The majority of articles in Granta 76: Music are autobiographical, but they manage (largely) to steer clear of misty-eyed reflection or sentimentality. Andrew O'Hagan, for example, movingly pays tribute to his aunt Famie and her favorite song "Cecilia," while Craig Brown resurrects the odd moment from his childhood when "Gin gan gooly" suddenly made more sense than "I am the Walrus" (goo-goo-ga joo). This volume is not without its fast-forward moments (Philip Hensher's gauche and flabby "Brandy" for one), but with such delights as Greil Marcus's profile of the American folk archivist Harry Smith and Julie Burchill explaining why she never wants to hear Massive Attack's "Unfinished Sympathy" again, it's more "Blood on the Tracks" than "Self-Portrait." --Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk