How to Prepare for the Past: The Playlist, by Brian Cullman
Image: The Master Musicians of Jajouka © Joel Rubiner
by Brian Cullman
As my book is awash in music and the sounds of the times, it’s a pleasure to be able to share some of those sounds with you, though there’s so much that you’ll need to hear in-between the notes. I wish I could share the Latin music, Spanish voices, and car horns from the street outside Lester Bangs’ apartment or the dark quiet of Sandy Denny’s house at night.
But you’ll have to imagine the barking of distant dogs and the cries of haunted sheep in the wilds of Jajouka; the mumbling of Layla’s grandfather while he listened to his precious tapes of the Koran; and the thick aroma of men & cigarettes & whiskey in Doc Pomus’s workroom while the same two piano chords hung in the air, waiting . . .
And if I’ve done my job, or part of my job, maybe you can.
How to Prepare for the Past: The Playlist
River Man • Nick Drake
Spencer The Rover • John Martyn
I'Il Keep It With Mine • Fairport Convention
Farewell, Farewell • Fairport Convention
Which Will • Nick Drake
St. Helens • Gary Peacock, Ralph Towner
House Of The Rising Sun • Tim Hardin
Flip Flop and Fly • Joe Turner and His Blues Kings
Downbound Train • Chuck Berry
Mona • Bo Diddley
Around And Around • Chuck Berry
Makam Eviç: Taksim / Havada Durna Sesi Gelir - Açış • Talip Özkan
Desert Equations (For Brion Gysin) • Sussan Deyhim, Richard Horowitz
Black Bottom • The Holy Modal Rounders
Over Under Sideways Down • The Yardbirds
Soleil • Kassav'
Billy Preston • Miles Davis
Don't Make Promises • Tim Hardin
Pleasures Of The Harbor • Phil Ochs
Blues on the Ceiling • Tim Hardin
The Promise • Brian Cullman
Hada Raykoum • Khaled
Ballerina • Van Morrison
Mama Roux • Dr. John
Jajouka Black Eyes (Rhaitas) • The Master Musicians Of Jajouka
Brian Jones (Violinvocals) • The Master Musicians Of Jajouka
Gabahay • The Master Musicians Of Jajouka
Buy the Book
Writer and musician Brian Cullman’s rapturous evocation of life in the bike lane, before the world was digital, when music was everything and magic was everywhere, encompassing friendships with Lester Bangs, Nick Drake, Big Joe Turner, Tim Hardin, and Paul Bowles.
Release: Apr 28, 2026
Paperback ISBN: 9798988670124 • 272 pages
UK release: Jun 11, 2026 • UK Price: £14.99
Brian Cullman is a writer & musician based in New York and in France. He has written extensively for The Paris Review, Antaeus, Rolling Stone, and The Village Voice and has won the ASCAP/Deems Taylor award for excellence in music journalism three times. He has three solo albums on Sunnyside and is currently a member of Lisbon-based group Rua Das Pretas. His collection How to Prepare for the Past: Travels in Music and Time is out from ZE Books in April 2026.