Music: styles and genres Books
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Oasis' Definitely Maybe
Book SynopsisOasis’s incendiary 1994 debut album Definitely Maybe managed to summarize almost the entire history of post-fifties guitar music from Chuck Berry to My Bloody Valentine in a way that seemed effortless. But this remarkable album was also a social document that came closer to narrating the collective hopes and dreams of a people than any other record of the last quarter century. In a Britain that had just undergone the most damaging period of social upheaval in a century under the Thatcher government, Noel Gallagher ventriloquized slogans of burning communitarian optimism through the mouth of his brother Liam and the playing of the other Oasis ‘everymen’: Paul McGuigan, Paul Arthurs and Tony McCarroll. On Definitely Maybe, Oasis communicated a timeworn message of idealism and hope against the odds, but one that had special resonance in a society where the widening gap between high and low demanded a newly superhuman kind of leaping. Alex Niven charts the astonishing rise of Oasis in the mid 1990s and celebrates the life-affirming, communal force of songs such as “Live Forever,” “Supersonic,” and “Cigarettes & Alcohol.” In doing so, he seeks to reposition Oasis in relation to their Britpop peers and explore one of the most controversial pop-cultural narratives of the last thirty years.Trade ReviewAs well as an accomplished assessment of an underrated album from an overrated band, the book is a salutary example of how to interpret politics through culture, and culture through politics. -- Rhian E Jones * Los Angeles Review of Books *It is a credible thesis, borne out by the history of the band and its music ... As Niven argues in his introduction, literature on Oasis has thus far tended to treat its subject either fawningly or dismissively, not critically. Niven’s book plugs that gap. -- Joseph Charlton * Times Literary Supplement *The 33 1/3 series is a unique opportunity for writers to take a single album, examine it in greater depth ... It’s set a very high standard which Niven more than meets here, offering a smorgasbord for thought for Oasis scholars and watchers. He leaves no song unturned, subjecting each to the sort of breakdown and appreciative analysis they've rarely enjoyed, his scrutiny yielding fresh insights .. I’d recommend this book to anyone but the person I’d recommend it to above all is Noel Gallagher. -- David Stubbs * Review31 *Niven is right to identify Oasis as the most culturally central, and in that sense the most important, voice of the period. -- Harry Stopes * The Oxonian Review *Niven does a remarkable job summing up what made Oasis so special in that moment — while also hinting at the demise that would follow. It’s a fantastic book, and if you care about Oasis, you should read it. * Stereogum *I still respect the amount of research beyond the band itself that had to go into writing this book. Knowing the climate in which Oasis was created is as necessary as the songs when one wants to talk about the importance of the band. On that, I am with [Niven] ... [This book] gave me a lot to think about, and the discussion and study of Oasis is one of my favorite subjects. -- Sara Habein * Perspehone Magazine *[Niven's] documenting an era that was considerably well-documented — this was the last great gasp of the music newsweeklies, after all — but he’s uncovering necessary truths that were hidden in plain sight and need to be remembered. Reading this 33 1/3, all the nostalgia surrounding the 20th anniversary of Britpop fades and all the exciting turmoil of that fleeting time comes into sharp relief. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine * Stephen Thomas Erlewine's blog *I’ve often said that the goal of a 33-1/3 book is to get the reader to enjoy and appreciate the album more after reading the book. Niven agrees, as from the first paragraph he makes clear that this is what he set out to do. By this measure, Oasis’ Definitely Maybe (the book) is a wild success ... [It] is a great addition to the 33-1/3 canon. * 2bit Monkey blog *Sometimes it can be invigorating and even instructive to disagree with an author. Reading Alex Niven's spirited defense of Oasis' 1994 debut, Definitely Maybe, there were moments when I shook my head and devised mental rebuttals against, for instance, his comparison of the band's pop-history scavenging with hip-hop sampling. And yet, he makes his arguments with such insight that for a while I did come to think of Oasis as a bunch of leftist revolutionaries reconceiving pop music as a vehicle for working-class liberation. -- Stephen M. Deusner * Pitchfork *Table of ContentsForeword Intro: A speck of dust in a football stadium 1. Earth 2. Water 3. Fire 4. Air Postscript: Quintessence Reading and Watching Notes
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Rainbow in the Dark
Book SynopsisRonnie James Dio was a heavy metal icon and frontman of three of the best-selling, most influential and famous rock bands in history: Rainbow, Black Sabbath and his own multi-million selling band, Dio. Rainbow in the Dark is a rollercoaster ride through the extraordinary highs and lows of Dio''s life, and takes us from his early days as a street gang leader and Doo-wop singer in ''60s Vegas through to his breakout success with Rainbow and Black Sabbath in the ''70s and the stadiums of US metal in the ''80s - ending in Dio''s dressing room at Madison Square Garden, in June 1986, at the peak of his worldwide fame with Dio.Tragically Dio passed away from cancer in 2010, but had already begun writing a memoir before his death. Edited by the world-renowned music biographer Mick Wall, with the involvement of Dio''s wife of over 35 years and personal manager Wendy Dio, Rainbow in the Dark will honour and feature Dio''s never-before-seen original manuscript, whTrade ReviewRemarkable life story . . . this magical metal memoir is a must have for fans of the legend * Hot Press *Solid read * Record Collector *Immensely readable * Classic Rock *
£11.69
Red Planet Publishing Ltd The Dead Straight Pocket Guide To Ska
Book SynopsisSka originated in Jamaica in the late Fifties and combined Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and r 'n' b. Ska developed in the Sixties with artists such as Prince Buster, Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd, and Duke Reid who formed sound systems to play American rhythm and blues and then began recording their own songs. Ska was popular with British mods and was later adopted by many skinheads. As music changed in the US, so did ska. In 1965 and 1966, when American soul music became slower and smoother, ska changed its sound accordingly and developed into rocksteady before evolving again from 1968 into reggae.
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street
Book SynopsisThe band to introduce the blues to the British mainstream and who continue to sell millions of records 40 years on. This bleak album is now regarded as their finest hour. Includes Rocks Off.Trade Review"'A brilliant idea' The Times; 'Neat' Nick Hornby; 'Pocket-size books about favourite albums is a nice idea, akin to TV's Classic Albums and with an equal amount of care and attention.' The Guardian (Friday Review)"
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Miles Davis' Bitches Brew
Book SynopsisIt was 1969, and Miles Davis, prince of cool, was on the edge of being left behind by a dynamic generation of young musicians, an important handful of whom had been in his band. Rock music was flying off in every direction, just as America itself seemed about to split at its seams. Following the circumscribed grooves and ambiance of In A Silent Way; coming off a tour with a burning new quintet—called ‘The Lost Band’—with Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette; he went into the studio with musicians like frighteningly talented guitarist John McLaughlin, and soulful Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul. Working with his essential producer, Teo Macero, Miles set a cauldron of ideas loose while the tapes rolled. At the end, there was the newly minted Prince of Darkness, a completely new way forward for jazz and rock, and the endless brilliance and depth of Bitches Brew. Bitches Brew is still one of the most astonishing albums ever made in either jazz or rock. Seeming to fuse the two, it actually does something entirely more revolutionary and open-ended: blending the most avant-garde aspects of Western music with deep grooves, the album rejects both jazz and rock for an entirely different idea of how music can be made.Trade ReviewWhen Davis felt he could go no further with straight-ahead acoustic jazz, he embraced the electric age… by 1969, when he recorded the monumental double album Bitches Brew—the subject of a perceptive new monograph by George Grella Jr. in the 33 1/3 series—he had forged a bold new style, later dubbed the “electric Miles.” Today no period of Davis’s work exerts as much fascination for young jazz musicians. * The New York Review of Books *George Grella Jr. discusses time and the slippage thereof in Bitches Brew (one of the latest additions to the brilliant 33 1/3 series) ... [An] articulate and thought-provoking book ... [Grella] writes well about the music on the album itself, providing a readable and non-technical description of musical themes ... [and] offering insight into the construction ... of individual tracks and the album as a whole. * International Times *George Grella dissects the creative process engineered by Miles Davis album, delves into the motivations that led its creator to break with the basics of swing and incorporate influences from rock and unprecedented use of recording techniques in jazz . Grella also devotes two chapters to study the outstanding technical features of each of the six items on the double LP … and explores with passion, wit and analytical rigor [the] constellation of musical, social and psychological forces that came together to produce one of the most revolutionary works of contemporary music. * El Intruso (translated from Spanish) *A worthwhile companion to your next Miles Davis listening session. * Jazzinstitut (Bloomsbury translation) *Table of ContentsIntroduction Miles Davis Doesn't Care What You Think Directions in Music by Miles Davis Gramaphone, Trumpet, Razor Blade Bitches Brew, CS 9995 Bitches Brew, CS 9996 It's About That Time Selected & Annotated Bitches Brew Discography Selected Bibliography
£9.49
McFarland & Co Inc The Soundies
Book Synopsis The 1940s saw a brief audacious experiment in mass entertainment: a jukebox with a screen. Patrons could insert a dime, then listen to and watch such popular entertainers as Nat King Cole, Gene Krupa, Cab Calloway or Les Paul. A number of companies offered these tuneful delights, but the most successful was the Mills Novelty Company and its three-minute musical shorts called Soundies. This book is a complete filmography of 1,880 Soundies: the musicians heard and seen on screen, recording and filming dates, arrangers, soloists, dancers, entertainment trade reviews and more. Additional filmographies cover more than 80 subjects produced by other companies. There are 125 photos taken on film sets, along with advertising images and production documents. More than 75 interviews narrate the firsthand experiences and recollections of Soundies directors and participants. Forty years before MTV, the Soundies were there for those who loved the popular music of the 1940s. This wasTrade ReviewIt's an intriguing concept: an oversized, seven-foot-tall jukebox with a 22-by-17-inch screen positioned at eye level. In the 1940s, customers at a bar or restaurant could put in a dime and watch and listen to three-minute musical films called 'soundies.' Musicologist Cantor provides interviews with former performers and a technical history of the making and marketing of soundies....For 10 cents, twice the cost of a regular jukebox, people could watch celebrities, such as Nat King Cole, Gene Krupa, Cab Calloway, and Les Paul perform, and see stars such as Alan Ladd, Doris Day, Gloria Grahame, and Cyd Charisse make their first screen appearances....[This is] a detailed catalogue of 1,880 soundies, their production and casting notes, and more."—Library Journal
£80.09
McNidder & Grace Frank Sinatra An Extraordinary Life
Book Synopsis
£13.50
Red Planet Publishing Ltd 500 Lost Gems Of The Sixties
Book SynopsisA collection of true stories, gossip and details of 500 of the singles that failed to dent the Top 10, but which are still worthy of inclusion in a volume such as this. This book demonstrates just how much a melting pot of talent, creativity and energy the decade really was. It s not just in the groove, but between the grooves that you'll find the magic. Nuggets of information and connections between the artists, producers and songwriters offer a unique insight into the careers and development of key (and not so key) performers. The idea behind this book is simple to gather together a fantastic selection of 60s pop releases that are not nearly as well-known as they deserve to be. Packed full of beautiful glossy pictures of each and every disc featured, it is a colourful and quirky guide to records that you may never have heard of, but you will certainly want to listen to when you've finished.
£19.76
Faber & Faber Neu Klang
Book SynopsisThe unique and adventurous sounds that German bands like Can, Neu! or Kraftwerk produced in post-war 60s Germany, now known as Krautrock, are considered a blueprint for modern rock music. And the stream of their creative admirers and continuators has been constantly widening since the first fans like David Bowie and Iggy Pop. In Neu Klang, Christoph Dallach interviewed its pioneers and their answers combine to form an oral history that points far beyond the individual band histories.
£11.69
SelfMadeHero LOW
Book Synopsis LOW traces the aftermath of David Bowie’s ground-breaking tour of America, and the iconic “Berlin years” that followed. Hot on the platform heels of Starman: Bowie’s Stardust Years (SelfMadeHero, 2023), Reinhard Kleist masterfully concludes his two-part biography of David Bowie. In 1976, Bowie escaped the frantic madness and substance abuse of his life in Los Angeles for the Wall of the divided city of Berlin. With his friend Iggy Pop in tow, Bowie quit drugs and created LOW, the first album of his “Berlin Trilogy”. But even here, in some of the happiest days of his life, Ziggy Stardust would not let him go…LOW follows Bowie’s forays through West Berlin’s revolutionary music scene and wild club life, and takes us deep into his recording sessions at Hansa Studios. The friendship between Bowie and Iggy drives both artists to new creative heights, while Bowie’s relationship with the cabaret artist and drag icon Romy Haag illuminates his fascination with Berlin as a city on the brink. Kleist’s LOW is both a retelling of Bowie’s Berlin years and a vibrant portrait of the city itself. [This publication has not been prepared, approved, authorized, or licensed by the David Bowie estate or any related entity.]
£14.99
HarperCollins Publishers Tony Visconti The Autobiography
Book SynopsisA name synonymous with ground-breaking music, Tony Visconti has worked with the most dynamic and influential names in pop, from T.Rex and Iggy Pop to David Bowie and U2. This is the compelling life story of the man who helped shape music history, and gives a unique, first-hand insight into life in London during the late 1960s and ''70s.This memoir takes you on a roller-coaster journey through the glory days of pop music, when men wore sequins and pop could truly rock. Featuring behind-the-scenes stories of big names such as Bowie, Visconti''s unique access to the hottest talent, both on stage and off, for over five decades is complemented by unseen photographs from his own personal archive, offering a glimpse at music history that few have witnessed so intimately.Soon after abandoning his native New York to pursue his musical career in the UK, Visconti was soon in the thick of the emerging glam rock movement, launching T.Rex to commercial success and working with the then-unknown David Bowie.Since his fateful move to the land of tea and beer drunk straight from the can, Visconti has worked with such names as T.Rex, Thin Lizzy, Wings, The Boomtown Rats, Marsha Hunt, Procol Harum, and more recently Ziggy Marley, Mercury Rev, the Manic Street Preachers and Morrissey on his acclaimed new album ''Ringleader of the Tormentors''.Even Visconti''s personal life betrays an existence utterly immersed in music. Married to first to Siegrid Berman, then to Mary Hopkin and later to May Pang, he counts many of the musicians and producers he has worked with as close friends and is himself a celebrated musician.Trade Review‘What makes this latest instalment of the baby-boomer’s tale so readable is his easy-going, unjudgemental familiarity with the professional foibles of his clients. Not many people can remark, as he does of Bob Geldof, that “singing is not his forte”, without the slightest trace of bitchiness or reproach.’The Sunday Times Culture magazine ‘Without question, Visconti is one of the greatest and most innovative music producers of all time. His gritty history of two decades of British pop makes me want to brush the dust off my old Bowie and T.Rex albums and skip-jive around the kitchen’ Daily Mail Four star review in MOJO: ' A life in music, rich in chemical romances, bickering stars and some wonderful work, is recounted with great dignity.’ ‘Just as George Martin was the definitive '60s producer, so Tony Visconti's work with David Bowie and Marc Bolan shaped rock's landscape in the '70s.’Q ‘[Morrissey] is so spectacularly presented by producer Tony Visconti that we end up not just with a Morrissey masterpiece … but also a Visconti masterpiece … Ultimately, Visconti helps transform Morrissey's dogged oddness and phenomenal fussiness into pure magic.’Observer, 2006 ‘Visconti recently teamed up again with his old foil David Bowie to record Bowie's best album in 20 years; now he has helmed Morrissey's best in 15 years.’Scotsman, 2006 ‘Visconti’s sparky autobiography takes you stomping back to the frantic, glory days of glam rock and pop’London Lite 'His outsider's view of London's tiny, tatty underground scene of the late 1960s is wonderfully vivid.' '…worth seeking out.' Sunday Times
£9.89
Bonnier Books Ltd Lead Sister The Story of Karen Carpenter
Book Synopsis***Nominated for the 2024 Penderyn Music Book Prize***A Times Book of the YearA Financial Times Book of the YearA Waterstones Book of the Year'Reading the book made me want to give her a huge hug. Anybody who is a fan should pick this up.' - ANITA RANI'A fascinating but tragic story.' 4/5 - MOJOWhen the Carpenters first toured Japan, a journalist mistakenly referred to Karen as the 'lead sister' of the band. This designation stuck and Karen liked it so much that she had a T-shirt custom-made with the slogan, which she wore while drumming on the band's 1976 world tour. The term also sums up the approach of this biography: a celebratory re-evaluation of a pioneering woman.As one of the biggest-selling acts of the 1970s, sibling duo Richard and Karen Carpenter created lush soundscapes of melodic pop, producing global hits like 'We've Only Ju
£10.44
Oxford University Press Requiem 1893 version
Book Synopsisfor soprano and baritone soloists, SATB chorus, and the composer''s original chamber instrumentationThis edition presents Fauré''s masterpiece in a form which accords with his original intention that it should be a liturgical Requiem with accompaniment of organ and chamber ensemble. The 1893 version is an expansion of Fauré''s original, prepared by the composer for a performance at the Church of the Madeleine in Paris and containing two additional movements, the Offertoire and the Libera me. In contrast to the fully orchestrated version that was published in 1900, this edition preserves the original chamber instrumentation, and it also contains a full English translation by John Rutter. Complete orchestral and vocal material is available on hire/rental, and the vocal score, full score, and parts are also available on sale.Trade ReviewThe simplified, pared-down textures of this revived Requiem were a revelation, and seemed to add, rather than detract from the work's power to move. The Oxford University Press Choral Classics series has continued to be a vehicle for Rutter's work as editor and to showcase interesting historical curiosities . . . Fauré's economical interweaving of the vocal lines seems only to magnify the music's poignancy and limpid purpose. * Matthew Greenall, The Singer, April 2004 *Table of ContentsIntroit et Kyrie ; Offertoire ; Sanctus ; Pie Jesu ; Agnus Dei ; Libera me ; In paradisum
£10.50
Sonicbond Publishing Talking Heads On Track
Book SynopsisFewartists can legitimately claim to have created truly groundbreaking popularmusic, but Talking Heads is one of them..All eight of the band's studio albums had chart success in the UK. The band's concert film Stop Making Sense is considered one of the greatest of all time.
£15.29
Hodder & Stoughton The LongPlayer Goodbye
Book SynopsisFor nearly 60 years, since the arrival of the long-playing record in 1948, the album has provided the soundtrack to our lives. Our record collections, even if they''re on CD, or these days, an iPod, are personal treasure, revealing our loves, errors of jugdement and lapses in taste. Self-confessed music obsessive, Travis Elborough, explores the way in which particular albums are deeply embedded in cultural history, revered as works of art or so ubiqitous as to be almost invisible. But in the age of the iPod, when we can download an infinite number of single tracks and need never listen to a whole album ever again, does the concept of an album still mean anything? THE LONG-PLAYER GOODBYE is a brilliant piece of popular history and a celebration of the joy of records. If you''ve ever had a favourite album, you''ll love Travis Elborough''s warm and witty take on how vinyl changed our world.Trade ReviewHe's got a happy knack of stuffing sentences with facts, colour and incident * Scotland on Sunday *Pleasingly compelling... Elborough is a charming, funny and frequently fascinating guide * Daily Telgraph *Reassuring air of cultural authority... impressive depth of perspective... admirably persuasive * Independent on Sunday *Fascinating... very fresh and clear * Guardian *Wonderful book... a great thundering roar of nostalgia for the LP record. * Spectator *Elborough has the passion of a true enthusiast... but he's also an indefatigable researcher, who has somehow seen a clear path through the vast amount of material to write a book that reads easily and well but also wholly coherently. Richly enjoyable. * Mail on Sunday *highly entertaining * Independent *an affectionate adieu to the format * The Long-Player Goobye *Lovingly researched * TLS *pacey narrative * New Statesman *Very good * Herald *a P.G. Wodehouse guide to pop history * Times Online *a timely paean to the sound of the needle hitting the record * Metro *
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Chappell Roan
Book Synopsis
£11.69
Lexington Books Death Metal and Music Criticism
Book SynopsisDeath metal is one of popular music''s most extreme variants, and is typically viewed as almost monolithically nihilistic, misogynistic, and reactionary. Michelle Phillipov''s Death Metal and Music Criticism: Analysis at the Limits offers an account of listening pleasure on its own terms. Through an analysis of death metal''s sonic and lyrical extremity, Phillipov shows how violence and aggression can be configured as sites for pleasure and play in death metal music, with little relation to the real lives of listeners. In some cases, gruesome lyrical themes and fractured song forms invite listeners to imagine new experiences of the body and of the self. In others, the speed and complexity of the music foster a technical or distanced appreciation akin to the viewing experiences of graphic horror film fans. These aspects of death metal listening are often neglected by scholarly accounts concerned with evaluating music as either ''progressive'' or reactionary.By contextualizing the discusTrade ReviewDeath metal is a tricky genre to analyse, particularly given its often shocking lyrics and the refusal of many death metal fans and musicians to engage with the complex questions it raises. Michelle Phillipov challenges the reader to ‘think with the conventions of the genre’ rather than judge it according to external political values. In thinking with death metal, she demonstrates a critical dexterity that illuminates how death metal works better than any previous study does. The book makes a convincing argument that death metal’s apparently troubling evasion of politics is in fact a key to understanding a form of musical pleasure based on a lack of identification with vocals and lyrical themes. Death Metal and Music Criticism not only makes a major contribution to the study of death and heavy metal, it also deserves to be read by anyone searching for a form of popular music criticism that is responsive to the particular pleasures that particular genres offer. -- Keith Kahn-Harris, Leo Baeck CollegeDeath Metal and Music Criticism fills an important gap in the literature on death metal. Phillipov provides a serious scholarly approach to a subject usually treated in a sensationalistic manner. -- Deena Weinstein, DePaul UniversityPhillipov suggests that we have become, through, our political interest, overly interested in hip-hop and electronic dance music- as we were with their music antecedent Punk- which dominate our reading lists and shape what it is acceptable to study both now and (her concern) in the future. We have done Metal an academic disservice by examining it only within the limiting parameters of nihilism....The content matter is helpful both for students learning how to utilize a literature review, and for those in the field who are less familiar with the strands of research which can helpfully unpack this area....As a book, this is a welcome and refreshing addition...both in terms of the writing style and the argument itself. * Popular Music *The overall argument of this slender volume is of interest to anybody working in heavy metal studies, and on popular music in general. Phillipov’s focus on such formal properties nicely complements other research in the field, making of her volume a wonderful, if at times contentious, contribution to the larger debate. * The Journal of Popular Culture *This book offers an earnest approach to a subgenre of music that is rarely taken seriously, largely due to its irreverence for mainstream attention and its anti-social overtones. ... Michelle Phillipov expands the scope of musical criticism to encourage an appreciation of music’s sonic pleasures, which will. . . interest critics and theorists. * Media International Australia *Table of ContentsIntroduction. A "Nihilistic Dreamboat to Negation?" Part 1. The Limits of Music Criticism Chapter 1. The Rise of Political Criticism Chapter 2. The Politics of Popular Music Studies: The Case of Punk Chapter 3. The Search for the "New Punk": Hip Hop and Electronic Dance Music Chapter 4. A "Promise Unfulfilled": The Problem of Metal Part 2. The Pleasures of Death Metal Chapter 5. Death Metal and the Reorientation of Listening Chapter 6. The Pleasures of Horror Chapter 7. "Becoming Death": Pleasure and Play in Death Metal Chapter 8. "Bodies Prepared for Slaughter": Death Metal's "Technical" Appreciation Conclusion. Death Metal at the Limits
£40.50
Faber Music Ltd Songs Of Flanders And Swann
Book SynopsisThe British duo, Flanders and Swann, were the actor and singer Michael Flanders (1922-1975) and the composer, pianist and linguist Donald Swann (1923-1994) who collaborated in writing and performing comic songs. This songbook features their 41 classic songs.Table of ContentsIn The Bath; Design For Living; Misalliance; The Gas-Man Cometh; A Song Of The Weather; Pillar To Post; Rain On The Plage; Motor Perpetuo; Slow Train; A Transport Of Delight (Omnibus); Last Of The Line; Twenty Tons Of TNT; The Reluctant Cannibal; Pee-Po-Belly-Bum-Drawers; Budget Song; Ballad For The Rich; All Gall; Philological Waltz (Tonga); Song Of Patriotic Prejudice; The Lord Chamberlain's Regulations; The Album; Ill Wind **Trinity Guildhall selected piece: Singing syllabus 2010-2012; Guide To Britten; Song Of Reproduction; Bedstead Men; Excelsior; Vanessa; Twice Shy; Madeira, M'dear?; The Armadillo; The Hippopatamus **ABRSM selected piece: Singing syllabus from 2009 **Trinity Guildhall selected piece: Singing syllabus 2010-2012; The Ostrich; The Elephant; The Gnu; The Rhinoceros; The Sloth; The Spider; The Wild Boar; The Whale (Mopy Dick); The Warthog **ABRSM selected piece: Singing syllabus from 2009; The Wompom.
£17.99
Faber & Faber Englands Dreaming
Book SynopsisA reissue of Jon Savage's landmark book on punk culture.
£12.34
Taschen GmbH Gay Talese. Phil Stern. Frank Sinatra Has a Cold
Book Synopsis“Sinatra with a cold is Picasso without paint, Ferrari without fuel—only worse. For the common cold robs Sinatra of that uninsurable jewel, his voice, cutting into the core of his confidence.” — Gay Talese In the winter of 1965, writer Gay Talese set out for Los Angeles with an assignment from Esquire to write a major profile on Frank Sinatra. When he arrived, he found the singer and his vigilant entourage on the defensive: Sinatra was under the weather, not available, and not willing to be interviewed. Undeterred, Talese stayed, believing Sinatra might recover and reconsider, and used the meantime to observe the star and to interview his friends, associates, family members, and hangers-on. Sinatra never did grant the one-on-one, but Talese’s tenacity paid off: his profile Frank Sinatra Has a Cold went down in history as a tour de force of literary nonfiction and the advent of New Journalism. In this illustrated edition, Frank Sinatra Has a Cold is published with an introduction by Talese, reproductions of his manuscript pages, and correspondence. Interwoven are photographs from the legendary lens of Phil Stern, the only photographer granted access to Sinatra over four decades, as well as from top photojournalists of the ’60s, including John Bryson, John Dominis, and Terry O’Neill. The photographs complement Talese’s character study, painting an incisive portrait of Sinatra in the recording studio, on location, out on the town, and with the eponymous cold, which reveals as much about a singular star persona as it does about the Hollywood machine.Trade Review“Sinatra with a cold is Picasso without paint, Ferrari without fuel—only worse. For the common cold robs Sinatra of that uninsurable jewel, his voice, cutting into the core of his confidence.” * Gay Talese *“One of the greatest celebrity portraits ever written.” * GQ *
£40.00
Hal Leonard Corporation The Very Best Of Michael Schenker Guitar Tab
Book Synopsis
£20.85
Soul Jazz Records Punk 45: The Singles Cover Art of Punk 1976-80
Book Synopsis
£28.00
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Death Metal
Book SynopsisFeaturing exclusive interviews with key figures, from Napalm Death vocalist Barney Greenway to guitarist Bill Steer of Gentlemans Pistols, Carcass, and Napalm Death, this is your guide through the history of death metal. Guitars playing abrasive, discordant riffs, the thunderous double-kick of the drums acting like an accelerated heartbeat, and porcine, guttural vocals pummeling twisted lyrics. Courting controversy from inception to its modern day iteration, death metal presents a number of contradictions: Driven and adventurous musicians compete to make uncomfortable noises; it is crude and far beyond parody and yet consistently popular; and the music is pig-headedly uncommercial despite making a few labels, albeit briefly, wealthy. This book explores the history and methodology of the genre, charting its aims and intentions, its crossovers to the mainstream, successes and failures, and tracks how it developed from the bedrooms of Birmingham and Florida to the near-mainstream, to thTrade ReviewIt’s good that books like this exist. * Randomly Yours, Alex *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements 1 You Suffer, But Why? 2 Death Rides Out (1980 to 1989) 3 Death Rising (1988-1993) 4 Deathly Peaks (1993-1996) 5 New Frontiers (1996-2013) 6 Death in the Present (2013-2021) 7 Death Wins
£13.49
Cornerstone Bad Vibes
Book SynopsisForget Blur/Oasis and Cool Britannia. None of that actually happened. Bad Vibes is the true story of English Rock in the nineties. Written with wit, brio and no small amount of bile, Luke Haines recounts how it felt to ride a wave of self-congratulatory success in a world with no taste. As frontman of The Auteurs, Haines tells of supporting Suede, conquering France, and failing to break America. Of knuckle-headed musos , baffling tours and a swiftly unravelling personal life. And of what it''s like to be on the cusp of massive success. Funny, honest and ridiculously entertaining, Luke Haines attacks anyone within rifle range, and is more than happy to turn the gun on himself. Bad Vibes is a brilliant memoir from a man who tells it how it was - and how he wishes it hadn''t been.Trade ReviewThese recollections could be mistaken for a great comic novel... Haines is as funny as he is grumpy * Independent on Sunday *Haines' prolific spleen, pasty English wit and peerless way with a smartly tailored insult was always going to make this memoir essential reading * Time Out *Beautifully acerbic and elegant. . . a viciously funny writer * Q Magazine *A lavishly bitchy memoir packed with gripes, grievances and tall stories told at the expense of other more famous musicians ... Haines has constructed a vivid literary persona for himself as the great, grumpy Nearly Man of 1990s rock ... He pours endless scorn on his amiable peers, who bizarrely seem not to mind or even notice ... Rock's misanthrope in excelsis * The Sunday Times *As entertaining as Spinal Tap * Guardian *
£10.44
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Metallica's Metallica
Book SynopsisIn 1991, Metallica released their fifth studio album that would become known and beloved around the world as “The Black Album.” Since its release, it has sold 30 million copies, and become a towering monument in the pantheon of rock’s greatest records. Readers will get unprecedented insight into the story behind an iconic album from one of the world’s most iconic bands through interviews with James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Jason Newsted, and “Black Album” producer Bob Rock. Masciotra takes readers into the recording studio, giving them Metallica’s account of how their most successful and famous record was born and learned to walk into every radio station and stadium stage around the world. Masciotra not only talks to the band about the making of the album, but also the stories that inspired the songs. Readers will not only learn about “The Black Album,” but they will also gain greater knowledge and familiarity with the men who created it. With direct access to the band, Masciotra offers a fascinating and inspiring account of the creation of one of music’s best and best-selling albums.Trade ReviewMetallica engendered so much musical change that it deserves a certain level of intellectual analysis … always interesting summary of an album whose impact is, improbably, still being felt. -- Joel McIver * Record Collector Mag *Did Metallica really abandon their thrash roots or were these rock intentions in them all along? The latest entry of the 33 1/3 series written by David Masciotra answers these questions with finesse, thoughtfulness, and hard facts taken straight from the band's mouth. With new interviews, revelations, and a look at the LP's importance to the band and music in general, the book is tailored made for those who thought they knew everything about the metal giants. * The Examiner *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction Chapter One: Through The Never Chapter Two: Enter Night Chapter Three: Escape From an Elite Cage Chapter Four: Call of The Wild Chapter Five: Wicked Game Chapter Six: Wherever I May Roam Chapter Seven: The Fangs of Rage
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Phish's A Live One
Book SynopsisTwenty years after its release, Phish’s double-CD collection A Live One has something rare and precious going for it: it still doesn’t sound like anybody else. Oversized, perverse, requiring an unusual amount of listener background knowledge? Yes to all. Yet the collective improvisations it captures, unprecedentedly coherent yet freewheeling and open-ended, are unique in rock ‘n’ roll. This book considers the music and moment of Phish's ecstatically inventive 1995 live document, a mix of weirdo acid-psych, ambient moonscapes, vaudevillian Americana, and riotous arena-rock energy, all filtered through bandleader Trey Anastasio's screwball compositional sensibility and the band’s idiosyncratic approach to spontaneous group creativity. It places Phish and their fandom in historical and cultural context, and picks apart the mechanics of their extended group jams. And it examines the mystery of how a quartet of nice boys from Burlington, VT could have been, all at once, one of America’s biggest touring acts and one of its best-kept secrets.Table of ContentsPreparatory to Anything Else You Can Feel Good Quiet Rebels The Method, Part 1 Average White Band Finally the Punks Are Taking Acid Long Time Can’t This Wait ‘til I’m Old The Method, Part 2 Twenty Years Later All of the Places and People Belong Afterword Selected Sources Next Steps Deepest Gratitude
£9.49
Hachette Books Songwriters on Songwriting
Book SynopsisIn these fifty-two interviews, the greatest songwriters of our time go straight to the source of the magic of songwriting by offering their thoughts, feelings, and opinions on their art. Representing almost every genre of popular music, from folk to Tin Pan Alley to jazz, from blues to pop rock, these are the figures who have shaped American music as we know it. Here they share their secrets and personal methods for converting inspiration into song: Robbie Robertson of the Band an Tom Petty talk about working with Bob Dylan; Dylan himself, in his only in-depth interview in more than ten years, says that the world doesn''t need any new songs; R.E.M. name their favorite R.E.M. songs; Madonna describes collaborating with Prince; Sammy Cahn talks about writing standards for Sinatra; Pete Seeger recounts hitting the road with Woody Guthrie; Frank Zappa admits to loving Louie Louie; Todd Rundgren explains how he dreams his songs; and, in the book''s most extensive interview, Paul Simon delves into his opus from The Sound of Silence to Graceland. And almost all of them express delight at being able to talk about the mechanics of music itself, something that they have rarely been asked to discuss. Here expanded with new interviews with Burt Bacharach, Laura Nyro, Yoko Ono, Leonard Cohen, Graham Nash, Jackson Browne, Richard Thompson, and many others, Songwriters on Songwriting is a rare volume: one of the best books on the craft of musicmaking, an informative source for musicians and songwriters, and an invaluable historical record of the popular music of this century.Trade ReviewBrain Pickings, 5/26/14 "[An] excellent and extensive treasure trove...[The] insights on songwriting extend to the broader realm of creative work in a multitude of disciplines...A magnificent read in its hefty totality." Brain Pickings, 7/20/14 "[An] impressive interview compendium."
£19.00
Dover Publications Inc. The Guadagnini Family of Violin Makers Dover
Book SynopsisThis 1949 volume remains the most comprehensive study of G. B. Guadagnini's life, work, and legacy. Includes a catalog of masterpieces and a new Introduction by an authority on musical instruments.
£18.90
Hodder & Stoughton I Am Brian Wilson
Book Synopsis''My life has been written about over and over again, and that''s mostly okay with me. Other people can talk about my life. Sometimes they''ll get it right and sometimes they''ll get it wrong. For me, when I think back across my own life, there are so many things that are painful. Sometimes I don''t like discussing them. Sometimes I don''t even like remembering them. But as I get older, the shape of that pain has changed. Sometimes memories come back to me when I least expect them. Maybe that''s the only way it works when you''ve lived the life I''ve lived: starting a band with my brothers that was managed by my father, watching my father become difficult and then impossible, watching myself become difficult and then impossible, watching women I loved come and go, watching children come into the world, watching my brothers get older, watching them pass out of the world. Some of those things shaped me. Others scarred me. Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference. When I watched myTrade ReviewAll of it in Wilson's idiosyncratic voice...what a story! * Esquire *Surprisingly revealing and insightful memoir from the Beach Boys mastermind...Nearly every page opens up new windows into the mind of Brian Wilson. 4* * Mojo *Wilson and The Beach Boys' story has been told many times before and is one we may think we know, but it has never before been voiced with the clarity, honesty and insight on offer here. Surf's up. * Loud and Quiet Magazine *Beach Boy Brian Wilson's unflinching new autobiography ... it's quite a ride. * Daily Record *An accurate insight into the way his mind works * London Evening Standard *I Am Brian Wilson is a strange kind of surfing through the Beach Boy's interior life. Wilson dwells on the damage his violent dad did to his childhood without revealing the psychological consequence, except in the voice of a book that, though ghosted, sounds like his own. His genius, like all genius, he suggests is accidental. He was hit around the head by a lead pipe as a kid in a playground fight, and lost his hearing in one ear. After that, he always felt he had to tune in to experience as if trying to find a radio frequency. The Beach Boys' otherworldly sound, and the faltering attempts to locate its source in the deceptively simple sentences of this memoir, appear to be results of that distancing. * The Observer *An unflinchingly honest account * Choice Magazine *
£10.44
Hal Leonard Europe Limited Tranquillity The Piano Solos Of Phil Coulter
Book Synopsis
£17.09
Hal Leonard Corporation A Charlie Brown Christmas
Book Synopsis
£15.29
Orion Publishing Co Remain in Love
Book SynopsisRemain in Love tells the story of two bands and a love story (and marriage) that survived them bothTrade ReviewFrom the first time I saw Talking Heads live (CBGB, 1976), I've had a huge thing for Tina Weymouth. And since then I've been biding my time, waiting for the right moment to make my move. But after reading Remain in Love: Talking Heads: Tom Tom Club: Tina by Chris Frantz, it's become pretty clear to me that she's already in a relationship (see pages 1, 3-7, 9, etc.), and what's more, it looks to be serious (pages 18, 20-26, and especially 114). But you know something? That's OK. I'm happy for Tina, and for Chris, a great drummer who has written a great book, though I wish he'd done it a few years earlier -- Bill Murray[Remain in Love] has great storytelling and amazing detail about adventures that Chris and I have shared in our parallel universes. As the Brits say: I'm gobsmacked. I devoured this book and all the memories and all the love Chris has for Tina . . . One of the most potent examples of living the dream -- Debbie Harry, musician and author of 'Face It'Crackling with verve, comedy, calamity, crisp detail, forward motion, and abiding affection, speckled with an all-star cast of punk legends and pop idols, Chris Frantz's Remain in Love is a rock music memoir like none other--a candy kiss with a kick to it. From the grime and tumult of CBGB to the Valhalla gloriosky of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Remain in Love gives the reader a magic carpet ride on the Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club express. It is also a valentine to Frantz's wife, creative partner, and bass guitarist in excelsis, Tina Weymouth, before whom we all gladly curtsey -- James Wolcott, author of the memoir 'Lucking Out'This swift-paced, well written book has the upbeat tone of dreams coming true. Frantz conveys the excitement of his adventures from boyhood to art school to international rock-stardom with honesty and enthusiasm. He didn't miss much in these cherished years. That he managed to keep his joyous spirit alive (and "remain in love") as his various bands accelerate across the globe is a testament to his intelligence and decency. I dare any drummer to write a better book! -- Duncan Hannah, author of '20th Century Boy'Heads and drums and funk and roll: herewith Chris Frantz outs himself as a Writing Head and Raconteur First Class, bringing it on an engaging narrative which combines an enchanting love story with an eye-opening disquisition on the upsides and downsides of being in bands with unsual people -- Charles Shaar Murray, author of 'Crosstown Traffic: Jimi Hendrix and Post-War Pop'I commend Remain in Love to discerning rock fans everywhere * Observer *Frantz has done an effective job of rebalancing the Talking Heads story, offering an angle on the band that fans will relish * Sunday Times *A revealing inside account of the highs and lows of a band who looked and sounded like nobody else -- Olivia Laing * Guardian *a memoir as sharp and sometimes caustic as the music they made * Daily Express *Amidst the bad blood, Frantz offers charming detail of the band's early years * Uncut *A book by a man who is giving the best impression of someone having all the fun * The Herald *The drummer with Talking Heads, one of rock's trailblazing bands, has written a memoir as sharp and sometimes caustic as their music. It's a love letter to both Talking Heads and his wife, the band's bassist Tina Weymouth . . . The book captures 1970s New York, with cameos from Andy Warhol, Brian Eno and James Brown, and makes being in a band sound the most exciting job ever * Daily Mirror *
£9.49
Oxford University Press Inc The Jazz Standards A Guide to the Repertoire
Book SynopsisAn introduction for new fans, a useful handbook for jazz enthusiasts and performers, and an important reference for students and educators, this second edition of Ted Gioia's The Jazz Standards--now updated by popular demand-- belongs on the shelf of every serious jazz lover or musician.Trade ReviewGioia brings his deep knowledge of jazz to bear when comparing how a wide variety of artists approached a given tune and does not shy away from voicing his opinions about the good, the bad, and the ugly. * J Farrington, CHOICE *If you look up just one title in The Jazz Standards, before you realize it you will have spent an intriguing hour or two learning fascinating and new things about old songs that you have known most of your life. * Dave Brubeck *Which is best: interpretation or song? In any case, jazz and standards are forever locked in loving embrace. A finely researched work. * Sonny Rollins *Mr. Gioia's is the first general-interest, wide-ranging and authoritative guide to the basic contemporary jazz canon. * Will Friedwald, Wall Street Journal *In virtually every instance, Gioia delivers. * The Atlantic Monthly *One man's repertoire may be another man's B-list, but when the man is Ted Gioia, one tends to listen - in both senses. Gioia, among the most lauded of jazz writers, has chosen more than 250 songs. He tells the story behind each....Compulsively readable, and belongs on the shelves of every jazz lover, or jazz-lover wannabe. * Toronto Globe and Mail *This book should be in the library of every gigging jazz musician and every serious jazz fan. * Library Journal *What a useful and informative book The Jazz Standards is! Explaining the jazz repertory in a way that is accessible for the jazz beginner yet stimulating for the aficionado, Ted Gioia shows once again why he is one the best jazz writers around today. * Gerald Early, Editor of Miles Davis and American Culture *Warning: This book is addictive....Putting together a compendium like this must involve prodigious research and an encyclopaedic memory. Fortunately Gioia...wears his learning lightly and conveys it with wit and insight, and a minimum of musicological jargon. * Dallas Morning News *The book is wise, often funny—and it always accomplishes the highest mission of writing about music, which is to send you back to the music with wide-open ears. * Kansas City Star *Ted Gioia's The Jazz Standards is an interactive joy. It's a book you can have fun with while learning from it and it can also serve a companion anthology and reference guide. * Steven Cerra, Jazz Profiles *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction After You've Gone Ain't Misbehavin' Airegin Alfie All Blues All of Me All of You All the Things You Are Almost Like Being in Love Alone Together Along Came Betty Angel Eyes April in Paris Autumn in New York Autumn Leaves Bags' Groove Basin Street Blues Beale Street Blues Bemsha Swing Billie's Bounce Birdland Blue Bossa Blue in Green Blue Monk Blue Moon Blue Skies Blues in the Night Bluesette Body and Soul But Beautiful But Not for Me Bye Bye Blackbird C Jam Blues Cantaloupe Island Caravan Chelsea Bridge Cherokee A Child is Born Come Rain or Come Shine Come Sunday Con Alma Confirmation Corcovado Cotton Tail Darn That Dream Days of Wine and Roses Desafinado Dinah Django Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans Dolphin Dance Donna Lee Don't Blame Me Don't Get Around Much Anymore East of the Sun (and West of the Moon) Easy Living Easy to Love Embraceable You Emily Epistrophy Everything Happens to Me Evidence Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye Exactly Like You Falling in Love with Love Fascinating Rhythm Fly Me to the Moon A Foggy Day Footprints Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You? Georgia on My Mind Ghost of a Chance Giant Steps The Girl from Ipanema God Bless the Child Gone with the Wind Good Morning Heartache Goodbye Pork Pie Hat Groovin' High Have You Met Miss Jones? Here's That Rainy Day Honeysuckle Rose Hot House How Deep Is the Ocean? How High the Moon How Insensitive How Long Has This Been Going On? I Can't Get Started I Can't Give You Anything but Love I Cover the Waterfront I Didn't Know What Time It Was I Fall in Love Too Easily I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good) I Got Rhythm I Hear a Rhapsody I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart I Love You I Mean You I Only Have Eyes for You I Remember Clifford I Should Care I Surrender, Dear I Thought about You I Want to Be Happy If I Should Lose You If You Could See Me Now I'll Remember April I'm in the Mood for Love Impressions In a Mellow Tone In a Sentimental Mood In Your Own Sweet Way Indiana Invitation It Could Happen to You It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) It Had to Be You It Might As Well Be Spring It Never Entered My Mind I've Found a New Baby The Jitterbug Waltz Joy Spring Just Friends Just One of Those Things Just You, Just Me King Porter Stomp Lady Bird The Lady is a Tramp Lament Laura Lester Leaps In Like Someone in Love Limehouse Blues Liza Lonely Woman Lotus Blossom Love for Sale Love is Here to Stay Lover Lover, Come Back to Me Lover Man Lullaby of Birdland Lush Life Mack the Knife Maiden Voyage The Man I Love Manhã de Carnaval Mean to Me Meditation Memories of You Milestones Misterioso Misty Moanin' Moment's Notice Mood Indigo Moonlight in Vermont Moose the Mooche More Than You Know Muskrat Ramble My Favorite Things My Foolish Heart My Funny Valentine My Heart Stood Still My Old Flame My One and Only Love My Romance Naima Nardis Nature Boy The Nearness of You Nice Work If You Can Get It Night and Day Night in Tunisia Night Train Now's the Time Nuages Oh, Lady Be Good! Old Folks Oleo On a Clear Day On Green Dolphin Street On the Sunny Side of the Street Once I Loved One Note Samba One o'Clock Jump Ornithology Out of Nowhere Over the Rainbow Peace The Peacocks Pennies from Heaven Perdido Poinciana Polka Dots and Moonbeams Prelude to a Kiss Rhythm-a-ning 'Round Midnight Royal Garden Blues Ruby, My Dear St. James Infirmary Blues St. Louis Blues St. Thomas Satin Doll Scrapple from the Apple Secret Love The Shadow of Your Smile Skylark Smile Smoke Gets in Your Eyes So What Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise Solar Solitude Some of These Days Someday My Prince Will Come Someone to Watch Over Me Song for My Father The Song Is You Sophisticated Lady Soul Eyes Speak Low Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most Spring Is Here Star Dust Star Eyes Stella by Starlight Stolen Moments Stompin' at the Savoy Stormy Weather Straight, No Chaser Struttin' with Some Barbecue Summertime Sweet Georgia Brown 'S Wonderful Take Five Take the A Train Tea for Two Tenderly There Is No Greater Love There Will Never Be Another You These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You) They Can't Take That Away from Me Things Ain't What They Used to Be Tiger Rag Time after Time Tin Roof Blues The Very Thought of You Waltz for Debby Watermelon Man Wave The Way You Look Tonight Well, You Needn't What Is This Thing Called Love? What's New? When the Saints Go Marching In Whisper Not Who Can I Turn To? Willow Weep for Me Yardbird Suite Yesterdays You Don't Know What Love Is You Go to My Head You Stepped Out of a Dream You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To
£35.14
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Camp Los Uptown Saturday Night
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
£9.49
Bonnier Books Ltd Let The Good Times Roll: My Life in Small Faces,
Book Synopsis'WHICH IS THE BEST BAND I'VE BEEN IN? THE SMALL FACES WERE THE MOST CREATIVE, THE FACES WERE THE MOST FUN,THE WHO WERE THE MOST EXCITING. THESE WERE ELECTRIFYING DAYS IN MUSIC. WE WERE ALL UNTRIED, UNTESTED. WHAT WAS STOPPING US? NOTHING.'As drummer with the Small Faces, Faces and later The Who, Kenney Jones' unique sense of rhythm was the heartbeat that powered three of the most influential rock bands of all time.Beginning in London's post-war East End, Kenney's story takes us through the birth of the Mod revolution, the mind-bending days of the late-1960s and the raucous excesses of the '70s and '80s. In a career spanning six decades, Kenney was at the epicentre of many of the most exciting moments in music history and has experienced everything the industry has to offer. He jointly created some of the world's most-loved records, hung out with the Stones, Beatles, David Bowie, Keith Moon and Rod Stewart, and suffered the loss of close friends to rock 'n' roll excess and success. The legacy created by Kenney and his band mates has influenced acts as diverse as Led Zeppelin, the Sex Pistols and Oasis. Now, for the very first time, Kenney tells the full story of how a young Cockney Herbert played his part in the biggest social transformation in living memory - the people, the parties, the friendships, the fall-outs, the laughter, the sadness, the sex, drugs, and a lot of rock 'n' roll, while also opening up about his own deeply personal battles and passions, too. This is a vivid and breath-taking immersion into the most exciting era of music history and beyond.
£8.54
Faber & Faber Ill Be Your Mirror
Book Synopsis'The nature of Lou Reed's lyric writing that had been hitherto unknown in rock ... gave us the environment in which to put our more theatrical vision. He supplied us with the stretch and the landscape, and we peopled it.' - David Bowie
£22.50
Faber & Faber Lets Go So We Can Get Back
Book SynopsisA ROLLING STONE, MOJO, and PITCHFORK BOOK OF THE YEARA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The story, in his own words, of one of the century''s most feted singer songwriters: Jeff Tweedy, the man behind music by Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, and Tweedy. Through his pioneering work in the legendary country-punk band Uncle Tupelo, to his enduring legacy as the creative force behind the unclassifiable sound of Wilco, Jeff Tweedy has weaved his way between the underground and the mainstream. While his songs have been endlessly discussed and analysed, rarely has Tweedy talked directly about himself in any detail until now. Funny, disarming and deeply honest, his memoir casts light on his unique creative process and the moments that have shaped his life and career.There's a big-heartedness to the way he writes: humorous, fearless, unflinching.' GUARDIANFrank, engaging, and often very funny
£10.44
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Popkiss: The Life and Afterlife of Sarah Records
Book SynopsisFrom 1987 to 1995, Bristol, England’s Sarah Records was a modest underground success and, for the most part, a critical laughingstock in its native country—sneeringly dismissed as the sad, final repository for a fringe style of music (variously referred to as “indie-pop,” “C86,” “cutie” and “twee”) whose moment had passed. Yet now, more than 20 years after its founders symbolically “destroyed” it, Sarah is among the most passionately fetishized record labels of all time. Its rare releases command hundreds of dollars, devotees around the world hungrily seek out any information they can find about its poorly documented history, and young musicians—some of them not yet born when Sarah shut down—claim its bands (such as Blueboy, the Field Mice, Heavenly, and the Wake) as major influences. Featuring dozens of exclusive interviews with the music-makers, producers, writers and assorted eyewitnesses who played a part in Sarah’s eight-year odyssey, Popkiss: The Life and Afterlife of Sarah Records is the first authorised biography of an unlikely cult legend.Trade ReviewFascinating ... [A] detailed history of the cult Bristol-based indie ... [White] puts forward a strong case for its worth. * MOJO *White's book offers a series of discrete essays, each one covering a different theme or particular band … [Its] intriguing chapters explore the non-musical idiosyncrasies that made Sarah unique. * The Wire *Michael White expertly puts Sarah into context with a whirlwind tour of early indie-pop … This interesting read [is] very welcome. * Record Collector *A beautiful document in itself [and a 'Top Read of 2015']. * 3AM Magazine *Combining a zine-like zeal for its subjects with a thorough examination of the cultural context that made them special, the interconnected narratives of Popkiss form an IRL internet for people who believe a record is something to hold, cherish and scratch rather than click into the cloud. This is an essential archive of a pivotal moment in UK pop history that was in danger of fading from our collective pre-web memory. * Stuart Berman, Pitchfork Contributor and author of This Book Is Broken: A Broken Social Scene Story and Too Much Trouble: A Very Oral History of Danko Jones *More than the labels that inspired its existence, Sarah Records came to define the indie-pop aesthetic. A great record label needs a great biography, and it's hard to think of anyone who could tell the Sarah story as empathetically as Michael White. Popkiss is a triumph. * Pete Paphides *It’s hard to think of another record company that provoked such strong emotions as Sarah: the label, and the music it released, inspired either undying devotion or implacable loathing. Michael White’s book shines a brilliant light on a strange and unique moment in indie history, illuminating a fascinating, lost world of pop, politics, passion and postal orders. * Alexis Petridis, Head Rock and Pop Critic, The Guardian, UK *White's history is a much-needed document, fleshing out details and explanation for a label and ‘scene’ that has meant so much to so many yet not received the literary attention it deserves … Popkiss is immensely readable and incredibly successful in uncovering the secrets of a record label that was timeless in its output, limited in its lifespan, and for the most part known to only a select few record-philes during its duration. If you were in the know, Popkiss will help you discover Sarah anew. If you weren't, you will find endless rabbit holes down which to venture. Either way, you'll come away pleased. -- Frank Valish * Under the Radar *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction Chapter One: Songs of Innocence and Inexperience: The Roots of Sarah Chapter Two: “Let’s Just Communicate!”: The 1980s Fanzine Underground Chapter Three: “How Much Do One Thousand Flexidiscs Weigh?”: When Matt Met Clare Chapter Four: “Come to My World”: The Sea Urchins and the Beginning of Sarah Chapter Five: “A Constant Source of Bemusement and Wonder”: The Orchids Chapter Six: “Another Fucking Harvey Band”: The Ubiquitous Harvey Williams Chapter Seven: “Sarah Records Unequivocally Supports a Fully Integrated Light-Rail Rapid-Transit System for the Greater Bristol Area”: Expressions of Civic Pride Chapter Eight: “A Diary of Sorts”: The Field Mice, Northern Picture Library, and the Quicksilver Bobby Wratten Chapter Nine: “I Sometimes Feel So Lost”: Brighter Chapter Ten: Safe Harbour: The Wake and The Hit Parade Chapter Eleven: “I Am Telling You Because You Are Far Away”: Internationalism and Sarah’s Written Communiqués Chapter Twelve: “Atta Girl”: Heavenly, Riot Grrrl and Feminism Chapter Thirteen: Sadness is Unisex”: Blueboy and “the Best Album” Sarah Released Chapter Fourteen: An Economy of Ambition: Sarah’s Short-Term Visitors Chapter Fifteen: “We Had an Outsider’s Perspective”: Sarah’s Foreign Visitors Chapter Sixteen: “A Day for Destroying Things…”: The End of Sarah Chapter Seventeen: The Afterlife of Sarah The Sarah Discography Index
£21.24
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Can's Tago Mago
Book SynopsisFinally, a brilliant exploration of the German rock band Can's 1971 album Tago Mago. This hugely unique and influential album deserves close analysis from a fan, rather than a musicologist. Novelist Alan Warner details the concrete music we hear on the album, how it was composed, executed and recorded--including the history of the album in terms of its release, promotion and art work. This tale of Tago Mago is also the tale of a young man obsessed with record collecting in the dark and mysterious period of pop music before Google. Warner includes a backtracking of the history of the band up to that point and also some description of Can's unique recording approach taking into account their home studio set up. Interviews with the two surviving members: drummer Jaki Liebezeit, keyboardist Irmin Schmidt and bassist Holger Czukay make this a hilariously personal and illuminating picture of Can.Trade ReviewWarner asserts that the musical criticism and musicology "ignore the material and autobiographical details that have been built into a web of deeply personal associations". This is true of a certain classical model of music writing, and [this] book is a deeply enjoyable and lyrical rebuttal to that -- Frances Morgan * The Wire *In high school, I came upon the book Twilight of the Gods by Wilfred Mellers, a 1973 study attempting to explain the importance of the Fab Four’s music through a musicological analysis of their works. This seemed extremely absurd. I recently realized, after reading several books in the 33 1/3 series, that it’s not really about the individual albums profiled—it’s about what it’s like to be a fan. It’s about what it’s like to view a particular work as the pinnacle of aesthetic accomplishment—to experience the unique sensation of “This speaks to me!” There is also a fetishization of the vinyl album as an art object. Each band and record in the series is mythologized as much as the authors’ experience of discovering them is; in the case of Can’s 1971 album Tago Mago, Warner describes their “stoner athleticism.” The Scottish novelist realizes the absurdity of this linguistic attempt to describe music, as much as Mellers, but Warner’s volume about the German psychedelic band is rich because he shows how “Tago Mago gave me permission to dream.” Tago Mago, along with a number of other Can masterpieces, will be reissued on vinyl alongside the release of the 33 1/3 book. * SLUG Magazine *Scottish novelist Alan Warner (Morvern Callar, The Deadman’s Pedal) has given us a unique and absorbing look at the great Krautrock classic Tago Mago by Can […] Music fans will find themselves nodding in solidarity with his admitted obsession with the record […]Can’s Tago Mago is a masterpiece that still enthralls and informs listeners 40+years past it’s debut, and in a different way, Alan Warner’s look at his relation to the record, and music in general, is much the same. Our most deeply felt connections with art are the pieces that cause us to grow over time with the work, and Warner has given us a near-perfect description of such. -- James Mann * Big Takeover *I really can't recommend Warner's Tago Mago highly enough. I've never read anything by Warner that isn't artful and considered, a mix between the analytical and passionate, but that has never been better demonstrated than in this short book. You may not want to go out and get a copy of Can's album (personally, I prefer Ege Bamyasi), but that's not what he is setting out to do. This is [his] story, one which is both personal and universal, or at least common to the sort of people whose relationships with music, and other art forms, can be as important as their relationships to people - basically, the sort of person who buys the 33? books. * Scots Way Hae! *Table of ContentsPART ONE HALLELUWAH AN ANATOMY OF LISTENING CAN WITHOUT THE MUSIC ‘LIKE CAN’S DRUMMER…’ THE TERRIFYING SEX PISTOLS MR IAN DURY & THE BLOCKHEADS SWEARING A ‘RECORD COLLECTION’ VAN HALEN & BAGPIPES PART TWO A SPANNER IN THE SKY MADE IN A CASTLE WITH BETTER EQUIPMENT TAGO MAGO CAN WORLD NOT A DREAM THE EDITS A SINGLE SONG WHICH NEVER ENDS NOSTALGIA DANGER THE MYSTERY OF LA ISLA DE TAGOMAGO
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Devo's Freedom of Choice
Book SynopsisFinally, after all that waiting, The Future arrived in 1980. Ohio art-rockers Devo had plainly prepared with their 1979 second LP Duty Now for the Future, and now it was go time. Propelled by the new decade's high-tech, free-market, pre-AIDS promise, 1980's Freedom of Choice would rocket what Devo co-founder Gerald Casale calls his "alternate universe, hermetically sealed, alien band" both into the arms of the Earthlings and back to their home planet in one scenic trip. Before an artistic and commercial decline that resulted in a 20-year gap between Devo's last two studio records, Freedom of Choice made them curious, insurgent superstars, vindicated but ultimately betrayed by the birth of MTV. Their only platinum album represented the best of their unreplicable code: dead-serious tricksters, embracing conformity in order to destroy it with bullet-proof pop sensibility. Through first-hand accounts from the band and musical analysis set against an examination of new wave's emergence, the first-ever authorized book about Devo (with a foreword by Portlandia's Fred Armisen) explores the group's peak of success, when their hermetic seal cracked open to let in mainstream attention, a legion of new Devotees, and plenty of misunderstandings. "Freedom of Choice was the end of Devo innocence–it turned out to be the high point before the s***storm of a total cultural move to the right, the advent of AIDS, and the press starting to figure Devo out and think they had our number," says Casale. "It's where everything changes."Trade ReviewEvie Nagy's 33 1/3 book on Devo's Freedom of Choice is fantastic, nerdy, swift and meticulous, and the book you have been waiting for if you even like Devo a little bit. * Jessica Hopper, Senior Editor, Pitchfork *...a solid look back at the point where everything changed for Devo ... Nagy gets Devo’s mix of nerdishness, humour, and serious political intent … bringing together new quotes from Devo members, others involved with the album, people from Devo’s circle over the years, as well as bits from contemporary articles to tell a story that’s well worth reading for anyone interested alternative music or 1980s pop culture. * TheFifteenth *Interview -- PopMattersExcerpted -- Rolling StoneInterview * Bedford and Bowery *Excerpted * Fast Company *Nagy’s look at Devo offers some great anecdotes for the spuds out there. There are coked-out stories about the band in the studio and on the road, as well as a look at how the oddball aesthetic of Devo left its fingerprints on nerd culture over the last few decades, maybe even initiating the whole geek chic thing. -- Hubert Vigilla * Ruby Hornet *Nagy has conducted interviews with the remaining Devo members, has quoted extensively from interviews and has told in detail the history of the album including the elaborate studio sessions with producer Robert Margouleff ... This is compulsory reading for fans. * HHV-mag (Bloomsbury translation) *Get straight! Go forward! There's no Hazmat jacket required to whip through Freedom of Choice, which motors through Devo's rich history with all the relentless precision and curveball flourishes of their greatest works, and—best of all—vividly renders the very human souls behind the automaton anthems that devolutionized an era." * Sean Howe, author of Marvel Comics: The Untold Story *“Spuds will love the nostalgia and the insiders' information in Devo's Freedom of Choice … Non-spuds who think of Devo as a one-hit wonder will be surprised to read of Devo's impact and musical influence. Spuds and non-spuds alike will want to dust off their old LPs or cassettes, or pull up some songs on YouTube, and relive the early days of Devo, a great band ahead of its time.” * Reading Glutton *Table of ContentsForeword by Fred Armisen Introduction 1. Girl U Want Look at you with your mouth waterin', look at you with your mind spinnin'. Why don't we just admit it's all over? 2. It's Not Right I sit around in a trance all day and think about you all the time. 3. Whip It Go forward, move ahead, try to detect it, it's not too late. 4. Snowball Like a snowball grows, until it gets too big. Until she lost control. And it rolled back down. 5. Ton O' Love Take your turn, now make your move. Crush that doubt with a ton o' love. 6. Freedom of Choice Freedom of choice is what you got, freedom from choice is what you want. 7. Gates of Steel Half a goon and half a God, a man's not made of steel. 8. Cold War I owe you absolutely nothing. 9. Don't You Know I got a rocket in my pocket, but I don't know what to do. 10. That's Pep! Vigor, vim, vitality and punch. 11. Mr. B's Ballroom Yellin', laughin' tryin' hard to act smart, we put 'em under pressure and you watch them fall apart. 12. Planet Earth Planet Earth, it's a place to live your life. Acknowledgments Notes
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Koji Kondo's Super Mario Bros. Soundtrack
Book SynopsisKoji Kondo’s Super Mario Bros. (1985) score redefined video game music. With under three minutes of music, Kondo put to rest an era of bleeps and bloops—the sterile products of a lab environment—replacing it with one in which game sounds constituted a legitimate form of artistic expression. Andrew Schartmann takes us through the various external factors (e.g., the video game crash of 1983, Nintendo’s marketing tactics) that coalesced into a ripe environment in which Kondo’s musical experiments could thrive. He then delves into the music itself, searching for reasons why our hearts still dance to the “primitive” 8-bit tunes of a bygone era. What musical features are responsible for Kondo’s distinct “Mario sound”? How do the different themes underscore the vastness of Princess Peach’s Mushroom Kingdom? And in what ways do the game’s sound effects resonate with our physical experience of the world? These and other questions are explored within, through the lens of Kondo’s compositional philosophy—one that would influence an entire generation of video game composers. As Kondo himself stated, “we [at Nintendo] were trying to do something that had never been done before.” In this book, Schartmann shows his readers how Kondo and his team not just succeeded, but heralded in a new era of video games.Trade ReviewSchartmann is convincing on Kondo's genius ... It's hard not to appreciate his high aim. If anyone still doubts a video game can be art, perhaps their definition of art is at fault. * The Wire *The most compelling aspects of Schartmann’s book involve the widening circumference of Kondo’s imagination, the possibilities he saw in this new world of electronic composition. The move to home consoles had freed video gaming from the initial, “hailing” approach to sound…It’s Schartmann’s sense of conviction, the hyperbole that occasionally frames his dive into composition and structure, that gives the book its charm. -- Hua Shu * The New Yorker *Koji Kondo’s Super Mario Bros. Soundtrack gave me a greater appreciation of something that appears to be so simple on the surface. * Pure Geekery *Koji Kondo's Super Mario Bros. Soundtrack comes in at 120 pages, not counting the notes and preface, which appears well on par with other books in the 33 1/3 series. It's a book that takes itself seriously, as it should, and soundly proves the case that video game composition is worthy of discussion among keepers of music as a craft. If you have an appreciation for game music, this is worth buying. Even if you don't get a few parts, they're only likely to make you admire the work and design that go into composing all the more. -- Tim Latshaw * NintendoLife *Andrew Schartmann does both the spirit of the series and video game history proud with his investigation into the iconic music from Koji Kondo. Matching a fanboy’s sensibilities with serious scholarship, Schartmann provides the reader with an engaging discussion of Kondo’s themes and ideas, both in terms of stylistic flair and compositional acumen … Of equal importance are his excellent research skills, as he collects worthwhile source material and pairs them [with] compelling quotes from Kondo and other luminaries at Nintendo to make his case for this soundtrack’s inclusion in the 33-1/3 series. The result is a superb blend of professional musicology and video game nerdery. * Dryvetyme.tumblr.com *Andrew Schartmann’s extensive, thoughtful treatise on Japanese composer Koji Kondo and his work on the soundtrack to the original Super Mario Bros game is probably the most unusual entry in the 33 1/3 music chapbook series … As Schartmann demonstrates, Kondo’s work on this seminal game – and the legacy of industry influence that followed – is much more than the primitive bleeps and bloops we all remember … -- Justin Cummings * Critics at Large *There’s something ballsy about including a videogame soundtrack in the 33 1/3 series since it’s not a traditional album per se, though Andrew Schartmann makes a compelling case for Koji Kondo’s score for Super Mario Bros. -- Hubert Vigilla * Ruby Hornet *Excerpted * VICE *Featured in "The Genius of the Super Mario Bros. 'Game Over' Theme" * Slate *Schartmann argues Super Mario Bros. composer Kondo transcended the medium of composition to break free from its restrictions, creating something new to be examined and improved upon … Super Mario Bros. has an enduring sonic legacy. Music is, after all, one of the great social connectors, and the infectiousness of Super Mario Bros.’ iconic main theme is ignorant of geography’s constraints. -- Josh O’Kane * The Globe and Mail *Table of ContentsForward Preface Acknowledgements INTRODUCTION CONTEXTS 1-1 An Unlikely Hero is Born 1-2 Mario Grows Up 1-3 Kondo’s Compositional Philosophy 1-4 Kondo’s Instruments MUSIC 2-1 Overworlds and Underworlds 2-2 The “Underwater” Waltz 2-3 Bowser’s “Castle” Theme & Other Endings 2-4 Sound Effects CONCLUSION Bibliography Index
£9.49
Lexington Books Theory and Method in Historical Ethnomusicology
Book SynopsisHistorical ethnomusicology is increasingly acknowledged as a significant emerging subfield of ethnomusicology due to the fact that historical research requires a different set of theories and methods than studies of contemporary practices and many historiographic techniques are rapidly transforming as a result of new technologies. In 2005, Bruno Nettl observed that the term historical ethnomusicology' has begun to appear in programs of conferences and in publications (Nettl 2005, 274), and as recently as 2012 scholars similarly noted an increasing concern with the writing of musical histories in ethnomusicology (Ruskin and Rice 2012, 318). Relevant positions recently advanced by other authors include that historical musicologists are all ethnomusicologists now and that all ethnomusicology is historical (Stobart, 2008), yet we sense that such argumentswhile useful, and theoretically correctmay ultimately distract from careful consideration of the kinds of contemporary theories and rigorTrade ReviewBy means of thoughtful commentary on potential sources and procedures, the editors and authors of new articles will hopefully stimulate burgeoning interest in historical perspectives on the part of ethnomusicologists. -- Bonnie C. Wade, University of California, BerkeleyA timely, thoughtful, and engaging collection, Theory and Method in Historical Ethnomusicology is sure to become an important resource. McCollum, Herbert, and their collaborators have done a great service to musical scholars of all stripes, be they historical musicologists, ethnomusicologists, or somewhere in between. -- Ken Prouty, Michigan State UniversityThis book is an ardent call for a historical turn in ethnomusicology. -- Alexandra Kertz-Welzel, Ludwig Maximilian UniversityA scholarly and incisive account of the place of historiography in ethnomusicology. Editors McCollum and Hebert adopt an organizational structure that achieves a fine balance between historical, philosophical, and theoretical foundations, and their application is illustrated brilliantly in studies of diverse global music traditions. The text transcends music disciplinary boundaries and points the way to an expanded vision for historiography in music scholarship. -- Marie McCarthy, University of MichiganTable of ContentsTable of contents Foreword. The Past is No Longer a Foreign Country Keith Howard Acknowledgments Chapter 1. Foundations of Historical Ethnomusicology Jonathan McCollum and David G. Hebert Chapter 2. Methodologies for Historical Ethnomusicology in the Twenty-First Century David G. Hebert and Jonathan McCollum Chapter 3. Philosophy of History and Theory in Historical Ethnomusicology David G. Hebert and Jonathan McCollum Chapter 4. Hearing Echoes, Sensing History: The Challenges of Musical Diaspora Judah Cohen Chapter 5. Ancient Music, Modern Myth: Persian Music and the Pursuit of Methodology in Historical Ethnomusicology Ann Lucas Chapter 6. Analysis of Notation in Music Historiography: Armenian Neumatic Khaz from the Ninth through Early Twentieth Centuries Jonathan McCollum Chapter 7. Southern American Fiddling through the Mid-Nineteenth Century: Three Snapshots with Modern Connections Chris Goertzen Chapter 8. A Tale of Two Sensibilities: Hindustani Music and its Histories Daniel M. Neuman Chapter 9. The Legacy of Music Archives in Historical Ethnomusicology: A Model for Engaged Ethnomusicology Diane Thram Chapter 10. Contested Contextualization: The Historical Construction of East Asian Music Keith Howard Chapter 11. Advancing Historical Ethnomusicology Jonathan McCollum and David G. Hebert Index About the Contributors
£52.20
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Bjorks Homogenic
Book SynopsisIn recent years, Björk's artistry has become ever more ambitious and ever more respected. With the release of her conceptual app-album Biophilia in 2011, and a huge retrospective exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art coinciding with her most recent album, Vulnicura, in 2015, her status as artpop auteur has been secured. The album that made all this possible, though is 1997's Homogenic, a turning point in Björk's career and still among her finest musical achievements. Produced under great strain, it moves beyond the stylistic magpie rush of Debut and the urbanophile future-pop of Post, to something darker, stronger and braver, full of dramatic assertions of independence, sharp, stuttering beats, rich strings and raw outbursts of noise. It created, as the Alexander McQueen designed sleeve clearly asserted, a new Björk, one who would never stop hunting.Trade ReviewPositively bursting at the seams with information and fresh insight, Emily Mackay’s ‘Homogenic’ is perhaps the pick of the bunch [of all 33 1/3s in 2017], a continually entertaining reading of one of Björk’s most vital, enduring albums ... As Björk primers go, this is certainly one of the best. * CLASH *A scholarly but thoroughly readable analysis ... Strongest of all are the in-depth dissections of Homogenic's heady blend of patriotism and cosmopolitanism, the traditional and tech savvy, nature and technology. * Record Collector *Table of ContentsIntroduction: I’m going hunting 1 State of emergency: Björk’s crisis 2 I want to go on a mountain top: Björk’s escape 3 The marvellous web: Björk’s friends 4 Excuse me, but I just have to explode: Björk’s noises 5 You just didn’t know me: Björk’s characters 6 Home, what’s been found: Björk’s national anthems 7 I dare you to take me on: Björk’s loves 8 Brand new tomorrow: Björk’s images 9 Game we’re playing is life: Björk’s virtual realities
£9.49
Hal Leonard Corporation Disney Hits for Ukulele
Book Synopsis
£14.39
Outline Press Ltd What Makes The Monkey Dance: The Life And Music
Book SynopsisHow do you define success? If you let somebody else define what success is, you re a sucker. I m no sucker. Chuck Prophet started out as a post-punk California kid who helped kick-start the alt-country genre when he joined Dan Stuart s Green On Red, then making a name for themselves as part of the so-called Paisley Underground alongside bands like The Dream Syndicate and The Bangles. While Green On Red established a reputation for self-destruction illuminated by flashes of brilliance in the studio and on festival stages around Europe in the late 1980s, Prophet simultaneously immersed himself in roots music and forged a solo career via backroom and basement venues across his adopted home of San Francisco. He has emerged as one of the most respected musicians of his generation, admired for his talents as a songwriter, guitarist, vocalist, and live performer. He has worked with the likes of Tony Visconti and Warren Zevon, and his songs have been performed by artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen and Solomon Burke. Those who know him through his social-media presence or his live shows are well aware that no one tells a story quite like Chuck Prophet; here, his voice rings clearly from the first page to the last as he gives his perspective on writing, recording, and performing, and talks candidly about his struggles and remarkable recovery from years of addiction. As Prophet s official archivist, author Stevie Simkin draws on over a hundred hours of interviews with his subject as well as contributions from fellow musicians, producers, friends, and associates, and unique access to unreleased songs and live recordings and scores of previously unseen photographs. Time and again, Simkin puts the reader in the room with Chuck as he talks, or in the studio as he plays, and the live experience is captured from both sides of the stage monitors. An exciting rock n roll odyssey, What Makes The Monkey Dance is essential reading for every fan of this phenomenal artist, but also for anyone with an interest in alternative music during a period seismic change, offering a fascinating portrait of how a true artist has managed to carve out a career at the sharp end of a notoriously ruthless industry.
£14.95
Equinox Publishing Ltd Elvis: Roots, Image, Comeback, Phenomenon
Book SynopsisElvis Presley remains the single most important figure in twentieth century popular music. To many commentators, however, he has simply embodied the benefits and problems of uncritically embracing capitalism. By 2005 the 'Memphis Flash' sold over a billion records worldwide, yet his cultural significance cannot be measured by these extraordinary sales figures alone. He cannot quite be reduced to a placeholder for the contradictions of commerce. As the most prominent performer of the rock'n'roll era, then as a charismatic global superstar, Elvis fundamentally challenged the established relationship between White and Black culture, drew attention to the social needs of women and young people, and promoted the value of Southern creativity. He functioned as a bridge figure between folk roots and high modernity, and in the process became a controversial symbol of American unity. Elvis interprets the image and music of Elvis Presley to reveal how they have evolved to construct a particularly appealing and powerful myth. Following broad contours of Presley's rollercoaster career, the book uses a range of analytical frames to challenge established perspectives on an icon. Its shows that the controversy around Elvis has effectively tested how far a concern for social equality could be articulated through the marketplace, and ultimately challenged how popular music itself should be assessed.
£23.70
Wallflower Press Popular Music and Film
Book Synopsis
£17.09
Genesis Publications The Beach Boys
Book Synopsis‘There’s love in the music and people can relate to the love, regardless of whether you''re two years old or 92 years old. For me, music is about love. Love is the message I want to share. I hope people feel that in my music. That makes the hard work worth it.’ - Brian WilsonHere, for the first time in print, is the history of The Beach Boys, by The Beach Boys.Their only official book, The Beach Boys by The Beach Boys is the ultimate chronicle of one of the world’s greatest bands. Through their unique sound, complex harmonies, sensational live shows and use of innovative recording techniques, The Beach Boys became woven into the cultural fabric of America and influenced generations of musicians globally. This book documents how it happened.Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston toget
£45.00
