• Books about Music
    19 replies, posted
People read, right? [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/GxBDR.jpg[/IMG] I'm reading through this and it pretty much covers the alternative rock scene in the 80s before Nirvana blew it up to the mainstream in the 90s. Each of the 13 chapters focuses on the history of a different band at the time: Mission Of Burma, The Minutemen, Black Flag, Husker Du, Minor Threat, The Replacements, Butthole Surfers, Sonic Youth, Big Black, Fugazi, Mudhoney, Beat Happening, and Dinosaur Jr. Anyone who cares about this era in music and who likes any of those bands should read this book and even if you're unfamiliar with the band, the writer still makes their story compelling and interesting to read through. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/yMy1e.jpg[/IMG] I have another one called 1001 albums to listen to before you die, and it's pretty good but it's not very diverse. It's like, 80% rock and pop and the actual written blurbs about the albums aren't that interesting to read. Plus it loses because it has a Limp Bizkit album and no B.B. King. Anyway even though the rock list in this one is the longest, there's still a very wide selection of classical, jazz, blues, R&B, country, electronic, and world music. There are some pretty deep cuts in this book that I'm glad I found out about and the author who chose and wrote every entry in the book manages to make every review passionately written. I can nitpick, but as a whole I really like it. You can look at the list here: [url]http://www.1000recordings.com/[/url] [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/rC2WE.jpg[/IMG] There are currently 83 books out now in the 33 1/3 series (see the list here: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/33_1/3[/url]) so you should find one about an album you like. Most of them are a straightforward "making of" and/or analysis of the album and are usually very informative and well written. Usually. If you see one of these of an album you like, why not learn a little about it? Check em out. Some other writers in the series do something a little creative with this format. The one on Black Sabbath's Master of Reality which is written by John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats (!) is a novella about a boy in a mental institution trying to get back the tape from a nurse there while telling his own story. The one on the Replacement's Let It Be is about the author growing up and relating to the album. And the one of Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love is written by someone who hates the album to death and he writes about why he hates it, why other people like it, and overall gives a meaningful look at the meaning of "taste". So check em out. feel free to share some other books about music and musicians!
I love books like these, but theres a lot of really bad writers out there haha. The first one you posted is great I hear. I need to get that eventually. Here's a contribution [img]http://57thave.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/How-To-Rap-366x550.jpg[/img] If you're actually considering becoming a rapper, you probably don't need this. But it's an interesting look at how it all works. Shitloads of quotes from some pretty reputable MCs.
Kind of off topic but such an awesome read. [img]http://991.com/newGallery/Marvin-Gaye-Divided-Soul-The-396355a.jpg[/img] Technically it gives a big picture about the motown years too, so it's more than just a walkthrough of the man.
[img]http://i43.tower.com/images/mm112011177/long-player-goodbye-elborough-travis-hardcover-cover-art.jpg[/img] Details the history of the album from a simple collection of 78s to a form of artistic expression, starting with the creation of the 12" LP and through cassettes, CDs and finally digital
[IMG]http://authwhore.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/41m73vb9pll.jpg[/IMG]
[QUOTE=The Maestro;32572612][IMG]http://authwhore.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/41m73vb9pll.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] I've read bits of the sequel book Listen to This and I though it was pretty good from what I've read.
I didn't know he wrote a sequel book. I got the first as a Christmas present and really liked the way he wrote it.
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/h79JL.jpg[/IMG] It's just more essays and stuff. Check it out.
[img]http://dentonlibrary.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/fargorockcity.jpg[/img] [editline]1st October 2011[/editline] [img]http://www.punkbookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/american_hardcore.gif[/img]
[img]http://yanko.lib.ru/books/bio/miles.files/image001.jpg[/img] goddamn miles is all i have to say
I bought great shoes here at Zalando
They're not really about the music, but Jim Carroll's diaries are great (they're also relevant since he was a musician) [img]http://www.criticalmob.com/images/pic/The_Basketball_Diaries_1.jpg_width284[/img] [IMG]http://i43.tower.com/images/mm100517451/forced-entries-downtown-diaries-1971-1973-jim-carroll-paperback-cover-art.jpg[/IMG]
[img]http://z.about.com/d/rap/1/0/j/C/-/-/RaisingKanyeDondaWest.jpg[/img] Wasn't groundbreaking or anything, but was a fun read.
I'm slow chugging thrhough the 33 1/3 about Television's Marquee Moon(amongst my infinite other readings), which I believe you have as well, pie. It's a really good read and it covers a lot of history about the glitter scene and the early punk scene of New York.
[img]http://metallicablogmagnetic.com/pictures/metallica-burton-cover.jpg[/img] Even though you may hate Metallica, it's a good read.
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/07/1001albums.jpg[/img] No matter what you're preferences or taste, this book has something for everyone.
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/UvizG.jpg[/IMG] You may recognize Lester Bang because he was Philip Seymour Hoffman's character in Almost Famous. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO3amwzUZ-I[/media] Phil's portrayal isn't too far from the real thing. His way of writing reviews were really digressive and winding. He's sorta like the Hunter S. Thompson of music criticism. You don't have to agree with everything he says to agree that he's a really cool critic and a great writer. Check out his stuff man. Lester Bangs on Astral Weeks: [url]http://personal.cis.strath.ac.uk/~murray/astral.html[/url] Metal Machine Music: The Greatest Album Ever Made: [url]http://www.rocknroll.net/loureed/articles/mmmbangs.html[/url] [QUOTE=Klownox;32708619]I'm slow chugging thrhough the 33 1/3 about Television's Marquee Moon(amongst my infinite other readings), which I believe you have as well, pie. It's a really good read and it covers a lot of history about the glitter scene and the early punk scene of New York.[/QUOTE] Actually I still haven't read it yet. I'll get to it sometime.
[QUOTE=pie_is_good;32712429]Actually I still haven't read it yet. I'll get to it sometime.[/QUOTE] You definitely should. I'm not too far into it myself, but you really get a sense for the album when you see the culture they were living in.
[img]http://static.musictoday.com/store/bands/1821/product_medium/1HAM13.JPG[/img] yes, I am a Rollins fanboy, but this book is genuinely great
all of rollin's books and spoken word are great
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