33⅓

' (''Thirty-Three and a Third'') is a series of books, each about a single music album. The series title refers to the rotation speed of a vinyl LP, RPM.

History

Originally published by Continuum, the series was founded by editor David Barker in 2003. 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.'" ''PopMatters'' wrote that the range consists of "obscure classics to more usual suspects by the Beach Boys, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones".

In 2010, Continuum was bought out by Bloomsbury Publishing, which continues to publish the series. Following a leave, Barker was replaced by Grossan in January 2013. Leah Babb-Rosenfeld has been the editor of the series since 2016.

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 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.

In August 2017, Bloomsbury announced the launch of Global, an extension of the series to popular music from around the world. The first two sub-series launched were Brazil, edited by Jason Stanyek, and Japan, edited by Noriko Manabe. The first book for Brazil was ''Caetano Veloso's A Foreign Sound'' by Barbara Browning. The first books for Japan were ''Supercell ft. Hatsune Miku'' by Keisuke Yamada and ''Yoko Kanno's Cowboy Bebop Soundtrack'' by Rose Bridges.

Published titles

, 192 books have been published in the main series.

Main series

33⅓ Japan

33⅓ Brazil

33⅓ Europe

33⅓ Oceania

33⅓ South Asia

Anthologies

Genre: A 33⅓ Series

Forthcoming titles

Main series

With release date
* ''Cosmic Thing'' (September 4, 2025) by Pete Crighton, on the album by The B-52s (1989)
* '' Antics'' (November 13, 2025) by Gabriel T. Saxon-Ruiz, on the album by Interpol (2004)
* ''Carrie & Lowell'' (November 13, 2025) by Joel Mayward, on the album by Sufjan Stevens (2015)
* '' New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh)'' (November 13, 2025) by Kameryn Alexa Carter, on the album by Erykah Badu (2010)
* '' Re'' (November 13, 2025) by Carmelo Esterrich, on the album by Café Tacvba (1994)
* '' Inflammable Material'' (January 22, 2026) by Kevin C. Dunn, on the album by Stiff Little Fingers (1979)
* '' So Tonight That I Might See'' (January 22, 2026) by Anthony Gomez III, on the album by Mazzy Star (1993)

Without release date
* '' Tragic Kingdom'' by Rhae Lynn Barnes, on the album by No Doubt (1995)
* '' I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning'' by Holden Seidlitz, on the album by Bright Eyes (2005)
* '' Believe'' by Lior Phillips, on the album by Cher (1998)
* '' Disintegration'' by Andi Harriman, on the album by The Cure (1989)
* '' Blonde'' by Yousef Srour, on the album by Frank Ocean (2016)
* ''Plastic Beach'' by Ihor Junyk, on the album by Gorillaz (2010)
* '' What's the 411?'' by Ricky Tucker, on the album by Mary J. Blige (1992)
* '' Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly'' by Zak Fusciello, on the album by Moss Icon (1994)
* '' Violent Femmes'' by Nic Brown, on the album by Violent Femmes (1983)
* ''"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D'' by Justin Remer, on the album by "Weird Al" Yankovic (1984)
* '' I'm Your Baby Tonight'' by Brandon Tensley, on the album by Whitney Houston (1990)
* '' Dust Bowl Ballads'' by Allison C. Meier, on the album by Woody Guthrie (1940)
* '' I Want You'' by Derrais Carter, on the album by Marvin Gaye (1976)
* '' Timeless'' by Martyn Deykers, on the album by Goldie (1995)
* '' Tin Drum'' by Agata Pyzik, on the album by Japan (1981)
* '' Nightbirds'' by Craig Seymour, on the album by Labelle (1974)
*'' Shout at the Devil'' by Micco Caporale, on the album by Mötley Crüe (1983)
* '' Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version'' by Jarett Kobek, on the album by Ol' Dirty Bastard (1995)

33⅓ Japan

*'' Kōhaku utagassen'': The Red and White Song Contest by Shelley Brunt (January 8, 2026)
* ''Yellow Magic Orchestra'' (delayed) by Toshiyuki Ohwada, on the album by Yellow Magic Orchestra (1978)

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)
* ''Februar'' (January 8, 2026), on the album by Silly (1989)
* ''Phaedra'' (delayed) by Dan Bynre-Smith, on the album by Tangerine Dream (1974)

33⅓ Oceania

* '' Together Alone'' (June 12, 2025) by Barnaby Smith, on the album by Crowded House (1993)
* '' Frogstomp'' (July 10, 2025) by Jay Daniel Thompson, on the album by Silverchair (1995)
* ''Truckload of Sky: The Lost Songs of David McComb, Vol. 1'' (September 4, 2025) by Glenn D'Cruz, on the album by various artists (2020)
* '' Danger in the Past'' (October 2, 2025) by Patrick Chapman, on the album by Robert Forster (1990)
* '' The Happy Prince'' (December 11, 2025) by John Tebbutt, on the album by The La De Das (1969)

Genre: A 33⅓ Series

* 20th Century Ambient (November 13, 2025) by Dusty Henry
* Plunderphonics (November 13, 2025) by Matthew Blackwell
* Vaporwave (delayed) by Kirk Walker Graves

See also

* Boss Fight Books – a publisher that releases an eponymous series about notable video games

References

External links

Official blog for the series


on the book series.

{{DEFAULTSORT:33 1 3
Book series introduced in 2003
Book series
Books about rock music
Bloomsbury Publishing books
Books about pop music