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

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.

these are the 5 I would go with for joyful and informative reading. If you choose to go the Greil Marcus route, God help you. I just never found his writing enjoyable. Informative maybe but nothing to spend a present on. Check those out from the library.

I'd add Val Wilmer's As Serious as Your Life, for starters.

I'll second Bidini's On a Cold Road, though it may be of limited interest to those outside Canada. And Meltzer's A Whore... is definitely worth having, especially to see his evolution through the years.

Boy George - Take it like a man - one of the, if not THE, finest rock autobiography. His tales of cold turkey with Diana Ross and Marilyn were brilliant....

Tosches' Hellfire -- Similar to Booth's Stones book, Hellfire's writing is timeless, coming off like Faulkner and Twain. The way he breaks down Jerry Lee Lewis (God, the devil & dirt) is ingenious.

Meltzer's Gulcher -- His best work. His writing is spectacular, loose but tight and always on the verge of big ideas.

Nik Cohn's Ball the wall, which collects most of his writing from the 60's and 70's.

Brian Eno's A year with swollen appendices.

Bill Drummond's 45, and if you can find it How to have a number one the easy way.

I know he's not particularly hip but Simon Frith's Music for pleasure covers a lot of similar ground to the discussions which regularly reoccur on ILM.

Chris Heath's two books about the Pet Shop Boys are excellent too, especially Pet Shop Boy's versus America, which has some fantastic Pennie Smith photos.

As for (auto)biography. I'd go for Julian Cope's Head on/Repossessed, Tom Doyle's Billy Mackenzie bio The glamour chase and Charles Mingus's Beneath the underdog

And finally try to get Ray Lowry's Ink and It's only rock n' roll. One of the most acerbic and incisive commentators in the business.

VERY good choice. The more time goes on the more I'm frustrated with Mackenzie's death and his obscurity.

Chris Heath's two books about the Pet Shop Boys are excellent too, especially Pet Shop Boy's versus America, which has some fantastic Pennie Smith photos.

Seconded, thirded and fourthed.

Although he has this strange idea that he's the only rock writer that likes 80s glam metal/non-alternative rock, it bugs the fuck out of me. At least that's the impression I got. But he really knows his stuff!

oh and by the way chris, ned - if you go here :

http://petshopboys.net/default.html

and click 'literallys',
you can read transcripts and see pictures from every
original chris heath-penned psb 'literally' fan magazine,
from the mid 80's to present. they are all wreitten
in the same style as the books and they are ace.

isn't the internet great ?

Klostermann's regard of himself as the holder of absolute truth grates, on that point and others. In that respect he's cloned the crimes of those indier-than-thou writers he's trying to set himself up against. Which is a pity, because as noted, he's got the right idea and plenty to say. I find the afterword in the new edition to be something that should have been left off, he ends up shooting himself in the foot when he doesn't need to.

isn't the internet great ?

Yay internet!

You forgot, "you pieces of shit."

Am I the only person who Likes The Trouser Press Guides??

Can't believe nobody's mentioned Jon Savage's England's Dreaming - am I the only person whose whole worldview it changed?

http://12.11.184.13/boston/music/other_stories/documents/00630909.htm

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