Music reviews and criticism Books

Book SynopsisKylie Minogue's self-titled debut album produced hits, controversy and a perfect mainstream storm. The then soap and children's television star crossed over' to music with hit writer/producers SAW and the shamelessly commercial approach of all involved saw the real' music industry get its back up. This book interrogates the way that commercial pop albums are remembered in both the popular music press and in academic research. Is there a way of dealing with mainstream' pop without denigrating the music and (just as importantly) without validating it according to the terms of a high art' canon? This text sheds light on the way that notions of mainstream' and other' play out in a local contextspecifically, Australia and New Zealand music on a global stage.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction K - Kinda Girlie, Kinda Gay Y - Youth L - Long Player I - Industry E - Endurance Outro References Index

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Book SynopsisAfter a string of commercial disappointments, in 1986 Australian rock band The Church were simultaneously dropped by Warner Brothers in the US and EMI in Australasia. The future looked bleak. Seemingly from nowhere, their next record, Starfish, became an unlikely global hit. Its alluring and pensive lead single, ''Under the Milky Way'', stood in stark contrast to the synth pop and hair metal dominating the 1980s. A high watermark of intelligent rock, Starfish musically anticipated alternative revolutions to come. Yet in making Starfish, The Church struggled with their internal contradictions. Seeking both commercial and artistic success, they were seduced by fame and drugs but cynical towards the music industry. Domiciled in Australia but with a European literary worldview, they relocated to Los Angeles to record under strained circumstances in the heart of the West Coast hit machine. This book traces the story of Starfish, its background, composition, produTrade ReviewIt is the best well-written account and perfectly expresses the character of the band members as well. I can thoroughly recommend it. * Peter Koppes, guitarist for The Church *In his contribution to the 33 1/3 Oceania series, Chris Gibson provides an engaging, insightful look at Starfish, the album that dragged The Church into the surreal world of late-1980s Los Angeles and left them both better-known internationally and forever altered (for better or worse) by the experience. Inviting Gibson, a cultural geographer, to author the book was a stroke of genius. His geographer’s eye and musician’s ear enable him to capture what is so distinctive about a band that combines the construction of sonic cathedrals and the enigmatic exploration of inner space. Even for fans who have spun Starfish thousands of times, Gibson’s narrative opens up new ways of hearing and understanding both the album and the powerful convergence of personal, cultural, geographic, and musical circumstances that produced it. His chapter on the album’s ominous opener, “Destination,” is especially noteworthy, weaving together pieces of the band’s artistic own journey with sharp observations about the construction of a song that remains as stubbornly impenetrable as it is enticing. Drawing on focused, revealing interviews with the band members, later chapters provide memorable stories about legendary Church tracks such as “Under the Milky Way”, “Reptile”, and “Hotel Womb”. Along the way, Gibson also paints a sharp and sensitive picture of the big-city, big-label environment and the punishing studio regimen that yielded one of the most timeless records of the 1980s. * John Collins, Professor and Chair of Global Studies, St. Lawrence University, USA *Table of ContentsPrologue Side 1 1 Destination 2 Under the Milky Way 3 Blood money 4 Lost 5 North, South, East, and West Side 2 6 Spark 7 Antenna 8 Reptile 9 A New Season 10 Hotel Womb Postscript Acknowledgments Endnotes Index

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Book SynopsisFrom male bisexuality to religion in pop, Little Richard spent the 1950s pioneering ideas that are still too challenging for the mainstream. As a Black multimillionaire rock star, he was the most exciting person on the planet between 1955 and 1957, the years in which his seismic debut album was created.Featuring new interviews with famous fans including Sir Elton John, Dave Grohl, Joan Jett and Nile Rodgers, this is the first in-depth look at Here's Little Richard since Richard Penniman's death in May 2020. The book explores his roots in the queer underground of the American South, a scene so progressive you'd scarcely believe it thrived seven decades ago, and early rebel music such as jump blues, which soon collided with the emerging juggernaut that was rock'n'roll. When that weird alchemy occurred, the self-proclaimed Living Flame was ready to spark the likes of The Beatles, David Bowie and Prince into existence. Those close to the tale pinpoint the ways in which Long Tall SaTable of ContentsTrack List Prologue 1. The Big Bang 2. Macon, Georgia 3. Influences 4. Making It 5. Specialty Records 6. The Girl Can’t Help It 7. Here’s Little Richard 8. The Songs 9. Fame 10. Can’t Believe You Wanna Leave Epilogue Acknowledgements Bibliography

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Book SynopsisDepeche Mode's 101 is, at first glance, a curious thing: a live double-album by a synth band. A recording of its Concert for the Masses, 101 marks the moment when doomy, cultish, electronic Depeche Mode, despite low American album sales and a lack of critical acclaim, declared they had arrived and ascended to the rare air of stadium rock. On June 18, 1988, 65,000 screaming, singing Southern Californians flocked to Pasadena's Rose Bowl to celebrate DM's coronation. The concert also revealed the power of Southern California radio station and event host KROQ, which had turned Los Angeles into DM's American stronghold through years of fervent airplay. KROQ's innovative format, which brought new music to its avid listeners, soon spread across the country, leading to the explosion of alternative rock in the 1990s.Eight years after its founding in Basildon, Essex, Depeche Mode, rooted in 1970s Krautrock, combined old-fashioned touring, well-crafted songs, and

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Book SynopsisKate Bush began her career in 1978 at the age of 19 with the single 'Wuthering Heights', inspired by a film adaptation of the Emily Bronte novel, the first No. 1 UK single to be written and sung by a female artist, and the accompanying album 'The Kick Inside', both of which established her as a highly individual talent. She has always preferred the recording studio with live performances and tours having been few and far between, and all her albums have been very successful at home and abroad, her third, 'Never For Ever' (1980), being the first by a female artist to enter the British chart at No. 1. Her eclectic, experimental musical style with its often literary and unconventional lyrical themes has defied easy categorisation, and earned the lasting admiration of fans, fellow performers and music critics alike, while an eclectic roster of guest artists including Eric Clapton, Elton John, Prince and Stephen Fry have appeared on her work,. This book provides a thorough examination of the songs on all her singles, albums, and occasional recorded collaborations with other artists.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements; Author's Note; Introduction; 1: The Kick Inside; 2: Lionheart; 3: Never For Ever; 4: The Dreaming; 5: Hounds of Love; 6: The Whole Story; 7: The Sensual World; 8: This Woman's Work; 9: The Red Shoes; 10: Aerial; 11: Director's Cut; 12: 50 Words for Snow; 13: The Other Sides; Endnotes; Bibliography.

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Book SynopsisNevermind, Achtung Baby, Use Your Illusion 1&2 – the 90s saw some classic albums produced by artists such as Nirvana, U2, Gun n’ Roses and Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as a resurgence in country music popularized by Shania Twain and Garth Brooks. Combining information from both the US and UK charts provided by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and British Phonographic Industry (BPI), 100 Best Selling Albums of the 90s features chart-topping work from Michael Jackson, Puff Daddy and Green Day. Each album entry is accompanied by the original sleeve artwork – front and back – and is packed full of facts and recording information, including a complete track listing, musician and production credits, and an authoritative commentary on the record and its place in cultural history. Soundtracks featured include the 60s and 70s hits on Forrest Gump, the Elton John/Tim Rice songs in The Lion King, and the orchestral score for Titanic (and Celine Dion’s Oscar-winning My Heart Will Go On). Other stand-out albums include the Eagles’ reforming to make Hell Freezes Over and Eric Clapton’s Unplugged, a career revival for him in the popular 90s back-to-basics semi-acoustic series. With vinyl sales now at their highest in 25 years, 100 Best Selling Albums of the 90s is an expert celebration of popular music from Sheryl Crow to Shania Twain, from the Spice Girls to the Backstreet Boys, from Gloria Estefan to Michael Jackson to Lauryn Hill.Table of ContentsShania Twain – Come On Over Whitney Houston – The Bodyguard Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill Hootie & The Blowfish – Cracked Rear View Garth Brooks – No Fences Garth Brooks – Double Live Santana – Supernatural Backstreet Boys – Backstreet Boys Garth Brooks – Ropin’ The Wind Britney Spears - …Baby One More Time Backstreet Boys – Millennium Celine Dion - Falling Into You Shania Twain – The Woman In Me Dixie Chicks – Wide Open Spaces Soundtrack – Forrest Gump Kenny G – Breathless Pearl Jam – Ten Matchbox 20 – Yourself Or Someone Like You Boyz ii Men Soundtrack –Titanic Celine Dion – Let’s Talk About Love Mariah Carey – Music Box TLC – CrazySexyCool Kid Rock – Devil Without A Cause Jewel – Pieces Of You Eric Clapton –Unplugged Mariah Carey – Daydream Nirvana – Nevermind MC Hammer – Please Hammer Don’t Hurt Em No Doubt – Tragic Kingdom Soundtrack – The Lion King Green Day – Dookie Creed – Human Clay Dixie Chicks – Fly Notorious BIG – Life After Death Spice Girls – Spice Britney Spears – Oops! …I Did It Again Will Smith – Big Willie Style Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and… Mariah Carey – Mariah Carey U2 –Achtung Baby Michael Bolton – Time, Love & Tenderness Ace Of Base – The Sign Billy Ray Cyrus – Some Gave All Boyz ii Men – ColeyHighHarmony Destiny’s Chld – The Writing’s On The Wall Michael Jackson – Dangerous Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill Toni Braxton – Secrets R. Kelly – R Backstreet Boys – Black & Blue Christina Aguilera – Christina Aguilera Tupac – All Eyez On Me Live – Throwing Copper Garth Brooks – In Pieces Toni Braxton – Toni Braxton Stone Temple Pilots – Core Faith Hill – Breathe Sarah McLachlan – Surfacing Kenny G – Miracles Aerosmith – Get a Grip Garth Brooks - The Chase Oasis - Morning Glory The Cranberries – No Need To Argue Savage Garden – Savage Garden Sheryl Crow – Tuesday Night Music Club Celine Dion - The Colour of My Love Ricky Martin – Ricky Martin Red Hot Chili Peppers – Blood Sugar Sex Magick Guns’n’Roses – Use Your Illusion 1&2 Vanilla Ice – To The Extreme Fugees – The Score Limp Bizkit – Significant Other Garth Brooks – Sevens Puff Daddy – No Way Out Eagles – Hell Freezes Over Pearl Jam – Vs. Counting Crows – August & Everything After ‘N Sync – ‘N Sync Dave Matthews Band – Crash Soundtrack – Waiting To Exhale Bonnie Raitt – Luck Of The Draw Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell II Janet Jackson – Janet TLC – Fanmail Dr Dre – Dr Dre 2001 Usher – My Way Soundtrack – Space Jam Garth Brooks – Fresh Horses Stone Temple Pilots – Purple R. Kelly – 12 Play Chicago – Chicago 17 Creed – My Own Prison Third Eye Blind – Third Eye Blind Leann Rimes – Blue Bush – Sixteen Stone Dave Matthews Band – Under The Table And Dreaming Blues Traveller – Four Offspring – Smash Mana – Donde Jugaran Los Ninos

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Book SynopsisThe Stranglers occupy a paradoxical position within the history of popular music. Although major artists within the punk and new-wave movements, their contribution to those genres has been effectively quarantined by subsequent critical and historical analyses. They are somehow "outside" the realm of what responsible accounts of the period consider to be worthy of chronicling. Why is this so? Certainly The Stranglers' seedy and intimidating demeanor, and well-deserved reputation for misogyny and violence, offer a superficial explanation for their cultural excommunication. However, this landmark work suggests that the unsettling aura that permeated the group and their music had much more profound origins; ones that continue to have disturbing implications even today. The Stranglers, it argues, continue to be marginalised because, whether by accident or design, they brought to the fore the underlying issues of identity, status and structure that must by necessity be hidden from society's conscious awareness. For this, they would not be forgiven.

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Book Synopsis'Delightfully overwhelming in the amount of music to investigate . . . a late-night voice if I ever heard one'. Gideon Coe, Late Night Book Club, BBC 6Music If there's a cultural artefact capable of withstanding the vagaries and fickleness of the digital age as well as the printed book, it's the vinyl record . . . In Listening to the Wind, Ian Preece sets out on an international road trip to capture the essence of life for independent record labels operating in the twenty-first century. Despite it all - from algorithms and streaming to the death of the high street and the gutting of the music press - releasing a record to serve its 'own beautiful purpose', as 4AD's Ivo Watts Russell once said, is a flame that still burns through these pages. With countless labels, albums and artists to be discovered, this book is for those who share that inextinguishable love for music. **Features extensive, original interviews with the likes of Analog Africa, Light in the Attic, Thrill Jockey, International Anthem, Dust-to-Digital, Pressure Sounds, Heavenly, Touch, Mississippi, Sublime Frequencies and more!**Trade Review'Essential reading for anyone mad enough to start a label. Casual nerdy observers will be gripped too.' Record Collector 'Comfort food for the heart and mind. Moving onto the next chapter soon becomes a time-consuming pleasure' Shindig! 'Thick as a brick -- we're talking more than 700pp . . . like a true music head, Preece explores, leading the reader deeper and deeper into varied worlds of sound, highlighting not only those who conjure it up, but those who seek to preserve it.' Aquarium Drunkard

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Book SynopsisThe definitive illustrated book on The Boss now in an updated edition to celebrate his 75th birthday!

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Book Synopsis'Love this book! It triggers so many memories of the rave era. Thoroughly recommended.' - FATBOY SLIM 'Captures the hedonism and humour of the nineties with a laugh-out-loud honesty. The perfect Ibiza holiday read...if you can get it through customs!' - JUDGE JULES As a humble barman at the M25 Orbital raves, Kirk Field witnessed the moment acid house exploded. Inspired by media lies to start writing the truth about what he saw unfolding, Kirk became a 'raving' reporter for the clubbers' bible Mixmag, covering the historic parties from the inside and sending sweat-soaked dispatches from distant dancefloors as the scene expanded across Europe and beyond.With a cast of characters including Diego Maradona, Timothy Leary, the KLF, Michael Eavis, Genesis P-Orridge, Brigitte Nielsen, Boris Yeltsin, Boy George, Saddam Hussein's wife, the president of Tunisia, the CIA, the KGB, Dave Courtney, Norman Lamont's dominatrix and even Her Majesty the Queen, Kirk's whirlwind account of the golden age of clubbing tells the story of what really happened in the 'naughty '90s', exposing the seedy underbelly of rave culture while also capturing the nostalgic spirit of the era.Told through a mixture of vivid first-person narrative, surreal insider anecdotes and incisive social commentary, this honest, hilarious and uncensored postcard of hedonism will appeal to anyone who's ever put their hands in the air like they just don't care.Trade Review'Funny, intelligent and never sensationalised. Whether you're into the rave scene or not, this is an irrepressible read...starry-eyed and laughing rather than glazed and crazed. 4/5.' -- Record Collector'Never a dull moment.... packed to the eyeballs with vivid anecdotes and a five-star cast list.' -- Electronic Sound'(A) Fantastic account of the dance revolution...documented in exhilarating fashion. Rave New World is an intoxicating love letter to one of music's most misunderstood eras. 4/5.' -- Classic Pop'Love this book! It triggers so many memories of the rave era. Thoroughly recommended.' -- Fatboy Slim'Captures the hedonism and humour of the nineties with a laugh-out-loud honesty. The perfect Ibiza holiday read...if you can get it through customs!' -- Judge Jules'Like myself, Kirk was there right from the start of the 'rave new world', reporting and recording our revolution as it happened. This book is full of great tales and laughs - the perfect balance of history, hedonism and humour.' -- Slipmatt'There are quite a few books covering our culture, but THIS is the one.' -- DJ Fergie'Kirk Field took a fathoms deep dive in to the chaotic, curious, and sometimes highly ridiculous world of DJ's and nightclubbing and lived to tell the tale. And what a tale it is.' -- Richard Norris, The Grid'The rave era was a time of exploration and new possibilities and here Kirk Field documents his discoveries and experiences with skill, humour, and warmth. Whether you were there too, or just interested to learn more, this is a great read.' -- Nick Halkes, XL, Positiva Records'A wonderful first-hand account, direct from the front-line Kirk Field was right there in the eye of the storm of those early, incredible, halcyon days of Rave. His wide-eyed enthusiasm lights up every page as he blazes through anecdote after anecdote from a truly pivotal time in the UK's cultural history.' -- Dave Seaman, Mixmag editor, DJ, producer'Such an enjoyable book. I loved Kirk's playful style of writing and finding out about all his lively antics in clubland. Kirk is one of the most interesting people I've met in clubland, so it was a joy reading all the mischief he's got up to over the years.' -- Lisa Pin-Up, producer'An excellent insight to what it was like to eat, sleep and breathe the vibes of the original raves. I feel like I've been transported back in time and reliving the journey!' -- Aston Harvey, The Freestylers"Lively and relentless...Like a Forest Gump of clubland. A funny, insightful, exciting read that comes highly recommended.' -- Mixmag'Fascinating. A refreshing reminder that the scene was built on creativity, passion and a love of music and unity on the dance floor. A must read.' -- John Digweed'This book proves that time travel is possible. Every page will transport you back to the bass line that was the heartbeat of a revolution.' -- Gok Wan MBE'The book is honestly ace, proper laugh out loud stories.' -- James Atkin, EMF

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Book SynopsisThe Devil Prefers Mozart is the first comprehensive collection of Anthony Burgess's writings about music. In this extensive compilation of essays and reviews, he covers a vast range of musical topics, from the hurdy-gurdy to Beatlemania and the Sex Pistols, with Burgess's love of English music represented by writings on Elgar, Holst, and Delius. There are essays on Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Berlioz and Wagner and other great composers from Monteverdi to Weill, as well as writings about Burgess's favourite performers, including Yehudi Menuhin, Larry Adler and John Sebastian. Whether whimsical ('Food and Music'), satirical ('Anybody Can Conduct') or controversial ('Why Punk Had to End in Evil'), Burgess's writing is consistently informative and entertaining. The music of Debussy sparked Burgess's musical imagination so powerfully when he was a boy in Manchester that he composed his first symphony at eighteen years of age and aspired to a career as a professional composer until his mid-thirties. Writings about his own music provides valuable information about many of Burgess's compositions, including his Symphony in C, his works for guitar quartet, and his opera Blooms of Dublin based on Joyce's Ulysses. Carcanet also publishes The Ink Trade, a companion volume of literary essays.

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Book SynopsisThe meaning of Bob Dylan’s songs has long been debated by fans, critics and academics. When, in 2016, Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the significance of his songs was confirmed. Yet their meaning has never been demonstrably explained. Dylan himself has said that people can learn everything about him through his songs: “if they know where to look.” This book shows his millions of fans exactly where that is. Dylan has written hundreds of songs, many of which are acknowledged masterpieces. “Blowin’ in the Wind”, “Like a Rolling Stone”, “Mr.Tambourine Man”, the list goes on. In the 1960s, he was hailed as a prophet. Since then, he’s generally been considered a genius. One thing he’s always been, though, is an enigma. In Bob Dylan: What the Songs Mean, critic Michael Karwowski analyses the lyrics. In the process, he opens up all sorts of avenues into philosophy, mysticism, religion, literature, art, and, of course, music. This is a “must read” book for anyone who wants to learn more about the meaning behind the songs or anyone interested in understanding how a genius sees the world. It also considers the impact Dylan’s words have had - not only on his fans, but on the worlds of popular music, culture and beyond.

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Book SynopsisThis paperback edition is updated to include new insights into Holst's life and work resulting from the discovery of important unseen archival materials. Imogen Holst was one of the most wide-ranging and highly regarded of musicians. Popular with all who knew her, she was intensively protective of her inner life, reminding one friend of a 'locked door of which she had thrown away the key'. Imogen Holst: A Life in Music uses a wealth of newly discovered material to explore the complexities and contradictions of her life and career, drawing on her own writings - ranging from heartfelt early poetry, through correspondence, to a series of journals that maintain a colourful record of her travels and achievements. Most revealing of these is the daily journal that she kept at the start of her working association with Britten, adocument that provides a unique insight both into her own thoughts, and into the professional and domestic life of a major composer. Extensively revised with new material, the book also includes a study of Imogen Holst's music and a chronological list of her works, revealing her as a composer of tremendous talent, whose music deserves to be much more familiar. CHRISTOPHER GROGAN is Director of Collections and Heritage at the Britten-Pears Foundation.Trade ReviewThis magnificent centenary volume...(miraculously edited to her own high standards)...documents a lifetime's pioneering achievement...A compelling portrait emerges of a single minded and uniquely talented woman. -- Geraint Lewis * GRAMOPHONE *An encounter with a true original...Grogan has put together an excellent critical biography. * TLS *This book - available at a remarkably reasonable price given the quality of its production...is a wonderful centenary tribute to a fascinating and often underappreciated figure. * BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY NEWS *Excellently written...a successful, lively portrait of an important personality in C20th British musical life. * DIE MUSIKFORSCHUNG *Table of ContentsForeword 'She do favour 'er Pa': Infancy and early schooldays, 1907-20 'Corn-coloured pigtails and very blue eyes': St Paul's Girls' School, 1921-6 'To be best when all are good': The Royal College of Music, 1926-30 'Wandering about Europe', 1930-31 'Life is not going to be too easy for you': London and elsewhere, 1931-8 'A present from the Government': Travelling with CEMA, 1939-42 'A wonderful opportunity': Dartington, 1942-50 'She is quite brilliant': India to Aldeburgh, 1950-52 'The excitement of working with Ben': an introduction to the Aldeburgh Diary Aldeburgh Diary, September 1952-March 1954 'The thing that one wants to do most in the whole world', 1955-64 'The joy of learning about Holst via Britten', 1964-76 'Old age - Protest against disintegration - Gradual calming down - Acceptance', 1977-84 'A real composer': an introduction to Imogen Holst's musical style Chronological list of works

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Book SynopsisCritically acclaimed biography of one of England's best loved composers, with a full discussion and evaluation of his works. Gerald Finzi is one of the best-known modern English composers. While he is especially famous as a song-writer, for his sensitive settings of poets such as Hardy and Wordsworth, he also wrote in other genres; notable works includethe exquisite cantata Dies Natalis, and his cello concerto. He also exerted a major influence in the musical world as a whole, championing the neglected Ivor Gurney and reviving eighteenth-century composers with the amateur orchestra he founded. In this lively and sensitive study of his life and works, Diana McVeagh, the renowned Elgar and Finzi scholar, has made use of interviews with the main figures in his life, correspondence with contemporaries such as Vaughan Williams, Edmund Blunden, Arthur Bliss, Edmund Rubbra, Howard Ferguson and Herbert Howells, and her access to previously unpublished material in the form of his widow, Joy's, unpublished journal. The Finzithat emerges is a multi-faceted and complex character. The author shows how he developed from a solitary, introverted youth into a man with strong views and a myriad of interests: everything from education, pacifism, vegetarianism, to the Arts and Crafts movement, the English pastoral tradition, English apple varieties, and the significance of ancestry, friendship and marriage in an artist's life. She also discusses every work within the narrative of Finzi's life, and shows what makes his output so outstanding. Diana McVeagh is the author of the highly acclaimed Elgar the Music Maker [2007]; of the entries on Elgar and Finzi for The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians [1980, 2001]; and of the Finzi entry in The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography [2004].Trade Review[T]he author's style is very easy indeed, informal and communicative. * RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS SOCIETY JOURNAL *The book is very well researched and immensely informative. [...] From reading this particular biography, there is also the wish to read more by Diana McVeagh. * THE ELGAR SOCIETY JOURNAL *McVeagh's analyses unfailingly draw the reader's attention to the melodic and harmonic subtleties of Finzi's writing. At her best, as in a beautiful passage on Finzi and Hardy, she sings with a lyricism that matches Finzi's own. This book comes as a timely reminder that there should be a place for the finely wrought music of a minor master. -- Richard Lawrence * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *This has been long in preparation, but the wait has been worthwhile. Lucky the composer who finds so fair-minded, candid and scrupulous a biographer and one who writes so well...[McVeagh's] analyses achieve the rare distinction of being both illuminating and readable. This is one of the best-written books about a musician to appear for many years. -- Michael Kennedy * BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE *McVeagh surely loves Finzi's music and it shows. However her devotion is clear-eyed and her writing completely avoids the sort of pastoral hagiography that Finzi scholarship can easily collapse into. The book is self-recommending but that does not stop me recommending it. - * CLASSICAL MUSIC ON THE WEB *[This] is unquestionably destined to be the standard biography of Gerald Finzi. - -- Rolf Jordan * RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS SOCIETY JOURNAL *[Now] we have McVeagh at last, so good and so well written that those who already possess...other books must have it, not only to complement them but for the sheer pleasure afforded by such a winning combination of scholarship, insight and clear-eyed humanity.. their belief will be reinforced and intensified by Miss McVeagh's candour and her remarkable achievement in writing not only a good biography but in re-creating the atmosphere of English musical life in the half-century of Finzi's life. * FINZI NEWSLETTER *With clear-eyed affection for her subject, McVeagh relates Finzi's poignant history with clarity of design that does not preclude empathy, and never allows herself the luxury of letting him off lightly over either musical or personal foibles...[a] lovely, warm and elegiac book. -- Byron Adams * MUSIC & LETTERS *

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Book SynopsisA rare document of the 1960s Black Arts Movement featuring Albert Ayler, Amiri Baraka, Milford Graves, Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, and many more, The Cricket fostered critical and political dialogue for Black musicians and writers. Edited by poets and writers Amiri Baraka, A. B. Spellman, and Larry Neal between 1968 and 1969 and published by Baraka's New Jerseybased Jihad productions shortly after the time of the Newark Riots, this experimental music magazine ran poetry, position papers, and gossip alongside concert and record reviews and essays on music and politics. Over four mimeographed issues, The Cricket laid out an anticommercial ideology and took aim at the conservative jazz press, providing a space for critics, poets, and journalists (including Stanley Crouch, Haki Madhubuti, Ishmael Reed, Sonia Sanchez and Keorapetse Kgositsile) and a range of musicians, from Mtume to Black Unity Trio, to devise new styles of music writing. The publication emerged from the heart of a political movementa proto-ideology, akin to but younger than the Garveyite movement and the separatism of Elijah Mohammed, as Spellman writes in the book's prefaceand aimed to reunite advanced art with its community, to provide Black Music with a powerful historical and critical tool and to enable avant-garde Black musicians and writers to finally make a way for themselves. This publication gathers all issues of the magazine with an introduction by poet and scholar David Grundy, who argues that The Cricket attempted something that was in many ways entirely new: creating a form of music writing which united politics, poetry, and aesthetics as part of a broader movement for change; resisting the entire apparatus through which music is produced, received, appreciated, distributed, and written about in the Western world; going well beyond the tried-and-tested journalistic route of description, evaluation, and narration. David Grundy is the author of A Black Arts Poetry Machine: Amiri Baraka and the Umbra Poets (Bloomsbury Academic, 2019) and coeditor, with Lauri Scheyer, of Selected Poems of Calvin C. Hernton (Wesleyan University Press, forthcoming). He is currently a British Academy Fellow at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom, where he is working on two manuscripts, Survival Music: Free Jazz Then and Now and Never by Itself Alone: Queer Poetry in Boston and San Francisco, 1943Present (Oxford University Press, forthcoming), and a further edited collection on Umbra. A. B. Spellman is a poet, music critic, and former director of the Arts in Education Study Project for the National Endowment of the Arts.

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Book SynopsisBorn four months apart, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel both released their debut albums in the early 1970s, quickly becoming two of the most successful rock stars of their generation. While their critical receptions have been very different, surprising parallels emerge when we look at the arcs of their careers and the musical influences that have inspired them. Bridge and Tunnel Boys compares the life and work of Long Islander Joel and Asbury Park, New Jersey, native Springsteen, considering how each man forged a distinctive sound that derived from his unique position on the periphery of the Big Apple. Locating their music within a longer tradition of the New York metropolitan sound, dating back to the early 1900s, cultural historian Jim Cullen explores how each man drew from the city’s diverse racial and ethnic influences. His study explains how, despite frequently releasing songs that questioned the American dream, Springsteen and Joel were able to appeal to wide audiences during both the national uncertainty of the 1970s and the triumphalism of the Reagan era. By placing these two New York–area icons in a new context, Bridge and Tunnel Boys allows us to hear their most beloved songs with new appreciation. Trade Review“Jim Cullen is a wide-ranging historian with unusual insight into American pop culture. In Bridge and Tunnel Boys, he turns his focus to two giants of rock and roll, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen, a winning combination resulting in an entertaining and provocative book that will appeal to anyone interested in pop music and its relationship to the historical currents that influence its creation.”— Tom Perrotta, author of Little Children “A thoughtful and probing look at the work and careers of two artists born just months apart, Bridge and Tunnel Boys lends highly readable context as to where Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen overlap—in terms of geography, musical approach, and audience—and where they diverge. Not solely for fans, this is a work that evokes a broader sense of the time and place in which the music was made, and how that music continues to influence the wider culture.”— Fred Schruers, author of Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography “Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel are epic figures who have been listened to, loved, and finally understood by Jim Cullen’s Bridge and Tunnel Boys. Long an astute observer of American popular culture, Cullen provides a radiant analysis of both artists’ music that is right on the money: perceptive and smart.”— Peter Ames Carlin, author of Bruce "Historian Cullen (1980) tracks in this meticulous study how Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel ascended to fame...[T]his is an engrossing take on two music legends who documented the glory and melancholy of 'ordinary American life.'"— Publishers Weekly "It’s always a pleasure to read a new Jim Cullen book. This one is no exception as Cullen finds striking parallels in the music and lives of two very different—yet similar—musicians: Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. A fascinating cultural history of late twentieth century American popular music."— June S. Sawyers, author of We Take Care of Our Own: The Faith-Based Politics of Bruce SpringsteenTable of ContentsPreface: You See? I Was Right! Author's Note I: Gauging Success Author's Note II: Historical Records INTRODUCTION Margin and Center 1 NEW YORK STATE OF MIND The Emergence of the Metropolitan Sound in Popular Music 2 HARD TIMES, BOOM YEARS Social Mobility and Its Discontents, 1949-1971 3 POINTS OF DEPARTURE Finding Their Way, 1972-1974 4 ARRIVALS Movin' Out––and Back, 1975-1977 5 THROUGH GLASS, DARKLY Years of Growth and Uncertainty, 1978-1982 6 RIGHT TIME The Stars Align, 1983-1986 7 FAMILY FEUDS Domestic Politics, 1986-1995 8 HOMING Legends Take Root, 1996-Present CONCLUSION Swift Currents Acknowledgments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisSelected writings on three decades of popular music from one of the most influential critics of his generation.Spanning three decades worth of astute, acerbic, and overall astounding music writing, Kick Out the Jams is the first large-scale anthology of the work of renowned critic Dave Marsh. Ranging from Elvis Presley to Kurt Cobain, from Nina Simone to Ani DiFranco, from the Beatles to Green Day, the book gives an opinionated, eye-opening overview of 20th century popular music—offering a portrait not just of an era but of a writer wrestling with the American empire. Every essay bears the distinct Dave Marsh attitude and voice. That passion is evident in a heart-wrenching piece on Cobain’s suicide and legacy; a humorous attack on “Bono’s bullshit;” an indignant look at James Brown and the FBI; deep, revelatory probes into the work of underappreciated artists like Patty Griffin and Alejandro Escovedo; and inspiring insight into what drives Marsh as a writer, namely “a raging passion to explain things in the hope that others would not be trapped and to keep the way clear so that others from the trashy outskirts of barbarous America still had a place to stand—if not in the culture at large, at least in rock and roll.” If you want to explore the recent history of pop music—its politics as well as its performers—Kick Out the Jams is the perfect guidebook.Trade Review"Dennis Boutsikaris performs this selection of essays published between 1982 and 2017 with a driving energy that sounds exactly right for Dave Marsh’s smart-alecky writing. Boutsikaris’s quick pacing and assertive diction infuse the listening with the same immediacy that makes Marsh’s arresting opinions so entertaining and thought provoking. Marsh is a nuanced observer of the people and cultural trends that have impacted the way rock, rap, punk, and other music genres evolved over the past 50 or 60 years. He holds back nothing, criticizing artists, radio DJs, unscrupulous industry executives, and meddling politicians while grappling with the uncomfortable direction the country was going. For anyone fascinated with American pop music and the culture at large, this is an essential audio guide from a preeminent music writer." * AudioFile Magazine *"Kick Out the Jams should restore [Marsh] to his rightful place in the pantheon of America's very greatest music writers." —Jack Hamilton, Slate “I regarded Dave Marsh as a teacher right away. With Dave, it’s emotional, it’s personal. He draws people together on an emotional as well as an intellectual level.” —Jackson Browne "Not only is Dave Marsh a great writer, a great person, life-giving lover, a great friend, and a wordsmith, but he has great insight into the music business, connecting the dots, defining things for me." —Dion “One of the striking things about Dave Marsh, right off the bat, is his emotional involvement. It’s fun to sit down and talk with him about music.” —Patty Griffin “Dave Marsh has always been a tireless advocate of justice, human rights, and rock’n’roll. His pen and voice are an important player in the history of the music we love and the struggle for a more just and decent world.” —Tom Morello “Dave Marsh has always been vociferously a champion of equal rights in music writing and of viewing music outside of the segregationist categories formed by the music industry and too often the music press. He’s just a great writer.” —Ann Powers, author of Weird Like Us and Good Booty “I connected to Dave because I knew he felt about music the way I felt about it. It was life sustaining. It was central to your existence.” —Bruce Springsteen “The impact of Dave Marsh seeped into my critical consciousness early on. He was the kind of leader in the field who pushed to see the critical conversation be democratized and inclusive and incredibly diverse.” —Greg Tate, author of Flyboy in the Buttermilk “Dave was just full on, 100%, tying together art and politics, which of course are really tethered anyway. He was the embodiment of that.” —Steven Van Zandt “Throughout [Kick Out the Jams], Marsh’s deep passion for the music and the artists he writes about provides a bassline of energy and excitement. The author breathes new insight into well-known artists and provides avenues of discovery for new music while maintaining humor and heart…Heartfelt and often amusing, these essays will have you reaching into your record collection to listen with fresh ears.” —Kirkus Reviews

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisEngaging Cultural Ideologies offers a recontextualization of the effects of Poland’s cultural practices, especially those concerning issues such as nationalism, elitism, and race, on the genesis and performance of contemporary Polish compositions from 1918 to 1956. Based on extensive archival research that includes the first comprehensive examination of concert programs in Poland as well as a series of case studies focused on composers’ challenges in the midst of nearly constant turmoil, Bylander brings fresh insights into the public and private power struggles concerning artistic freedom that were animated by similar points of contention across seemingly diverse historical eras.Trade Review"The book brings a new interpretation of archival materials, in as much as it includes the first such broad analysis of concert programs... Her knowledge of sources is impressive, as is her excellent insight into the meanderings of Polish culture."— Marta Szoka, Ruch Muzyczny (translated from the Polish)“As a synthesis of current Polish- and English-language scholarly debates, Engaging Cultural Ideologies is essential to scholars, students and Polish music enthusiasts looking for an entry point on the subject. Most of all, as promised in the book’s introduction, Bylander delivers a ‘penetrating picture of the life cycle and performance history of contemporary Polish compositions’ (p. 9) by providing an unparalleled overview of Polish composition and programming practices between 1918 and 1956.”— Marta Beszterda van Vliet, SEERTable of ContentsList of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsIntroduction1. Between the World Wars: Performing a Utopian Vision2. World War II: Continuity And Disruption3. From War to Socialism: Elitism versus Accessibility 1944–19484. Negotiating a New Path 1949–19535. Ideological Turbulence, Hopeful Composers 1954–19566. Socialist RamificationsBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisMusicologists have increasingly taken a wide-angled lens on the study of music in society, to explore how it can be intertwined with issues of politics, gender, religion, race, psychology, memory, and space. Recent studies of music in connection with society take in a variety of musical phenomena from diverse periods and genres—medieval, classical, opera, rock, etc. This ten-chapter book not only asks how music and society are, and have been, intertwined and mutually influential, but it also examines the agents behind these connections: who determines musical cultures in society? Which social groups are represented in particular musical contexts? Which social groups are silenced or less well represented in music’s histories, and why?Table of ContentsIntroductionNancy NovemberPart One: Cultural and Cross-Cultural AgenciesThe Year the Music Died: Agency in the Context of Demise on Takū, Papua New GuineaRichard Moyle“One of the finest and best-appointed theatres in the colonies”: His Majesty’s Theatre and the Evolution of Entertainment in Dunedin, New ZealandSandra Crawshaw“In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room”: Musicalizing the South Pacific in Disney’s Theme ParksGregory CampPart Two: Vocal Music’s AgenciesFigaro Transmuted through the Agency of Neapolitan Social and Political Creatives: Niccolò Piccinni’s La serva onorataLawrence MaysJosephinism and Leopold Koželuh’s Masonic Cantata Joseph der Menschheit Segen Allan BadleyAgency, Politics, and Opera Arrangements in Fanny von Arnstein’s SalonsNancy NovemberPart Three: Performance and AgencyReflections on Aladdin’s Lamp: Developing a Framework for Creative Practice Research in-and-through Historically Informed PerformanceImogen MorrisWhen Your Heart Is Set on Both Broadway and the Met: An Exploration of Vocal Technique in Contemporary Musical TheatreChristopher McRaePart Four: Composition and Agency“Brows betwixt and between”: The Agents of the Cultural Middlebrow and the Use of Topoi in Benjamin Britten’s First Suite for Cello Eliana DunfordProvincializing Practice: Parsing Historical Influences on Contemporary Cross-Cultural Music in Aotearoa/New ZealandCeleste OramContributorsIndex

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Book SynopsisMusicQuake presents a history of popular music focusing on the most rebellious and game-changing recordings and performances from the early twentieth century to today.Table of ContentsIntroduction THIS IS THE MODERN WORLD: 1913–1953 THE RISE OF ROCK’N’ROLL: 1954–1966 REVOLUTION FROM STUDIO TO STREET: 1967–1976 BEATS AND THE BEATEN GENERATION: 1977–1999 INVENTION AND DISSENSION: 2000–PRESENT Glossary Further Reading Picture Credits Index

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Book SynopsisA unique and lavishly produced celebration of the iconic shock rocker, Alice Cooper at 75 examines an extraordinary career through the lens of 75 key events, releases, and collaborations.Trade Review“…the hardcover book is beautifully packaged with a couple of posters and a print, in a crushed velvet-effect box. A regular old bio doesn’t do a showman like Alice justice.” * LA Weekly *The 75-chapter, more than 200-page book is like an encyclopedia for your coffee table of the history of Cooper, on and off the stage. * Michigan Live *"Worth every penny...for Alice fans, a must-have." * Music Connection *"Alice Cooper @ 75 provides background on the 28 albums and on dozens of the performer’s singles; recounts Alice Cooper’s collaboration with an astonishing list of musicians, artists, actors, public figures of all sorts; includes movie stills and lavish photographs of tickets, publicity ephemera, comic books, public performances and moments from the singer’s personal life." * Detroit Jewish News *"...you can never have too much Cooper and the style, tone, tempo and presentation of this book is just superb. Alice Cooper@75 should be in any fan’s library." * Metal-Rules.com *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part 1: Hello, Hooray . . . Let the Show Begin, 1948–1971 Part 2: Generation Landslide, 1972 –1974 Part 3: The Nightmare, 1975–1985 Part 4: The Awakening, 1986–2000 Part 5: Mr. Nice Guy, 2001–Present About the Author Image Credits Index

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Book SynopsisSelling over forty-five million copies, The Dark Side of the Moon topped the US Billboard charts when it was first released in 1973 and took up residence there for over 700 weeks. Lunacy delves into the making of this iconic record and why it continues to speak to generation after generation of music lovers around the world. Music biographer John Kruth starts with Pink Floyd's band history, leading up to the creation of their masterpiece and exploring what inspired the sonic stew of stylesa mixture of avant-garde electronic, jazz, and classical music all contributed to the timeless album. With interviews of musicians, artists, DJs, and fans, Kruth gets to the heart of the lasting importance of The Dark Side of the Moon. Lunacy also looks at Pink Floyd after the departure of the band's original leader and visionary songwriter Syd Barrett. Pink Floyd became a rudderless ship and released a series of nebulous (yet highly enjoyable) jam albums and went on tours that almost

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Book SynopsisBlackstar Theory takes a close look at David Bowie's ambitious last works: his surprise comeback' project The Next Day (2013), the off-Broadway musical Lazarus (2015) and the album that preceded the artist's death in 2016 by two days, Blackstar. The book explores the swirl of themes that orbit and entangle these projects from a starting point in musical analysis and features new interviews with key collaborators from the period: producer Tony Visconti, graphic designer Jonathan Barnbrook, musical director Henry Hey, saxophonist Donny McCaslin and assistant sound engineer Erin Tonkon.These works tackle the biggest of ideas: identity, creativity, chaos, transience and immortality. They enact a process of individuation for the Bowie meta-persona and invite us to consider what happens when a star dies. In our universe, dying stars do not disappear - they transform into new stellar objects, remnants and gravitational forces. The radical potential of the BlackstarTrade ReviewThe lively complexity of Blackstar Theory is a fine match for Bowie – a sparkling, timely invitation to reimmerse oneself in the density of his final works, even if the shock of grief remains palpable. * The Wire *This is the Bowie book that many of us DB fans have been waiting for Blackstar Theory: The Last Works of David Bowie is a bravura performance by Leah Kardos, a sonata of glorious prose, amazing research, and academic erudition. ... I recommend it to any serious fan of David’s, well actually, I recommend it to any serious fan of music, full stop. Go out and buy it now! * Bowie Fascination *Kardos elegantly sidesteps speculation about Bowie’s personal life in his final years, focusing instead on the work, taking in nods to Morrissey, Elvis Presley, Peaky Blinders and “the lust for life against the finality of everything”. * Uncut *Someone recently said there will never be a definitive book on Bowie and I would probably have agreed. But now that I’ve read this book I’m not so sure. This is as good as it gets. * The New Music Café *Leah Kardos deftly uncovers the patterns in David Bowie’s “late style,” seeing the mortality, morality, and self-consciousness hiding in plain sight. While musicological analysis is at the heart of her endeavor, she is nevertheless attuned to the places in his epic career where there are fissures and unexpected correspondences with other forms of art. Blackstar Theory is a feast for any Bowie fan—rabid or casual—and performs the closure that many of us were seeking. A welcome addition to the growing canon of Bowie studies. * Shelton Waldrep, Distinguished Professor of English, University of Southern Maine, USA *This is one of the most intelligent studies of David Bowie’s music that will ever be published. It illuminates the interconnected web of meanings that are discoverable in his work in ways I have never encountered before. Leah Kardos shows with genuine illumination that the music of the late Bowie tackles big ideas such as the nature of identity, creativity, chaos, transience and im/mortality and provides us with signposts that take us back to the very start of his extraordinary life and musical career. The book is a major achievement. * Keith Ansell-Pearson, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Warwick, UK *A star-gazing telescope of sorts, Blackstar Theory provides an illuminating view of the last great works of a dying star. Intimately connected to the music and art of David Bowie, Leah Kardos elegantly crafts a respectful conduit for readers to share in her examination of the meanings generated by Bowie’s work. As an in-depth scholarly guide and probing navigational tool, Blackstar Theory is a must-read for anyone wishing to engage with the constellation of meanings generated by Bowie’s late music and art. * Lisa Perrott, Senior Lecturer, Waikato University, New Zealand, and series editor of New Approaches to Sound, Music and Media (Bloomsbury) *Leah Kardos’s book is a lovely theoretical company. She notes how music is only a small part of a huge cycle that leads us on to other music, to art and literature via fashion, film, philosophy and form and back to the work in question. * Svenska Dagbladet *Table of ContentsList of musical figures List of track analyses Preface Part 1: Last Act 1. Lateness 2. Remystification 3.The Next Day 4. Assemblage Part 2: Per Ardua ad Astra 5. Icarus Takes His Pratfall 6. Lazarus 7. The Next Bardo Part 3: Black Star 8. Black Holes, Black Music, Black Arts, Black Hearts and Button Eyes 9. Chaos and Chemistry 10. Prodigal Sons 11. Blackstar Theory Epilogue: Legacies and Voids Reference list and bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisPerhaps the best musical encapsulation of the Cold War as experienced in the walled city of West-Berlin, Kollaps is a product of its time while remaining as vital, exhilarating and surprising as the day it was released.The book explores the contexts, themes and influences that shaped Kollaps. It describes the early days of Einstürzende Neubauten in West-Berlin, their infamous live performances and guerilla style recording tactics, and the scrap metal banging, piercing guitar noise and evocative lyricism that went on to inspire generations of fans. Most significantly, it explores the desire and deep sense of belonging that is expressed by what Nick Cave called the incredibly mournful, haunting' nature of this music. The beginning of a 40-year career, this first burst of energy remains their purest statement.

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Book SynopsisGabriel T. Saxton-Ruiz is the Chair of Cultural Studies and Professor of Latin American Literature & Culture at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. He is interested in twentieth and twenty-first century Latin American literature, literary translation, and popular culture. He is the author of Forasteros en Tierra Extraña (2012) and editor of La Narrativa de Jorge Eduardo Benavides: Textos Críticos (2018) and Paciencia Perdida, An Anthology of Peruvian Fiction (2022).

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Beethoven, A Life continues the journey towards a more complex and nuanced picture of the great composer. . . . Caeyers seeks to unravel the networks that influenced Beethoven’s career, to paint portraits of those who supported him, and to outline the many interests that were at play in forming Beethoven both as a man and an artist. . . . The result is a very readable book that, as a byproduct, offers a generous supply of scene-setting detail. This ranges from life in Vienna in the early 19th century to the grinding economic impact of the French revolution and its aftermath, and even the bathing customs in Bohemian spa towns." FT Books of the Year 2020 * Financial Times *"Among the books about the legend . . . in this anniversary year, the most substantial is Jan Caeyers’s Beethoven: A Life, a magisterial account, rich in archival findings, translated with revisions from the German edition of 2009." Books of the Year 2020 * Times Literary Supplement *Notable Music Books of 2020 -- Alex Ross, * The Rest is Noise *"Detailed and engaging, this fitting tribute to the iconic composer will enrich anyone’s enjoyment and appreciation of his great music." * Library Journal *Table of ContentsForeword by Daniel Hope Prologue Part One: The Artist as a Young Man (1770–1792) 1 • Louis van Beethoven: A Grandfather Figure 2 • Jean van Beethoven: The Absent Father? 3 • The Early Years 4 • Christian Gottlob Neefe: The Mentor 5 • The Young Professional 6 • Bonn Turns to Vienna 7 • Beethoven’s First Crisis 8 • A Second Home, and New Horizons 9 • Renewed Vigor and the First Major Works 10 • Farewell to Bonn Part Two: A Time of Proving (1792–1802) 11 • Vienna in 1792 12 • Beethoven’s First Patron: Karl von Lichnowsky 13 • Haydn and Albrechtsberger 14 • Career Plans 15 • Family, Friends, and Loves in Vienna 16 • In Anticipation of Greater Things 17 • Lobkowitz’s “Center of Excellence” 18 • The Immortal Beloved: Episode One 19 • The Road to a Broader Public 20 • A Word from the Critics 21 • The Disciples: Carl Czerny and Ferdinand Ries 22 • The Heiligenstadt Testament Part Three: The Master (1802–1809) 23 • A “New Way” Forward 24 • The Laboratorium Artificiosum 25 • Publishing Pains and the “Warehouse of the Arts” 26 • Composer in Residence 27 • Salieri’s Opera Lessons 28 • The Mystery of the Eroica 29 • The Immortal Beloved: Episode Two 30 • In Search of the Perfect Piano 31 • Leonore: A Work in Progress 32 • The Golden Years Part Four: Crowds and Power (1809–1816) 33 • A New Social Status 34 • New Prospects 35 • An Imperial Pupil 36 • Beethoven and Goethe 37 • The Immortal Beloved: Episode Three 38 • Se non è vero . . . 39 • The End of the Classical Symphony 40 • Music for the Masses 41 • A Lucrative Sideline 42 • From Leonore to Fidelio 43 • From Coffee and Cake to Congress and Kitsch 44 • The Fight for a Child 45 • From the “Immortal Beloved” to a “Distant Beloved” Part Five: The Lonely Way (1816–1827) 46 • Longing for Greater Things 47 • Post-Congress Vienna 48 • London Plans 49 • A Faustian Sonata and a Diabolical Contraption 50 • The Missa solemnis: A Mass for Peace 51 • The Circle Is Complete: The Late Piano Works 52 • Estrangement 53 • Encounters with the Younger Generation 54 • An Ode to Joy 55 • Decline 56 • Karl’s Emancipation 57 • Money Matters 58 • The Discovery of Heaven: The Late String Quartets 59 • Comoedia finita est Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Illustration Credits Index of Works Index of People

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Book Synopsis2023 ARSC Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research, Association for Recorded Sound Collections An insider’s look at how Chicago’s underground music industry transformed indie rock in the 1990s. In the 1990s, Chicago was at the center of indie rock, propelling bands like the Smashing Pumpkins and Liz Phair to the national stage. The musical ecosystem from which these bands emerged, though, was expansive and diverse. Grunge players comingled with the electronic, jazz, psychedelic, and ambient music communities, and an inventive, collaborative group of local labels—kranky, Drag City, and Thrill Jockey, among others—embraced the new, evolving sound of indie “rock.” Bruce Adams, co-founder of kranky records, was there to bear witness. In You’re with Stupid, Adams offers an insider’s look at the role Chicago’s underground music industry played in the transformation of indTrade ReviewIndependent music from Chicago was absolutely essential to my developing sensibilities. My teenage mind was blown away by labels like Touch & Go, Drag City, and Thrill Jockey, but as I dug deeper, I zeroed in on the magical, shadowy kranky. It was pre-Internet, and I didn't get all the scene connections or timelines, I just happily listened in my shitty apartment and felt my world shift. You're with Stupid does something equally remarkable: It tells the history of that time and place without making any of that early, optimistic magic disappear. -- Brandon Stosuy, co-founder, The Creative IndependentYou're with Stupid serves as a primer on the independent record label boom of the late 1980s, the documenting of a city's diverse scene, and the quiet explosion of a new kind of music via kranky. Most importantly, it offers the backstories of some of your favorite bands and albums of the last thirty years. -- Mac McCaughan, coauthor of Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label That Got Big and Stayed SmallThis well-informed love letter to Chicago, a hub of DIY music and sonic explorations, allows the reader to witness the birth of a label and largely covert scene that continues to mutate and resonate. Bruce Adams, though, avoids pure homage, bringing the same acute critical eye, and yes, barbed tongue, that helped build this musical revolution. A funny, bullshit-free chronicle of life in underground music. -- Kevin Martin, The Bug, King Midas Sound, ZonalA story of passion and perseverance with a soundtrack that echoes from the pages...Dedicated fans of ’90s alt rock will find inspiration and lessons. * Publishers Weekly *[Adams'] prose efficiently wrings out important and nutsy-boltsy specifics that will trigger strong memories in those who were there, enrapture readers who bought the records in lieu of being there, and perhaps encourage the spawn of Those Who Came Before to bring back, aurally if not in person, artists like Labradford and Bowery Electric and Jessamine. * Backyard Industry *There was once a point when indie music tended to mean something with clear connections to rock music. Nowadays, that line is much more blurred, making for some stunning artistic feats — and the music scene in Chicago in the 1990s and 2000s played a big part in that. Bruce Adams’s new book offers an inside look at the evolution of that scene and its lasting impact. * InsideHook *You’re with Stupid proves [Adams] as adept at communicating what it was like to be immersed in a time and place of intense creativity as behind the scenes making it happen. * The Wire *You’re with Stupid is most successful when it contextualizes kranky inside the larger Chicago music scene—and indie as a whole. Chicago was and is such a vibrant city musically that the larger discussions of where the bands and labels fit into regional and national networks of groups, scenes, and zines were welcome and illuminating...this book got me interested in music that was new to me—I dug around online for Labradford and Stars Of The Lid—and gave me a greater sense of Chicago’s scene in the ’90s. * Razorcake *Adams’ book is a story about both a Chicago and a world that doesn’t exist anymore…[You're with Stupid is] a first-hand account of a fascinating time in music history to motivate us into some truly focused, immersive, offline activity. * Bandcamp Daily *[Adams] does a great service in sketching out the different rosters and aesthetic approaches [indie record labels in Chicago] took...You’re with Stupid is both a cultural history of the Chicago music world at that time, as told through the record labels and distributors that Adams worked for, and a how-to road map to founding a DIY operation. * Bookforum *[You’re with Stupid] succeeds as both a memoir and a cultural history of a brief wrinkle in time when a few Chicago neighborhoods seemed to comprise the center of a then-flourishing underground rock universe. * Aquarium Drunkard *You’re with Stupid is a thoroughly entertaining read...Reading the book feels like sitting next to [Adams] on a bar stool, hearing memories of a bygone but beloved musical era straight from the horse’s mouth. * Aquarium Drunkard *You're With Stupid is every self-described Gen X music nerd's dream come true. * The Stranger *kranky co-founder Bruce Adams provides behind-the-scenes insight on the Windy City’s music labels (with Touch & Go and Wax Trax! leading the charge) and how they contributed to the meteoric rise of Gen X stars such as Liz Phair, Nirvana, and Smashing Pumpkins...this book nurtures our sense of nostalgia for a tremendous decade of music, especially in kranky’s pursuit to 'release music that transcended the moment,' and reminds us of simpler, pre-Internet times where radio airplay, touring, and fanzines heavily influenced the success of music’s breakout stars. * SPIN, "Best Music Books of 2022" *The best kranky releases sound refreshingly different, not just from other indie rock of the ‘90s but from nearly everything on the radio, or off it, in 2022. They’re well worth a listen. And You’re with Stupid is worth a read, especially if you belong to the generation that stayed up late to catch '120 Minutes' on MTV and attended Yo La Tengo shows in multiple millennia. * Washington Independent Review of Books *[Adams] proves to be an incisive and wry observer of the Windy City's paradigm-shifting musical ecosystem and his role in shaping rock's vanguard...You're with Stupid abounds with interesting insights about musical and cultural niches that deserve more attention and, more importantly, it reveals the inner workings of one of history's greatest record companies. * The Stranger *An amazing and insightful read into one of the more low-key scenes of [the 1990s]. * The Recoup *Table of Contents Introduction 1. Hey Chicago 2. Honk if You Hate People, Too 3. That That Is . . . Is (Not): 1991–1992 4. Accelerating on a Smoother Road: 1992–1993 5. Analog Technology Makes Space Travel Possible: 1994 6. Slow Thrills: 1995 7. The Taut and the Tame: 1996 8. London Was Ridiculous: 1997 9. An Audience Hungry to Hear What Would Happen Next: 1998 10. Both Ends Fixed: 1999 11. After This They Chose Silence: 2000–2002 Epilogue: Specifically Dissatisfied Since 1993 Acknowledgments Author’s Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThe story of the Minneapolis musicians who were unexpectedly summoned to re-record half of the songs on Bob Dylan's most acclaimed album When Bob Dylan recorded Blood on the Tracks in New York in September 1974, it was a great album. But it was not the album now ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the ten best of all time. “When something’s not right, it’s wrong,” as Dylan puts it in “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go”—and something about that original recording led him to a studio in his native Minnesota to re-record five songs, including “Idiot Wind” and “Tangled Up in Blue.” Six Minnesota musicians participated in that two-night recording session at Sound 80, bringing their unique sound to some of Dylan’s best-known songs—only to have their names left off the album and their contribution unacknowledged for more than forty years. This book tells the story of those two nights in Minneapolis, introduces the musicians who gave the album so much of its ultimate form and sound, and describes their decades-long fight for recognition. Blood in the Tracks takes readers behind the scenes with these “mystery” Minnesota musicians: twenty-one-year-old mandolin virtuoso Peter Ostroushko; drummer Bill Berg and bass player Billy Peterson, the house rhythm section at Sound 80; progressive rock keyboardist Gregg Inhofer; guitarist Chris Weber, who owned The Podium guitar shop in Dinkytown; and Kevin Odegard, whose own career as a singer-songwriter had paralleled Dylan’s until he had to take a job as a railroad brakeman to make ends meet. Through in-depth interviews and assiduous research, Paul Metsa and Rick Shefchik trace the twists of fate that brought these musicians together and then set them on different paths in its wake: their musical experiences leading up to the December 1974 recording session, the divergent careers that followed, and the painstaking work required to finally obtain the official credit that they were due. A rare look at the making—or remaking—of an all-time great album, and a long overdue recognition of the musicians who made it happen, Blood in the Tracks brings to life a transformative moment in the history of rock and roll, for the first time in its true context and with its complete cast of players. Trade Review "Beyond the richly detailed account of the Sound 80 sessions, Rick Shefchik and Paul Metsa have crafted a gripping pre-Internet tale of what it took (and still takes) to be a struggling musician. Dylan looms over every page, but for anyone who’s ever given themselves up to a life in music—or loved someone who did—the stories told by the Minnesota Six about gigging, practicing, recording, family life, and all the heartaches and triumphs that come along with the chase are equal parts poignant, romantic, sad, funny, and inspiring. An essential slice of Minnesota music history."—Jim Walsh, songwriter, journalist, and author of Gold Experience: Following Prince in the ’90s "Paul Metsa and Rick Shefchik's biography of a record is like none I've ever read before. The intimate chronicling of the crafting and recording of Blood on the Tracks, from the songs' beginnings in Dylan's spiral notebooks to their shaping in New York and Minnesota, is indeed the life of Bob Dylan's masterpiece. Long may the names of the Minneapolis musicians and Sound 80 staff, some of them garnering a first official credit for their work on the record, be remembered now."—Anne Margaret Daniel, The New School

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Book SynopsisOzzy at 75 celebrates the anniversary of the gonzo rock icon’s birth with a beautifully produced retrospective of 75 key achievements and life events.Trade Review"OZZY@75 is well done at every level I couldn’t help but love this book, despite an overarching of familiarity with the source material...there are several Ozzy books on the market and this is one of the best!" * Metal-Rules.com *"...so fun...Daniel has a really fun, dry sense of humor and that permeates throughout this book...when talking about someone like Ozzy, a good sense of humor is neccessary to put him accross." * The Hustle Podcast *Table of ContentsContents Part 1 Ozzy Zig Seeks Gig, 1948–1969 Part 2 Behind the Wall of Sleep, 1970–1979 Part 3 Flying High Again, 1979–1989 Part 4 Retirement Sucks, 1990–1998 Part 5 “Shaaaaaaron!!!!”, 2001–2007 Bibliography Image Credits Index Aknowledgments About the Author

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Book SynopsisIn 1978, Siouxsie and the Banshees declared We don't see ourselves in the same context as other rock''n''roll bands.' A decade later, and in the stark aftermath of a devastating storm, the band retreated to a 17th-century mansion house in the deracinated Sussex countryside to write their ninth studio album, Peepshow. Here, the band absorbed the bygone, rural atmosphere and its inspirational mise en scène, thus framing the record cinematically, as Siouxsie Sioux recalled, It was as if we were doing the whole thing on the set of The Wicker Man'.Samantha Bennett looks at how Siouxsie and the Banshees' Peepshow is better understood in the context of film and film music (as opposed to popular music studies or, indeed, the works of other rock''n''roll bands). Drawing upon more than one hundred films and film scores, this book focuses on Peepshow's deeply embedded historical and aesthetic (para)cinematic influences: How is each track a reflectiTrade ReviewHer argument is strong and well researched. With so much forethought and evidence provided it’s easy to agree with Bennett before you finish the book. * Chicago Music *The book is both well-conceived and excellently written ... Peepshow makes a valuable contribution to punk and post-punk academic discourse. It takes the reader beyond the framing of Siouxsie Sioux as merely an objectified punk icon in seriously considering the Banshees as a fully functioning band with a musical output that clearly warrants further academic study. For that achievement alone Bennett deserves accolade but her use of a cross-disciplinary approach to frame her argument is one those engaged in academic study should recognize and embrace. * Punk & Post-Punk *Table of ContentsTrack Listing mise en scéne Early Cinema Noir Musical Vaudeville Western Fantasy Horror Epic Acknowledgments Films Cited Notes

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Book SynopsisEveryone wanted Madonna's 1992 album Erotica to be a scandal. In the midst of a culture war, conservatives wanted it to be proof of the decline of family values. The target of conservative loathing, gay men reeling from the AIDS epidemic wanted it to be a celebration of a sexual culture that had rapidly slipped away. And Madonna herself wanted to sell scandal, which is why she released Erotica in the same season as her erotic thriller Body of Evidence and her pornographic coffee-table book simply titled Sex. But Erotica is more sentimental than pornographic. This ambivalence over sex is what makes the album crucial both for understanding its time and for navigating culture a generation later. As queer politics were transitioning from sexual liberation to civil rights like same-sex marriage, Madonna tried to do both. Her songs proved formative for works of queer theory, which emerged in the academy at the same time as the album. And Erotica wasaTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Sex/Erotica 2. Subculture/Pop Culture 3. Madonna/Whore

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Book SynopsisIn 1991, a loose-knit collective released a record called Blue Lines under the name Massive Attack, splicing together American hip-hop and soul with the sounds of the British underground. With its marauding bass lines, angular guitars, and psychedelic effects, Blue Lines built on the Caribbean soundsystems and nascent rave scene of the 1980s while also looking ahead to the group's signature blend of epic cinematics and lush downtempo. In the process, Blue Lines invented an entirely new genre called trip hop and launched the career of a rapper named Tricky.Ultimately, Blue Lines created the sonic playbook for an emerging future: hybrid, digital, cosmopolitan, and rooted in the black and immigrant communities who animated the urban wreckage of the postindustrial city. Massive Attack envisioned an alternate future in sharp counterpoint to the glossy triumphalism of Brit Pop. And while the group would go on to bigger things, this record was both a warning shTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 Cider Punks 2 Five Man Army 3 The Coach House 4 The Tricky Kid Interlude: Living in My Headphones 5 The Cherry Bear Organization 6 Flammable Materials 7 Daydreaming 8 Big Wheel Keeps on Turning Notes

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Book SynopsisWilliam L. Weir lives in Connecticut and writes regularly about music and the history of music technology. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, Slate, The Boston Globe, Hartford Courant, and other publications.Trade ReviewThis book is a concise history of the Radiophonic Workshop and to some extent a history of electronic music -- David Harris * Practical Wireless *Table of ContentsIntroduction: An Improbable Stew 1. Before the Workshop: Beeps, Bloops, and a Battle for the Nation’s Identity 2. “Vive Le Workshop!” 3. “Time Beat” and the Soul of a Machine 4. Way Out and Catchy! Doctor Who, and a New Era for the Workshop 5. Fragile Ribbons of Iron: A Chapter about Tape 6. Around the Office 7. The Art of Making Something from Nothing 8. Goons, Singing Dogs, and Chirping Percolators 9. The World as Their Instrument 10. The Impact of the Radiophonic Workshop 11. Team Tape versus Team Synth 12. The End, and a New Appreciation Acknowledgments Notes

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Book SynopsisIncludes a new chapter on John Cage.Alex Ross's award-winning international best-seller, The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century', has become a contemporary classic, establishing him as one of our most popular and acclaimed cultural historians; this is his much anticipated next book on the subject of music.In Listen To This' Alex Ross, the music critic for the New Yorker, looks both backwards and forwards in time, capturing essential figures and ideas in classical music history, as well as giving an alternative view of recent pop music that emphasizes the power of the individual musical voice.After relating his first encounter with classical music, Ross vibrantly sketches canonical composers such as Schubert, Verdi and Brahms; gives us in-depth interviews wth modern pop masters such as Bjork and Radiohead; and introduces us to music students at a Newark high school and to indie-rock hipsters in Beijing. In his essay Chacona, Lamento, Walking Blues', Ross brilliantly retelTrade Review‘Chacona, Lamento, Walking Blues. This essay is Alex Ross’s own chaconne, one that only he could have written – a display of lateral thinking as virtuosic, in its own way. It alone is worth the price of the book, which I strongly encourage you to buy.’ Sunday Telegraph ‘One minute, you're immersed in Mozart, and then suddenly you're on tour with Radiohead and contemplating what it must have felt like for an unworldly Finnish conductor, Esa-Pekka Salonen, to take the reins of the LA Philharmonic. Reading the book is the literary equivalent of an iPod on shuffle; it offers fresh and unexpected stimulation at every turn.’ Guardian ‘The qualities that make him a top-notch critic become clearer in concentrated reading…Ross is an avowed buff. He loves music with a nerdish obsession and he wants you to love it as much as he does’ New Statesman

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Book SynopsisDean Blunt is the most important British artist of the current century because he fundamentally does not care about Britain. His importance makes it shocking that such little critical attention has been paid to his work. His indifference explains it. Dhanveer Singh Brar’s Beefy’s Tune (Dean Blunt Edit) looks to initiate a conversation that needs to be had about Dean Blunt, about Britain (through Blunt’s indifference to it), and about Blackness in Britain (through the depth and complexity of Blunt’s feeling for it). Using the 2016 album ‘BBF Hosted By DJ Escrow’ as a means of navigation, Brar hears Blunt in order to access the long contested dream of Britain’s disappearance that was conducted under the name of Black British Arts. Partial (in the sense of his relation to Blunt) and partial (in the sense of unfinished), Beefy’s Tune (Dean Blunt Edit) see’s Dhanveer Singh Brar give the dream a grammar, if not a name.“To encounter BBF Hosted by DJ Escrow through Dhanveer Brar’s ears is to see Babylon through his eyes, and to sense Britain — to uncover with ‘accuracy, brutality and beauty’ the complexities of its meaning — through the social music, social vision and social feel of those who refuse the Britishness that is withheld from them. Brar discerns Dean Blunt’s rightful place in a cultural field where critical discourse and sonic dream are fundaments of a dub university curriculum whose various approaches show the absolute necessity and generativity of stealth, flaw and the resistance to category. Blunt’s “love letter to the blackness of Hackney” deserves the most rigorous, gentle, erudite attention. Happily, Dhanveer Brar is here to provide it.” – Fred Moten

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Book SynopsisGeechi Suede and Sonny Cheeba are Camp Lo. These two emcees from the Bronx, NY entered the American hip hop scene with an insider slang that bewildered listeners as they radiated the look of a bygone era of black culture. In 1996, they collaborated with producer Ski and a host of other contributors to create Uptown Saturday Night, featuring the seminal single Luchini (a.k.a. This is It). While other 1990s rappers referred to 1970s Blaxploitation culture, Camp Lo were self-described time travelers who weaved the slang and style of a soulful past into state-of-the-art lyrical flows. Uptown Saturday Night is a tapestry of 1970s black popular culture and 1990s New York City hip hop. This volume will detail how the album's fantastic world of Coolie High reflected classic films like Cooley High and the Sidney Poitier film from which the album's title is derived, and promoted vintage slang and fashion. The book features new interviews with Camp Lo, producer Ski, Trugoy tTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Black Nostaljack 2. Coolie High Gotcha Wide 3. D&D, Ski, and the Recording of Uptown 4. Blahzay, Blahzay, Blahzay 5. Diamond Crooks vs. the American Music Industry Appendix: The Lo Lexicon

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