In Victorian London they used to burn phosphorus at seances in an attempt to see ghosts, and I suspect that the pop-music equivalent is our obsession with B-sides and alternate versions and unreleased material.
Nick Hornby Songbook
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In Victorian London, people attempted to connect with the supernatural during seances by burning phosphorus to reveal ghosts. This practice reflects a broader theme of seeking the unseen or unknown. In a modern context, this desire manifests in the pop music scene through a fascination with B-sides, alternate versions, and unreleased tracks, similar to the ways people sought to uncover hidden truths in the past.

Nick Hornby, in his book "Songbook," draws a parallel between these historical practices and contemporary music culture. He suggests that just as seances involved rituals to glimpse the mysterious, music fans today are often captivated by the allure of lesser-known songs and the secrets behind their favorite artists. This obsession reveals a deeper human curiosity about creativity and the artistic process.

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Songbook
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Nick Hornby
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February 24, 2025
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Other quotes in Songbook

It was almost like discovering a writer you haven't read, although you all encounter and of themselves on writers that you have not read while it is very rare, at least in adulthood, that you suddenly find a great pop artist who has published Lots of good slices. Most often it is prejudice rather than ignorance that makes you miss great artists, and prejudice is difficult to get rid of {it is so fun to have them confirmed}.
Nick Hornby Songbook
It was almost like discovering a writer you haven't read, although you all encounter and of themselves on writers that you have not read while it is very rare, at least in adulthood, that you suddenly find a great pop artist who has published Lots of good slices. Most often it is prejudice rather than ignorance that makes you miss great artists, and prejudice is difficult to get rid of {it is so fun to have them confirmed}.
This is the real lies of shock-art: such art insists on its democracy, but this democracy is only for those who can afford it. And many of us, becoming older, suddenly understand that we do not have any more strength and desire to waste ourselves.
Nick Hornby Songbook
This is the real lies of shock-art: such art insists on its democracy, but this democracy is only for those who can afford it. And many of us, becoming older, suddenly understand that we do not have any more strength and desire to waste ourselves.
Several times a year I make a cassette for myself to put it in the car, a collection of songs that I loved in the last few months, and every time I finish it, I do not believe that someday I will need another. Nevertheless, this is repeated with enviable regularity, and each time I look forward to the next one. You only need a few hundred such things, and your life will not be lived in vain.
Nick Hornby Songbook
Several times a year I make a cassette for myself to put it in the car, a collection of songs that I loved in the last few months, and every time I finish it, I do not believe that someday I will need another. Nevertheless, this is repeated with enviable regularity, and each time I look forward to the next one. You only need a few hundred such things, and your life will not be lived in vain.
Only the story will pronounce the verdict - whether Miss Furtado will become a great artist, and although I suspect that she hardly resolutely changed my view of the world, I think this is not so important: I will always be grateful to her for creating an intrusive desire in me Listen to her song again and again. In the end, this is a harmless dependence, easily satisfactory, and in the world there are not too many of them.
Nick Hornby Songbook
Only the story will pronounce the verdict - whether Miss Furtado will become a great artist, and although I suspect that she hardly resolutely changed my view of the world, I think this is not so important: I will always be grateful to her for creating an intrusive desire in me Listen to her song again and again. In the end, this is a harmless dependence, easily satisfactory, and in the world there are not too many of them.
The music you already have is not enough for a lifetime, not if you listen to music every day and as soon as you can access.
Nick Hornby Songbook
The music you already have is not enough for a lifetime, not if you listen to music every day and as soon as you can access.
If you have not heard this composition and have the intention to listen to it, forget about all other matters this evening, make sure that you are not one in the room {Listening to a song in the headphones, most likely threatens you with hospitalization}, and do not go to work to the next day.
Nick Hornby Songbook
If you have not heard this composition and have the intention to listen to it, forget about all other matters this evening, make sure that you are not one in the room {Listening to a song in the headphones, most likely threatens you with hospitalization}, and do not go to work to the next day.
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Here's a nifty solution: Each couple that marries should take on an entirely new surname, chosen however they want as long as both agree to it, so that a day after the wedding, both husband and wife can hold hands and joyfully journey off to the municipal offices to change their passports, driver's licenses, signatures, initials, bank accounts, etc.
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Here's a nifty solution: Each couple that marries should take on an entirely new surname, chosen however they want as long as both agree to it, so that a day after the wedding, both husband and wife can hold hands and joyfully journey off to the municipal offices to change their passports, driver's licenses, signatures, initials, bank accounts, etc.
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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Dear Ijeawele, or A...
{...} what I wish for Chizalum is the following: that she is full of opinions, and that her opinions stem from a well-informed, humane, and open mind. That she have health and happiness. That she have the life she wants to have.
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