What’s your favourite rocker’s favourite album? What city had a love-hate relationship with The Beatles? Which legendary arranger broke the colour barrier? And what the hell does NWOBHM stand for? These questions and others will be answered in the latest crop of music-themed books. Read all about em:
Rock Stars on the Record: The Albums That Changed Their Lives
By Eric Spitznagel
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “An all-star lineup of rock ’n’ rollers ― from Jane’s Addiction’s Perry Farrell to Suzi Quatro and Verdine White of Earth, Wind & Fire ― relay the uproariously wild, sentimental, and unexpected pre-stardom stories behind their favourite records. Rock Stars on the Record is a collection of first-hand tales by artists of all ages, backgrounds, and musical influences, remembering the meaning behind the records that mattered most to them. From Laura Jane Grace to Ian MacKaye, Don McLean to Cherie Currie, Alice Bag to Mac DeMarco, and many more, bestselling author Eric Spitznagel talks to rock stars across the sonic spectrum about the albums that changed them in ways only music can change someone. Everyone’s most cherished childhood record ― be it a battered piece of vinyl, torn cassette tape, or scratched CD ― has a story, and those stories can be more revealing about their owners than you might expect. Read about how “Weird Al” Yankovic refined his accordion skills by playing along to Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, or how Fishbone’s Angelo Moore saved his life with a boombox and a Bad Brains album. Or about how Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman of Prince’s longtime band The Revolution fell in love while trading mixtapes. Each profile is more emotional, fascinating, and hilarious than the last. So place that needle in the groove, and prepare to hear something revelatory from your favorite rockers past and present.”
Joy and Fear: The Beatles, Chicago and the 1960s
By John F. Lyons
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “A riveting look at the polarizing nature of The Beatles phenomenon, and how it transformed a generation, through the lens of a singular city in the center of America. For many, The Beatles offered a delightful alternative to the dull and the staid, while for others, the mop-top haircuts, the unsettling music, and the hysterical girls that greeted the British imports wherever they went were a symbol of unwelcome social and cultural change. This opposition to the group — more widespread and deeper rooted in Chicago than in any other major American city — increased as the decade wore on, especially when The Beatles adopted more extreme countercultural values. At the center of this book is a cast of characters engulfed by the whirlwind of Beatlemania, including the unyielding figure of Mayor Richard J. Daley, who deemed The Beatles a threat to the well-being of his city; the Chicago Tribune editor who first warned the nation about the Beatle menace; George Harrison’s sister Louise, who became a regular presence on Chicago radio; the socialist revolutionary who staged all of The Beatles’ concerts in the city and used much of the profits from the shows to fund left-wing causes; the African-American girl who braved an intimidating environment to see The Beatles in concert; a fan club founder who disbelievingly found herself occupying a room opposite her heroes when they stayed at her father’s hotel; the University of Chicago medical student who spent his summer vacation playing in a group that opened for The Beatles’ on their last tour; and the suburban record store owner who opened a teen club modeled on the Cavern in Liverpool that hosted some of the biggest bands in the world. Drawing on historical and contemporary accounts, Joy and Fear brings to life the frenzied excitement of Beatlemania in 1960s Chicago, while also illustrating the deep-seated hostility from the establishment toward The Beatles.”
Nelson Riddle: Music With a Heartbeat
By Geoffrey Littlefield
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Nelson Riddle was possibly the greatest — and surely one of the most successful — arrangers in the history of American popular music. He worked with global icons such as Peggy Lee, Judy Garland and many more. And in a time of segregation and deep racial tensions in the U.S., he collaborated with leading black artists such as Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald, forming close, personal friendships with both. He also wrote successful TV themes and Oscar-winning film scores. A complex and often forlorn genius, he will forever be remembered for his immortal work with Frank Sinatra, but like fine wines his later vintage was just as palatable, if somewhat of a surprise.
’79 — The Metal Revival When Britain Rocked: Essays from the Frontline
by Garry Bushell
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The third in Garry Bushell’s series based around the year 1979. This is the amazing story based around his eyewitnes account of the birth of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. Featuring his writing ‘as it happened’ (mainly for the weekly Sounds). This is a unique insight into the birth of a genre! Unlike the other two volumes which were published previously, this is the first time these amazing writings have been collected together in book form. Bands featured include Iron Maiden, Saxon, Def Leopard, UFO, Blackmayne, Tank, Oral, Venom, Rainbow and Motörhead. Also included is Garry’s Top 10 New Wave of British Heavy Metal Albums.”
Chronicling Stankonia: The Rise of the Hip-Hop South
By Regina Bradley
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “This vibrant book pulses with the beats of a new American South, probing the ways music, literature, and film have remixed southern identities for a post-civil rights generation. For scholar and critic Regina N. Bradley, OutKast’s work is the touchstone, a blend of funk, gospel, and hip-hop developed in conjunction with the work of other culture creators-including T.I., Kiese Laymon and Jesmyn Ward. This work, Bradley argues, helps define new cultural possibilities for black southerners who came of age in the 1980s and 1990s and have used hip-hop culture to buffer themselves from the historical narratives and expectations of the civil rights era. Andre 3000, Big Boi, and a wider community of creators emerge as founding theoreticians of the hip-hop South, framing a larger question of how the region fits into not only hip-hop culture but also contemporary American society as a whole. Chronicling Stankonia reflects the ways that culture, race, and southernness intersect in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Although part of southern hip-hop culture remains attached to the past, Bradley demonstrates how younger southerners use the music to embrace the possibility of multiple Souths, multiple narratives, and multiple points of entry to contemporary southern black identity.”
Stranded: Australian Independent Music, 1976–1992
By Clinton Walker
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The definitive book on Australian punk and post-punk music, long unavailable, now reissued in a much-expanded new edition with 175 photos. Stranded offers the inside story of the emergence of The Saints, The Birthday Party, The Laughing Clowns, The Go-Betweens, Nick Cave, The Moodists, The Scientists, and many more great Australian bands, told by a writer who witnessed it all firsthand.”
