Music Books

Book SynopsisWHEN legendary music journalist Billy Sloan was fifteen years old he saw The Who play an incendiary live show at Green's Playhouse in Glasgow. It was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with music. Just a few years later he was backstage interviewing the likes of Keith Richards and David Bowie, at the height of Ziggy-mania, and it has been a life and career full of extraordinary moments.In ONE LOVE, ONE LIFE, Billy now tells his stories from the stars, from skipping Christmas dinner to see The Sex Pistols at the peak of their notoriety to friendships and adventures with some of music's biggest names and scoops that have hit the headlines. As well as legendary music and gigs, there's Grace Jones in the bath, candid conversations with Rod Stewart, football in Brazil with Simple Minds, a tour of the White House with Paolo Nutini, close encounters with U2 and so much more. Plus, the interviews

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Book SynopsisThis Exam Pack is the ideal resource to help you prepare for your exam.

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Book SynopsisThis Exam Pack is the ideal resource to help you prepare for your exam.

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Book SynopsisThis book contains nine pieces in a range of styles, from Lists A, B and C of the syllabus

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Book SynopsisThis book contains nine pieces in a range of styles, from Lists A, B and C of the syllabus.

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Book SynopsisFour separate papers from ABRSM's 2024 Music Theory exams for Grade 8 * Essential practice material for all ABRSM Music Theory exam candidates *Model answers also available

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Book SynopsisA new edition of Johan Bakker's biography on musician Eva Cassidy. The Eva Cassidy phenomenon began too late for the woman herself to enjoy the fame, although whether she would have enjoyed it is another matter. This shy and sensitive singer preferred drawing and painting to performing in front of audiences and seemed disenchanted by the music business before she truly cracked it. What is beyond doubt, however, is the power of the recordings she left behind. In this thoughtful and probing biography, Johan Bakker explored her brief performing career and the recognition that came after her death at the age of 33. Before she became famous in the UK and Europe, Eva Cassidy had been a local performer in and around Washington DC. Including interviews with Eva's friends, colleagues and family, this book traces her life, idealism and eventual disillusionment. Combined, their stories confirm that while everyone who knew Eva loved her in some way, few truly understood her. Through it all her musical spirit still shines, making this biography both a searching analysis and a warm commemoration of a uniquely talented young woman.

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Book SynopsisFrom Jeff Beck to Wilko Johnson, Ray Davies to Tom Jones and Kevin Ayers to Roger Taylor, Kate Mossman has long fostered an obsession with male musicians of a certain age. Over fifteen years of music writing, she has developed an alarming overconcern with this powerful archetype, and she has finally decided to figure out what is behind it. 'The signs were there all along: a seven-year infatuation with the drummer from Queen in childhood; a lone, 5000-mile journey to see Glen Campbell in his dotage; later-life lover affairs with Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Beck. I want to investigate the pull of a nearly extinct species, those boys in grey flannel shorts, born between 1940 and 1960, who watched Yuri Gagarin float into space, built their first guitars and became the golden gods - the lunatics, nerds and prophets that made rock 'n' roll. Men of a Certain Age is part meditation, part memoir: why is it that when I am in the presence of a male musician of a certain age, I feel something ignite inside me? What is this strange connection - to feel so excited, yet so at ease? Why do they get under my skin? How do I get under theirs? What is it that I'm identifying with? And how on earth is it that in the presence of a wrinkly male rock star twice my age, I sometimes feel like I'm meeting... me?'

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Book SynopsisEveryone loves a Christmas carol - in the end, even Scrooge. They have the power to summon up a special kind of midwinter mood, like the aroma of mince pies and mulled wine and the twinkle of lights on a tree. It's a kind of magic. But how did they get that magic? In Christmas Carols Andrew Gant tells the story of some twenty carols, each accompanied by lyrics and music, unravelling a captivating - and often surprising - tale of great musicians and thinkers, saints and pagans, shepherd boys, choirboys, monks and drunks. We delve into the history of such favourites as 'Good King Wenceslas', 'Away in a Manger' and 'The Twelve Days of Christmas', discovering along the way how 'Hark, the Herald angels sing' came to replace 'Hark, how all the welkin ring' and how Ralph Vaughan Williams bolted the tune of an English folk song about a dead ox to a poem by a nineteenth-century American pilgrim to make 'O little town of Bethlehem'. Christmas Carols brims with anecdote, expert knowledge and Christmas spirit. It is a fittingly joyous account of one of our best-loved musical traditions.Trade ReviewAndrew Gant provides us with a fluent but flinty digest of the modern scholarship concerning 22 of our favourite seasonal songs. -- Kathryn Hughes * The Guardian *Gant's detective-story accounts of 22 Christmas melodies is a delight -- Christopher Hart * Sunday Times *Scholarly but conversational in in tone and rich in picturesque detail. -- Kirsty McClusky * The Tablet *

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Book SynopsisABRSM's official Music Theory Practice Papers 2024 are essential resources for candidates preparing for our online Music Theory exams.

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Book SynopsisThis book contains nine pieces in a range of styles, from Lists A, B and C of the syllabus

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Book SynopsisThis book contains nine pieces in a range of styles, from Lists A, B and C of the syllabus.

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Book SynopsisWhat began as an underground 60s Mod scene in unlicensed, no-frills clubs in the North West of England became a youth craze that has long surpassed all others. The Northern Soul scene has confounded its critics by surviving and growing into an adult dance phenomenon whose followers share a passion for the music of Black America unrivalled anywhere else in the world. The Story of Northern Soul takes the first ever in-depth look at the culture, the music, the artists and the people frequenting the all-night venues which are synonymous with the British Soul Scene. Packed with memorabilia and anecdotes from the Twisted Wheel in Manchester to the mighty Wigan Casino, The Story of Northern Soul is the definitive history of a dance scene that refuses to die.

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Book SynopsisAlbum by album and track by track, this first-of-its-kind catalog of David Bowie's entire 50-year and 27-album career tells the story of one of rock's all-time greatest artists.A lovingly thorough dissection of every album and every track ever released by David Bowie over the span of his nearly 50 year career, David Bowie All the Songs follows the musician from his self-titled debut album released in 1967 all the way through Blackstar, his final album.Delving deep into Bowie's past and featuring new commentary and archival interviews with a wide range of models, actors, musicians, producers, and recording executives who all worked with and knew the so-called 'Thin White Duke', David Bowie All the Songs charts the musician's course from a young upstart in 1960s London to a musical behemoth who collaborated with everyone from Queen Latifah and Bing Crosby, to Mick Jagger and Arcade Fire.This one-of-a-kind book draws upon years of research in order to recount how each song was written, composed, and recorded, down to the instruments used and the people who played them. Featuring hundreds of vivid photographs that celebrate one of music's most visually arresting performers, David Bowie All the Songs is a must-have book for any true fan of classic rock. 

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Book Synopsis*Kazuo Ishiguro's new novel Klara and the Sun is now available*In Nocturnes, Kazuo Ishiguro explores ideas of love, music and the passing of time. From the piazzas of Italy to the hush-hush floor' of an exclusive Hollywood Hotel, the characters we encounter range from young dreamers to cafe musicians to faded stars, all of them at some moment of reckoning. Gentle, intimate and witty, this quintet is marked by a haunting theme the struggle to keep alive a sense of life's romance, even as one gets older, relationships founder and youthful hopes recede.Each of these stories is heartbreaking in its own way, but some have moments of great comedy, and they all require a level of attention that, typically, Ishiguro's writing rewards.' Observer [They] come up on you quietly, but then haunt you for days These little pieces could only be the work of a great composer.' Evening StandardA fine and moving collection of stories, displaying his unique combination of the sad, the stoic and the consoling. It's about failure, but it dignifies failure, and with it, the human condition.' Margaret Drabble, Guardian

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Book SynopsisThe story of a remarkable time and place: Los Angeles from the dawn of the singer-songwriter era in the mid-Sixties to the peak of The Eagles' success in the late Seventies.Hotel California' is an epic tale of songs and sunshine, drugs and denim, genius and greed, and is the first in-depth account of the LA Canyons scene between 1967 and 1976.Hoskyn''s history of this vital period in the development of today''s great musical influences spans the rise of Joni Mitchell, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, The Eagles, James Taylor and Jackson Browne, and focuses on the brilliance and determination of David Geffen, the man who linked them all.Covering genius, drug-crazed disintegration, and the myriad relationships between these artists and the songs that issued from them, and drawing on extensive interviews with countless stars, singers, writers, managers, executives and scenesters, Hotel California' is a pop-culture classic.Trade Review‘Hoskyns impresses with the sheer weight of testimony he has amassed and the skill with which he has woven it into a tightly coiled and elegiac narrative.’ Christopher Silvester, Sunday Times ‘A terrific account of the interface between idealism and squalor, art and commerce.’ Guardian ‘The author skillfully teases out the complex web of relationships between the artists, managers, and record executives who made up the West Coast’s self-styled bohemian elite.’ Ben Thompson, Independent ‘if you are looking for the ingredients traditionally required of a good rock'n'roll story, then “Hotel California” has got the lot… An ambitious and authoritative account which makes overdue sense of a spectacularly decadent period of pop history’ David Sinclair, Guardian

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Book SynopsisJanis Joplin's sister uses newly discovered letters to chronicle the singer's life, discussing her restless teen years, involvement in the hippie scene at Haight-Ashbury, sexual experimentation, drug use, and career.

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Book SynopsisWhen 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

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsForeword xi Introduction 1 Part 1: Preparing to Practice 5 Chapter 1: Reviewing Practice Fundamentals 7 Chapter 2: Warming Up Your Right and Left Hands 15 Part 2: Scales (Modes) and Chords 29 Chapter 3: Playing Scales (Modes) 31 Chapter 4: Playing Mode Sequences 47 Chapter 5: Working with Arpeggios 69 Chapter 6: Combining Seventh Chords 83 Part 3: Rhythm and the Groove 97 Chapter 7: Building the Groove Skeleton 99 Chapter 8: Accessing the Groove Apex 111 Chapter 9: Setting Up with the Groove Tail 119 Chapter 10: Combining Rhythms 129 Part 4: Turning Exercises into Music 139 Chapter 11: Feeling the Eighth-Note Groove 141 Chapter 12: Working the Sixteenth-Note Groove 151 Chapter 13: Trippin’ on Triplets 161 Part 5: The Part of Tens 167 Chapter 14: Ten Essential Elements of a Great Practice Session 169 Chapter 15: Ten Famous Tunes That Incorporate the Exercises in This Book 173 Part 6: Appendixes 177 Appendix A: How to Use the Website 179 Appendix B: Extended Range Basses and Practice Goals 187

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Book SynopsisHungry Beat is the story of an all-too-brief era where the short-circuiting of that industry seemed viable. But hell, the times were luminous as was the music these artists made. The songs and many of the players remain, and here they tell their story and lick their wounds' Ian Rankin The immense cultural contribution made by two maverick Scottish independent music labels, Fast Product and Postcard, cannot be underestimated. Bob Last and Hilary Morrison in Edinburgh, followed by Alan Horne and Edwyn Collins in Glasgow helped to create a confidence in being Scottish that hitherto had not existed in pop music (or the arts in general in Scotland). Their fierce independent spirit stamped a mark of quality and intelligence on everything they achieved, as did their role in the emergence of regional independent labels and cultural agitators, such as Rough Trade, Factory and Zoo. Hungry Beat is a definitive oral history of these labels and the Scottish post-punk perTrade Review'An exuberant celebration of pure independent DIY attitude' * The Wire *'Hungry Beat honours a cultural legacy which far transcends Scotland' * Mojo *'A new book that captures the excitement and chaos of Scotland's independent pop underground movement' * The List *'A very readable rewind and a restatement of why that moment still matters' * Herald *

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

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Book SynopsisA Louder than War Book of the Year A Waterstones Book of the YearA Rough Trade Book of the YearA Resident Book of the Year 'All Ian Broudie's great gifts as a songwriter - melody, vulnerability, empathy, hope - turn out to be in his prose too. A lovely read' - DAVID BADDIEL'Full of heart and sparkling melancholy' - THE IFew musicians have lived a musical life as rich as the songwriter and producer Ian Broudie.From recording the glorious uplifting psychedelic pop of his band the Lightning Seeds to producing bands like Echo & the Bunnymen and the Fall, Ian has journeyed from the energy and potential of the 1970s punk scene to the madness of '90s indie - and out the other side.Throughout nearly fifty years of making music, he has had a front-row seat working with generations of fantastic musicians in the creation of countless groundbreaking records. In Tomorrow's Here Today, he reveals what he has learnt about creativity, how to work with musicians touched by genius and what it is like to stumble through an exploding industry without losing sight of your dreams.Along the way, Ian shares how he wrote the million-selling album Jollification and how - along with the comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner - he wrote and recorded the only single in chart history to reach number one in the UK on four separate occasions. 'Three Lions' has since become the undisputed unofficial anthem of English football, soundtracking heartbreaking defeats as well as the wondrous victories of the Lionesses.Following 2022's long-awaited Lightning Seeds comeback, Ian reflects on a life of cosmic adventures spent in thrall to the power of music.Trade Review'His excellent new memoir Tomorrow's Here Today reads like one of his own songs: full of heart and sparkling melancholy. It contains highly entertaining, often self-deprecating stories about a journey that began immersed in the thriving Liverpool punk scene of the late '70s that was populated with an improbable number of future pop stars.' * The i *'All Ian Broudie's great gifts as a songwriter - melody, vulnerability, empathy, hope - turn out to be in his prose too. A lovely read.' -- David Baddiel'The best start to an autobiography I've read. I've got "Pure" on a loop this morning.' -- Bonehead, Oasis'He tells an enthralling tale with the wide-eyed wonder of an innocent bystander. Tomorrow's Here Today is a pure delight.' * four stars, Classic Pop *'One of the greatest rock 'n' roll stories of the past fifty years recounted with warmth and wisdom.' * Hot Press *'Ian's story is a great one. And, as his memoir attests, he tells it really well.' -- Pete Paphides'He may appear quiet, but it would be wrong to think that he does not have strong opinions. What comes over from this book is how driven he is when it comes to music. Each chapter sounds as if Ian is talking directly to you. Revealing ... [and] sharply observational.' * Louder Than War *'A fascinating memoir ... there are points in the book where you suddenly find yourself moving in deep water. Love, loss, grief. The stuff of being human.' * The Sunday Post *'[A] hilarious and touching memoir.' * Daily Express *'Not only is Broudie a terrific gossip, his ability to capture what music has given him is heroic. Funny and revealing.' * four stars, Record Collector *

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Book SynopsisIn 1982, aged twenty-three, Simon Parkes paid £1 for a virtually derelict building in Brixton. Over the next fifteen years he turned it into Britain's most iconic music venue. And now he's telling his story: full of fond - and wild - reminiscences of the famous musicians who played at the venue, including Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, Lou Reed, The Ramones, New Order, the Beastie Boys and The Smiths. This is about one man's burning desire for success against the odds, his passion for live music and the excitement of those wilderness years, a far cry from the corporate world that controls the scene today. From rock-star debauchery and mixing it up with Brixton gangsters to putting on the first legal raves in the UK and countless backroom business deals, this is the story of how to succeed in business with no experience and fulfil your teenage fantasies.Trade ReviewIf Simon Parkes' autobiography - full of raucous tales and geezer speak - is ever made into a film, it will be fun trying to find an actor who can do him justice. * The Independent *The king of gigs * Sunday Times *Brixton was always the one. It was so authentic as a venue, it's when things became 'real'. A proper old Victorian beer hall of a place with a century's sweat and ale steeped into the woodwork and plaster, and the faded glamour of that mighty proscenium arch. The first time I stood on that stage was in the Libertines supporting Morrissey. All my life I'd wanted to be an actor playing to an adoring theatre crowd, and here I was in front of a sea of stony faces with beer cans bouncing off my head. -- Carl BaratBrixton Academy has always been a special venue to me. From the age of 15 I saw countless shows there, from Blur to Foo Fighters. London is a city of countless music venues but in my eyes playing Brixton was the true sign of a successful band. I've been fortunate enough to play there a number of times now, firstly as part of the NME Awards tour but subsequently as the headline act - and the feeling of prestige never gets old -- Russell Lissack, Bloc PartyFor me, the Brixton Academy has something of a mythical status. As a young teenage boy in south east London I'd always see the listings in the NME or Melody Maker, listings for bands that I desperately wanted to see, but at the time was too young. I remember a school friend claiming that he "knew a back way in" and perhaps we should chance it for the Food Records Christmas Party - playing host to Jesus Jones, and at the time a lesser known Blur. That prospect of this 'back way in' stayed with me until a few years later, when at the height of their powers, the Lemonheads' Evan Dando treated those of us who'd hung around the side alley to an impromptu acoustic set of covers and requests as he straddled the dressing room windowsill. The thing that I always remembered was that it felt like outside inside. If they'd have painted stars on the ceiling I would have believed it was so. Those turrets and balconies... It seemed vast. Playing there with Hot Chip, our front of house engineer pointed out the 'sweet spot' where you could clap your hands and hear a never ending echo as the sound bounced from floor to ceiling to floor and back, proving there was indeed a roof, but to me it sounded like a flock of birds. From the stage, the width of the audience is what first surprised me, twice as wide as it is deep, and on a full house you can still see every face. -- Rob Smoughton, Grosvenor/Hot Chip

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Book Synopsis'A celebration of the city and its enduring love affair with music and musicians, venues and shops, one which will spark the remembrance of unique, high-octane experiences for all of us' – Ian Rankin Discover Edinburgh’s hidden music heritage with this eye-opening guide to the city’s musical milestones, famous gigs, infamous incidents and colourful characters. From folk to funk, pop to punk, this compilation of bite-sized stories shines a light on the key people, venues and gigs that have shaped the city’s music scene. From Bowie to the Bay City Rollers, Edinburgh’s Greatest Hits touches on the big names as well as revealing some lesser-known legends and tall tales. Jim Byers, Fiona Shepherd, Alison Stroak and Jonathan Trew share decades of music fandom and journalism between them and are uniquely placed to explore the capital’s music scene, past and present.Trade Review'A fascinating and witty look at Edinburgh's music history. An excellent read' -- Bruce Findlay, Simple Minds manager and owner of Bruce's record shop'From The Beatles to David Bowie to homegrown stars, a wonderful new book celebrates Edinburgh’s musical history' -- Martha Vaughan * Herald *'Reclaims the Scottish capital as the birthplace of the country’s thriving live music industry' -- Brian Ferguson * The Scotsman *'A celebration of the city and its enduring love affair with music and musicians, venues and shops, one which will spark the remembrance of unique, high-octane experiences for all of us' -- Ian Rankin'A brilliant snapshot of rock and pop in Edinburgh' -- Stuart Cosgrove'A brilliant pocket sized guide packed full of fascinating bite-sized stories' -- Grant Stott * BBC Radio Scotland Afternoon Show *

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Book SynopsisDive in to Glasgow's vibrant musical heritage with this guide to the people, places and events which have shaped the city's world-renowned music scene.With decades of experience between them, Fiona Shepherd, Alison Stroak and Jonathan Trew, the founders of Glasgow Music City Tours, are your guides on this compelling voyage of discovery.

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Book Synopsis(Woodwind). This anthology contains pieces by seventeenth and eighteenth-century composers in a variety of different styles. The repertoire includes works by major composers such as Telemann as well as lesser-known composers including, amongst others, Hotteterre, Marcello, Chedeville and Schickhardt. This collection is ideal for recorder teachers looking for additional repertoire for their teaching practice as well as developing pianists looking to expand their repertoire, and for use in school or music centre concerts.

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Book SynopsisA must for all rugby fans! Anthems, hymns and folk-songs for the ideal rugby sing-song. Includes the words of ''Sosban Fach'', ''Fields of Athenry'', ''Scotland the Brave'' and much more.

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Book SynopsisSONGS INCLUDE:Bad LoveCocaineLay Down SallyLaylaTears In HeavenMotherless ChildSunshine Of Your Love

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Book SynopsisFor the first time, this pocket-sized collection brings together all the big songs by The Jam and The Style Council alongside classics from Paul Wellers acclaimed solo albums. 78 classics are presented in chord songbook format with chord symbols, guitar chord boxes and complete lyrics, this is the ultimate Paul Weller songbook!

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Book SynopsisA remarkable and exhaustive study examining the intertwined histories of pop music and the visual arts, and exploring the exhilarating exchange between art schools and the pop stars that they nurtured (or, occasionally, expelled) How Art Made Pop encompasses the worldwide history of art school rock, and brings the story up to date by surveying recent trends and the practices contemporary of artist-musicians The individuals that populate How Art Made Pop may still have become successful musicians if they hadn't studied art, but the kind of musicians that they became, and the kind of music that they became interested in that was predominantly informed and modified by art school attendance. Where once these musicians would have considered themselves entertainers, they now became artists. And hence what they practiced - i.e. popular music - became an art form, not least because they said it was.

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Book SynopsisThe final word from one of Canada's greatest cultural critics and music writers.In the summer of 2020, acclaimed music critic and journalist Peter Goddard began work on a new book that would take readers on a journey back through his fifty-plus years spent writing professionally about rock music and the musical styles circling iteverything from blues and jazz to country and classical. His plan was to revisit his old haunts and their habitués, scenes and figures he first wrote about starting in the mid-1960s when he became Canada's first on-staff popular music critic, to show how ongoing revisions continually reframe first impressions.Tragically, Goddard died in 2022 before work on the manuscript was complete. But many of the core essayson Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the Who, k.d. lang, David Bowie, Liza Minelli, the Band, Neil Diamond, and othersare here. Accompanying these new essays is a collection of some of the best writing of Goddard's ca

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Book SynopsisBeginning in 1994 and closing in the first months of 1998, the UK passed through a cultural moment as distinct and as celebrated as any since the war. Founded on rock music, celebrity, boom-time economics, and fleeting political optimism, this was Cool Britannia. Records sold in the millions, a new celebrity elite emerged, and Tony Blair''s Labour Party found itself returned to government. Drawing on interviews from all the major bands including Oasis, Blur, Elastica, and Suede, and from music journalists, record executives, and those close to government, Britpop! charts the rise and fall of the Britpop moment. In this wonderfully engaging, page-turning narrative, John Harris, currently the hottest young music journalist in the UK, argues that the high point of British music''s cultural impact also signaled its effective demise. After all, if rock stars were now friends of government, how could they continue to matter?Cool Britannia was an empty promise that was bound to end in tears. John Harris captures the moment when New Labour, desperately wanting to seem hip, invited Britpop into Downing Street. Irresistible.-Billy Bragg

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