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Garry Mulholland
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This is Uncool: The 500 Greatest Singles Since Punk and Disco Paperback – 21 Dec. 2015

by Garry Mulholland (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 25 ratings
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In what amounts to a history of the last twenty-five years of popular music, respected music journalist Garry Mulholland has compiled a list of the 500 greatest singles since The Sex Pistols' seminal "Anarchy in the UK". In incisive, outspoken and informative essays, Mulholland challenges the accepted standpoint of music journalism to produce an entertaining, nostalgic and provocative read. Incidentally, the title comes from a 1977 entry in the book by the Rezillos.
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  1. Print length
    684 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    21 Dec. 2015
  4. Dimensions
    13.97 x 4.34 x 21.59 cm
  5. ISBN-10
    0992995671
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0992995676
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pembury House Publishing (21 Dec. 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 684 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0992995671
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0992995676
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.97 x 4.34 x 21.59 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 25 ratings

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Garry Mulholland

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4.3 out of 5 stars
25 global ratings

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Noel Cross
    5.0 out of 5 stars Any chance of a follow up, Garry?
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 March 2022
    Verified Purchase
    This book and its album-focused follow up (Fear of Music, also highly recommended) are more necessary than ever in today's music world, when almost every piece of music ever is available at the tap of an app or the click of a mouse, choice over what to listen to is almost infinite, and everyone's a playlist-curating music critic. Things have got so bad that even Paul Morley has given up writing about pop to write about classical music. We desperately need irreverent experts to help us sort out the wheat from the chaff in pop music. Enter Mr Mulholland. In this book you will find 500 short (sometimes very short) essays on 500 tracks, written by a man who loves pop and is not afraid to show it, and writes in a funny, personal and passionate style. Garry Mulholland makes room for every type of pop music here, from punk and disco where the book starts in 1976, through the best bits of new wave, soul, house, indie rock and golden age hip hop in the 1980s, onto the best bits of rave, drum'n'bass and Britpop in the 90s, and ending up with the dawn of the age of recycling, with ever decreasing returns, in the very early 2000s. Mulholland is more charitable than I would be at times - Wannabe by the Spice Girls and Believe by Cher both feature, and both will be on the jukebox if I end up in hell after I depart this life. But if you're open minded, and you love pop, you will find many classics to buy/download/stream here. I would love a follow up with Mulholland tackling the first 20 years of the 2000s pop landscape. I have a feeling he would find a lot to attack. Maybe he knows this and has decided to write about cinema instead. How about it, though, Garry?
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Magnus
    5.0 out of 5 stars Definately not uncool
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 July 2010
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    This book is great if you're in your 40s and grew up listening to punk/post-punk in the UK.
    I am and I did.
    It made me want to play all my old music, reminded me of stuff I'd forgotten and pointed me at stuff I'd missed. It also filled me in on loads of stuff from the 90s that I'd not really been aware of. Too much downloading and CD shopping the result.
    It also provides a sort of history of many of the main genres that have evolved since 1976/7 but you have to dig for it in the individual critiques.
    I can't say I agree with all of his comments and choices but it's really given me food for thought. I've enjoyed every minute of it.
    His follow up Fear of Music: The Greatest 261 Albums Since Punk and Disco is just as good.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • You caught me procrastinating again
    4.0 out of 5 stars Should be on every coffee table
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 October 2003
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    Keep in constant reach; dip into regularly; ask what qualities a record should have to help it define the spirit of its age.
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  • Md Lachlan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 January 2015
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    Top stuff. The inclusion of Empire Song alone was worth the price.
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  • Cindy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 June 2015
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    A great informative read.
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  • gus
    5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and enthusiastic
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 December 2020
    'This Is Uncool' is one of my favourite music books. Reading it is like talking to one of your friends who simply loves music and is dying to tell you why. A wide-ranging selection of musical genres is covered through a selection of great singles from 1976 to 1999. I found out lots of new facts and have since bought loads of new CDs. For instance, I didn't know that Deee-Lite's 'Groove Is In The Heart' was based on a Herbie Hancock bass-line from the soundtrack of Antonioni's 'Blow-Up'. If that fact doesn't grab you, this book isn't for you!
    One person found this helpful
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  • A. G. Bailey
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great music done justice
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 January 2004
    Well, you're thinking, most people could write a book like this, so why should I buy this guy's? Well, because in fact very few people could write a book like this: Mulholland's prose is brilliant. Each review is a short burst of genuine excitement that the reader can really feel. And he knows his onions: he's listened to hundreds of thousands of records (and bought a fair few!) in his various music-related jobs. So, even though his tastes differ from mine (and I'd say mine are much uncooler than his!), and I disagree with him here and there, I can see where he's coming from and I can go along with what he's saying. If you grew up with the music of the last 25 years you'll love trawling through this book.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Linsay
    5.0 out of 5 stars this book is brilliant!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 October 2002
    the best singles since 1977? My own list would look kind of different, and I suspect everyone's got their own ideas. In fact, half the entertainment comes from thinking that Gary Mulholland just cannot be serious with some of his choices. But before you know it, his writing's got you thinking "yeah, that song is great - how come I've never noticed before?".
    This book is funny, and sad and really informative (is that really what Prince is singing about in Little Red Corvette? Ooh matron!) Linking the music in each year to the events happening in real life is inspired - the Specials, "Shipbuilding", and even Abba all seem to mean just that little bit more. And where else would you find TLC and the Prodigy, not just on the same page but treated like they've both got the same right to be taken seriously as music?
    That really shines through - he loves music, and that makes this a great book to read.
    6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Roy Sparks
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite books of music criticism
    Reviewed in the United States on 7 December 2015
    Verified Purchase
    One of my favorite books of music criticism. I own two copies, and have bought a third for a friend. It is very Anglocentric in tone and very much weighted toward Postpunk, but that's exactly why it's less tiresome than the usual "rockist" crap Rolling Stone Magazine keeps trying to tell us defined our lives. As it is solely written by one dude, the consistency of the editorial tone for this (and companion volume Fear of Music: the 261 Greatest Albums since Punk & Disco) is one of its biggest selling points. The glimpses of autobiography and essays on contemporaneous world news and pop culture are almost as refreshing on his decidedly non-macho, racially ambidextrous, queer friendly perspective throughout. His feminism may not keep The Stranglers from earning a place in his book, for instance, but he also doesn't let them off the hook for trafficking in dated, misogynist memes.

    Because this is a tribute to singles rather than albums, it tells a different story than most books about popular music, which tend to bend over backwards to align the writers with hip, challenging, underground, and mature artists who "reward repeated listens". Garry Mulholland, on the other hand isn't too cool for a little fluffy Pop or one-hit-wonder status, and takes CHIC and ABBA every bit as seriously as Gang of Four and Nirvana. The reviews seamlessly flit from My Bloody Valentine to En Vogue, or from ZZ Top to Kraftwerk without breaking a sweat, and the entries are full of surprises and dig FAR deeper than most tomes within the accepted canon.

    I love this book.
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  • Darren Davis
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on 17 March 2018
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    Cool little book.
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  • korova
    1.0 out of 5 stars Five star writing, one star print job
    Reviewed in the United States on 14 March 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Be careful! The book I received is a print-on-demand edition, with absolutely no indication of this important detail given in the Product Description. Very little care was taken by whoever prepared the source files; there are numerous typos and misprints plus, even worse, all the photos of record sleeves are murky and indistinct. Don't get me wrong–I love Garry Mulholland's writing and perspective! Both FEAR OF MUSIC and THIS IS UNCOOL are two of my favorite books about rock music ever. But it's really sad that the only way to get a copy of THIS IS UNCOOL is to buy such a horribly produced product.
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