Perfect Sound Whatever

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

By: James Acaster

Narrated by: James Acaster

The brand new memoir from James Acaster: cult comedian, bestselling author of Classic Scrapes, undercover cop, receiver of cabbages.

PERFECT SOUND WHATEVER is a love letter to the healing power of music, and how one man's obsessive quest saw him defeat the bullshit of one year with the beauty of another. Because that one man is James Acaster, it also includes tales of befouling himself in a Los Angeles steakhouse, stealing a cookie from Clint Eastwood, and giving drunk, unsolicited pep talks to urinating strangers.

January, 2017
James Acaster wakes up heartbroken and alone in New York, his relationship over, a day of disastrous meetings leading him to wonder if comedy is really what he wants to be doing any more.

A constant comfort in James's life has been music, but he's not listened to anything new for a very long time. Idly browsing 'best of the year' lists, it dawns on him that 2016 may have been a grim year for a lot of reasons, but that it seemed to be an iconic year for music. And so begins a life-changing musical odyssey, as James finds himself desperately seeking solace in the music of 2016, setting himself the task of only listening to music released that year, ending up with 500 albums in his collection.

Looking back on this year-long obsession, parallels begin to grow between the music and James's own life: his relationship history, the highs and lows of human connection, residual Christian guilt, and mental health issues that have been bubbling under the surface for years. Some albums are life-changing masterpieces, others are 'Howdilly Doodilly' by Okilly Dokilly, a metalcore album devoted to The Simpsons' character Ned Flanders, but all of them play a part the year that helped James Acaster get his life back on track.©2019 James Acaster

Critic reviews

Immensely comforting - a witty and wise account of the rejuvenating effect of opening yourself up the the creativity of others.

Loved James Acaster's memoir / epic listicle that posits his theory that 2016 was the best year for music. His dry wit I expected, but was impressed by the real life stories of so many musicians the world over. Paints a striking picture of what it means to be a modern musician.

honest, unaffected, poignant - and, yes, entertaining

James is a phenomenally talented comedian and his music taste is second only to mine.

If, as the pundits say, comedy is like jazz then I'm against it. I didn't drill power chords and feedback techniques just to go fannying about looking for the melody. James Acaster, though, is a bit of an outlier. He's a music wonk with a sense of the ridiculous and his controversial theory that 2016 was the greatest year for music ever is off by a mere five decades. Interesting take, though.

I’m convinced

I am a big fan of James Acaster, loved his first book and his comedy specials and was so excited when this came out. Love the personal stories and that his through line is supported by the anecdotes about the musicians and the music making of these records. He casts a very wide net as far as music goes-which is great. I have already found two albums that I like from his recommendation, for which I am grateful. Aside from Acaster not mentioning two superb albums from 2016 specifically (Tegan & Sara’s Love You to Death and Francis & the Lights Farewell, Starlight!) he makes his case for 2016 being the best year for music, and I’m buying it.

Thrilling

Not only tells the story of 2016's music, but is also incredibly relatable. An honest look at Acaster's emotions, psychology and life in general. If I could give him 10 I would.

The one and only James Acaster...

James has surely gone out of the league of comedians' biographies with Perfect Sound Whatever - he has intertwined a snippet of his story and description of a specific piece of music from 2017, which mix together surprisingly well. A good listen if you are into James' kind of comedy.

Great Talent, Jumbled Story

In America, we don't see enough James Acaster.

I am fan of James Acaster after seeing him on some of the British shows like "Would I Lie To You?" and others I have sporadically seen on YouTube or BritBox. I then sought out his comedy and eventually his "James Acaster's Classic Scrapes", both of which I highly recommend.

I enjoyed this performance. But the content really felt like it belonged in two or three separate books. For example, I would see the books being 1) James reviews bands/albums from 2016, 2) James' reflects on life-changing experiences that formed inflection points in his life and what resulted from it, and 3) I guess I was wrong, there were only two books I felt these could be cleaved into.

The challenge I had is that it jumped around a lot. I think most people prefer more of a linear thought process rather than a "stream of conscience" experience when reading or listening to a book. While the jumping around had the effect of compelling a more intense listening, it detracted from the experience for me.

This is a minor point, but I always wonder why there always seems to be some reference to Trump or Brexit winning. It's almost like it's a box to tick to get one's bona fides certified. It's not overwhelming, but it's like having a serious discussion with a spouse and then throwing a jibe about how they annoyingly squeeze the toothpaste the wrong way. It takes away from the sincerity of the larger conversation.

In the five or six instances I noted, all but one came out of nowhere. One related to what drove a particular artist to feel like he was no longer alone - the vocal anti-Trump sentiment - which seemed appropriate to the artist's story and how James related to it. The rest...it was like offering a gratuitous - but empty - supportive comment to your best friend after a break-up about how much the other party was [insert appropriate derogatory term here].

I guess I come from the old school - like Johnny Carson - it's okay to make jokes about politics, but not preach about politics. He abided by the adage that comedy is entertainment - an escape from reality - and people don't want life to intrude on their entertainment.

Nevertheless, the comments didn't detract from my score, the erratic nature of the theme jumping did.

I recommend this book, in particular, for the music aficionado.

Incredible

I received this audio book as a gift and oh man what a gift it is! James' incredibly odd sense of humor blended with sincere honesty about a difficult time in his life really resonated with myself. The same way many of the album's he speaks about in the book really helped him, his writing has helped me realize something about myself or my own struggles! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys contemporary music, james' comedy and honest accounts of someone's personal struggles.