Books about Music

[laraelisabeth]

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).

[beantownbubba]

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.

[joelle]

sadly beautiful
and
bittersweet

[Clams]

sadly beautiful
and
bittersweet

I read that one a couple of years ago. Sadly beautiful... you got it right.

[RevMatt]

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.

[joelle]

and...
for the kids

[bovine knievel]

I just started this one:

[beantownbubba]

This is Your Brain on Music is a freakin' ALSUM book, joelle!!! First time i've seen/heard anyone else mention it

[joelle]

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.

[Smitty]

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

[Smitty]

both great reads, especially Townes

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

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

[Clams]

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

[scotto]

If you like jazz...



Heavily romanticized (and simplified), but a fun read nonetheless.

[Duke Silver]

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.

[cortez the killer]

[SandyBritches]

Far superior to Twenty Thousand Roads

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

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

[cortez the killer]

I love Shakey. I'm not sure what you were expecting, but I think it is an informative, enjoyable read.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

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

[beantownbubba]

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.

[beantownbubba]

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.

[beantownbubba]

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.

[beantownbubba]

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.

[RevMatt]

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.

[Given to Fly]

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.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

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

['Scratch]

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.

[joelle]

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

[joelle]

i'm a real real awesome person.

Wait. I'm confused. I thought u were a bad person.

basically,i'm both.
sometimes simultaneously.