Memoirs and biographies, coffee-table photo books and critical works — if you’re in the market for something to read after the music stops, you have plenty of options this week. Here’s the lineup:
Face It: A Memoir
By Debbie Harry
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Musician, actor, activist, and the iconic face of New York City cool, Debbie Harry is the frontwoman of Blondie, a band that forged a new sound that brought together the worlds of rock, punk, disco, reggae and hip-hop to create some of the most beloved pop songs of all time. As a muse, she collaborated with some of the boldest artists of the past four decades. The scope of Debbie Harry’s impact on our culture has been matched only by her reticence to reveal her rich inner life — until now. In an arresting mix of visceral, soulful storytelling and stunning visuals that includes never-before-seen photographs, bespoke illustrations and fan art installations, Face It upends the standard music memoir while delivering a truly prismatic portrait. With all the grit, grime, and glory recounted in intimate detail, Face It re-creates the downtown scene of 1970s New York City, where Blondie played alongside The Ramones, Television, Talking Heads, Iggy Pop and David Bowie. Following her path from glorious commercial success to heroin addiction, the near-death of partner Chris Stein, a heart-wrenching bankruptcy, and Blondie’s breakup as a band to her multifaceted acting career in more than thirty films, a stunning solo career and the triumphant return of her band, and her tireless advocacy for the environment and LGBTQ rights, Face It is a cinematic story of a woman who made her own path, and set the standard for a generation of artists who followed in her footsteps — a memoir as dynamic as its subject.”
‘Til Wrong Feels Right: Lyrics and More
By Iggy Pop
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Iggy Pop hasn’t left a mark on music; he’s left it battered and bruised. From fronting the legendary proto-punk band The Stooges to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 to collaborating with an eclectic mix of artists including David Bowie, Debbie Harry, Jarvis Cocker, Death In Vegas, Underworld and Josh Homme, Iggy has proved himself to be one of music’s most iconic, outrageous and enduring music artists. Coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of the first and eponymous The Stooges record, here for the first time are Iggy’s collected lyrics, with stunning original photographs, illustrations and his and others’ reflections on a genre-defining music career that spans five decades — the ultimate book for every rock and roll fan.”
Hunky Dory (Who Knew?): The Best I Can Remember From Twenty Years at the Heart of ’60s and ’70s Rock and Pop
By Laurence Myers
THE PRESS RELEASE: “What a story! What a life! A fascinating memoir from a legendary music business executive who… Signed the little-known David Bowie… Owned the Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust albums… Looked after the The Rolling Stones… Helped reorganise The Beatles’ Apple Corp… Worked with Mickie Most on The Animals, Herman’s Hermits, Donovan, Jeff Beck, and Lulu… Managed The Tremeloes, The New Seekers, and The Sweet… Masterminded a landmark court case that disrupted music publishers exploiting songwriters including Elton John… Started GTO Records, the company that signed Donna Summer, Billy Ocean, The Walker Brothers and Heatwave… Had dinner with John Lennon… Tea with Colonel Parker… Left Led Zeppelin’s cash in a safe and lost the key… Threw Rod Stewart out of his office… Turned down chances to manage Queen and Andrea Bocelli… Almost tempted Stevie Wonder away from Motown… And foolishly allowed Iggy Pop to stay in his house! Who knew?”
Depeche Mode: Faith & Devotion
By Ian Gittins
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Emerging from the unlikely locale of Basildon at the dawn of the Eighties, the unassuming Depeche Mode became pioneers of British electro-pop. Surviving the abrupt early departure of band founder and chief songwriter Vince Clarke, they quickly gathered a fervent cult following before powering into the mainstream. Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andrew Fletcher and Alan Wilder took their dark, venal songs of sex, religion, obsession and death to the world’s arenas and stadiums. Over four decades, Depeche Mode have seduced millions from Moscow to Montevideo. Yet it has never been an easy ride. Along the way there have been crippling bouts of self-doubt, depression, intra-band fighting, alcohol abuse … and the catastrophic heroin addiction that almost killed the charismatic yet vulnerable Gahan. From the band’s earliest stirrings in Essex to the eve of their 40th anniversary, Depeche Mode: Faith and Devotion is a tale of triumph from adversity: the extraordinary history of a unique global synth-rock phenomenon.”
Disgraceland: Musicians Getting Away with Murder and Behaving Very Badly
By Jake Brennan
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Real rock stars do truly insane things and invite truly insane things to happen to them; murder, drug trafficking, rape, cannibalism and the occult. We allow this behavior. We are complicit because a rock star behaving badly is what’s expected. It’s baked into the cake. Deep down, way down, past all of our self-righteous notions of justice and right and wrong, when it comes down to it, we want our rock stars to be bad. We know the music industry is full of demons, ones that drove Elvis Presley, Phil Spector, Sid Vicious and that consumed the Norwegian Black Metal scene. We want to believe in the myths because they’re so damn entertaining. Disgraceland is a collection of the best of these stories about some of the music world’s most beloved stars and their crimes. It will mix all-new, untold stories with expanded stories from the first two seasons of the Disgraceland podcast. Using figures we already recognize, Disgraceland shines a light into the dark corners of their fame revealing the fine line that separates heroes and villains as well as the danger Americans seek out in their news cycles, tabloids, reality shows and soap operas. At the center of this collection of stories is the ever-fascinating music industry — a glittery stage populated by gangsters, drug dealers, pimps, groupies with violence, scandal and pure unadulterated rock ‘n’ roll entertainment.”
This Means War: The Sunset Years of NWOBHM
By Martin Popoff
THE PRESS RELEASE: “In This Means War: The Sunset Years of the NWOBHM, Martin Popoff and dozens of his UK rock buddies document the frenzied fruition years of the movement, namely 1981 and 1982, and then the many facets that caused the genre to implode by the end of 1984, with cracks in the armour beginning to appear the previous year. Why did metal disappear in Great Britain with the first hungover light on January 1, 1985? And where exactly did it go? The answers are enclosed, in the words of those who were there… and then nowhere fast! Utilizing his celebrated oral history method — rich with detailed chronological entries to frame the story — Popoff blasts through all of the big events from 1981 to 1984, in this action-packed book that serves as concluding volume to Wheels of Steel: The Explosive Early Years of the NWOBHM — same easy reading format, same attention to documenting the subject at hand with visuals from the glorious era. And by the way, this one’s way more packed with historical images, with more substantive text as well. It’s a beefy follow-up and conclusion to the well-received volume one, and the two together serve as a grand and exhaustive study of this momentous metal movement. So come join Martin, along with dozens of the rockers themselves, as they together tell the tale of this ersatz genre’s maturity and demise, a demise that is ultimately laced with the pride that a platform had been created on which metal was to thrive for all of the rest of the loud ‘n’ proud ’80s.”
Move On Up: Chicago Soul Music and Black Cultural Power
By Aaron Cohen
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Curtis Mayfield. The Chi-Lites. Chaka Khan. Chicago’s place in the history of soul music is rock solid. But for Chicagoans, soul music in its heyday from the 1960s to the 1980s was more than just a series of hits: it was a marker and a source of black empowerment. In Move On Up, Aaron Cohen tells the remarkable story of the explosion of soul music in Chicago. Together, soul music and black-owned businesses thrived. Record producers and song-writers broadcast optimism for black America’s future through their sophisticated, jazz-inspired productions for The Dells and many others. Curtis Mayfield boldly sang of uplift with unmistakable grooves like We’re a Winner and I Plan to Stay a Believer. Musicians like Phil Cohran and The Pharaohs used their music to voice Afrocentric philosophies that challenged racism and segregation, while Maurice White of Earth, Wind, and Fire and Chaka Khan created music that inspired black consciousness. Soul music also accompanied the rise of African American advertisers and the campaign of Chicago’s first black mayor, Harold Washington, in 1983. This empowerment was set in stark relief by the social unrest roiling in Chicago and across the nation: as Chicago’s homegrown record labels produced rising stars singing songs of progress and freedom, Chicago’s black middle class faced limited economic opportunities and deep-seated segregation, all against a backdrop of nationwide deindustrialization. Drawing on more than one hundred interviews and a music critic’s passion for the unmistakable Chicago soul sound, Cohen shows us how soul music became the voice of inspiration and change for a city in turmoil.”
Earl Scruggs and Foggy Mountain Breakdown: The Making of an American Classic
By Thomas Goldsmith
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Recorded in 1949, Foggy Mountain Breakdown changed the face of American music. Earl Scruggs’ instrumental essentially transformed the folk culture that came before it while helping to energize bluegrass’s entry into the mainstream in the 1960s. The song has become a gateway to bluegrass for musicians and fans alike as well as a happily inescapable track in film and television. Thomas Goldsmith explores the origins and influence of Foggy Mountain Breakdown against the backdrop of Scruggs’ legendary career. Interviews with Earl Scruggs, his wife Louise, disciple Bela Fleck, and sidemen like Curly Seckler, Mac Wiseman, and Jerry Douglas shed light on topics like Scruggs’ musical evolution and his working relationship with Bill Monroe. As Goldsmith shows, the captivating sound of Foggy Mountain Breakdown helped bring back the banjo from obscurity and distinguished the low-key Scruggs as a principal figure in American acoustic music.Passionate and long overdue, Earl Scruggs and Foggy Mountain Breakdown takes readers on an ear-opening journey into two minutes and forty-three seconds of heaven.”
U2: Revolution: A Complete Illustrated History
By Mat Snow
THE PRESS RELEASE: “They’ve frequently been described as the biggest band in the world. The Joshua Tree alone has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. They hold the record for the most Grammy wins by a rock act. And their 360 tour, which started in 2009, attracted more than seven million fans and is one of the highest-grossing tours of all time. U2 has revolutionized the definition of rock band by staying true to its beliefs and passions, through meteoric success, public controversy, and an astounding forty-year working relationship. Now for the first time, get the complete photographic history of one of the world’s most influential and legendary rock bands. Mat Snow’s U2: Revolution is lushly illustrated with over 200 photos and 2 gatefold timelines exploring the band’s incredible history. Starting with their roots in Dublin where the four teenaged friends first started playing together in Larry Mullen’s kitchen, Snow follows the band through their debut album, Boy, their chart-topping albums of the 1980s, their record-breaking tours and global activism of the 1990s, and their reflective reconnection with core fans in the twenty-first century.
Together Forever: The Run-DMC and Beastie Boys Photographs
By Glen E. Friedman
THE PRESS RELEASE: “In the early 1980s iconic skate and punk photographer Glen E. Friedman had a front row seat to the rise of hip-hop music and culture. He was able to get with both Run-DMC and Beastie Boys on their meteoric rise to fame. Befriending both groups, Friedman’s eye composed the photos that have become synonymous with how we remember both groups when they first came into our collective consciousness. And then the moment when it all came together: the seminal, popular, and highly publicized 1987 joint concert tour, Raising Hell. Together Forever is not only a visual time capsule of hip-hop on the cusp of becoming mainstream, but a record of the strong bond of friendship between these two groups and how they significantly influenced each other, all while having a massive impact on music history and the industry. Including scores of never-before-published photos made by Friedman — the bands in concert, goofing around with celebrities, portraits, and, of course, hanging out together — Together Forever includes a foreword by Chris Rock, plus text contributions by the surviving members of both groups and others who were there, proving that the originals still reign.”
