"33 1/3: The Replacements' 'Let It Be' "

I listened to an audiobook version of Colin Meloy's bookI just finished my third installment of the "33 1/3" series of audiobooks in which famous or semi-famous people review classic albums.

I had a mixed experience with the first two.

Warren Zanes'  "33 1/3" take on Dusty Springfield's "Dusty in Memphis" was just awful because it never really got into the music at hand. Bill Janovitz's breakdown of The Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main Street" was much better, offering a straightforward analysis of an album that seems to get better as the years go by.

But Colin Meloy's "33 1/3" take on The Replacements' "Let It Be" was a surprise, in a good way. I'm not much of a fan of The Decemberists, the band Meloy leads. But I am a big fan of The 'Mats, whose mix of crash-bang punk and touching lyrics powered me through college.

Meloy dives into his review from the vantage point of an awkward teen growing up in small-town Montana. It's a perfect match for "Let It Be," whose songs are both immature and emotionally vulnerable in trying to address the mystery and agony of adolescence. There were more than a few segments where I felt Meloy was describing slices of my childhood. Like the first few listens of "Let It Be," I felt like someone finally understood me.

"The Future is Unwritten"

JOE STRUMMER: THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN: Movie Trailer. Watch more top selected videos about: Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, Julien Temple

I've been a fan of The Clash since 1977 but have been slow to see "The Future is Unwritten," a 2007 Julien Temple documentary about Clash frontman Joe Strummer. 

I've never taken to Temple's style of filmmaking but did marvel at the depth of old footage he was able to unearth as well as honest, heartfelt interviews about a man who was strong on the outside but seemingly weak and sometimes puny inside. 

As any Clash fan can tell you, the live takes are proof they blew pretty much all of their peers off the stage. Even U2's Bono, he of ginormous ego, bows in respect. 

But Temple can be maddening at times. The film looks great, but why, oh why, does Temple refuse to ID the people sharing intimate details of their relationship with Strummer? Yeah, we know Bono, Scorcese, Cusack. But how many people would easily recognize Roland Gift or most of the women interviewed after all these years?  

Regardless, for Clash fans, this is a must see. For music fans, the movie is worth the two hours. For anyone else, it's a nice tribute to a rock legend who helped to shape a generation, only to die way too young. 

Cassettes on the comeback?

I was catching up on some recent podcasts while taking a short vacation and enjoyed this "Soundcheck" episode on the alleged renaissance of cassette tapes among cool musicians.

First it was vinyl coming back, then a whisper of hope for 8-tracks, of all things. But cassettes, a ridiculous format prone to sound decay or the player chewing the tape itself? What's next, Hit Clips?

But I can actually see a little upside for this cassette trend, if there is one, as younger generations co-opt tape decks tossed aside by their parents or buy older cars that still play cassettes.

I for one am longing for a tape deck to play any of the dozens of mix tapes or punk albums I've still got stored in the garage. The deck in my '95 Explorer just died, so I'm unable to dig into lost treasures, many of which only exist for me in that format. They include this Urge Overkill classic, the last song that Explorer deck was able to play: