Good books about music

damn...will the 33 1/3 peeps start their own 45 series in response??

how do you write about a bridge without writing about the rest of the song, though?

but yeah, i mean, a good bridge is everything imo. songs where the bridge is the best, are the best.

^agree! I’m a big bridge guy.

how do you write about a bridge without writing about the rest of the song

I kid… tho it’s kinda the same thing as writing a book about an album without getting into the rest of the band’s catalog?

this is why every book should be an exhaustive account of the universe in motion

i'm sure there is a borges story about this already

What are some good books about R&B from the 80's and after? Not Hip-Hop, obv. Feel like this music doesn't get as quickly dismissed as it used to but still don't see the same level of geekery that was given to Stax, Motown, Philly and the like.

― Daniel_Rf

Same question. I want to read a story of r&b chronologically through major labels and trends, but after Motown and Philly I can't seem to find anything similar for the following eras. Will check out the LA Reid bio.

Dave Marsh wrote a book about "Louie Louie," Marcus wrote one about "like A Rolling Stone," neither of which I've read, though did enjoy ilx alum Matos' NYTimes long-read on "Wimoweh" AKA "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." Others? (Oh yeah--- xgau over the moon about Joshua Clover/Jane Dark's entry in the Singles series, re Richman's "Roadrunner," in longread posted on robertchristgau.com)

Like A Rolling Stone was decent enough but very much felt like Marcus on auto-pilot to me.

That "Roadrunner" has got my name on it. I also have my eye on the recent Eric Weisbard book.

What's the consensus on the best books about the music industry? Something that goes into Sony/Universal/Warner rivalries, politics and the general shadiness of it all. I'm thinking hit men, cowboys and indies and the clive bio. Anything else? Would prefer if a strong emphasis is given to r&b and hip hop, but it's not a dealbreaker.

THere are a couple of EMI books, Brian Southall. One based on the Sex Pistols' trevails, the other a more extensive history.

It came out and it was immediately out-of-date, so I don't know if it has been updated, but.

"The Rise and Fall of EMI" - as I say, the version I had ended (I think) with Guy Hands taking it over and various artists exercising their options to leave.

The Big Payback by Dan Charnas is currently the best account of the business side of hip-hop.

Frederic Dannen's Hit Men: Power Brokers and Fast Money Inside the Music Business. Read it ages ago; I think it really went into the pre-Soundscan chart rigging.

Oops! Right in your post, sorry.

Is there a book about the Jazz avant-garde that focuses on the musicians lives ? Like portraits / the book-form equivalent of an 8-hour documentary.

As Serious As Your Life?

Ok, from a quick search in the thread, AS SERIOUS AS YOUR LIFE - Black Music and the Free Jazz Revolution, 1957–1977 seems to be what I'm looking for.

Is Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay better than Cowboys and Indies?

He's an entertaining writer, is Simon N-B, but I've not read that one.

Thought about reading that one too.

Is there a book about the Jazz avant-garde that focuses on the musicians lives ? Like portraits / the book-form equivalent of an 8-hour documentary.

Yes, As Serious As Your Life is the clear candidate here, but if you want the equivalent of the Beatles documentary but focused on Anthony Braxton, check out Graham Lock's Forces In Motion. He travels with Braxton and band for a week or so of gigs, interviews everyone extensively, and really gets into the details of making the music happen. Fantastic book.

Monkee Business by Eric Lefcowitz does a very good job of telling the story and keeping it moving, although maybe someone who knows more than me will be disappointed. There are apparently some factual mistakes, and there is quite a bit of tough love dark sarcasm, but in the way the latter makes for a better book, especially he mananges to hold it somewhat in check and not go overboard. This review seems reasonable.

Hit Woman: Adventures in Life and Love during the Golden Age, by Susan Hamilton, a first call jingle producer for a decade or two or three or four, is some kind of Redd Kryptonite.
http://www.susanhamilton.com/about-the-book/

Restoring truncated subtitle. Hit Woman: Adventures in Life and Love during the Golden Age of American Pop Music.

Something about its structure and tone remind me of another favorite, Andre Previn’s No Minor Chords.

Or Irv Greenbaum’s In One Ear, and in the Other.

Anyone read this Lesley Chow book? Don't know her at all, but the book looks pretty interesting.

https://d1rgjmn2wmqeif.cloudfront.net/r/b/249444-1.jpg

I looked up who's included and she her definition of "strange" is tailored to include mainly people who will ostensibly sell copies, like Rihanna and Taylor Swift.

Yeah, if your definition of "strange" only stretches as far as Kate Bush you're not really writing a book for me, but whatever.

She definitely needs a less sensationalistic subtitle--Azealia Banks is the only one who credibly fits. And going back to the famous-for-15-seconds Shakespears Sister makes for a pretty blurry timeline. The book interests me anyway.

is there a book about the Jazz avant-garde that focuses on the musicians lives ? Along with the ones recently mentioned, also try A.B. Spellman's Four Lives In The BeBop Business: Cecil Taylor and Ornette Coleman, from the scuffling years to critical acceptance or at least coverage, but way before the "Genius Grants" and so on; Herbie Nichols, who remained a Musician's Musician, and a reclusive-ish image (but is awesome; his Mosaic Records box is the only one of those I ever shelled out the big bucks for, totally worth it), and Jackie McLean's adventures as a journeyman.
Music biz-wise, Star-Making Machinery: Inside the Business of Rock and Roll, by Geoffrey Stokes---sometimes listed with another subtitle, The Odyssey of an Album, also appropriate in that reading this saga about trying to make an album that would make stars of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen sometimes reminds me of Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo--as Wiki sez: It portrays would-be rubber baron Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an Irishman known in Peru as Fitzcarraldo, who is determined to transport a steamship over a steep hill to access a rich rubber territory in the Amazon Basin. The film is derived from the historic events of Peruvian rubber baron Carlos Fitzcarrald and his real-life feat of transporting a disassembled steamboat over the Isthmus of Fitzcarrald.

The film had a troubled production, and the documentary Burden of Dreams chronicled the film's hardships. Yeah, it reminds me even more of the doc. as Herzog becomes Fitzcaraldo...Not so much in terms of physical damage, but still the wages of early 70s grandiosity and backstabbing, incl a label guy who explains that it's nature's way for you to fuck with the weak (even or especially if they're clients), but if they get a big scary lawyer you better fuck with them more, launching pre-emptive scorched earth strikes (even if it's the same earth you're standing on, in fiduciary terms).
Also! Alll the money spent on grooming the press, incl. big fat junkets: "And If you'd like to stay out there a little while longer, I know your sister lives in the area, that would be cool too." Sweet! A great book about a lost world, and sometimes excruciatingly funny.

Is there a book that altered the way you listen to, hear, or appreciate music? Looking for something that will challenge my approach to music. Could be biographical or academic, but hopefully neither. Picked up Ben Ratliff's Every Song Ever thinking it might do the trick but I don't find it all that readable.

Have you tried John Corbett's A Listener's Guide to Free Improvisation?

No but the reviews are promising. Thank you!

I also found Brian Eno's review of Alan Lomax's Folk Song Style and Culture via the Guardian link upthread and may give that a go.

Huh, was about to suggest Every Song Ever since that was the one that got me to really explore black metal as well as the modern jazz quartet, but apparently YMMV.

seconding the free improvisation book

The "History of Rock and Roll Volume 1" by Ed Ward got me to listen to a lot of '40s and '50s rock, country, doo-wop, and R&B sides that I hadn't heard before. Definitely gave me a new appreciation for that era of popular music.

Robert Palmer’s writing is probably the best at doing that. His box set liner notes (Bo Diddley’s Chess recordings, Ornette Coleman’s Atlantic recordings, etc.) are some of the best ever, but with regards to books, “Deep Blues” is the first to come to mind.

I really enjoyed Debbie Harry's autobiography, Face It.

Xgau on new Lenny Kaye book, some vids in here too (this isn't paywalled)
https://robertchristgau.substack.com/p/hippy-punk-guitarist-historian?r=6pvn1&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

FWIW, Lenny Kaye posted this on Instagram late last month and the offer is still good:

"In response to many queries, if you would like a personally inscribed Lightning Striking: Ten Transformative Moments In Rock And Roll, I have arranged with my favorite independent bookshop to be the go-to destination. Order your copy from Carroll and Carroll, 740 Main St., Stroudsburg, PA 18360, phone (570) 420-1516, email d2qv5k AT verizon DOT net. I will then go there to sign to you or your loved one and they will mail the book wherever you like. Easy!! Thank you George and Lisa."

I'm two pages from the end of You're History, the Lesley Chow book mentioned above.
Here's her explanation of how she chose the book's subjects:

...they are all anomalies: pioneers in the making, whose output has been too strange for the culture to fully digest... In particular, I want to advocate for urgency , so my focus is on performers whose effect on the body is hot, explosive and immediate, rather than those who adhere to typical standards of refinement and class, such as Grimes and Joanna Newsom...

The tone is sort of a hybrid of poptimism and MFA thesis (sans footnotes). Her insights are epigrammatic and detailed, but not especially fascinating to me, though I can imagine some readers here really liking this.
ILM historians should note that she nods to "the fine critic Marcello Carlin" as "one of the few writers willing to get to the bottom of an 'ooh, aah'", but doesn't consider Nitsuh Abebe's evaluation of Rihanna otm.

Grimes “adheres to typical standards of refinement and class”?

By comparison, I guess

With… Sade and Shakespears Sister? (Maybe it’s a good book, but that’s a head scratcher)

https://www.amazon.com/DC-Go-Go-Backstage-American-Heritage/dp/1467150533

Chip Py took some great photos of DC go-go shows in the 2000s. His writing is just ok (I like his first person story of being on a tour bus with Chuck Brown better than some of his objective wiki like bios of go-go musicians and history of the genre). Photos unfortunately don't have dates listed in captions so you have to guess the year

This book is incredible. The amount of info and connections @ericdharvey makes in it is just mind-blowing. If you have any interest in 90s political rap, it’s a 100% must-read. pic.twitter.com/C649KhZuZ7

— Marc Masters 🌵 (@Marcissist) March 7, 2022

Anybody read this?

Yeah, it’s great. Highest possible recommendation.

Perhaps of limited interest outside the UK, but the AZ Record Shop Bags is a lovely thing. Surely big scope for an international edition as a followup.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CciplU6Mwfa/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=