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Perfect Sound Whatever

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Perfect Sound Whatever

By: James Acaster
Narrated by: James Acaster
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Summary
 The brand new memoir from James Acaster: cult comedian, bestselling author of Classic Scrapes, undercover cop, receiver of cabbages.

PERFECT SOUND WHATEVER is a love letter to the healing power of music, and how one man's obsessive quest saw him defeat the bullshit of one year with the beauty of another. Because that one man is James Acaster, it also includes tales of befouling himself in a Los Angeles steakhouse, stealing a cookie from Clint Eastwood, and giving drunk, unsolicited pep talks to urinating strangers.

January, 2017
James Acaster wakes up heartbroken and alone in New York, his relationship over, a day of disastrous meetings leading him to wonder if comedy is really what he wants to be doing any more.

A constant comfort in James's life has been music, but he's not listened to anything new for a very long time. Idly browsing 'best of the year' lists, it dawns on him that 2016 may have been a grim year for a lot of reasons, but that it seemed to be an iconic year for music. And so begins a life-changing musical odyssey, as James finds himself desperately seeking solace in the music of 2016, setting himself the task of only listening to music released that year, ending up with 500 albums in his collection.

Looking back on this year-long obsession, parallels begin to grow between the music and James's own life: his relationship history, the highs and lows of human connection, residual Christian guilt, and mental health issues that have been bubbling under the surface for years. Some albums are life-changing masterpieces, others are 'Howdilly Doodilly' by Okilly Dokilly, a metalcore album devoted to The Simpsons' character Ned Flanders, but all of them play a part the year that helped James Acaster get his life back on track.©2019 James Acaster Entertainment & Celebrities Music Performing Arts Comedy Funny Witty Inspiring

Critic Reviews

Immensely comforting - a witty and wise account of the rejuvenating effect of opening yourself up the the creativity of others.
Loved James Acaster's memoir / epic listicle that posits his theory that 2016 was the best year for music. His dry wit I expected, but was impressed by the real life stories of so many musicians the world over. Paints a striking picture of what it means to be a modern musician.
honest, unaffected, poignant - and, yes, entertaining
James is a phenomenally talented comedian and his music taste is second only to mine.
If, as the pundits say, comedy is like jazz then I'm against it. I didn't drill power chords and feedback techniques just to go fannying about looking for the melody. James Acaster, though, is a bit of an outlier. He's a music wonk with a sense of the ridiculous and his controversial theory that 2016 was the greatest year for music ever is off by a mere five decades. Interesting take, though.
All stars
Most relevant
Loved it! I love James, and you need to watch his Netflix special. And he is fantastic in taskmaster

Loved it!

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I'm a big fan of James Acaster His Repertoire on Netflix is the best thing on it. I expected this book to be something similar to his Classic Scrapes book. It really isn't. It's a passionate book on James' love of music. Particularly albums from 2016. Reading the blurb I expected some of James deadpan humour but that's not the case he loves his music and the love is infectious He had an up n down time during the research for the book. It's a book that describes his life challenges. I'd loved his comedy talent before but my respect for the man increased immeasurably. I've tried several albums based on his recommendations and some will stay on my playlist. Lots of laughs still and highly recommended.

This was NOT what I expected but really enjoyed it

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Acaster is hilarious but also reflective and kind to the hundreds of micro stories he lovingly describes about the artists involved in putting out the music he loves from 2016.
highly recommend to music lovers

Excellent and thought provoking story

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It's like a glimpse into your weird little brother's brain. You will definitely hum the Humpty song for a week after listening.

La La La La La Humpty...

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Took me a long time to finish this one. Lots of appreciation for the research that went into this, but difficult to know what's going on unless you're listening to the albums side by side.

Solid musicology, hard to finish

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