The Philosophy of Modern Song

The book collects short pieces on songs recorded by other people, ranging across early country and blues, rock and roll, pop standards and punk. Each essay usually takes two forms at once: a loose, second-person riff that imagines its way inside the song, followed by a more direct reflection on the record, the performer or the world around it. The pages are packed with photographs and pictures drawn from popular culture. Critics found it erratic, funny, opinionated and often brilliant, a portrait of his tastes as much as of the songs themselves. Its release had one embarrassment: buyers of expensive signed copies discovered the signatures had been made by machine, and the publisher and Dylan apologized and offered refunds.