Just finished Michael Walker's Laurel Canyon book. The usual array of end-of-the-'60s signposts you've read about before, but very good on the transition to mid-'70s big-money in pop music (and the centrality of cocaine to that). I think it would have been amazing to live there in the early '70s. I don't know if I would have been disciplined enough to make it out of that moment.
― clemenza, Friday, 22 November 2013 18:16 (ten years ago) link
http://musictomes.com/
Website that lists music book releases and sometimes includes reviews or links to them
― curmudgeon, Friday, 29 November 2013 22:11 (ten years ago) link
2 Soul Train books, one by Danois, and one by Questlove....Maybe will get to 1 or both someday
http://musictomes.com/review-soul-train-the-music-dance-and-style-of-a-generation/
http://musictomes.com/ericka-blount-danois-board-the-soul-train/
― curmudgeon, Friday, 29 November 2013 22:17 (ten years ago) link
I predict I will be bought the Morrissey and Bob Stanley books for Xmas.
― djh, Friday, 29 November 2013 22:59 (ten years ago) link
Wait what Bob Stanley book?
― Skatalite of Dub (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 29 November 2013 23:54 (ten years ago) link
OK, I see. That's not out here anytime soon either.
― Skatalite of Dub (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 30 November 2013 00:12 (ten years ago) link
Where's "here"?
― djh, Saturday, 30 November 2013 00:39 (ten years ago) link
US.
― Skatalite of Dub (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 30 November 2013 00:41 (ten years ago) link
If you bought the deluxe version (£150) from the Saint Etienne website, I suppose the £16 postage wouldn't seem so bad?
― djh, Saturday, 30 November 2013 09:59 (ten years ago) link
James, I was at the new rough trade Brooklyn store for the television gig last night and they're selling the bob Stanley book there for 30 bucks.
― yes, i have seen the documentary (Jon Lewis), Saturday, 30 November 2013 18:47 (ten years ago) link
Thanks!
― Skatalite of Dub (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 30 November 2013 19:12 (ten years ago) link
How was Television?
They were great. So insane to see them in such a small space. I got to see them last night by the grace of ilxor thus sang freud; getting in tonight by the wiles of my buddy Alex.
― yes, i have seen the documentary (Jon Lewis), Saturday, 30 November 2013 19:33 (ten years ago) link
I've heard Questlove talk about Soul Train in interviews and he comes off as legitimately obsessed with the show, like not in that NPR-ish, nerd-in-quotes sort of way, but like obsessed to an unhealthy and bizarre degree.
― i wish i had a skateboard i could skate away on (Hurting 2), Saturday, 30 November 2013 19:49 (ten years ago) link
Had great fun exploring all of these in the late 90s/early 00s: http://www.johnschott.com/record-shrine/book-shrine/
― Call the Cops, Sunday, 1 December 2013 12:08 (ten years ago) link
just finished the new stanley crouch bio of charlie parker (first volume). really great, almost more for the historical side stuff than the actual info about parker's life.
― tylerw, Sunday, 1 December 2013 17:03 (ten years ago) link
& jon, i need a full Television report ASAP
― tylerw, Sunday, 1 December 2013 17:04 (ten years ago) link
Yeah, Bird bio is absolutely essential, and otm re: historical context. There's context, and there's context: Crouch paints an incredibly engrossing picture of how, where, and why Bird developed the way he did. Other Bird bios/accounts I've read were basically "He started in Kansas City, where there were a bunch of swing bands, and then moved to NYC where the REAL shit happened." This vividly illustrates how Parker and his innovations could have only come from the Kansas City of the 30s/40s.
(and Crouch still manages to shoehorn in a clumsy-ass swipe at hip-hop in the process; fortunately, it's easily ignored/forgotten)
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Sunday, 1 December 2013 22:47 (ten years ago) link
Just finished a kind of depressing but nonetheless fascinating book "The Prettiest Star" which is a bio of Brett Smiley, a failed Bowie wannabe who barely had a recording career, and passed by an awful lot of famous people while rocketing (almost) to the bottom. By Nina Antonia who's probably better known for writing about NY Dolls.
― dlp9001, Sunday, 1 December 2013 23:07 (ten years ago) link
Thanks--just ordered a copy through Abe for my glam-loving friend. Also went looking for the Brett Smiley CD put out in 2004; used copies go for $150-200, and new copies...sure, why not?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0000AJ5SX/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new
So I located a copy through other means.
― clemenza, Monday, 2 December 2013 14:58 (ten years ago) link
Bob Stanley book's pretty decent, feels very bloggy in parts...v ILX friendly.
― the Shearer of simulated snowsex etc. (Dwight Yorke), Monday, 2 December 2013 15:07 (ten years ago) link
I'd rather hear Pete Wiggs' point of view.
― djh, Monday, 2 December 2013 16:39 (ten years ago) link
This looks rad.
http://www.amazon.com/Aleister-Crowley-Magick-Wickedest-World/dp/0399161902/
― jmm, Sunday, 8 December 2013 03:10 (ten years ago) link
Kinda surprising how many books Gary Lachman (aka Gary Valentine of Blondie) has written. I liked Turn Off Your Mind quite a bit, though, so might check this one out.
― Humorist (horse) (誤訳侮辱), Sunday, 8 December 2013 03:42 (ten years ago) link
any good books about folk or country music? very broad i know but for a gift and i can't think of anything i've ever heard recommended
― flopson, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 21:23 (ten years ago) link
i'm reading this right now, it is good!http://www.nashvillescene.com/imager/b/story/3438188/d401/books1-1.jpg
― tylerw, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 21:25 (ten years ago) link
country - nick tosches (his other books too of course, but this is my favorite)
This a book of his that I have not read. He likes to be provocative
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 21:33 (ten years ago) link
yeah tosches is a good time, but should be taken with ye olde grain of salt. that book has some great stuff in it...
― tylerw, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 21:34 (ten years ago) link
thx both look perfect
― flopson, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 21:36 (ten years ago) link
folkhttp://thewire.co.uk/images/the_wire/main/originals/thewiresalonaug.jpg
― Number None, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 21:38 (ten years ago) link
otm
― christmas candy bar (al leong), Wednesday, 18 December 2013 21:38 (ten years ago) link
Loved 'Electric Eden' - found so much fantastic music I had no clue about or just hadn't investigated beforehand. Shirley & Dolly, the soundtrack to Kes, Mr.Fox and Peter Warlock have been in regular rotation ever since. Hot stuff!
― mr.raffles, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 21:42 (ten years ago) link
fuuck okay that looks really tight
― flopson, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 21:43 (ten years ago) link
yeah that book is seriously one of the best books about music (or anything!) i've read.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 21:44 (ten years ago) link
damn, not in stock. would have to order online
― flopson, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 21:44 (ten years ago) link
ooh country recommendation:
http://www.cowboysindians.com/images/cache/54855e5eb4a25360aaf8dd20c1389304.jpeg?aspectratio=0.67873303167421
cannot recommend it highly enough, it's so great
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 18 December 2013 22:56 (ten years ago) link
"don't forget this song," frank m. young and david lasky's graphic novel about the carter family, which came out not too long ago, is fantastic.
― i play too fast (which is the sign of an amateur) (fact checking cuz), Thursday, 19 December 2013 00:51 (ten years ago) link
tosches is a good time, but should be taken with ye olde grain of salt. that book has some great stuff in it...
yeah tosches can really try your patience in any number of ways, but "country" is a particularly great one of his. formative for me.
― i play too fast (which is the sign of an amateur) (fact checking cuz), Thursday, 19 December 2013 00:54 (ten years ago) link
also on the country tip, peter guralnick's "lost highway" is a fantastic collection of interviews/essays about roots musicians, with a strong country leaning as the title would suggest. his "feel like going home" is more blues-focused, but that book's chapter on charlie rich is as good as music writing gets and is entirely responsible for my lifelong love of charlie.
― i play too fast (which is the sign of an amateur) (fact checking cuz), Thursday, 19 December 2013 01:07 (ten years ago) link
Ditto--both Charlie pieces are mandatory. (If I remember right, the first one catches him while his career's floundering, the follow-up when he had that unlikely brush with fame and wasn't handling it well.)
― clemenza, Thursday, 19 December 2013 01:18 (ten years ago) link
Another recommendation for Electric Eden - got me into Fairport Convention and Pentangle, neither of whom I'd ever listened to before that.
― Humorist (horse) (誤訳侮辱), Thursday, 19 December 2013 02:09 (ten years ago) link
Yeah man, these people got the right idea"---Charlie Rich, while observing couples and hopefuls, between sets played at Max's Kansas City. "Behind Closed Doors" indeed---wonder of any of the ex-Velvets were there that night? Also: apparently mostly on the strength of Guralnick's otm say-so (also to further cash in on his belated comeback-and-then-some), Rich's most Fully Realizedsides, from the Smash label, were reissued as a twofer: some of these are nice, some are darn good, some are great, some are fucking awesome. Only wish Margaret Ann's composition "Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs" was here, speaking of fucking awesome. Hear ye! (thanks discogs)A1 Mohair Sam
Written-By – Frazier*
2:07 A2 I Can't Go On
Written-By – C. A. Rich*
3:03 A3 Dance Of Love
2:14 A4 A Field Of Yellow Daisies
Written-By – M. A. Rich*
3:01 A5 I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water
Written-By – J. Babcock*
2:40 A6 Every Thing I Do Is Wrong
2:26 B1 She's A Yum Yum
Written-By – D. Frazier*
2:11 B2 It Ain't Gonna Be That Way
2:14 B3 Just A Little Bit Of You
2:31 B4 Moonshine Minnie
2:19 B5 Down And Out
2:15 B6 Lonely Weekends
Written-By – C. Rich*
3:01 C1 No Home
2:33 C2 So Long
Arranged By – Ray Stevens Written-By – C. Rich*
2:43 C3 The Best Years
2:35 C4 Party Girl
Arranged By – Ray Stevens Written-By – M. A. Rich*
2:02 C5 You Can Have Her
Arranged By – Ray Stevens Written By – C. Cook
2:30 C6 Have I Stayed Away Too Long
Written By – F. Loesser
2:26 D1 Hawg Jaw
2:23 D2 Something Just Came Over Me
2:00 D3 Double Dog Dare Me
Written By – B. Logan, C. S. Snooddy
1:54 D4 Just A Little Bit Of Time
2:02 D5 Blowin' Town
2:12 D6 Tears A Go-Go
Written By – D. Fritts
2:24 Credits
Producer – Jerry Kennedy
NotesFully Realised is a 1974 compilation of highlights from Charlie Rich's two Smash albums, The Many New Sides of Charlie Rich 1965, and Fast Talkin', Slow Walkin', Good Lookin' Charlie Rich 1966.(p) 1965 Catt#.9299 114(p) 1966 Catt#.9299 115(Think there's more on The Complete Smash Sessions)
― dow, Thursday, 19 December 2013 02:24 (ten years ago) link
my debut book just came out. It's about music:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ba5VauwCcAApNBF.jpg
Buy it here:http://bronze-age.net/RNB-EDITS.html
― the Shearer of simulated snowsex etc. (Dwight Yorke), Thursday, 19 December 2013 10:11 (ten years ago) link
Should I read "Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll: My Life in Rock" by Steven Pearcy or "Dirty Rocker Boys" by Bobbie Brown?
― how's life, Tuesday, 14 January 2014 00:23 (ten years ago) link
I just read "dirty rocker boys" and it was entirely competent and pretty meh. Plenty of pointless sex gossip that I won't ruin spoil unless asked.
― EZ Snappin, Tuesday, 14 January 2014 00:42 (ten years ago) link
The Pearcy book is pretty good.
― Humorist (horse) (誤訳侮辱), Tuesday, 14 January 2014 15:13 (ten years ago) link
I saw a recommendation for this book but I haven't read it yet:
Ickes, Scott. 2013. Afro-Brazilian Culture andRegional Identity in Bahia, Brazil. Gainesville: University Press ofFlorida.
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 14 January 2014 15:18 (ten years ago) link
Just finished James Fearnley's book about the Pogues. It falls away in the second half, but the stuff set round Kings Cross and Camden in the early 80s is fantastic.― Viva Brother Beyond (ithappens), Tuesday, 17 April 2012 11:10 (1 year ago)
I've been wanting to buy this for a while now. Must order now!
― Duke, Tuesday, 14 January 2014 19:05 (ten years ago) link
I'm enjoying David Byrne's How Music Works which is part musical autobiograsphy part history of recorded sound. Makes me want to listen to the Talking Heads who I've never got majorly into as well as his other projects.
Also reading a book Called This Ain't The Summer Of Love: Conflict and Crossover in Heavy Metal and Punk by Steve WAksman which is currently looking at Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper and theatricality after having spent some time looking at Nuggets and before that Grand Funk Railroad. KInd of interesting though it does keep tying everything into metal but then that is at least partially what the book is about. I picked it up partially for the title though I don't think he's going to look at the Imperial Dogs who actually came up with the phrase and partially cos it's got the Iggy crowdwalking photo on the cover * it was £4.99 which is some factor. It is pretty interesting, though main reason I went back to the shop it was in was taht I'd seen a cheap copy of the Byrds day by day book which I think is called So You Want TO Be a rock'n'roll star. Should have grabbed it when I first saw it cos it was gone when I went back but that shop which seems to be a gay erotica shop from the outside but has had some great rock finds over the years. Always seems to have some interesting stuff on a pretty large discount along with other non-gay esoterica.
Also picked up Morrissey's autobiography though I've only looked at the first chapter so far.
& got to mention that Touch & Go Complete Anthology thing my brother got me for my birthday which is very interesting.
― Stevolende, Tuesday, 14 January 2014 19:18 (ten years ago) link
Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity, by the late Richard A. "Pete" Peterson is my new favorite book on music: masterfully organized and argued, very informative and insightful about the subject at hand and equally useful for understanding the history of the music industry in general.
― Wild Mountain Armagideon Thyme (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 27 January 2014 03:35 (ten years ago) link