If you’ve already finished all the books on your summer reading list, don’t despair. I found some interesting new titles you can snag to tide you over all the way through Labour Day. You’re welcome.
Cruel to Be Kind: The Life and Music of Nick Lowe
By Will Birch
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Described as “Britain’s greatest living songwriter,” Nick Lowe has made his mark as a pioneer of pub rock, power-pop, and punk rock and as a producer of Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, The Damned, and The Pretenders. He has been a pop star with his bands Brinsley Schwarz and Rockpile, a stepson-in-law to Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, and is the writer behind hits including Cruel to Be Kind and (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding. In the past decades, however, he has distinguished himself as an artist who is equally acclaimed for the second act of his career as a tender yet sharp-tongued acoustic balladeer. Biographer Will Birch, who in addition to being a music writer was a drummer and songwriter with The Records, has known Lowe for over forty years and melds Lowe’s gift as a witty raconteur with his own authoritative analysis of Lowe’s background and the cultural scenes he exemplifies. Lowe’s parallel fame as one of the best interviews in the business will contribute to this first look into his life and work–and likely the closest thing fans will get to an autobiography by this notoriously charming cult figure.”
Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon
By Greg Laurie & Marshall Terrill
THE PRESS RELEASE: “At the peak of his career, Johnny Cash had done it all — living the ultimate rags-to-riches story of growing up on a cotton farm in the Deep South to becoming a Nashville and Hollywood sensation, singing alongside heroes like Elvis Presley and performing for several American presidents. But through all of this, Cash was troubled. By the time he released the iconic Man in Black album in 1971, the middle-aged icon was broken down, hollow-eyed, and wrung out. In his search for peace, Cash became embroiled in controversy. He was arrested five times in seven years. His drug- and alcohol-induced escapades led to car accidents and a forest fire that devastated 508 acres. His time was divided between Jesus and jail, gospel tunes and the Cocaine Blues. But by the end of his life, Cash was speaking openly about his “unshakeable faith.” What caused the superstar to turn from his conflicting passions to embrace a life in Christ? Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon dives deep into the singer’s inner demons, triumphs, and gradual return to faith. Greg Laurie interviews Cash’s family, friends, and business associates to reveal how the singer’s true success came through finding the only person whose star was bigger than his own.”
Jim Marshall: Show Me the Picture – Images and Stories from a Photography Legend
By Amelia Davis, Karen Grigsby Bates & Michelle Margetts
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Jim Marshall created iconic images of rock ‘n’ roll stars, jazz greats, and civil rights leaders. He had the power to look into the soul of an individual and to capture the mood of an entire generation. This deluxe, career-spanning volume showcases hundreds of photographs: intimate portraits, heady crowd scenes, and haunting street shots evoking the sights and sounds of the 1960s and 1970s. Marked-up proof sheets offer insight into Marshall’s process, while in-depth essays from his contemporaries tell a compelling story about this larger-than-life man. Nearly a decade after his death, Marshall’s legacy is the subject of a documentary feature film. This gorgeous collection is a must-have for devoted fans and newcomers alike; a fitting tribute to a true legend.”
Popular Music, Popular Myth and Cultural Heritage in Cleveland: The Moondog, the Buzzard and the Battle for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
By Brett Lashua
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Drawing from research conducted at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame archives, and the author’s experience as a local musician, this book offers a micro-historical case study of Cleveland’s popular music heritage. Among just a handful of books dedicated to the popular music heritage of Cleveland, it traces myths of “where rock began to roll” in the self-proclaimed “birthplace of rock and roll”. Numerous cities have sought to capitalize on their popular music cultural heritage (e.g., Liverpool, Memphis, Detroit, Nashville) as an engine for cultural regeneration. Unusually, rather than a focus on famous musicians and groups, or well-known recording studios and legendary venues, Cleveland’s popular music “origin story” is spun from events of the early 1950s, centered on local radio stations, maverick disc jockeys, second-hand record stores, a riotous concert and youthful, racialized audiences at a moment on the cusp of sweeping social changes. This book untangles the construction of popular myths about “first” rock ‘n’ roll concert — the Moondog Coronation Ball on 21 March 1952, hosted by legendary DJ Alan Freed — the “invention” of the phrase “rock ‘n’ roll”, and the subsequent rebranding of Cleveland as the “birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll” by local radio station WMMS (The Buzzard) during the 1970s. These myths re-emerged and re-circulated in the 1980s during the successful campaign to attract the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The author explores the fascinating and unusual story of Cleveland, uncovering how and why it became the site of a major popular music museum.”
Over and Over: Exploring Repetition in Popular Music
By Olivier Julien & Christophe Levaux
THE PRESS RELEASE: “From the Tin Pan Alley 32-bar form, through the cyclical forms of modal jazz, to the more recent accumulation of digital layers, beats, and breaks in Electronic Dance Music, repetition as both an aesthetic disposition and a formal property has stimulated a diverse range of genres and techniques. From the angles of musicology, psychology, sociology, and science and technology, Over and Over reassesses the complexity connected to notions of repetition in a variety of musical genres. The first edited volume on repetition in 20th- and 21st-century popular music, Over and Over explores the wide-ranging forms and use of repetition — from large repetitive structures to micro repetitions — in relation to both specific and large-scale issues and contexts. The book brings together a selection of original texts by leading authors in a field that is, as yet, little explored. Aimed at both specialists and neophytes, it sheds important new light on one of the fundamental phenomena of music of our times.”
The Use and Abuse of Music: Criminal Records
By Eleanor Peters
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Music may not be an obvious area for a criminologist’s attention, but there are many areas appropriate for analysis in the relationship between sound, music, rights and harm. The Use and Abuse of Music: Criminal Records explores how music is utilised to include, exclude, dominate and silence. Analysing the connection between music and crime from an expressly critical criminological perspective, the book is divided into three main parts. Firstly, focusing on the concept of ‘harmful’ or deviant music, genres such as UK drill music and heavy metal are examined to highlight the connections between certain genres and criminalisation. Moving away from specifics of genre, the second section considers the use of music in war and conflict. Finally, the book reflects on the censorship and silencing of subcultures and individuals through music, highlighting the inequalities surrounding who is permitted to make noise which is often exemplified by racist, sexist and prejudicial actions. This illuminating exploration of the deviant and transgressive nature of music is ideal for researchers, scholars and students working within the fields of criminology, sociology and musicology.”
