Pitchfork

There are certain albums that just can't be contained by 800-word reviews. These are the albums you play on repeat until the disc is scratched or the battery dies. You obsess over the meaning of every single word in their lyrics, read multiple biographies about the artists in question, or turn each chord into a meditation. Have heart devoted listeners: someone out there has you and your battered headphones in mind.

The Continuum International Publishing Group has announced 21 new titles in its 33 1/3 series, a collection of short books about beloved (and heavily scrutinized) albums from the last half-century. The new additions, to be published throughout 2007 and 2008, run the gamut from folk to hip-hop to proto-industrial. The authors are writers from all walks of journalism, criticism, and academia, including Pitchfork's own Scott Plagenhoef, Amanda Petrusich, and Drew Daniel.

At 29 books and counting, the 33 1/3 series has taken apart the Beatles, Love, Joy Division (written by former Pitchfork contributor Chris Ott), Prince, and Neutral Milk Hotel among many, many others. Colin Meloy of the Decemberists wrote about the Replacements, Joe Pernice of the Pernice Brothers wrote about the Smiths, and lots of music nerds rediscovered the joys of the library.

Here is a list of the new tomes, so get ready to make room on your shelf:

Belle and Sebastian's If You're Feeling Sinister by Scott Plagenhoef
Steely Dan's Aja by Don Breithaupt
Richard and Linda Thompson's Shoot Out the Lights by Hayden Childs
Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine by Daphne Carr
Guns N' Roses's Use Your Illusion by Eric Weisbard
Patti Smith's Horses by Phil Shaw
The Minutemen's Double Nickels on the Dime by Mike Fournier
Nick Drake's Pink Moon by Amanda Petrusich
A Tribe Called Quest's People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm by Shawn Taylor
U2's Achtung Baby by Stephen Catanzarite
Throbbing Gristle's 20 Jazz Funk Greats by Drew Daniel
Kate Bush's The Dreaming by Ann Powers
PJ Harvey's Rid of Me by Kate Schatz
Brian Eno's Another Green World by Geeta Dayal
Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life by Zeth Lundy
Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica by Kevin Courrier
Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love by Carl Wilson
Lucinda Williams' Lucinda Williams by Anders Smith Lindall
The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs by LD Beghtol
Television's Marquee Moon by Peter Blauner
Tom Waits' Swordfishtrombones by David Smay

Several more titles are scheduled to be published in 2006. Look out for these at your local coffee shop soon:

The Pixies' Doolittle by Ben Sisario
The Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique by Dan LeRoy
Sly and the Family Stone's There's a Riot Goin' On by Miles Marshall Lewis
The Stone Roses' Stone Roses by Alex Green
Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation by Matthew Stearns
Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark by Sean Nelson
The Clash's London Calling by David L. Ulin
The Byrds' The Notorious Byrd Brothers by Ric Menck
Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited by Mark Polizzotti
Guided By Voices' Bee Thousand by Marc Woodworth Nirvana's In Utero by Gillian Gaar
The Who's The Who Sell Out by John Dougan