For anyone reading this who is in-the-know when it comes to music, there are plenty of draws on real-life artists for you to think about. We found ourselves wondering if the title of the album and the book was a play on The Beatles "Let it Be, Naked" album. You will also love the detail that Hornby put into Tucker Crowe's presence on the internet, such as the fake Wikipedia page and Duncan's website for the Croweologists that is named after one of Crowe's songs. The book is so true to the times we live in--an era where everyone looks to the internet for their gossip, facts, and autobiographical information. more ›

We've always gotten a strong High Fidelity vibe from Pitchfork. Duh, right? The music geek relationship is hardly subtle. But now that Blue Moon booker Jason Josephes is spreading these recordings he made in Minneapolis with Pitchfork founder Ryan Schreiber back in '97 we can't even think of the music moguls at P'fork and not imagine a dank basement with matresses crammed against the walls, a mic hanging from an exposed two by four and John Cusack tapping away at a Casio singing about a naked transexual with nothing but margerine for eyes. You can hear the fat in her thighs... more ›

Seattlest likes Nick Hornby, we really do. We like his witty, casual style of writing, we like that he's big enough of a music geek to write essays on specific songs, and we certainly like his McSweeney's connection. Most of all, though, we enjoy the movies made from his books. High Fidelity ranks among our favorites, due to its eminently quotable dialogue, great soundtrack, smart use of lists, and John Cusack's lovesick moping coupled with Jack Black's voracious scene-stealing. In fact, this is one of the rare cases where the film is better than the book, with a seamless setting shift from London to Chicago (especially endearing to Seattlest). About a Boy is another good one, in which the Weitzes first displayed a light touch and emotional maturity, and frankly, it's the only Hugh Grant performance we can stomach. As to Fever Pitch...well, we purposely avoided the recent Farrelly Brothers/Jimmy Fallon/Drew Barrymore crime against humanity---which ended up being a box office disappointment anyways---but we hear that the original version of the film, about football and starring Colin Firth, was more than decent. more ›