On my lunch break, I bought the new book The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide To The Greatest Songs From Punk To The Present. I read a few entries, which are quite good (I particularly liked Douglas Wolk's summation of the Fall's "Totally Wired."). I have mixed feeling on the website that spawned this book, but I think I'm going to enjoy reading this.

But I noticed something while leafing through the book. Most of the 500 entries lists the record label involved in bringing the song to an audience. Only the artist and song title are listed for the heading of each entry; a few of the write-ups discuss the label involved, for historical (not commercial) purposes. For example, the Feelies' 'The Boy With Perpetual Nervousness" is included as one of the five hundred, but the three labels that have issued the recording (Rough Trade on a 45, Stiff on an LP, A&M on a CD) are not mentioned. When I noticed this in the bookstore, I wondered how a list of singles could not include the label that issued it (and I wondered why the book didn't include artwork of any of the 45s). Then I read the title and realized my error (when I noticed Nirvana's non-single "Scentless Apprentice" was included, the title made more sense to me).  I also decided that a list without label information makes more sense in an age when many music listeners are finding something to listen to by way of a digital file procured through the Internet (legally or not). From that perspective, listing only artist and title makes sense, when that's all you need to search for this particular song online. (And the book definitely sports an interior design for the benefit of maximizing information at the expense of illustration - perfect for randomly looking up something to download because you like the contributor's capsule review). To muddle the issue, a few of the songs on the list have "single version" or "12" mix" appended to the title. To make it easier to find the version you want to download, I guess.

But that just brought up a new question in my mind. Is this a list of songs, or recorded performances of songs? Wolk, for example, is certainly describing the Fall's recording of "Totally Wired," and not only, say, the lyrics (or someone else's version of the song). But there are no songwriting credits, either. Then again, the online music consumer might not be looking for songwriting, either, unless they are using an informational database like Allmusic for credits. I think a more accurate title for this book might have used "the greatest recordings" in place of "the greatest songs," but that isn't quite as functional (for one thing, "recording" can imply one track of a CD, the whole thing, or an artist's entire career, depending on the context). But if you refer to, say, The Strokes' "The Modern Age (single version)," then you are referring to the recording, not the song. Since an album version of "The Modern Age" would be the same song (I think. I'm not that up on The Strokes' discography, sorry).

Oh, and there is an essay in the book on "Yacht Rock." And "Twee Pop," too.