Books about Music
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- laraelisabeth
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Books about Music
I know there is a book thread that has a good number of music books, but it seems to me this is deserving of a separate thread. As it combines two of my favorite activities- music and reading- I am always on the lookout for good ones, but sometimes think that the quality of writing does not reflect the greatness of the musician in question. I'll start.
The great- I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon.
The good- This Wheel's On Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of The Band.
The disappointing- Keith: Standing In The Shadows (by Stanley Booth, about Keith Richards).
The great- I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon.
The good- This Wheel's On Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of The Band.
The disappointing- Keith: Standing In The Shadows (by Stanley Booth, about Keith Richards).
there's no comfort in survival but I guess it's the best option I've found
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Re: Books about Music
I just got Across the Great Divide (about the Band) out of the library. Looking forward to reading it.
IMO, the best book about rock/pop music remains Greil Marcus's classic Mystery Train, though admittedly his writing style is not for everyone. The book includes a chapter about, who else, the band
Just happened to look to my right where i spied Nick Hornby's Songbook,a really cool book of essays about songs he felt like writing about for one reason or another. Knowledgeable music fan + great writer + enthusiasm for his subject = great read.
IMO, the best book about rock/pop music remains Greil Marcus's classic Mystery Train, though admittedly his writing style is not for everyone. The book includes a chapter about, who else, the band
Just happened to look to my right where i spied Nick Hornby's Songbook,a really cool book of essays about songs he felt like writing about for one reason or another. Knowledgeable music fan + great writer + enthusiasm for his subject = great read.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
Re: Books about Music
sadly beautiful
and
bittersweet
Re: Books about Music
joelle wrote:
sadly beautiful
and
bittersweet
I read that one a couple of years ago. Sadly beautiful... you got it right.
If you don't run you rust
Re: Books about Music
Up and Down With The Rolling Stones by Spanish Tony This book is totally badass rock and roll excess. This was where the Keef legend began. Read it in high school.
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Re: Books about Music
and...
for the kids
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Re: Books about Music
This is Your Brain on Music is a freakin' ALSUM book, joelle!!! First time i've seen/heard anyone else mention it
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
Re: Books about Music
beantownbubba wrote:This is Your Brain on Music is a freakin' ALSUM book, joelle!!! First time i've seen/heard anyone else mention it
i'm a real real awesome person.
Re: Books about Music
http://www.amazon.com/Are-You-Ready-Cou ... 00167#noop
Are You Ready For The Country: Elvis, Dylan, Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock
should be required reading (especially on here)
from Hank to Uncle Tupelo, pretty damn comprehensive
Are You Ready For The Country: Elvis, Dylan, Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock
should be required reading (especially on here)
from Hank to Uncle Tupelo, pretty damn comprehensive
E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle.
- whatwouldcooleydo?
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Re: Books about Music
Woody Guthrie: A Life- Joe Klein
the three-part Elvis biography series- Peter Guralnick (really great writer, check out Lost Highway and Feel Like Going Home)
Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock and Roll- Nick Tosches
Miles: The Autobiography
Country Music USA- Bill Malone
Our Band Could Be Your Life- Michael Azerrad
ditto on Mystery Train and Are You REady for the Country
back when I was just a little-assed G I really loved Up and Down with the Rolling Stones by Tony Sanchez
the three-part Elvis biography series- Peter Guralnick (really great writer, check out Lost Highway and Feel Like Going Home)
Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock and Roll- Nick Tosches
Miles: The Autobiography
Country Music USA- Bill Malone
Our Band Could Be Your Life- Michael Azerrad
ditto on Mystery Train and Are You REady for the Country
back when I was just a little-assed G I really loved Up and Down with the Rolling Stones by Tony Sanchez
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing
Re: Books about Music
beantownbubba wrote:This is Your Brain on Music is a freakin' ALSUM book, joelle!!! First time i've seen/heard anyone else mention it
Please don't keep it a secret. What's it about? Who wrote it? etc
If you don't run you rust
Re: Books about Music
If you like jazz...
Heavily romanticized (and simplified), but a fun read nonetheless.
Heavily romanticized (and simplified), but a fun read nonetheless.
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Re: Books about Music
My two favs have already been posted ("I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" and "This Wheel's on Fire").
Bob Dylan's "Chronicles" is great. Can't wait for Vol. 2. "Shaky," the Neil Young bio, has been on my shelf for ages, but I haven't gotten around to reading it.
"Cash," by Johnny Cash, of course.
Bob Dylan's "Chronicles" is great. Can't wait for Vol. 2. "Shaky," the Neil Young bio, has been on my shelf for ages, but I haven't gotten around to reading it.
"Cash," by Johnny Cash, of course.
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- cortez the killer
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Re: Books about Music
You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
- DPM
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Re: Books about Music
I found Shakey to be a major disappointment. McDonough gets unprecedented access to Neil but ends up with a book that at times reads more about him than it does Neil. It's not horrible, but it is a major letdown. That was a one-shot deal and it was blown
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing
- cortez the killer
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Re: Books about Music
I love Shakey. I'm not sure what you were expecting, but I think it is an informative, enjoyable read.
You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
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Re: Books about Music
cortez the killer wrote:I love Shakey. I'm not sure what you were expecting, but I think it is an informative, enjoyable read.
glad it works for you
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Re: Books about Music
joelle wrote:beantownbubba wrote:This is Your Brain on Music is a freakin' ALSUM book, joelle!!! First time i've seen/heard anyone else mention it
i'm a real real awesome person.
Wait. I'm confused. I thought u were a bad person.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
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Re: Books about Music
scotto wrote:If you like jazz...
Heavily romanticized (and simplified), but a fun read nonetheless.
Agreed. My favorite part is when the author tries to explain Bird's talent for giving oral sex to his talent w/ the sax. (I'm not making that up). I was reading it in the library in college when i was supposed to be shelving books and i literally burst out laughing.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
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Re: Books about Music
Clams wrote:beantownbubba wrote:This is Your Brain on Music is a freakin' ALSUM book, joelle!!! First time i've seen/heard anyone else mention it
Please don't keep it a secret. What's it about? Who wrote it? etc
The book is by Daniel Levitin. From Amazon:
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Think of a song that resonates deep down in your being. Now imagine sitting down with someone who was there when the song was recorded and can tell you how that series of sounds was committed to tape, and who can also explain why that particular combination of rhythms, timbres and pitches has lodged in your memory, making your pulse race and your heart swell every time you hear it. Remarkably, Levitin does all this and more, interrogating the basic nature of hearing and of music making (this is likely the only book whose jacket sports blurbs from both Oliver Sacks and Stevie Wonder), without losing an affectionate appreciation for the songs he's reducing to neural impulses. Levitin is the ideal guide to this material: he enjoyed a successful career as a rock musician and studio producer before turning to cognitive neuroscience, earning a Ph.D. and becoming a top researcher into how our brains interpret music. Though the book starts off a little dryly (the first chapter is a crash course in music theory), Levitin's snappy prose and relaxed style quickly win one over and will leave readers thinking about the contents of their iPods in an entirely new way. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–Levitin's fascination with the mystery of music and the study of why it affects us so deeply is at the heart of this book. In a real sense, the author is a rock 'n' roll doctor, and in that guise dissects our relationship with music. He points out that bone flutes are among the oldest of human artifacts to have been found and takes readers on a tour of our bio-history. In this textbook for those who don't like textbooks, he discusses neurobiology, neuropsychology, cognitive psychology, empirical philosophy, Gestalt psychology, memory theory, categorization theory, neurochemistry, and exemplar theory in relation to music theory and history in a manner that will draw in teens. A wonderful introduction to the science of one of the arts that make us human.–Will Marston, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
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Re: Books about Music
whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:Woody Guthrie: A Life- Joe Klein
the three-part Elvis biography series- Peter Guralnick (really great writer, check out Lost Highway and Feel Like Going Home)
Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock and Roll- Nick Tosches
Miles: The Autobiography
Country Music USA- Bill Malone
Our Band Could Be Your Life- Michael Azerrad
ditto on Mystery Train and Are You REady for the Country
back when I was just a little-assed G I really loved Up and Down with the Rolling Stones by Tony Sanchez
Loud "yes" on Guralnick, espy Vol. 1 of his Elvis bio. Actually, i don't know why i say that, all his books are great. One of those guys who seems to know every song ever recorded.
Don't know Tosches's Country book, but really liked his book on Jerry Lee. Called Hellfire i believe.
Greil Marcus's book on "Like a Rolling Stone" is interesting just to see how anyone could write a whole book about a single song.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
Re: Books about Music
whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:I found Shakey to be a major disappointment. McDonough gets unprecedented access to Neil but ends up with a book that at times reads more about him than it does Neil. It's not horrible, but it is a major letdown. That was a one-shot deal and it was blown
The problem Jimmy McDonough had was that he had a written agreement to write an authorized biography but midway through the project Neil withdrew from the contract and the two men ended up in years of litigation. Finally, the courts ruled that McDonough could use the material. However, I think legally he had to put the info he got from Neil in italics and use the interviews verbatum. So, the book was as much a story of his struggle with Neil as a biography.
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Re: Books about Music
Author also wrote Last Train to Memphis- The Rise of Elvis Presley, which is recommended as well. It's been years since I've read this one & I forget where the 1st book ends and where this picks up in the life of Elvis. Sad story.
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Re: Books about Music
Zip City wrote:
Fascinating read. The complete history of Pink Floyd as told by their quiet, non-controversial drummer. In a band that became a clash of personalities, it's very interesting to hear the inside story from a neutral party.
Nick Mason: lukewarm water
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing
Re: Books about Music
I HIGHLY recommend "Really The Blues" by Mezz Mezzrow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezz_Mezzrow
It's a amazing look into jazz culture and the marijuana underground in the 30s. A great read and a rare history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezz_Mezzrow
It's a amazing look into jazz culture and the marijuana underground in the 30s. A great read and a rare history.
Not forever, just for now.
Re: Books about Music
beantownbubba wrote:Clams wrote:
Please don't keep it a secret. What's it about? Who wrote it? etc
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Think of a song that resonates deep down in your being. Now imagine sitting down with someone who was there when the song was recorded and can tell you how that series of sounds was committed to tape, and who can also explain why that particular combination of rhythms, timbres and pitches has lodged in your memory, making your pulse race and your heart swell every time you hear it. Remarkably, Levitin does all this and more, interrogating the basic nature of hearing and of music making (this is likely the only book whose jacket sports blurbs from both Oliver Sacks and Stevie Wonder), without losing an affectionate appreciation for the songs he's reducing to neural impulses. Levitin is the ideal guide to this material: he enjoyed a successful career as a rock musician and studio producer before turning to cognitive neuroscience, earning a Ph.D. and becoming a top researcher into how our brains interpret music. Though the book starts off a little dryly (the first chapter is a crash course in music theory), Levitin's snappy prose and relaxed style quickly win one over and will leave readers thinking about the contents of their iPods in an entirely new way. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–Levitin's fascination with the mystery of music and the study of why it affects us so deeply is at the heart of this book. In a real sense, the author is a rock 'n' roll doctor, and in that guise dissects our relationship with music. He points out that bone flutes are among the oldest of human artifacts to have been found and takes readers on a tour of our bio-history. In this textbook for those who don't like textbooks, he discusses neurobiology, neuropsychology, cognitive psychology, empirical philosophy, Gestalt psychology, memory theory, categorization theory, neurochemistry, and exemplar theory in relation to music theory and history in a manner that will draw in teens. A wonderful introduction to the science of one of the arts that make us human.–Will Marston, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
that ought to do it
now
read
Re: Books about Music
beantownbubba wrote:joelle wrote:i'm a real real awesome person.
Wait. I'm confused. I thought u were a bad person.
basically,i'm both.
sometimes simultaneously.