“Every voice is unforgettable,” says the editor

Seven of the 28 music essays in “Da Capo Best Music Writing 2002” (due out in October from Perseus Books) were first published by alternative newsweeklies.

“This book, I hope, is a book of encounters, none of them predictable,” writes Jonathan Lethem, guest editor of the 2002 edition, third in a series from Da Capo. “Take it as an invitation to an impossible, gabbling conversation, a party line, where every voice is unforgettable – vivid with a freight of confession, advocacy, sarcasm, dismay.”

Lethem won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction for his last book, “Motherless Brooklyn.” He has also written for The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, McSweeney’s and Rolling Stone.

Four articles in the collection were originally published in The Village Voice: “England Oldest Hitmakers,” by Luc Sante; “Only a Northern Song,” by Erik Davis; “A Ramone Leaves Home: Joey 1951-2001,” by musician Lenny Kaye; and “Boom!” by Garry Giddins.

Two articles were originally published in the Chicago Reader: “Gimme Shelter,” by Monica Kendrick; and “Haiku for Eminem,” by Sasha Frere-Jones.

“J. Lo vs. K. Sul” by Kate Sullivan was originally published by City Pages (Twin Cities).

Also, “Days of the Nu,” which appeared in Salon.com is by Joey Sweeney, contributing editor at Philadelphia Weekly.

In addition, eight other articles from alternative newsweeklies were among those named “Other Notable Essays of 2001.” They are:

From the Chicago Reader: “Strange in a Strange Land,” Liz Armstrong; and “Liliput/Y Pants,” Seth Sanders.

From Creative Loafing Atlanta: “Six Meditations on Living in the Present,” Roni Sarig.

From New York Press: “Muscle Shoals: A Pilgrimage to the Heart of Southern Soul,” Tim Hall; “Summer in the Noir City,” Armond White; and “Tori Amos,” Jessica Willis.

From The Village Voice: “Ghost Dance,” Robert Christgau; and “Intelligence Data,” Greg Tate.