An infinite number of songs can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns.
Because I am my own worst enemy: as I continue to work on my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), I'm unable to resist the urge to tweak its proposed Table of Contents. That's okay by itself, but the tweaks often involve adding chapters to the book without, y'know, removing anything. This makes more work for me, and risks creating a book that's longer than it should be.
But my muse says expand. So I expand. Don't make my muse angry; you wouldn't like my muse when it's angry.
My last published update of the book's Table of Contents included a total of 113 songs. Currently, that total is up to 125 songs, and I think that's the practical limit of what the book should hold. I'm going to pick at it a little bit more before I post another updated listing. I'm also playing around with the running order, but the format remains unchanged: 100 songs, plus bonus tracks, each on equal footing, each THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. As it stands, 100 songs, 20 bonus tracks, an Entr'acte, two encores, a Last Call!, and a coronation of a single Greatest Record Ever Made! combine to present 125 songs while still clinging to the illusion of a Hot 100. Magic!
As of our last report, I was 17 chapters shy of a completed first draft. I haven't finished any more entries since then, so I am now 31 chapters shy of a completed first draft. Math? Not my strong suit. I've been editing some of the previously-completed material, so I haven't really been idle, either. I'll probably at least complete my Jackson Five chapter today, and the rest will get done. There's no book deal in place yet, so there's no real deadline. Nonetheless, I look forward to seeing this labor of love through to its rapturous end.
Meanwhile, here's a passage I just added to the book's Foreword:
"(Or, to explain the idea even more simply: if you hear a song, and then immediately want to hear that same song again, it is, in its fleeting moment, The Greatest Record Ever Made. My daughter calls it ADOS: attention deficit...oooo, shiny! This book is a celebration of that finite euphoria of infinite pop obsession.)"
That's the goal. Queer shoulder to the wheel. Onward, into the infinite.
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Volume 3: download
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Hey, Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) will contain 100 essays (and then some) about 100 tracks, plus two bonus instrumentals, each one of 'em THE greatest record ever made. An infinite number of records can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Updated initial information can be seen here: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1).
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