33 1/3
Book series of music analysis and criticism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
33+1⁄3 (Thirty-Three and a Third) is a series of books with its first installation in 2003, and is published by Bloomsbury Publishing since 2010. The books are about albums from various musical genres. As of 2025, 196 books have been published in the main series. Six additional series have been published, all of them specific to a region except for one about music genres.

History and overview
Each book of 33+1⁄3 is about a single album.[1] The series title refers to the rotation speed of a vinyl LP, 33+1⁄3 revolutions per minute.[2]
Originally published by Continuum,[3] the series was founded by editor David Barker in 2003.[1] At the time, Continuum published a series of short books on literature called Continuum Contemporaries. One-time series editor Ally-Jane Grossan described Barker as "an obsessive music fan who thought, 'This is a really cool idea, why don't we apply this to albums.'"[3] PopMatters wrote that the range consists of "obscure classics to more usual suspects by the Beach Boys, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones".[1]
In 2010, Continuum was bought out by Bloomsbury Publishing, which continues to publish the series.[3] Following a leave, Barker was replaced by Grossan in January 2013.[2] Leah Babb-Rosenfeld has been the editor of the series since 2016.[4]
Several independent books have been spun off of the series. The first, Carl Wilson's 2007 entry on Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love, was expanded for a 2014 Bloomsbury reissue with material not specifically pertaining to the Dion album and retitled Let's Talk About Love: Why Other People Have Such Bad Taste. Joe Bonomo, at the invitation of Barker, expanded his 33+1⁄3 proposal on Jerry Lee Lewis's Live at the Star Club, Hamburg album into a full-length book about Lewis, the album, and his career titled Jerry Lee Lewis: Lost and Found, published by Continuum in 2009. A rejected proposal from writer Brett Milano for an entry on Game Theory's 1987 album Lolita Nation was instead expanded by Milano into a biography on the band's leader Scott Miller; that project, titled Don't All Thank Me at Once: The Lost Genius of Scott Miller, was released by 125 Books in 2015.[5]
In August 2017, Bloomsbury announced the launch of 33+1⁄3 Global,[6] an extension of the 33+1⁄3 series to popular music from around the world. The first two sub-series launched were 33+1⁄3 Brazil, edited by Jason Stanyek, and 33+1⁄3 Japan, edited by Noriko Manabe.[7] The first book for 33+1⁄3 Brazil was Caetano Veloso's A Foreign Sound by Barbara Browning.[8] The first books for 33+1⁄3 Japan were Supercell ft. Hatsune Miku by Keisuke Yamada and Yoko Kanno's Cowboy Bebop Soundtrack by Rose Bridges.[9]
Published titles
As of November 2025[update], 198 books have been published in the main series.
Main series
- Intentionally mis-numbered
- The original Smile album remains unfinished; not to be confused with The Smile Sessions (2011) box set
33⅓ Japan
| # | Work | Artist | Year (album) | Year (book) | Author of book | ISBN # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Supercell | Supercell | 2009 | 2017 | Keisuke Yamada | 978-1-5013-2597-7 |
| 2 | Cowboy Bebop Soundtrack | Yoko Kanno | 1998 | 2017 | Rose Bridges | 978-1-5013-2585-4 |
| 3 | Game | Perfume | 2008 | 2018 | Patrick St. Michel | 978-1-5013-2590-8 |
| 4 | AKB48 | AKB48 | N/A | 2019 | Patrick W. Galbraith; Jason G. Karlin | 978-1-5013-4111-3 |
| 5 | Fantasma | Cornelius | 1997 | 2019 | Martin Roberts | 978-1-5013-3017-9 |
| 6 | Joe Hisaishi's Soundtrack for My Neighbor Totoro | Joe Hisaishi | 1988 | 2020 | Kunio Hara | 978-1-5013-4512-8 |
| 7 | Happy Hour | Shonen Knife | 1998 | 2021 | Brooke McCorkle Okazaki | 978-1-5013-4795-5 |
| 8 | Koza Dabasa | Nenes | 1994 | 2021 | Henry Johnson | 978-1-5013-5124-2 |
| 9 | The 14th Moon (ja:14番目の月) | Yuming | 1976 | 2022 | Lasse Lehtonen | 978-1-5013-4571-5 |
| 10 | Kogun | Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band | 1974 | 2024 | E. Taylor Atkins | 979-8-7651-0901-4 |
| 11 | Don't Be Swindle | S.O.B. | 1987 | 2025 | Mahon Murphy; Ran Zwigenberg | 979-8-7651-0896-3 |
33⅓ Brazil
| # | Work | Artist | Year (album) | Year (book) | Author of book | ISBN # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Foreign Sound | Caetano Veloso | 2004 | 2017 | Barbara Browning | 978-1-5013-1923-5 |
| 2 | Getz/Gilberto | Stan Getz and João Gilberto | 1964 | 2018 | Bryan Daniel | 978-1-5013-2395-9 |
| 3 | Tim Maia Racional Vols. 1 & 2 | Tim Maia | 1974 | 2018 | Allen Thayer | 978-1-5013-2153-5 |
| 4 | Sorriso Negro | Dona Ivone Lara | 1981 | 2019 | Mila Burns | 978-1-5013-2449-9 |
| 5 | Refazenda | Gilberto Gil | 1975 | 2020 | Marc A. Hertzman | 978-1-5013-3040-7 |
| 6 | Clube da Esquina | Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges | 1972 | 2020 | Jonathon Grasse | 978-1-5013-4682-8 |
| 7 | Sobrevivendo no Inferno | Racionais MC's | 1997 | 2021 | Derek Pardue | 978-1-5013-3887-8 |
| 8 | Saudades | Naná Vasconcelos | 1979 | 2021 | Daniel B. Sharp | 978-1-5013-4570-8 |
| 9 | Chico Buarque | Chico Buarque | 1978 | 2022 | Charles A. Perrone | 978-1-5013-7978-9 |
33⅓ Europe
33⅓ Oceania
33⅓ South Asia
| # | Album | Artist | Year (album) | Year (book) | Author of book | ISBN # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dil Chahta Hai Soundtrack | Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy | 2001 | 2025 | Jayson Beaster-Jones | 978-1-5013-8866-8 |
| 2 | Lata Mangeshkar: My Favourites, Vol. 2 | Lata Mangeshkar | 1988 | 2025 | Anirudha Bhattacharjee; Chandrashekhar Rao | 979-8-7651-0780-5 |
| 3 | Coke Studio (Season 14) | Coke Studio Pakistan | 2022 | 2025 | Rakae Rehman Jamil; Khadjia Muzaffar | 979-8-7651-0014-1 |
33⅓ Africa
| # | Album | Artist | Year (album) | Year (book) | Author of book | ISBN # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sorrow Tears and Blood | Fela Kuti | 1977 | 2025 | Stephanie Shonekan | 979-8-7651-1309-7 |
Anthologies
| # | Title | Year | Editor of book | ISBN # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33 1/3 Greatest Hits, Volume 1[17] | 2006 | David Baker | 978-0-8264-1903-3 |
| 2 | 33 1/3 Greatest Hits, Volume 2[18] | 2007 | David Baker | 978-0-8264-2876-9 |
| 3 | The 33 1/3 B-Sides[19] | 2019 | Will Stockton; D. Gilson | 978-1-5013-4245-5 |
Genre: A 33⅓ Series
| # | Genre | Year | Author of book | ISBN # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trip hop | 2022 | R.J. Wheaton | 978-1-5013-7360-2 |
| 2 | Death metal | 2022 | T Coles | 978-1-5013-8101-0 |
| 3 | Dance-punk | 2023 | Larissa Wodtke | 978-1-5013-8186-7 |
| 4 | South African Popular Music | 2023 | Lior Phillips | 978-1-5013-8342-7 |
| 5 | Krautrock | 2023 | Marshall Gu | 979-8-7651-0329-6 |
| 6 | '70s Teen Pop | 2023 | Lucretia Tye Jasmine | 978-1-5013-8350-2 |
| 7 | Math Rock | 2024 | Jeff Gomez | 979-8-7651-0337-1 |
| 8 | Neue Deutsche Welle | 2024 | Claudia Lonkin | 979-8-7651-0337-1 |
| 9 | Soul-folk | 2024 | Ashawnta Jackson | 979-8-7651-0345-6 |
| 10 | Shoegaze | 2024 | Ryan Pinkard | 979-8-7651-0341-8 |
| 11 | 1970s Jazz Fusion | 2025 | Matthew Reed Baker | 979-8-7651-1952-5 |
| 12 | Tropicália | 2025 | Ana Leorne | 979-8-7651-1906-8 |
| 13 | 20th Century Ambient | 2025 | Dusty Henry | 979-8-7651-1933-4 |
| 14 | Plunderphonics | 2025 | Matthew Blackwell | 979-8-7651-1948-8 |
Forthcoming titles
Main series
With release date[20]
- Antics (January 22, 2026) by Gabriel T. Saxon-Ruiz, on the album by Interpol (2004)
- Inflammable Material (March 5, 2026) by Kevin C. Dunn, on the album by Stiff Little Fingers (1979)
- So Tonight That I Might See (March 5, 2026) by Anthony Gomez III, on the album by Mazzy Star (1993)
- Violent Femmes (May 14, 2026) by Nic Brown, on the album by Violent Femmes (1983)
- Blonde (June 11, 2026) by Yousef Srour, on the album by Frank Ocean (2016)
- Believe (June 11, 2026) by Lior Phillips, on the album by Cher (1998)
- Disintegration (September 3, 2026) by Andi Harriman, on the album by The Cure (1989)
- Plastic Beach (September 3, 2026) by Ihor Junyk, on the album by Gorillaz (2010)
- I'm Your Baby Tonight (October 1, 2026) by Brandon Tensley, on the album by Whitney Houston (1990)
- "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D (October 1, 2026) by Justin Remer, on the album by "Weird Al" Yankovic (1984)
- Dust Bowl Ballads (October 15, 2026) by Allison C. Meier, on the album by Woody Guthrie (1940)
Without release date
- Tragic Kingdom by Rhae Lynn Barnes, on the album by No Doubt (1995)[21]
- I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Holden Seidlitz, on the album by Bright Eyes (2005)[21]
- What's the 411? by Ricky Tucker, on the album by Mary J. Blige (1992)[22]
- Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly by Zak Fusciello, on the album by Moss Icon (1994)[22]
- I Want You by Derrais Carter, on the album by Marvin Gaye (1976)[23]
- Timeless by Martyn Deykers, on the album by Goldie (1995)[24]
- Tin Drum by Agata Pyzik, on the album by Japan (1981)[25][26]
- Nightbirds by Craig Seymour, on the album by Labelle (1974)[23]
- Shout at the Devil by Micco Caporale, on the album by Mötley Crüe (1983)[27]
- Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version by Jarett Kobek, on the album by Ol' Dirty Bastard (1995)[25]
33⅓ Japan
- Kōhaku utagassen: The Red and White Song Contest by Shelley Brunt (January 8, 2026)[28]
- Yellow Magic Orchestra (delayed) by Toshiyuki Ohwada, on the album by Yellow Magic Orchestra (1978)[29]
33⅓ Europe
- 1964/1985 Affinità-divergenze fra il compagno Togliatti e noi – Del conseguimento della maggiore età (January 8, 2026) by Giacomo Botta, on the album by CCCP (1986)[30]
- Februar (January 8, 2026), on the album by Silly (1989)[31]
- Phaedra (delayed) by Dan Bynre-Smith, on the album by Tangerine Dream (1974)[32]
33⅓ Oceania
- Currents (January 8, 2026) by Alister Newstead, on the album by Tame Impala (2015)[33]
- The Happy Prince (June 11, 2026) by John Tebbutt, on the album by The La De Das (1969)[34]
33⅓ Africa
- Graceland (August 6, 2026) by Kalvin Schmidt-Rimpler Dinh, on the album by Paul Simon (1986)[35]
Genre: A 33⅓ Series
See also
- Boss Fight Books – a publisher that releases an eponymous series about notable video games