Perfect Sound Whatever : THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

About the book

*The Sunday Times Bestseller* 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.

Reviews

None

Quotes

Immensely comforting - a witty and wise account of the rejuvenating effect of opening yourself up the the creativity of others. * Record Collector * 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. * Edgar Wright * honest, unaffected, poignant - and, yes, entertaining * Chortle * James is a phenomenally talented comedian and his music taste is second only to mine. * Romesh Ranganathan * 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. * David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap *

James Acaster Biography

James William Acaster (; born 9 January 1985) is an English comedian, writer, and presenter. As well as appearances on panel shows, he is known for the stand-up specials Repertoire, co-hosting the food podcast Off Menu and co-presenting the panel show Hypothetical. He has won four Chortle Awards. After attempting to pursue a music career as a drummer, Acaster began performing stand-up comedy in 2008. He drew acclaim for his stand-up shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where he has been nominated for Best Show five times. Four of his Fringe performances were adapted into the serialised Netflix specials Repertoire: "Recognise", "Represent", "Reset" and "Recap". His more recent special Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999 (2019) won a Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award. As a presenter, Acaster began the food podcast Off Menu with Ed Gamble in 2018, and has co-hosted four series of the Dave panel show Hypothetical from 2019 onwards. He has appeared as a guest on panel shows including Taskmaster, Would I Lie to You?, 8 out of 10 Cats and Mock the Week. Acaster's radio appearances on Widdicombe's XFM show led to a recurring segment called Classic Scrapes, in which he shared mistakes that got him into unfortunate circumstances. He developed this into a book, James Acaster's Classic Scrapes (2017), which made the The Sunday Times Bestseller List. Acaster's second book, Perfect Sound Whatever (2019), also became a Sunday Times Bestseller; it follows Acaster's life in 2017 via reviews of albums that were released in 2016. A tie-in podcast, James Acaster's Perfect Sounds, aired on BBC Sounds. His third book, James Acaster's Guide to Quitting Social Media: Being the Best YOU You Can Be and Saving Yourself from Loneliness: Vol. 1, was released in August 2022.

Early life

James William Acaster was born in Kettering on 9 January 1985. He attended Montagu Secondary School and studied music at Northampton College. He later worked as a teaching assistant in a school for autistic children, using his free time to begin performing stand-up comedy.Acaster played the drums in various bands around his hometown prior to his comedy career, including The Wow! Scenario and the Capri-Sun Quartet. As a member of the latter, he used the stage name Sir William Strawberry. After The Wow! Scenario broke up, he pursued comedy while "deciding what [he] really wanted to do". The Wow! Scenario recorded an album entitled Stand in the Star: A Verse and a Chorus in 2007, but did not release it; Acaster announced in 2017 that he had reunited with the band to finish the album and that it would be available the following year, but it remains unreleased.

Career

Acaster began performing stand-up comedy in 2008. In 2009, he performed in a show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with fellow comedians Josh Widdicombe and Nick Helm. In 2010 and 2011 he supported Josie Long and Milton Jones on tour respectively.In 2011 he also appeared on Russell Howard's Good News Extr ... Read full biography