Good books about music

So Reynolds' 2010 "Totally Wired: Postpunk Interviews and Overviews" consists of a mixture of old and new interviews he did plus previously written pieces and a little bit of new analysis?

Pretty much. All interviews with people like David Thomas, Lydia Lunch etc. Plus a nice little write up all about Mutant Disco. Basically it's Rip It Up Extra.

The new one coming out is about retro culture and our relationship with it. I don't know how much there is let to say on the subject - it sounds a bit meta tbh, but I've enjoyed nearly all his books I've read (especially Rip It Up) so I'll be getting it when it comes out.

I really like Bez's Freaky Dancin book, though I guess it's not really about the music at all

just ordered phill brown's "are we still rolling?", supposed to be really good:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0977990311
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5179zRQa4CL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Phil struggles to balance his home and family with a job where drug abuse, chaos, rampant egos, greed, lies and the increasingly invasive record business take their toll.

read excerpts of it in tape op, it was entertaining though i didn't really care about a lot of the musicians/bands involved

should i get a tape op subscription?

you might as well, it's free. it's usually too tech-y for me but they have good interviews occasionally.

Sammy Hagar's book #1 on NYT bestseller list.

RED ROCKER BIO BOOK BOX OFFICE SOCKO SHOCKER!

but who will play him in the movie...

XP - Yes you should.

I read that Philllll Brown book a couple of weeks ago, interesting stuff, he's obviously a contrary bastard, and he misses out loads of bands I would have liked to have read about (Eat, Bark Psychosis) and mentions a lot that I wouldn't give a ha'penny for but it's still pretty great. i reckon a lot of people will be reading it to get some sort of scoop on those arcane Talk Talk sessions, but there's not much that hasn't been written about beforehand in Sound On Sound magazine or in other PB interviews.

I never knew that his brother Terry moved to Canada and was *the* Terry Brown that recorded a lot of the classic Rush albums.

oh sweet, for some reason i thought tape op was only free in the uk.

Anybody seen the new Will Friedwald 800 page book on jazz vocalists?

anybody?

Once looked at an earlier book of his on the subject. Seemed pretty good, although he hated a certain strain of cabaret singer. Just downloaded a sample of this one.

Joshua Clover's new one on 1989 was excellent.

OK, Curmudgeon, I just skimmed the first few As, starting with Ernestine Anderson. Definitely looks like a keeper.

Ha. Thanks. Didn't Christgau or someone once complain about Friedwald's writing (or maybe that's just me remembering something I did not like about it?).

Pricey though, which is I guess why you are asking.
(xpost)

Looking to pick up owen hatherley's 'uncommon' about pulp soon, anyone read it?
spied it in the wire that came in the post this morning nut not read a review yet

Clover's 1989 book is very good.

The Archivist (Vintage Vinyl Jesus Music 1965-1980) - Ken Scott Not a new book, but really enjoyable if you dig for these records, he's amazingly thorough.

Guess that is a different Ken Scott from the British recording engineer and producer who worked with the Beatles and Bowie.

Just sprung for the WIll Friedwald book, now reading around in it and it seems pretty amazing. Full of all kinds of information about all kinds of singers from all kinds of eras, lots of serious efforts to nail down exactly what the appeal is and strengths are of each singer, and lots of: I used to think so-and-so was a joke, but a lot of really smart people I respected told me otherwise so I kept trying and finally I started to warm up and now I can tell you why there are so great.

http://motherjones.com/media/2011/10/quiz-fictional-rock-bands

Re that link: Are The Heaven Seventeen in the book or only in the movie?

Came to post that I read some of the recent Tony Bennett bio and it starts out seeming too sycophantic but it gets better. Last night started reading The Last Sultan: The Life and Times of Ahmet Ertegun by Robert Greenfield and I can't put it down.

For dub fans:

Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae

http://www.amazon.com/Dub-Soundscapes-Shattered-Jamaican-Culture/dp/0819565725

Academic approach to dub music cultures around the world.
It contains some detailed descriptions on how some of the dub tracks were recorded and mixed.

still reading rob young's electric eden. going slowly because i don't want it to end! really really good.

i read "everybody loves our town: an oral history of grunge" by mark yarm over this past weekend and it's really fun! i love oral histories like "please kill me" because you don't have a boring author prattling on about their opinions. and he does a good job of not focusing just on nirvana/pearl jam/soundgarden but also including bands like cat butt and skinyard.

Forgot about Electric Eden. Gotta finish that one too.

Has anyone read Detroit Techno: Transfer of the Soul Through the Machine by Mathias k*l*an Hanf?

that should be Mathias k*l*an Hanf.

"everybody loves our town: an oral history of grunge" by mark yarm

suspiciously fortuitous name

Sounds like Bruce is not a fan of Elijah Wald's How the Beatles Destroyed Rock'n'Roll:

https://twitter.com/#!/sisario/status/180347408486633474

Assuming that is the book in question.

He probably read only the title.

He probably was just told the title by someone else.

promising project in the works to make e-books collecting musicians' thoughts on the first time they heard certain artists:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scottheim/the-first-time-i-heard-book-series

Interesting idea, but hopefully future books will included other subjects than white British art rockers.

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.

Surprised that it hasn't been mentioned, but Aaron Copland's What to Listen for in Music. It was written in the early fifties, so even jazz barely rates a mention but don't let that putt you off. As a foundation, 'where the hell am I?' sort of resource it is invaluable and regardless of what you listen to, you'll find it useful.

For old skool industrial types like me, the three essential tomes are Charles Neal's Tape Delay, Simon Ford's Wreckers of Civilisation and David Keenan's England's Hidden Reverse.

Bob Mould's memoir See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody is a great read.

agreed re: copland's book, very readable and relevant to just about anyone

life against dementia by joe carducci is a fun read so far (not all music). a bit of an odds n sods compilation, but some great stuff, including a really interesting, detailed look at the portland music scene of the 70s (hurley, holy modal rounders, etc.)

trying to find a good thread to put something about the upcoming Meat Puppets oral history bio in. It's called Too High To Die and its by Greg Prato.
http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=wtt7y9cab&v=001xIsb6zOAIu7Rlnkead1HL3_WCTRVv9eduECqEm79iLaM0Y31Thj0F3zSAK1cGvvcc1eQkH1W-i8GH0X6NuhSvVGJEdHEUijIgdvX4TwKekx7EiyhtdNeaA%3D%3D
Looking forward to reading it whenever I can get my hands on a copy

Stevolende

I am in

^^ really looking fwd to that book. here's hoping it's good to great...

Holy shit that looks awesome!