Music: styles and genres Books

Book Synopsis***With consultant editor Tony Visconti. 'An unearthed trove of Bowie treasure' - David MitchellDavid Bowie's story has never been told quite like this.Tracing the star's encounters with fellow icons throughout his life, We Could Be offers a new history of Bowie, collecting 300 short stories that together paint a portrait of humour, humility, compassion, tragedy and more besides.He teaches Michael Jackson the moonwalk. He embarrasses himself in front of Lennon and Warhol. He saves the life of Nina Simone. He also taught John McEnroe to play 'Rebel Rebel'; had run-ins with Lou Reed, Axel Rose and Liam Gallagher, and had his feet measured by Freddie Mercury at their first meeting. Individually astonishing, together these stories - including details never before revealed - build a new picture of Bowie, one which shows his vulnerability, his sense of humour, his inner diva.Exhaustively researched from thousands of sources by BBC reporter and Bowie obsessive Tom Hagler - with the guidance and memories of Bowie's long-time producer Tony Visconti - We Could Be is fascinating, comic, compelling, and a history of Bowie unlike any that has come before.Trade ReviewA fresh, illuminating portrait of a life unlike any that has come before. * David Bowie News *A fresh take on writing about David Bowie and the encounters people had with him throughout his life. * Louder Than War *Even the most well informed Bowie reader will find something new here. As we approach what would have been his 75th birthday, many a Bowie fan will enjoy this absorbing portrait. * The Edinburgh Reporter *

Read more less

Book Synopsis5/5 - CLASSIC POP 4/5 - THE TELEGRAPH Everyone has their favourite era of the Bee Gees' career, but so much is still unclear about this celebrated but often misunderstood band. This book will provide the perfect route in, pulling together every fascinating strand to tell the story of these pioneering, melancholic masters of pop. Uniquely, the Bee Gees' tale spans the entire modern pop era - they are the only group to have scored British top-ten singles in the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s - and includes world-conquering disco successes like 'Stayin' Alive' and 'More Than a Woman', both from the soundtrack of hit film Saturday Night Fever. But the Bee Gees' extraordinary career was one of highs and lows. From a vicious but temporary split in 1969 to several unreleased albums, disastrous TV and film appearances, and a demoralising cabaret season, the group weren't always revelling in the glow of million-selling albums, private jets and UNICEF concerts. Yet, even in the Gibbs' darkest times, their music was rarely out of the charts, as sung by the likes of Al Green, Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton and Diana Ross. Award winning author Bob Stanley captures the human story at the heart of the Bee Gees in this lyrical and stylish read.Trade Review'Told with the delicious lyricism and candour we've come to expect from Stanley, the band's extraordinary story is recounted In meticulous detail 5/5.' -- Classic Pop'Stanley is a wonderful guide...showing us gems of their vast catalogue with enthusiasm, insight and wit. 4/5' -- The Telegraph'A loving vindication of the band... alert to the comedy of pop star existence but also tells a deeply melancholy tale.' -- Sunday Times'Finally, the definitive biography of the Bee Gees. Bob Stanley tells one of the most extraordinary stories in the history of pop, epic and mythical, with tales of heart-stopping joy and sadness. Children Of The World does full justice to the Gibb brothers' extraordinary musical legacy. I pretty much inhaled it in one sitting.' -- Pete Paphides'The Bee Gees are my all-time favourite band. Perhaps I love them that fraction more than any other artist because I don't think their genius - or their flat-out weirdness - has ever been fully appreciated. But they are here: meticulously researched, endlessly entertaining, written with both love and a cool critical eye. Bee Gees: Children of the World wins again and again.' -- Alexis Petridis'A brilliant book.' -- Mark Ellen

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe second in a two-volume set, which began with an examination of David Bowie's career up until 1982.Bowie released eleven solo albums in this period, including five number ones in the UK.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAuthors Andrew Wild and Alberto Bravin have listened to, digested and discussed the entire Beatles back catalogue to remind them why they love their music.This first volume covers the period 1962 to 1966 - from 'Love Me Do' to 'Tomorrow Never Knows', and the early albums to Rubber Soul and Revolver.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this informative, readable and for punk fans at least annoying book, Kevan Furbank looks at the progressive rock bands and albums that left punk reeling in the moshpit. To misquote the Sex Pistols, never mind the b*llocks here's the progressive rock of 1977.

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisI''m proof that things absolutely can happen. - PinkDubbed the next Queen of Pop for her distinctive voice and live acrobatic stage performances, Pink unapologetically smashed her way through the music industry at the mere age of 14. The incredible success of her masterpiece Missundaztood showcased the reality of Pink to the world; a strong, rebellious yet vulnerable woman who was here to conquer the music industry. With over 135 million albums and singles sold worldwide, nine studio albums and a long list of accolades, she is one of the world''s best-selling music artists.Moving Mountains: The Little Guide to Pink is bursting with quotes taken from the mouth of the toothless tiger herself across interviews from all eras of her continuing career. From relatable quips to fascinating facts from her wild teenage days, this tiny tome will get you ready to paint the world pink.

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisMoby Grape are a genuine cult phenomenon. Their story, a mixture of myth and truth, is a cautionary tale, a triumph, and a tragedy all at once. Though they are seen as a symbol of 1960s San Francisco, Moby Grape were never actually a part of the city s counterculture movement. Yet they were immersed in it, sharing stages with the likes of Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, and many more. Moby Grape s five members came together from very different backgrounds, bursting onto the San Francisco scene in the fall of 1966. With their diverse pedigree, they were nothing less than musical alchemists, yet they were also rebels. Their blending of genres within a tight songwriting framework contrasted sharply with that of many of their SF peers. Following the release of the band s debut album in 1967, you could see everyone from Ringo Starr to Jimi Hendrix sporting a `Moby Grape Now! button. But in the months that followed, they were dogged by mismanagement, bad marketing, a scandalous drug bust, and general rock n roll mayhem. It seemed like it was all over in 1969, but in 1971 Moby Grape staged rock s first full-on reunion. Since then, they have fought to retain ownership of their own name, while two members of the band struggled with homelessness and mental illness. Despite all of this, they produced one of the best albums of the era, and today they are heralded by countless luminaries of rock music and rock criticism, from Robert Plant to Robert Christgau, Tom Waits to Greil Marcus. Drawing on extensive interviews with the surviving members of the band, What s Big and Purple and Lives in the Ocean? finally tells the full story of one of the great cult bands of the 60s.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA grinding celebration of the metal gods Judas Priest in all their sumptuous glory. A photo-stuffed coffee table book with the entire fifty plus year history in meticulous timeline order - a rock-hard reference book, with the facts presented mostly soberly and efficiently. This book contains all manner of facts that also takes a detailed look at offshoot bands and side-projects throughout the visually stunning pages.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom rock'n'roll to contemporary pop, Mixing Pop and Politics is a provocative and entertaining mash-up of music and Marxist theory.

Read more less

Book Synopsisa legend, a teacher and a pioneer of reggae dancehall music in the UK and worldwide - Julian Marley Spanning an impressive 40+ year career in the music industry, Stick To My Roots charts Tippa Irie''s incredible story - from his trailblazing beginnings in Saxon Sound International to the Grammy Award-nominated Hey Mama with the Black Eyed Peas.Titled after his 2010 hit single, this autobiography moves from the first sign of talent in Irie as a child in Brixton, South London and family members encouraging him to enter local talent competitions, to making his first record, connecting to his roots home in Jamaica as well as the wider reggae legacy across the Caribbean and the African continent and becoming the powerhouse and Reggae-scene legend he is now.It is a memoir full of dreams, music and hope, but also the deep traumas and tribulations that Tippa experienced throughout his life.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisLegends have to start somewhere... Witness the King of Rock ''n'' Roll''s humble beginnings in Memphis as a young artist struggling to define his voice and break into the music industry. From the history-making Sun Studio to television sets across the nation, the trials and tribulations of Elvis Presley are explored in graphic detail by authors Chris Miskiewicz (Grateful Dead: Origins) and Marvel Comics artist Michael Shelfer. This official Graphic Novel produced in partnership with the Elvis Presley estate chronicles how a young man became The KING of ROCK''N ROLL....

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the storied ache of mbube harmonies of the 40s to the electronic boom of kwaito and the amapiano and house explosion of the 00s, this book explores vignettes taken from across South Africa's popular music history. There are moments in time where music can be a mighty weapon in the fight for freedom. Disguised in a danceable hook or shouted for the world to hear, artists have used songs to deliver important truths and bring listeners together in the face of a segregated reality. In the grip of the brutal apartheid era, South Africa crafted its own idiosyncratic popular musical vernacular that operated both as sociopolitical tool and realm of escape. In a country with 11 official languages, music had the power to unite South Africans in protest. Artists bloomed a new idyll from the branches of countless storied musical traditions, and in turn found themselves banned or exiledthe profound epiphany that music can exist both within the pleasure of itself and for serving a far greater pTrade ReviewYour next great music read. . . . Phillips explores how music had the power to unite a country of 11 official languages in times of sociopolitical unrest and the brutal apartheid era. * Consequence of Sound *A beautiful book in the 33 1/3 Genre series. -- Jesse Mulligan * Radio New Zealand *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Simunye: We Are One1. The Lion Sleeps, The Evening Bird Sings 2. Bantu Radio and Shebeen Jazz 3. The Rebel Flute 4. They Cannot Say Qongothwane 5. Separate Development and Exile 6. Grace, the Land, and Graceland 7. The White Zulu 8. Sun City, Bubblegum, and Shifting Afrikaans 9. Free Nelson Mandela 10. Creating the New: Mzansi Fo Sho 11. Our House Ten Essential Tracks Notes

Read more less

Book SynopsisHe starts the decade a teenage pop idol. But the one-hit wonder who sang 'Space Oddity' is still very far from becoming the star who will one day define the 1970s. Not when he still has a band to find, a manager to sack, a mentally ill brother to save, a wife to marry and a rival called Marc Bolan to beat. Not when David Bowie still has no idea who or what David Bowie is. Starting at the beginning of Bowie's incredible ten-year odyssey changing the course of pop music, Simon Goddard's bold and expressionistic biography weaves time, space, rock'n'roll and social history to relive Bowie's 1970 - moment by vivid moment.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Jesus and Mary Chain’s swooning debut Psychocandy seared through the underground and through the pop charts, shifting the role of noise within pop music forever. Post-punk and pro-confusion, Psychocandy became the sound of a generation poised on the brink of revolution, establishing Creation Records as a tastemaking entity in the process. The Scottish band’s notorious live performances were both punishingly loud and riot-spurring, inevitably acting as socio-political commentary on tensions emergent in mid-1980s Britain. Through caustic clangs and feedback channeling the rage of the working-class who’d had enough, Psychocandy gestures toward the perverse pleasure in having your eardrums exploded and loudness as a politics within itself. Yet Psychocandy’s blackened candy heart center – calling out to phantoms Candy and Honey with an unsettling charm – makes it a pop album to the core, and not unlike the sugarcoated sounds the Ronettes became famous for in the 1960s. The Jesus and Mary Chain expertly carved out a place where depravity and sweetness entwined, emerging from the isolating underground of suburban Scotland grasping the distinct sound of a generation, apathetic and uncertain. The irresistible Psychocandy emerged as a clairvoyant account of struggle and sweetness that still causes us to grapple with pop music’s relation to ourselves.Trade ReviewAn interesting and eminently readable study of one of the most significant albums of the 1980s ... The book is a welcome addition to a consistently excellent series. * The Kelvingrove Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Taste the Floor Chapter One: Never Understand Chapter Two: Just Like Honey Chapter Three: In a Hole Chapter Four: Sowing Seeds Chapter Five: Taste of Cindy Chapter Six: Some Candy Talking Chapter Seven: My Little Underground Chapter Eight: The Living End Chapter Nine: Cut Dead Chapter Ten: Inside Me Chapter Eleven: It's So Hard Chapter Twelve: Something's Wrong Chapter Thirteen: The Hardest Walk Chapter Fourteen: You Trip Me Up

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the War on Hippies to the Great Rock ''n'' Roll Swindle, the story of Modern Lovers is a high octane tale of Brutalist architecture, rock ''n'' roll ambition and the struggle for identity in a changing world. One of punk rock's foundational documents, the archetype for indie obsession and all but disowned by its author, The Modern Lovers was an album doomed by its own coolness from day one. Powered by the two-chord wonder Roadrunner and its proclamation that I'm in love with rock ''n'' roll,The Modern Lovers is the essential document of American alienation, an escape route from the cultural wasteland of postwar suburbia. The Modern Lovers is the bridge connecting the Velvet Underground and the Sex Pistols; they were peers of the New York Dolls and friends with Gram Parsons and they would splinter into Talking Heads, The Cars, and The Real Kids. But The Modern Lovers was never meant to be an album. A collection of demos, recorded in fits anTrade Review[Maloney] gives us concise, incredibly perceptive examinations of each song in turn that fans will devour ... A sensitive portrayal of knowing outsiderdom that steers clear of cliché and enriches the album in question. * Record Collector *[33 1/3] has been flying the flag for quality, book-length music criticism and commentary for some time now ... This book is certainly one of the most memorable and rewarding additions to the 33 1/3 canon; it takes a much loved album that for many is a solitary love affair, so intimate are its songs, and does not dispel its magic but offers the reader a greater appreciation of its merits. * We Are Cult *Table of ContentsIX. Acknowledgments X. Introduction 1. Roadrunner (Once) 2. Astral Plane 3. Old World 4. Pablo Picasso 5. I'm Straight 6. She Cracked 7. Hospital 8. Someone I Care About 9. Girlfriend 10. Modern World 11. Dignified and Old 12. Government Center 13. Roadrunner (Twice) Bibliography Discography Filmography

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe autobiography of a courageous singer-songwriter, activist, and American icon."Barbara Dane is someone who is willing to follow her conscience. She is, if the term must be used, a hero."—Bob DylanA renowned folk, blues, and jazz singer who performed with some of the twentieth century’s most celebrated musicians, from Louis Armstrong to Bob Dylan. A proud progressive who has tirelessly championed racial equality and economic justice in America, and who has traveled the world to sing out against war and tyranny. An organizer, a venue owner, a record label founder, and a woman who has charted her own creative and political path for more than ninety years. Barbara Dane has led an epic, trailblazing life in music and activism, and This Bell Still Rings tells her story in her own adventurous voice. Dane’s memoir charts her trajectory from singing in union halls and at factory gates in World War II–era Detroit, to her rise as a respected blues and jazz singer, to her prominence as a folk musician frequently performing at and participating in civil rights and peace demonstrations across the US and abroad—from post-revolutionary Cuba to wartime Vietnam. This Bell Still Rings illuminates “one of the true unsung heroes of American music” (Boston Globe), and it offers a wealth of inspiration for artists, activists, and anyone seeking a life defined by courage and integrity.Trade Review"Barbara is someone who is willing to follow her conscience. She is, if the term must be used, a hero."—Bob Dylan"I first met Barbara when I was seventeen. She taught me that 'Wild women don't worry, wild women don't get the blues.'"—Linda Ronstadt“What a life of service in the fight for civil rights and human dignity. Barbara Dane's music lifted us as it lifted me when we were together in Mississippi in 1964 to register African American voters. Thank you for keeping the faith all these years."—Judy Collins“Barbara Dane has always been a role model and a hero of mine, both musically and politically, and for her lifelong commitment to truth, justice, equality, and representation for all.”—Bonnie Raitt“An important read: the amazing story of Barbara Dane, a powerful radical citizen-artist whose magnificent voice, and uncompromising dedication to freedom, social justice, and global liberation continues to ring.”—Danny Glover“A true unsung hero of American music [with] a jazz musician's sense of rhythm, a blues singer's deep investment in the material, and a folk stylist's attention to authenticity."—James Reed, The Boston Globe“Barbara Dane is a long-haul kind of woman: committed, loyal, gifted, and steadfast in the struggle for deep social change. And here's something none of you know: She persuaded me to make the movie Klute."—Jane Fonda"This book is medicine for the soul in these dark times; not a book of songs but a book that sings. It tells the story of movements that have transformed American consciousness, told from the perspective of a life lived for giving."—Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of An Indigenous Peoples's History of the United States"Barbara Dane has led the way, showing us, through the choices she made throughout her life, how to use music as a tool for more than just entertainment. She knew it best, that when we sing about what matters, songs can change hearts, and changed hearts will change minds. This is how music changes the world: one changed heart at a time."—Mary Gauthier"Dane’s new memoir This Bell Still Rings offers a fascinating look at a time when Berkeley nurtured a bohemian culture that would come to shape the nation in the following decade."—BerkeleysideTable of ContentsContentsPart One: Let My Little Light Shine1. Memories Don’t Fade2. A Chronic Truant Sings3. The Atomic Age Begins4. Everything Changes5. Postwar Dreams6. From People’s Songs to the Home Front7. California, Here It Comes!8. The Party’s Over9. Digging Underground10. Byron Dances In11. Gateway Swings to Berkeley12. Yonder Come the Blues13. San Francisco Bay Blues14. Trouble in Mind Part Two: On My Way15. From the Alley to the Grove16. From Breakout to Blacklist17. Livin’ with the Blues18. Priorities19. Strange Bedfellows20. Riding High on Sugar Hill21. Buzz, Biz, Boom, Blam!22. On the Emes, This Is True23. Wake Up and Sing!24. Do You, Mister Jones?25. Which Side Are You On?26. The Times, They Are a-Changin’ Part Three: My American Dream27. Irwin Calls, Lightnin’ Strikes, Mississippi Beckons28. Go Tell It on the Mountain29. Navigating Obstacles Blanketed in Bliss30. You Don’t Know Me31. Hard Rains Are a-Fallin’32. Three-Mile Walk of Hope33. Good Morning Blues34. Cuba Sí, Yanqui No!35. Paul Becomes Pablo36. He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands37. Singers of the World, Unite!38. Levitate the Pentagon!39. United We Are Strong40. Unidentified Flying Object41. Play Your Guitars, American Friends42. La Voce dell’altra America43. Building a Big Wall of Music44. Free the Army!45. Solidarity Forever Crossing Borders46. Wild Women Don’t Get the Blues47. Give Peace a Chance Part Four: Nobody Gonna Turn Me ’Round48. Pack Up Your Sorrows49. A Musical Road Trip to Nowhere50. You Just Can’t Make It by Yourself51. Will the Circle Be Unbroken?52. Take It Slow and Easy53. Throw It Away Some Rules for the Road Ahead GratitudeBarbara Dane Discography, Key Links, and MoreIndexAbout the Author

Read more less

Book SynopsisA celebration of Harry Styles we Adore You!Harry Styles is a global superstar and fashion icon who has broken records, won awards and was the first solo man to grace the cover of Vogue, but he is also grounded, humble and down to earth. He doesn't care what other people think, isn't afraid to be vulnerable and truly loves his fans. We could all do with being a bit more like Harry.With chapters on finding your style, building confidence and supporting charities, The Book of Harry explores Harry's incredible journey to stardom and the lessons we can take from his music, career and wider approach to life. Learning from his example, it will arm readers with tips, tricks and wisdom to empower them to be fearless, be themselves and above all, Treat People With Kindness.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe chart-topping singer/songwriter's powerful story, told for the first time, in her own words.

Read more less

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

Read more less

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

Read more less

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.

Read more less

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

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

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

Read more less

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

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIt Was All A Dream is a must-read for any hip-hop fan who seeks to understand the journey of one of the most important artists of the twentieth century. There are a number of important, never-been-told-before stories that Justin Tinsley deftly weaves throughout this biography to create a thorough, brilliant account of the legacy of the Notorious B.I.G. -- Brian Nolan * Executive Vice-President, Motown Records *“Sometimes a legend is larger than life. But the legend without the life is like a hype man with no one to hype. Similar to 'the Black Frank White,' Justin Tinsley has 'got a story to tell.' It is a biographical story that navigates both legend and life with clarity, vision, and supreme focus, acknowledging the monumental legend of Biggie Smalls while guiding us on a VIP tour of Christopher Wallace’s life. It Was All a Dream adds cultural breadth and historical depth to the rich legacy of a 1990s icon who now transcends time.” * Dr. Todd Boyd, aka Notorious PhD, Katherine and Frank Price Endowed Chair for the Study of Race and Popular Culture in the USC School of Cinematic Arts *“I know a lot about Christopher Wallace. More than most. I was blessed to meet him and talk to him on numerous occasions. And yet this book constantly found ways to surprise me. Justin Tinsley has written a classic, one that unlike the whodunit books that have congregated around the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac, actually focuses on the man behind the mic, his talent and compelling life, and not just on his tragic, infamous death.” * Cheo Hodari Coker, creator of Marvel's Luke Cage and author of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. *“This book accomplishes the impossible because it satisfies both hard-core Biggie fans and casual observers. The writing is beautiful, and personal. Justin takes us on a vulnerable journey and dares us to consider Biggie in a way that is broader, nuanced and more complete.” * Jemele Hill, contributing writer at the Atlantic *“In this soulful, meticulously reported biography, Justin Tinsley captures the tumultuous life of a young Black male, until now, misunderstood. Finally, the world can connect with Christopher Wallace—before he was Biggie. ‘And if you don’t know, now you know.’” * Elliott Wilson, Chief Content Officer, TIDAL; cohost of Rap Radar podcast; and coauthor of Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists *Revelatory * Rolling Stone *Tinsley’s sleek, effective biography introduces major figures in Wallace’s life, complete with interesting backstories, before we meet the influential rapper, giving readers a solid grounding in the pertinent context . . . . A touching tribute to the Notorious B.I.G. balancing larger-than-life stories with poignant personal moments. * Kirkus *“Meticulously researched . . . . Hip-hop and Biggie fans will appreciate the book’s context of his rise to fame and the reminiscences of those closest to him.” * Library Journal *“A deeply reported saga of the ephemeral, yet colorful life of The Notorious B.I.G.” * USA Today *“There’s no telling where he would have gone, but this book does a fine job of tracing how far he managed to go.” * Los Angeles Times *“This is more than a biography, it’s a snapshot of both the record industry and America itself at crucial junctures for both.” * Vulture, "The 18 Best Books of the Year (So Far) *“If you care about Black people, cities, music, culture, and/or the late great Christopher Wallace, this is mandatory reading for you.” * Christina Greer, New York Amsterdam News *“It Was All a Dream is a full measure of the man himself, going beyond coverage of his shocking, mysterious murder . . . it’s an important book, offering a full–fledged portrait of the late Christopher Wallace.” * Nitish Pahwa, Slate *A brilliant biography. * The Root *Think you know Biggie Smalls? Until you read this book, you have no idea. * Salon *"A humanizing biography. * The Stacks *Well-researched biography ... goes an extra mile. * Esquire *Speaks to a societal perspective. * Teen Vogue *

Read more less

Book SynopsisSinéad O'Connor achieved worldwide success as an angel-voiced, shaven-headed Irish singer of heartfelt songs, but she was far more than just a pop star she was also an activist and a survivor. Reeling from a troubled childhood at the hands of her violent mother, she spent 18 months living in a former Magdalene Laundry due to her truancy and shoplifting, and suffered her mother's death in a car crash all by the age of 18. Her pain, anger and compassion would turn her into one of the world's greatest protest singers and activists. She would release ten studio albums during her 36-year music career - the second of which (_I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got_) would reach number 1 across the world and earn her ten million pounds, half of which she gave to charity. During this time, she would also advocate for survivors of child abuse and racism, and stand up for the LGBT community and women's reproductive rights. Most notably, she would tear up a picture of Pope John Paul II during an e

Read more less

Book SynopsisDive into this fun and entertaining quiz book from the UK's biggest Black British pub quiz! Get your thinking caps on because it's time to test your knowledge on all things Black and British, with rounds on everything from music, sport, history and geography to Black Twitter, anime, your favourite culinary delights and much more.Whether you're a history buff, a self-proclaimed movie critic, food connoisseur, a perfect all-rounder or a novice, you'll find your chance to show off your knowledge!So, assemble every group chat and the cousins from your mum's side of the family, as we have something for everyone inside The Black British Quiz Book.

Read more less

Book SynopsisNothing but Noise: Timbre and Musical Meaning at the Edge explores how timbre shapes musical affect and meaning. Integrating perspectives from musicology with the cognitive sciences, author Zachary Wallmark advances a novel model of timbre interpretation that takes into account the bodily, sensorimotor dynamics of sound production and perceptionTrade ReviewEvery musicologist should read this book, and it is required reading for those dealing with the cognition of music. Essential. * CHOICE *In this book Zachary Wallmark confronts head on an aspect of musical practice that is at once elusive and essential: the enduring mystery of timbre. In Wallmark's hands, however, this mystery does not so much endure as become an entry point for exploring the bases of musical expression. Through a splendid blend of empirical research and humanistic inquiry, set out in lucid and approachable prose, he explains how timbre matters as well as why it matters. This is a foundational study that should be read by anyone who has wondered about why music matters, and by everyone who cares about how music shapes our social interactions. * Lawrence Zbikowski, Addie Clark Harding Professor of Music and the Humanities at the University of Chicago *With this book, Zachary Wallmark has made an ambitious contribution to the famously elusive study of musical timbre...Wallmark succeeds admirably in avoiding the shortcomings of both the scientific desire to study sound in isolation from the messiness of human subjectivity and the humanistic reduction of musical experience to the arbitrary play of cultural difference. His book is perhaps best viewed as an attempt not so much to bridge the 'two cultures' as to harmonize their best qualities. * Thomas Patteson, Journal of the American Musicological Society *[Zachary Wallmark's] recent book Nothing but Noise Timbre and Musical Meaning at the Edge represents a rich and ambitious project aimed at defining a systematic analytical framework for the study of timbre and its meanings...by bringing together the deceptively opposing viewpoints of the humanities and of what are commonly and loosely referred to as the "exact" sciences. Wallmark offers both a comprehensive view of the timbre processing chain and a reflection leading to ethical implications that suggest a renewed attention to the role endowed by the timbral parameter. * Matthieu Galliker, Revue musicale OICRM *Table of ContentsIntroduction The Meaning of Timbre I. Fundamental Chapter 1: Body and Emotion in the Sonic Act Chapter 2: Conceptualizing Timbre: From Material to Metaphor II. Spectrum Chapter 3: The Most Powerful Human Sound Ever Created: Theorizing the Saxophonic Scream in Free Jazz Chapter 4: Sound and Embodiment in the Japanese Shakuhachi Chapter 5: Vector of Brutality: Madness, Violence, and Contagion in Heavy Metal Reception III. Resonance Chapter 6: The Aural Face Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book Synopsis160 progressive exercises to introduce simple sightsinging.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA firm favourite with choirs for many years, this is a classic collection of traditional carols.Table of ContentsES KOMMT EIN SCHIFF

Read more less

Book SynopsisRenegades: Digital Dance Cultures from Dubsmash to TikTok explores how hip hop culture -- principally music and dance -- is used to construct and perform identity and maintain a growing urban youth subculture. This community finds its home on Dubsmash, a social media app that lets users record short dance challenge videos before cross-sharing them on different social media apps such as Instagram and Snapchat. Author Trevor Boffone interrogates the roles that Dubsmash, social media, and hip hop music and dance play in youth identity formation in the United States. These so-called Dubsmashers privilege their cultural and individual identities through the use of performance strategies that reinforce notions of community and social media interconnectedness in the digital age. These young people create a sense of identity and community that informs and is informed by hip hop culture. As such, the book argues that Dubsmash serves as a fundamental space to fashion contemporary youth identity. To do this, the book re-appropriates the term Renegade to explain the nuanced ways that Dubsmashers take up visual and sonic space on social media apps to self-fashion identity, form supportive digital communities, and exert agency to take up space that is often denied to them in other facets of their lives.Trade ReviewFrom the dance challenges of the Renegade and Donut Shop, to the moves of the mop and the woah, Renegades: Digital Dance Cultures from Dubsmash to TikTok provides a fascinating window into the youth identity formation of Gen Z culture through their predominant life-line of social media. * Adrienne Gibbons Oehlers, Dance Research Journal *Renegades celebrates new digital platforms, through the lives and experiences of the Black dancers, artists, musicians, and activists who popularize their viral content. If you care about where the future of hip-hop culture, digital community-building, and education are going, you should buy this book! * Aria S. Halliday, Editor of The Black Girlhood Studies Collection *Plenty of books focus on young people's fix on phones, cultural appropriation of Blackness, or hip-hop as music and pedagogy. Renegades tackles all that with a Woah! tagged on. Boffone confronts whiteness, anti-Black sexism, and even COVID19 with his insights about digital dance trends. He bops to beats chosen by Black girls in his Spanish classroom. He calls out the empathy gap limiting their safe, nurturing development as students. He 'mops' with them going viral on DubSmash and TikTok. This collaborative, therapeutic hip-hop intervention will lead White teachers and other readers to exclaim: Keke taught me the Black girl joy that influences the Internet's top hip-hop songs and dance. * Kyra Gaunt, author of The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-Hop *Renegades: Digital Dance Cultures from Dubsmash to TikTok is a thorough and nuanced analysis of the many ways that Black youth have used hip-hop dance to transform digital space. By addressing the implications of this transformation for areas as diverse as educational philosophy, identity, language, intellectual property law, and political organizing, Trevor Boffone has produced a timely and inspiring contribution to hip-hop dance scholarship. * Joe Schloss, author of Foundation; B-boys, B-girls and Hip-Hop Culture in New York *The book creates a platform to center Black narratives and will deepen (and in many instances initiate) the dance discussions in my courses related to race, equity, and social media. * Heather Trommer-Beardslee, Journal Of Dance Education *From the dance challenges of the Renegade and Donut Shop, to the moves of the mop and the woah, Renegades: Digital Dance Cultures from Dubsmash to TikTok provides a fascinating window into the youth identity formation of Gen Z culture through their predominant life-line of social media. * Adrienne Gibbons Oehlers, Dance Research Journal *Renegades celebrates new digital platforms, through the lives and experiences of the Black dancers, artists, musicians, and activists who popularize their viral content. If you care about where the future of hip-hop culture, digital community-building, and education are going, you should buy this book! * Aria S. Halliday, Editor of The Black Girlhood Studies Collection *Plenty of books focus on young people's fix on phones, cultural appropriation of Blackness, or hip-hop as music and pedagogy. Renegades tackles all that with a Woah! tagged on. Boffone confronts whiteness, anti-Black sexism, and even COVID19 with his insights about digital dance trends. He bops to beats chosen by Black girls in his Spanish classroom. He calls out the empathy gap limiting their safe, nurturing development as students. He 'mops' with them going viral on DubSmash and TikTok. This collaborative, therapeutic hip-hop intervention will lead White teachers and other readers to exclaim: Keke taught me the Black girl joy that influences the Internet's top hip-hop songs and dance. * Kyra Gaunt, Author of The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-Hop *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Chapter 1 - Digital Communities: From Dubsmash to TikTok Chapter 2 - This Bridge Called Dubsmash: Renegades Call It Home Chapter 3 - The Original Renegade: Dubsmash, Hip Hop Culture, and Sharing Values in a Digital Space Chapter 4 - Gone Viral: Creating an Identity as a Hip Hop Artist Chapter 5 - Moving as One: Unison Dancing, Muscular Bonding, and Hip Hop Pedagogy Chapter 6 - When Karen Slides Into Your DMs: Race, Language, and Dubsmash Outro - The Revolution Will Be Dubsmashed Acknowledgements Notes Bibliography Index Author Bio

Read more less

Book SynopsisHow did the most reluctant member of the Fab Four put his mark on all of their music? This book helps listeners hear how George Harrison shaped the sound of The Beatles and how he carried that sound forward into his solo careerWithin You Without You is a highly personal exploration of George Harrison''s essential contributions to the Beatles and his solo work, as well as his significant role as a Western proponent of Indian music and beliefs. Through close examination of his guitar playing in the Fab Four and his songwriting both in and out of the Beatles, author Seth Rogovoy demystifies the enigma of this most reluctant of rock stars. Drawing upon the insights of the author--a rock critic and historian of over forty years standing--as well as those of expert observers including Beatles filmmaker Michael Lindsay-Hogg and English rock singer-songwriters Robyn Hitchcock and John Wesley Harding, among others, this book extensively examines George Harrison''s contributions to the musical world. Within You Without You will forever change the way readers hear the music of the Beatles and view Harrison''s role in the group, as well as enhancing appreciation of Harrison as a cultural figure above and beyond his work as a musician.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review“Mozart the Performer offers a genuinely new way to process Mozart’s music, one that answers to a widely varied range of evidence at once musical, historical, and biographical. It constitutes a bold attempt to reimagine Mozart’s creative process—particularly as that of a self-conscious performer, an ‘inveterate showman’ playing to an audience—and to draw extensive interpretive conclusions from that reimagining.” * Scott Burnham, the Graduate Center, City University of New York *“Mozart the Performer is a fresh attempt to demythologize Mozart, to ground his creativity in real-world experiences and concerns, as opposed to the image of a ‘divine’ composer, the beauty of whose music somehow floats above mundane explication. Mozart the Performer is a striking expansion of scholarly horizons.” * W. Dean Sutcliffe, University of Auckland *“The joie de vivre of Mozart’s performerly approach to composition is echoed in Bandy’s own inviting prose. Structuring the book as a theme and variations, he welcomes the reader into that growing ensemble celebrating the tactile, the playful, the parodic, and above all, the humane in Mozart.” * Adeline Mueller, Mount Holyoke College *Table of ContentsNotes on the Text Theme Variation 1 Mozart the Performer Variation 2 Mozart the Pianist Variation 3 Mozart the Improviser Variation 4 Mozart the Decorator Variation 5 Mozart the Dramatist Coda Performing Mozart Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisYou've heard Alex Van Halen's side of the story--now read Eddie Van Halen's own words in this groundbreaking oral history, composed of more than fifty hours of interviews with Eddie himself as well as his family, friends, and colleagues. When rock legend Eddie Van Halen died of cancer on October 6, 2020, the entire world seemed to stop and grieve. Since his band Van Halen burst onto the scene with their self-titled debut album in 1978, Eddie had been hailed as an icon not only to fans of rock music and heavy metal, but to performers across all genres and around the world. Van Halen’s debut sounded unlike anything that listeners had heard before and remains a quintessential rock album of the era.   Over the course of more than four decades, Eddie gained renown for his innovative guitar playing, and particularly for popularizing the tapping guitar solo technique. Unfortunately for Eddie and his legions of fans, he died before he was ever able to put his life down to paper in his own words, and much of his compelling backstory has remained elusive—until now.   In Eruption, music journalists Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill share with fans, new and old alike, a candid, compulsively readable, and definitive oral history of the most influential rock guitarist since Jimi Hendrix. It is based on more than 50+ hours of unreleased interviews they recorded with Eddie Van Halen over the years, most of them conducted at the legendary 5150 studios at  Ed’s home in Los Angeles. The heart of Eruption is drawn from these intimate and wide-ranging talks, as well as conversations with family, friends, and colleagues.   In addition to discussing his greatest triumphs as a groundbreaking musician, including an unprecedented dive into Van Halen’s masterpiece 1984, the book also takes an unflinching look at Edward’s early struggles as young Dutch immigrant unable to speak the English language, which resulted in lifelong issues with social anxiety and substance abuse. Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen also examines his brilliance as an inventor who changed the face of guitar manufacturing. As entertaining as it is revealing, Eruption is the closest readers will ever get to hearing Eddie’s side of the story when it comes to his extraordinary life.

Read more less

Book Synopsis Get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Megadeth’s iconic record, Rust in Peace, from the band’s lead vocalist and guitarist.When Rust in Peace was released in 1990, the future of Megadeth was uncertain. Fresh off their performance at the record-breaking Monsters of Rock festival, and with knockout new albums from Slayer, Anthrax, and Metallica dominating the charts, the pressure to produce a standout statement record was higher than ever. In Rust in Peace: The Inside Story of the Megadeth Masterpiece, the band's lead vocalist and guitarist, Dave Mustaine, gives readers a never-before-seen glimpse into the artistry and insanity that went into making the band's most iconic record. He recounts the arduous task of hiring the band and supporting cast, of managing egos and extracurriculars during the album's ensuing success, and succumbing to the pressures of fame and fortune—which eventually forced the band to break up. And yet, Megadeth's demise was just the beginning; the birth pangs of the record were nothing compared to what came next. Alcohol, drugs, sex, money, power, property, prestige, the lies fed to the band by the industry—and the lies they told each other-threatened to eat away at the band's bond like rust, devouring it until only the music survived. Featuring a foreword by Slash

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn effective and inspiring guide to songwriting by prolific, iconic singer-songwriter Dar Williams.How to Write a Song That Matters is an invaluable guide to writing music by a woman who knows how to do it and do it well: iconic singer-songwriter, Dar Williams. For years now, Williams has led songwriting retreats for musicians, from beginners to professionals, in which she elevates the process of songwriting over the assessment of the product. This book makes those intimate experiences accessible for songwriters across the globe, gifting them with the insight Williams has gleaned from her decades of experience. First, it encourages songwriters to find something that inspires them and then to follow that inspiration, letting the clues of those first few notes or lines lead their narrative. Soon, the initial rhythms, the unique sounds of the melody, and/or specific vocabulary emerge, giving birth to a 'voice' or a 'world' that the song can exist in. As the writer proceeds, Williams encourages them to ask themselves: 'Where did I go? Where did I REALLY go? What happened? What REALLY happened? What am I bringing back?' There are many other songwriting guides that hint to the reader that writing a 'hit song' may be on the horizon if only the reader correctly follows the guide or program. In this book, however, Williams shows readers how to tap into their OWN creative process, using their psyches, their unique life experiences, and their muses to write the songs that they are meant to write. By focusing on the process of creating a song that matters, as opposed to producing a well-constructed 'widget from a song factory,' songwriters will be able to establish their own voice and use it to make meaningful music. Perfect for music lovers of all sorts who want to write songs, How to Write a Song That Matters is a one-of-a-kind-book that readers will turn to for guidance time and time again.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the legendary singer-songwriter of Bad Religion comes a historical memoir and cultural criticism of punk rock’s evolution. Greg Graffin is the lead vocalist and songwriter of Bad Religion, recently described as “America's most significant punk band.” Since its inception in Los Angeles in 1980, Bad Religion has produced 18 studio albums, become a long-running global touring powerhouse, and has established a durable legacy as one of the most influential punk rock bands of all time.  Punk Paradox is Graffin's life narrative before and during L.A. punk's early years, detailing his observations on the genre's explosive growth and his band's steady rise in importance. The book begins by exploring Graffin’s Midwestern roots and his life-changing move to Southern California in the mid-’70s. Swept up into the burgeoning punk scene in the exhilarating and often-violent streets of Los Angeles, Graffin and his friends formed Bad Religion, built a fanbase, and became a touring institution. All these activities took place in parallel with Graffin's never ceasing quest for intellectual enlightenment. Despite the demands of global tours, recording sessions, and dedication to songwriting, the author also balanced a budding academic career. In so doing, he managed to reconcile an improbable double-life as an iconic punk rock front man and University Lecturer in evolution.   Graffin’s unique experiences mirror the paradoxical elements that define the punk genre—the pop influence, the quest for society’s betterment, music’s unifying power—all of which are prime ingredients in its surprising endurance. Fittingly, this book argues against the traditional narrative of the popular perception of punk. As Bad Religion changed from year to year, the spirit of punk—and its sonic significance—lived on while Graffin was ever willing to challenge convention, debunk mythology, and liberate listeners from the chains of indoctrination.     As insightful as it is exciting, this thought-provoking memoir provides both a fly on the wall history of the punk scene and astute commentary on its endurance and evolution.

Read more less