 33+1⁄3 Japan, edited by Noriko Manabe.[7] The first book for 33+1⁄3 Brazil was Caetano Veloso's A Foreign Sound by Barbara Browning.[8] The first books for 33+1⁄3 Japan were Supercell ft. Hatsune Miku by Keisuke Yamada and Yoko Kanno's Cowboy Bebop Soundtrack by Rose Bridges.[9]
As of November 2024[update], 189 books have been published in the main series.
# | Work | Artist | Year (album) |
Year (book) |
Author of book | ISBN # |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Supercell | Supercell | 2009 | 2017 | Keisuke Yamada | ISBN 978-1-5013-2597-7 |
2 | Cowboy Bebop Soundtrack | Yoko Kanno | 1998 | 2017 | Rose Bridges | ISBN 978-1-5013-2585-4 |
3 | Game | Perfume | 2008 | 2018 | Patrick St. Michel | ISBN 978-1-5013-2590-8 |
4 | AKB48 | AKB48 | N/A | 2019 | Patrick W. Galbraith; Jason G. Karlin | ISBN 978-1-5013-4111-3 |
5 | Fantasma | Cornelius | 1997 | 2019 | Martin Roberts | ISBN 978-1-5013-3017-9 |
6 | Joe Hisaishi's Soundtrack for My Neighbor Totoro | Joe Hisaishi | 1988 | 2020 | Kunio Hara | ISBN 978-1-5013-4512-8 |
7 | Happy Hour | Shonen Knife | 1998 | 2021 | Brooke McCorkle Okazaki | ISBN 978-1-5013-4795-5 |
8 | Koza Dabasa | Nenes | 1994 | 2021 | Henry Johnson | ISBN 978-1-5013-5124-2 |
9 | The 14th Moon (ja:14番目の月) | Yuming | 1976 | 2022 | Lasse Lehtonen | ISBN 978-1-5013-4571-5 |
10 | Kogun | Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band | 1974 | 2024 | E. Taylor Atkins | ISBN 979-8-7651-0901-4 |
# | Work | Artist | Year (album) |
Year (book) |
Author of book | ISBN # |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | A Foreign Sound | Caetano Veloso | 2004 | 2017 | Barbara Browning | ISBN 978-1-5013-1923-5 |
2 | Getz/Gilberto | Stan Getz and João Gilberto | 1964 | 2018 | Bryan Daniel | ISBN 978-1-5013-2395-9 |
3 | Tim Maia Racional Vols. 1 & 2 | Tim Maia | 1974 | 2018 | Allen Thayer | ISBN 978-1-5013-2153-5 |
4 | Sorriso Negro | Dona Ivone Lara | 1981 | 2019 | Mila Burns | ISBN 978-1-5013-2449-9 |
5 | Refazenda | Gilberto Gil | 1975 | 2020 | Marc A. Hertzman | ISBN 978-1-5013-3040-7 |
6 | The Corner Club | Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges | 1972 | 2020 | Jonathon Grasse | ISBN 978-1-5013-4682-8 |
7 | Sobrevivendo no Inferno | Racionais MC's | 1997 | 2021 | Derek Pardue | ISBN 978-1-5013-3887-8 |
8 | Saudades | Naná Vasconcelos | 1979 | 2021 | Daniel B. Sharp | |
9 | Chico Buarque | Chico Buarque | 1978 | 2022 | Charles A. Perrone |
# | Work | Artist | Year (album) |
Year (book) |
Author of book | ISBN # | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | A Blaze in the Northern Sky | Darkthrone | 1992 | 2020 | Ross Hagen | ISBN 978-1-5013-4630-9 | |
2 | Balkanology | Ivo Papazov | 1991 | 2021 | Carol Silverman | ISBN 978-1-5013-4630-9 | |
3 | Wolokolamsker Chaussee | Heiner Müller and Heiner Goebbels | 1989 | 2021 | Philip V. Bohlman | ISBN 978-1-5013-4615-6 | |
4 | Don't Break the Oath | Mercyful Fate | 1984 | 2022 | Henrik Marstal | ISBN 978-1-5013-5437-3 | |
5 | Niemen Enigmatic | Czesław Niemen | 1970 | 2022 | Ewa Mazierska; Mariusz Gradowski | ISBN 978-1-5013-7266-7 | |
6 | DJs Do Guetto | Various artists | 2006 | 2022 | Richard Elliott | ISBN 978-1-5013-5785-5 | |
7 | Happy Birthday! | Modeselektor | 2007 | 2022 | Sean Nye | ISBN 978-1-5013-4624-8 | |
8 | I'll Be Your Plaything | Bea Palya | 2010 | 2022 | Anna Szemere; András Rónai | ISBN 978-1-5013-5444-1 | |
9 | Sin Documentos | Los Rodríguez | 1993 | 2022 | Héctor Fouce; Fernán del Val | ISBN 978-1-5013-5788-6 | |
10 | Astaganaga | Massada | 1978 | 2022 | Lutgard Mutsaers | ISBN 978-1-5013-7257-5 | |
11 | Bella Ciao | Il Nuovo Canzoniere Italiano | 1976 | 2023 | Jacopo Tomatis | ||
12 | Récital 1961 | Édith Piaf | 1961 | 2023 | David L. Looseley | ||
13 | Persepolis | Iannis Xenakis | 1971 | 2023 | Aram Yardumian | ||
14 | Tantsi | Vopli Vidopliassova | 1989 | 2023 | Maria Sonevytsky | ||
15 | Amália at the Olympia | Amália Rodrigues | 1957 | 2023 | Lila Ellen Gray | ||
16 | Projekt Jon | Ardit Gjebrea | 1997 | 2024 | Nicholas Tochka | ISBN 978-1-5013-6306-1 | |
17 | Aquarium | Aqua | 1997 | 2024 | C.C. McKee | ISBN 978-1-5013-8418-9 | |
18 | Kollaps | Einstürzende Neubauten | 1981 | 2024 | Melle Jan Kromhout; Jan Nieuwenhuis | ISBN 978-1-5013-8750-0 |
# | Title | Year | Editor of book | ISBN # |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 33 1/3 Greatest Hits, Volume 1[17] | 2006 | David Baker | ISBN 978-0-8264-1903-3 |
2 | 33 1/3 Greatest Hits, Volume 2[18] | 2007 | David Baker | ISBN 978-0-8264-2876-9 |
3 | The 33 1/3 B-Sides[19] | 2019 | Will Stockton; D. Gilson | ISBN 978-1-5013-4245-5 |
# | Genre | Year | Author of book | ISBN # |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Trip hop | 2022 | R.J. Wheaton | ISBN 978-1-5013-7360-2 |
2 | Death metal | 2022 | T Coles | ISBN 978-1-5013-8101-0 |
3 | Dance-punk | 2023 | Larissa Wodtke | ISBN 978-1-5013-8186-7 |
4 | South African Popular Music | 2023 | Lior Phillips | ISBN 978-1-5013-8342-7 |
5 | Krautrock | 2023 | Marshall Gu | ISBN 979-8-7651-0329-6 |
6 | '70s Teen Pop | 2023 | Lucretia Tye Jasmine | ISBN 978-1-5013-8350-2 |
7 | Math Rock | 2024 | Jeff Gomez | ISBN 979-8-7651-0337-1 |
8 | Neue Deutsche Welle | 2024 | Claudia Lonkin | ISBN 979-8-7651-0337-1 |
9 | Soul-folk | 2024 | Ashawnta Jackson | ISBN 979-8-7651-0345-6 |
10 | Shoegaze | 2024 | Ryan Pinkard | ISBN 979-8-7651-0341-8 |
With release date[20]
Without release date