Rite Of Summer

It's a rite of summer. The Oxford American , which comes out every summer is essential reading, not just for its take on Southern music but for its generally excellent writing on music period. I don't subscribe to the magazine, but I always buy the music issues. So, I'm glad to come across The Oxford American Book of Great Music Writing, which whittles the magazine's 10 Summer issues down into a compilation of articles. They've done a good job of cherry-picking the best moments: some of mine include Nick Tosches' brilliant undertaking of the Emmett Miller mystery, a hilarious take on a Joe Tex disco song and 3 takes on Southern Rock. There's more and it's all worth a read because we just don't get this kind of careful consideration from today's music magazines.