This is expected to be published in late July (by Joel Whitburn/Record Research). It's subtitled, "The Essential Music Guide for Your iPod and Other Portable Music Players."

Being a Billboard book, it's going to be filled with hits- but in a sample page, it lists Beatles' "In My Life" among the essential songs for 1965-69 (that song was never released as a single in the USA). For each half decade, it has "Classic Songs Playlists," where it lists the 200 most essntial songs of each half decade. That's something I think could be good for AM- certainly more manageable than including *every* entry that's going to be in the book (which reportedly will be more than 12,000 entries!)

so, sometime after I receive it, I will work on typing up the half-decade Classic Playlists for you, Henrik.

Haven't heard anything back in regards to the Greek books after the initial contact. Are those something you can get hold up more easily, since you're in Europe?

This sounds awesome!

how many Madonna and Prince songs will be designated for the Classic Playlists...?

Good question! Here's what I'd include from each considering the nature of the book for each half-decade:

1975-1979:

Prince- I Wanna Be Your Lover

1980-1984:

Prince- Head
Prince- When You Were Mine
Prince- Controversy
Prince- 1999
Prince- Little Red Corvette
Prince- Delirious
Prince- When Doves Cry
Prince- Let's Go Crazy
Prince- Purple Rain
Madonna- Holiday
Madonna- Lucky Star
Madonna- Borderline
Madonna- Burning Up
Madonna- Like a Virgin

1985-1989:

Prince- Raspberry Beret
Prince- Kiss
Prince- Mountains
Prince- Girls and Boys
Prince- Sign o' the Times
Prince- U Got the Look
Prince- I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man
Prince- Alphabet St.
Prince- Batdance
Madonna- Material Girl
Madonna- Into the Groove
Madonna- Crazy for You
Madonna- Live to Tell
Madonna- Open Your Heart
Madonna- Papa Don't Preach
Madonna- Like a Prayer
Madonna- Express Yourself
Madonna- Cherish
Madonna- Oh Father

1990-1994:

Prince- Thieves in the Temple
Prince- Gett Off
Prince- Cream
Prince- Sexy MF
Prince- 7
Prince- Damn U
Prince- The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
Madonna- Vogue
Madonna- Justify My Love
Madonna- This Used to Be My Playground
Madonna- Erotica
Madonna- Bad Girl
Madonna- Rain
Madonna- I'll Remember
Madonna- Secret

1995-1999:

Prince- P Control
Prince- The Holy River
Madonna- Take a Bow
Madonna- You'll See
Madonna- Frozen
Madonna- Ray of Light
Madonna- The Power of Goodbye
Madonna- Beautiful Stranger

2000-2004:

Prince- Musicology
Madonna- Music
Madonna- Die Another Day

I don't see them having *that* many tracks designated for the classic playlists, but ya never know. I mena, Beyonce has 3 tracks designated for 2000-2004 (or 2005)- then again, designating 200 classics for the most recent period may be a little more difficult.

I don't see M having that many cited for 1990-1994- and do you really think P Control and The Holy River would get cited?

I'd think Don't Tell Me would have a better shot than Die Another Day. Musicology? We'll have to wait and see. ;)

I'm saying what should be included, not what I think will be. If I go by what I feel will be included, it would be more like this:

1980-1984:

Prince- 1999
Prince- Little Red Corvette
Prince- When Doves Cry
Prince- Let's Go Crazy
Prince- Purple Rain
Madonna- Holiday
Madonna- Like a Virgin

1985-1989:

Prince- Kiss
Prince- Sign o' the Times
Prince- U Got the Look
Madonna- Into the Groove
Madonna- Papa Don't Preach
Madonna- Live to Tell
Madonna- Like a Prayer

1990-1994:

Prince- Gett Off
Prince- Cream
Madonna- Vogue
Madonna- I'll Remember

1995-1999:

Madonna- Ray of Light
Madonna- Beautiful Stranger

2000-2004:

Madonna- Music

now you may have too little. ;)

I hope the book isn't delayed from its supposed publication ate of late July. Amazon has it as a September availability, but I'm thinking that's so Record Research has a couple of months to sell it itself before having other merchants sell it.

This could be interesting, I guess, but will it just be based on Billboard charts?

JR; I just found this site and have read through some of these topics, and all you ever talk about is Madonna. Is she the only reason you come to this place?

but, if it was, is there anyone better to fit the bill? One could never talk about her enough. And since she's my fave act, I'm very interested in acclaim she receives. So what's the problem, again?

RE the book- like I said, it's a Billboard-based book, and obviously a good number of the songs that are cited as essentials were chart hits, but it's not just big hits that are cited (i.e. like I said how Beatles/ In My Life is cited; also, Hendrix's All Along the Watchtower is cited for 1965-69)

There are 12,000_ songs featured in the boiok (it's like an IPod suggestion book- but only 2,000 or so will be cited as essential tracks for the last 50 years).

Madonna deserves all the acclaim she gets and more.

and just gglancing at it, it wasn't as mixed up as I'd hoped it would be, in terms of the Classic Playlists. They definitely seem to be filled with the hits (which isn't that surprising, since it's a Billboard-based book).

I mean, in the main artist entries, it has the notable songs (if they hadn't been released as singles- i.e. Ramones' I Wanna Be Sedated, Violent Femme's Blister in the Sun, etc.- but those songs aren't designated as classic hits in the half-decade classic songs playlists!) Essentially, if one had a lot of hits, a decent number of tracks from them are included in the Classic Songs Playlist feature. Though that's not true in all cases- Aretha Franklin has just 3 songs featured in the Classic Songs playlists!

At first I was interested in this book, but the more I hear it described, the more likely I think I'll flip through it at the bookstore and leave it at that.

Billboard really had an opportunity to escape their little pigeonhole here, and it sounds like they decided to play it safe. That's sort of too bad, considering their resources.

in essence, it will only "enhance" those tracks that already have received a notable amount of acclaim. For some tracks, this probably will be the only somewhat-notable feature/list they ever appear on! (and for others, maybe it will be a second one, at most)

In the end, though, Record Research stuck to the pigeonhole, for the most part. :)

Well, since critics seem to stick to a certain 'pigeon-hole,' it isn't necessarily bad if RR did as long as it is a different 'pigeon-hole.'

yeah, that would be critics sticking to a pigeon-hole, for sure. ;) (though I'm guessing you mean in terms of certain acts and foaming over every single thing they do- a la Radiohead, Bjork, etc.)

Even though the playlists do stick to the big hits, for the most part, they're alright, as another source (again, it only will enhance some big hits that already have received notable acclaim- and, it will give further to a few non-commercial singles, like Stairway to Heaven, In My Life, etc.)