What books about music ARE worth the paper they're printed on?

Last Train to Memphis & Careless Love - Peter Guralnick
Lost Highway - Peter Guralnick
Sweet Soul Music - Peter Guralnick
Please Kill Me - Legs McNeil
Our Band Could Be Your Life - Michael Azzerad
Hammer of the Gods - Stephen Davis
The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones - Stanley Booth
Mystery Train - Griel Marcus
Lipstick Traces - Griel Marcus
Invisible Republic - Griel Marcus
The Aesthetics of Rock - Richard Meltzer
A Whore Like the Rest - Richard Meltzer
Psychotic Reactions & Carberetur Dung - Lester Bangs
Hellfire - Nick Tosches
Unsung Heroes of Rock n Roll - Nick Tosches
Country - Nick Tosches
Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams - Nick Tosches
whatever the Simon Reynolds book is called this year
More Brilliant than the Sun - Kodwo Eshun
the Caetano Veloso autobio

also, they would have copies of that book that mark s. is still writing.

Also the book of rap lists.

also:
David Toop's books, all of them

Frederic Dannen - "Hit Men" (by no means, don't be put off by its title; it's an insightful look at pop music's business side of things, but reads more smoothly than yer average Rex Stout)

Greg Tate - "Flyboy In The Buttermilk" (music + much else)

...& there's more good stuff, really

Lords of Chaos by Michael Moynihan (about Black metal) is not too bad (apart from when he hauls in anthropologists and psychologists etc etc to dissect the phenomenon)

Shit, you're kidding. Well, I've got a copy but it's on the other side of the world (from me) at present, otherwise I'd post it off pronto. Isn't there an online version?

Hey, since Copey's Head On was reprinted recently, maybe the Sampler's just around the corner.

Clinton Heylin - Bootleg: the Secret History of the Other Recording Industry

"Moon" - Tony Fletcher's bio of Keith Moon, one of the best bios!

"White Line Fever" - Lemmy Kilmister's (Moterhead) autobiography.

"A Riot of Our Own" - A Clash Bio written by one of their roadies Johnny Green. He meets them shortly after they come together and stays with them through all the peak years - a great read!

"The Dirt" - autobiography of Motlet Crue (worth reading even if you're not a fan!)

"Life and Def" - autobiography of Russel Simmons (Def Jam/Phat Farm).

"Get in the Van" - A compilation of Henry Rollins' journals from the time he was in Black Flag.

"The Rocker" - Mark Putterford's bio on Phil Lynott (of Thin Lizzy) - again, worth reading even if you're not a fan.

"The Spectacular Rise and Violent Fall of Death Row Records" by Ronin Ro. A look at Suge Knight and Death Row Records - VERY GOOD!

Other people have mentioned "Our Band Could be Your Life", "Lords of Chaos" and "Please kill Me" - I'd also recomend them.

Is that the one that lists the band that did the "Muchos Gracias / Limelight" 45 as the same "The Pack" that had Kirk Brandon in it? I don't mean to make fun of it; I wish I'd owned a copy, even though the book I'm remembering had been implicated in a little grumpiness experienced sometime in the late 80's by a certain Canadian teenager upon the receipt of a small, flattish package from Germany. Anyone care to guess the square dimensions?

Does anyone remember there was a list-type book published a few years ago, maybe by Spin magazine or something, about "Alternative" groups, that had an entry about X Ray Spex referring to Paul Dean as being the same Paul Dean that played in Loverboy? It's well worth reading for that very reason. Maybe even framing.

Urban Blues by Charles Keil. The original anti-authenticity, non-rockist text. Keil argues that the slick urban music and live productions of the likes of B.B. King and Bobby "Blue" Bland is just as important and valid as the antecedent country blues forms. And how dare white record collectors state otherwise, anyway?

Rock and the Pop Narcotic by Joe Carducci. Learn what it means to be rockist. Great historical section (though some found it pointless).

Highway to Hell : The Life and Times of AC/DC Legend Bon Scott by Clinton Walker. Sympathetic portrayal of Scott. Actually serves as an excellent history and overview of the late 60's / early 70's Australian Pop music scene.

File Under Popular by Chris Cutler. Henry Cow drummer and Recommended records honcho argues for musical advancement through formal innovation. Structural materialist manifesto.

The Freedom Principle by John Litweiler. An excellent guide to all kinds of exciting Jazz music, for those searching for a way in.

The Autobiography of Miles Davis by Miles Davis w/ Quincy Troupe. Motherfucker!

Extended Play: Sounding off from John Cage to Dr. Funkenstein by John Corbett. Good writer with lots of insights on offer. Book is sort of divided into half theory, half journalism (some very entertaining interviews with the likes of Evan Parker and the Ex).

Improvisation by Derek Bailey. Just what the title says! All you ever wanted to know!

And who could forget: Philip Larkin's All What Jazz?

the sun ra biog.

Nik Cohn/Guy Peelaert - Rock Dreams

Fred and Judy Vermorel (ed.) - Starlust

An almost complete history of the dj.

meltzer's gulcher is actually my favourite meltzer
john cage: silence
tosches: country and unsung rock'n'roll heroes
music grooves: keil and feld
adorno's book on wagner
henry pleasants: the great american popular singers
ben thomps*n's two books (disclaimer: he's a really close friend)

I agree with Nathalie about Greil Marcus, although I did like Mystery Train. He's got a lot of people fooled.

Another vote for 'Psychotic Reactions and Carburretor Dung' - a very entertaining read.

Craig Werner - 'A Change is Gonna Come: Music, Race and the Soul of America' is excellent.

Charles Shaar Murray - 'Crosstown Traffic' - looks at Hendrix from a variety of angles.

robin: his other book is "ways of hearing"

The Recording Angel by Evan Eisenberg (much slept-on book, and sadly OOP)
The Rise and Fall of Popular Music by Donald Clarke (you don't have to agree with him to find it fascinating)
Flowers in the Dustbin by James Miller (ditto)
It Came From Memphis by Robert Gordon (not about music only, but close enough)

Subtract:

Guralnick's non-Elvis books
Marcus' twaddle-laden Basement Tapes book
Toop's twaddle-laden Exotica
Tosches' twaddle-laden Where Dead Voices Gather (and I say that as a huge fan)

I don't see Stranded anywhere. It's a bit dated, but there's some great writing there.

or better yet, Dogwalker, by Arthur Bradford, it's not about music, but if you like music, you'll like his stories.

I take it lists and cronology are not your thing. :)

It's a pretty good social study all around, though.

His prior book, "Soul Babies" is also pretty great in the music sections, on occasion. His stuff with R. Kelly is great, Outkast less so, etc. But I have no FUCKING idea what he means when he calls all these different dudes Gramscian, or rather I'm afraid I do have an idea and its a painfully bad one.

But yeah, he's still great.

(Sorry, Ned, but I seem to have latched onto that sentence. It would help if I didn't make any typos though.)

- "The Worst Rock 'n' Roll Records of All Time," Jimmy Guterman & Owen O'Donnell (at age 17, my introduction to how much fun rock criticism could be...)
- "A Cure For Gravity: A Musical Pilgrimage," Joe Jackson
- "Killing Bono," Neil McCormick
- "Cheese Chronicles: The True Story Of A Rock 'n' Roll Band You Never Heard Of," Tommy Womack
- "The Nearest Faraway Place," Timothy White

We guarantee that we will refund the complete price of this manual if you are unbale ot achieve a number one single in th eofficial (Gallup) U.K. charts within three months of th epurchase of this manual and on condition that you have fulfilled our instructions to the letter"

OOP so yay WWW
http://www.tomrobinson.com/work/klf.htm

and I second (third?) Have gun Will Travel and Hit Men. Moguls and Madmen is a fun read in spots.

OOP so yay WWW

Bullshit, fuck Tom Robinson.

you HAVE to get the autobio twofer

OMG I FORGOT! THAT'S THE MOST CRAZY ENTERTAINING SURREAL AUTOBIO EVER! Rollins on ghost writing too I guess....