An illuminating collection of essays, an essential mixtape that takes elements of music - songs, performances, albums, gigs - as points of departure. Some of the best writers at work today reflect on what music has meant to them at different moments in their lives. The writers sift with ease and interest through many material artefacts of the music world - torn ticket stubs, creased flyers, worsted wristbands - those items that slip out from the inside of a book or the back of drawer, or that appear crumpled in the pocket of an old coat.