Listen free for 30 days
-
Perfect Sound Whatever
- Narrated by: James Acaster
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $30.09
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
PERFECT SOUND WHATEVER is a love letter to the healing power of music, and how one man's obsessive quest saw him defeat the bullshit of one year with the beauty of another. Because that one man is James Acaster, it also includes tales of befouling himself in a Los Angeles steakhouse, stealing a cookie from Clint Eastwood, and giving drunk, unsolicited pep talks to urinating strangers.
January, 2017
James Acaster wakes up heartbroken and alone in New York, his relationship over, a day of disastrous meetings leading him to wonder if comedy is really what he wants to be doing any more.
A constant comfort in James's life has been music, but he's not listened to anything new for a very long time. Idly browsing 'best of the year' lists, it dawns on him that 2016 may have been a grim year for a lot of reasons, but that it seemed to be an iconic year for music. And so begins a life-changing musical odyssey, as James finds himself desperately seeking solace in the music of 2016, setting himself the task of only listening to music released that year, ending up with 500 albums in his collection.
Looking back on this year-long obsession, parallels begin to grow between the music and James's own life: his relationship history, the highs and lows of human connection, residual Christian guilt, and mental health issues that have been bubbling under the surface for years. Some albums are life-changing masterpieces, others are 'Howdilly Doodilly' by Okilly Dokilly, a metalcore album devoted to The Simpsons' character Ned Flanders, but all of them play a part the year that helped James Acaster get his life back on track.
You may also enjoy...
-
James Acaster's Classic Scrapes
- Written by: James Acaster
- Narrated by: James Acaster
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
James Acaster has been nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award five times and has appeared on prime-time TV shows like Mock the Week, Live at the Apollo and Russell Howard's Stand Up Central. But behind the fame and critical acclaim is a man perpetually getting into trouble. Whether it's disappointing a skydiving instructor midflight or hiding from thugs in a bush wearing a bright red dress, James is always finding new ways to embarrass himself.
-
-
Laughing out loud like an insane person
- By Emmalina on 2024-06-15
Written by: James Acaster
-
James Acaster's Guide to Quitting Social Media
- Written by: James Acaster
- Narrated by: James Acaster
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a self help-book like no other. Because you are not helping yourself, James Acaster is helping you. When James quit all forms of social media in 2019 he felt like he'd been born anew, but he was worried he'd suffer withdrawal and get lured back online to compete in a never ending popularity contest with only one possible winner (f--king Zuckerberg). He knew that in order to stay clean he'd have to replace everything social media used to give him with three-dimensional real-life activities.
-
-
the perfect self help book
- By Larisa on 2023-07-15
Written by: James Acaster
-
James Acaster’s Findings
- A BBC Radio Comedy Show
- Written by: James Acaster
- Narrated by: James Acaster
- Length: 1 hr and 34 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You may know him from his Netflix series Repertoire, his podcast Off Menu or James Acaster's Perfect Sounds, but before all of that James Acaster was one of the top researchers working in the UK today.... In these five shows, he probes deeply into a variety of subjects - and shares his eye-opening conclusions. Accompanied by agreeable assistant Nathaniel Metcalfe (Fresh from the Fringe) and Donna from the Complaints Department (Call the Midwife's Bryony Hannah) he tackles the big questions on the topics of bread, wood, fruit, wheels and paint.
Written by: James Acaster
-
Thinking About It Only Makes It Worse
- Written by: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: David Mitchell
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why is every film or tv programme a sequel or a remake? Why are people so f***ing hung up about swearing? Why do the asterisks in that sentence make it okay? Why do so many people want to stop other people doing things, and how can they be stopped from stopping them? These and many other questions trouble David Mitchell. Join him on a tour of the absurdities of modern life - from Ryanair to Richard III, Downton Abbey to phone etiquette, UKIP to hot dogs made of cats.
-
-
Hilarious
- By jessica on 2019-07-08
Written by: David Mitchell
-
Glutton
- The Multi-Course Life of a Very Greedy Boy
- Written by: Ed Gamble
- Narrated by: Ed Gamble, Nish Kumar
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From a young age, Ed Gamble's immaculate bibs and extremely dirty nappies hinted at his capacious appetite. Before he could walk, Ed already knew that he preferred poached salmon to puree, that celery was a calorie-sapping waste of time, and that mashed potatoes should be made with lashings of butter. Whilst he might ordinarily have been upset by the calls of 'precocious little s--t' coming from his family, he was too busy stuffing his gob and staging rebellions against the patronising list of misery that is a children's menu.
Written by: Ed Gamble
-
Strong Female Character
- Written by: Fern Brady
- Narrated by: Fern Brady
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Scottish comedian Fern Brady was told she couldn't be autistic because she'd had loads of boyfriends and is good at eye contact. In this frank and surreal memoir, she delivers a sharp and often hilarious portrait of neurodivergence and living unmasked.
-
-
“i realized there were more than one of us”
- By A. on 2024-10-01
Written by: Fern Brady
-
James Acaster's Classic Scrapes
- Written by: James Acaster
- Narrated by: James Acaster
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
James Acaster has been nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award five times and has appeared on prime-time TV shows like Mock the Week, Live at the Apollo and Russell Howard's Stand Up Central. But behind the fame and critical acclaim is a man perpetually getting into trouble. Whether it's disappointing a skydiving instructor midflight or hiding from thugs in a bush wearing a bright red dress, James is always finding new ways to embarrass himself.
-
-
Laughing out loud like an insane person
- By Emmalina on 2024-06-15
Written by: James Acaster
-
James Acaster's Guide to Quitting Social Media
- Written by: James Acaster
- Narrated by: James Acaster
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a self help-book like no other. Because you are not helping yourself, James Acaster is helping you. When James quit all forms of social media in 2019 he felt like he'd been born anew, but he was worried he'd suffer withdrawal and get lured back online to compete in a never ending popularity contest with only one possible winner (f--king Zuckerberg). He knew that in order to stay clean he'd have to replace everything social media used to give him with three-dimensional real-life activities.
-
-
the perfect self help book
- By Larisa on 2023-07-15
Written by: James Acaster
-
James Acaster’s Findings
- A BBC Radio Comedy Show
- Written by: James Acaster
- Narrated by: James Acaster
- Length: 1 hr and 34 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You may know him from his Netflix series Repertoire, his podcast Off Menu or James Acaster's Perfect Sounds, but before all of that James Acaster was one of the top researchers working in the UK today.... In these five shows, he probes deeply into a variety of subjects - and shares his eye-opening conclusions. Accompanied by agreeable assistant Nathaniel Metcalfe (Fresh from the Fringe) and Donna from the Complaints Department (Call the Midwife's Bryony Hannah) he tackles the big questions on the topics of bread, wood, fruit, wheels and paint.
Written by: James Acaster
-
Thinking About It Only Makes It Worse
- Written by: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: David Mitchell
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why is every film or tv programme a sequel or a remake? Why are people so f***ing hung up about swearing? Why do the asterisks in that sentence make it okay? Why do so many people want to stop other people doing things, and how can they be stopped from stopping them? These and many other questions trouble David Mitchell. Join him on a tour of the absurdities of modern life - from Ryanair to Richard III, Downton Abbey to phone etiquette, UKIP to hot dogs made of cats.
-
-
Hilarious
- By jessica on 2019-07-08
Written by: David Mitchell
-
Glutton
- The Multi-Course Life of a Very Greedy Boy
- Written by: Ed Gamble
- Narrated by: Ed Gamble, Nish Kumar
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From a young age, Ed Gamble's immaculate bibs and extremely dirty nappies hinted at his capacious appetite. Before he could walk, Ed already knew that he preferred poached salmon to puree, that celery was a calorie-sapping waste of time, and that mashed potatoes should be made with lashings of butter. Whilst he might ordinarily have been upset by the calls of 'precocious little s--t' coming from his family, he was too busy stuffing his gob and staging rebellions against the patronising list of misery that is a children's menu.
Written by: Ed Gamble
-
Strong Female Character
- Written by: Fern Brady
- Narrated by: Fern Brady
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Scottish comedian Fern Brady was told she couldn't be autistic because she'd had loads of boyfriends and is good at eye contact. In this frank and surreal memoir, she delivers a sharp and often hilarious portrait of neurodivergence and living unmasked.
-
-
“i realized there were more than one of us”
- By A. on 2024-10-01
Written by: Fern Brady
What listeners say about Perfect Sound Whatever
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Leo
- 2019-12-19
brilliant.
this is a gold mine for interesting and tastebreaking music recommendations. if you are looking for an entertaining life story filled with interludes of brilliant album descriptions; this is the one.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!