17

by Bill Drummond

In 17 , Drummond analyzes the past, present, and possible future of music and the ways in which we hear and relate to it. He references his own contributions to the canon of popular music, and he provides fascinating insider portraits of the industry and its protagonists. But above all, he questions our ideas of music and our attitude to sound, introducing us throughout this provocative and superbly written book to his current work, The17 .

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography, Philosophy

410 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2008

Reviews

[Godzilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book which I put off reading for far too long. I always do the same with Bill Drummond's books - I grab whatever I can find to purchase then deny myself the pleasure of reading it. There's no rational explanation to this, only the thought on my part that I don't want to have nothing to look forward to!

The book covers a cornucopia of issues, but centres on the belief that all recorded music is now redundant. Drummond espouses radical ideas, which make you question your own standpoint, and approach to things. I don't buy into everything, I'm not a total devotee, but I like the way his writing makes me assess things again.

I was also buoyed by the fact that he reveals he is currently writing teh third part of the Bad Wisdom trilogy. Another book for me to look forward to, and then leave on the shelf for a year!

[Mr Disco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely wonderful book.

[Terry Clague · Rating 4 out of 5]

'...It is a well known fact that most artists produce their best work early in their career. They may refine what they do but you usually get the measure of what they are about on their first outing.'

[Jazza1971 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A high quality book means it is very heavy for being slightly over 400 pages long. This quality reflects the love Drummond has for his project.
Thought provoking and funny. Bill Drummond is a unique artist who should be cherished.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of parts didn't work for me but the parts that did I will need to re-read. Hopefully the parts that didn't work for me worked for others. I took particular value from the first few pages, the 2 or 3 pages about Pete Waterman and the sections on Robert Anton Wilson.

[Steve Duffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since "17" is crafted pretty much in the form of a polemic against recorded music, and since I consider recorded music as necessary to my daily well-being as water, food and sleep, three stars might be seen as a generously high rating. However, if you view the book not so much as a polemic but as a provocation, meant to elicit a reaction, then it falls in a direct line with Drummond's previous activities - it's a bold destructive gesture, from the master of bold destructive gestures. The diary aspect of this book - a year spent touring The 17, Drummond's pickup choir - is actually not all that gripping; it would take a slightly better writer about music to hold the reader's attention through a series of descriptions of people singing in a room. The scores sung by the choirs are sometimes interesting; sometimes they read like Richard Brautigan short stories; your mileage may vary. The author's reflections on his own relationship with recorded music, though, are properly provocative. Fans of Drummond will discover many autobiographical snippets which illuminate his work through the years, especially in the timeline contained in the appendices; in some ways these are the most interesting things in the whole book. One's left with the impression that visiting Bill Drummond is always a pleasure, but you wouldn't necessarily want to be him, day in, day out. Once you start blurring the distinctions between art and life, there aren't so many safe places left when you indulge yourself in a bold destructive gesture.

[John R Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bill is a pioneer, living free from convention and with a big heart. As the legend that bought us KLF with Jimmy, his thoughts are always interesting, often left field and sometimes take a while to process. He is de-constructing recorded music and in some ways the ideas of the 17 seem to echo the past as well as herald some possible futures. His anecdotes and biographical asides are witty, profound and with a fair amount of pathos. Essential reading for any serious music nut.

[Mark Farley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Drummond's inspirational odyssey to wipe the slate clean and start all forms of music again troubled me when I heard about this. I pleaded in my mind for Bill to stop. After all, he and the KLF were one of the many culprits responsible for my ever passionate love of music and Bill himself wrote one of my favourite books on the subject, his "45" but the nature of The17 and his latest piece of art terrorism is clearly born from frustration. The same frustration that is ever growing in music, which is what makes the idea of The17 (something I originally thought ludicrous) actually seems like timely genius. Drummond's prose is ever distractable and sporadic in its delivery but wholly interesting and full of wit. It even made me want to lie on the floor with sixteen other people and hum myself a merry tune.

[Francis Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been chipping at this one over a year, most of the time he is explaining the same theories and experiments again. Although I really commend what he has done, and enjoy his writing, I can't tear through this very quickly.

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

Drummond's ideas about recorded music and "The 17" are quite interesting, but I don't really care about his personal experiences lecturing on the topic. Also, I really need to get a dedicated ereader, because reading ebooks on my laptop using Digital Editions is pretty awful.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bill Drummond (Big in Japan, KLF, Timelords, etc.) is trying to reinvent music with his Cage-esque The Seventeen project. "17" is his tour diary, memoir & manifesto. A good read, if you're a music nut who cares about Bill Drummond.

[Alan Fricker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charity shop find. Wanders well in places and poorly in others. A project I find less interesting than some from the author.

[Roman · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, Yoko Ono had bad luck having Bill Drummond as an interviewer, and any artist coming to Bill's office had bad luck having him as an A&R rep, lol. So far, so good!