In its fifth year the Da Capo Best Music Writing 2005 chimes in with its slimmest volume yet. At just over 200 pages, it's dwarfed by the 2004 edition (360 pages). Was less good music writing written?

Forecast: This will more than meet the expectations of fans of the first two volumes in the series. With a little more publicity and marketing, this series could develop a serious crossover market.

Da Capo Best Music Writing turns six this year with a new series editor, Daphne Carr. Carr is a music journalist, critic, and presently a Ph.D. candidate in the Ethnomusicology program at Columbia ...