The Rest Is Noise

Listening to the 20th Century

By: Alex Ross

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 23 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

The Rest Is Noise takes the listener inside the labyrinth of modern music, from turn-of-the-century Vienna to downtown New York in the '60s and '70s. We meet the maverick personalities and follow the rise of mass culture on this sweeping tour of 20th-century history through its music.

Ross, music critic for The New Yorker, is the recipient of numerous awards for his work, including two ASCAP Deems Taylor Awards for music criticism. In addition, he was named a 2008 recipient of a MacArthur Foundation fellowship, given for achievements in creativity and potential for making important future cultural contributions.

©2007 Alex Ross (P)2007 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

• National Book Critics Circle Award, Criticism, 2007

Dullsville!

Okay, perhaps my title is a bit rude but this book is specifically for and can only be enjoyed by a classical music lover - one who is particularly familiar with the works discussed in the book.

I consider myself to be a lover of classical music but this book bored me because I had no accompanying music to hear and nod my head to in agreement with the author!

Talking about music

If you want to discuss music in an audiobook, you should use the medium and provide musical samples of what you're talking about. This is excusable for print, but not excusable for this medium.

Just not interested

My friend tried to get me to read this book and I just couldn't get interested. I tried the audio version hoping that I could get interested but it's more than I want to know about music.

just couldn't get into this one

I am truly interested in classical music, and listen to a lot of it --- including what was covered in the first 4 CDs-worth of this book.

I may at some point buy the book and read it in my own fashion.

But the reader put me to sleep. Too monotonous and flat. I suspect, though, that the subject is better suited to a combination of speed-reading and flipping to and fro, and that requires a hard copy.

No music included

The audio sample of this book made me buy it because I like classical music, but find the latest developments baffling. I assumed it would contain some of the music described in the text. It doesn't, and 24 hours of listening to musical history, excellent as it is, is too much.

Pretty dense and tough going full of jargons

Even for a classical music connoisseur like myself I find the narrator and the text exceedingly stilted and severe in tone and jargons. Definitely not the kind of audiobook you want to listen to while driving or for pleasure. I'll try reading the book instead. I'm hoping Alex Ross' writing style is better than this reading!

Read the book

This book is packed with insights but it should be read not listened to. It's an excellent reference about the music of a large number of composers. amd full of good stories about the social context in which they worked, their personalities, egos, political views, and relationships with each other. As an Audiobook, there is no way to look up Schoenberg (say) if you're listening to or plan to listen to his music. While I the segments I listened to today included some fascinating details of his life, I won't easily be able to find them again. While the details are vivid, within two days, I won't know if they are about Schoenberg or Barkok. A much better idea would be to buy the book (which hopefully has an index). I've rated it two stars (it deserves 4 for content, but it only deserves one or two as an Audiobook).

Not a good listen

Just reading about music without hearing it is very boring to me and I admittedly lack the sophistication to appreciate the author's insights.