I’ve been reading more books about music lately, and one of my favorite things to do is go through the suggested discographies in the back. Often, the author will provide a list of essential listening related to the book and what was discussed. These discographies are usually a goldmine for new music discovery, and I’ve often been introduced to new artists I hadn’t known about.
A new book I started recently is The Ambient Century by Mark Prendegast, which traces the evolution of modern music from classical composer Gustav Mahler to modern times and artists like DJ Shadow. It’s a very long book, clocking in at more than 500 pages, and I’ve just gotten started, but it’s promising so far.
My idea was to start making Spotify playlists that cover some of the music in the discographies suggested at the end of these books. I’ll start with The Ambient Century and a playlist I’m calling The Evolution of Sound.
Prendergast calls his discography “Twentieth Century Ambience – The Essential 100 Recordings.” While the book discusses ambient music in a general way, the 100 recordings include much more than ambient, starting with Mahler, Satie, Debussy, and Ravel but also including Hendrix, The Beatles, CAN, and Kratwerk. It’s a pretty comprehensive list and a very eclectic one.
I compiled a playlist with songs from these records, leaving out some music I didn’t care for but trying to stay as faithful to the book’s list as possible. The result is 90 tracks spanning classical music, like Satie, to Miles Davis, to Phillip Glass, to Led Zeppelin, and to Massive Attack, and Aphex Twin.
Yes, the list includes some psychedelic music (such as Hendrix), but this is mainly about the development of music in general over the Twentieth Century. The book shows how ambient and electronic sound developed over a century, from Debussy’s early recordings to contemporary revolutions in minimalism, rock, techno, and trance. If that sounds interesting, check out the book, which has garnered good reviews and includes a brief foreword by Brian Eno.
Check out The Evolution of Sound Spotify playlist below. I hope you enjoy some of the music and make some new discoveries!
Check out The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast here.
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