Bruce and Barack. Gina and The Go-Go’s. Mac and Momus. Selling out and saving the planet. Next week’s music tomes cover pop, politics and plenty in between. Read all about ’em:
Renegades: Born in the USA
By Barack Obama & Bruce Springsteen
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Renegades: Born in the USA is a candid, revealing, and entertaining dialogue between President Barack Obama and legendary musician Bruce Springsteen that explores everything from their origin stories and career-defining moments to our country’s polarized politics and the growing distance between the American Dream and the American reality. Filled with full-color photographs and rare archival material, it is a compelling and beautifully illustrated portrait of two outsiders — one Black and one white — looking for a way to connect their unconventional searches for meaning, identity, and community with the American story itself. It includes original introductions by President Obama and Bruce Springsteen; exclusive new material from the Renegades podcast recording sessions; Springsteen’s handwritten lyrics for songs spanning his 50-year-long career; rare and exclusive photographs from the authors’ personal archives; historical photographs and documents that provide rich visual context for their conversation. In a recording studio stocked with dozens of guitars, and on at least one Corvette ride, Obama and Springsteen discuss marriage and fatherhood, race and masculinity, the lure of the open road and the call back to home. They also compare notes on their favorite protest songs, the most inspiring American heroes of all time, and more. Along the way, they reveal their passion for — and the occasional toll of — telling a bigger, truer story about America throughout their careers, and explore how our fractured country might begin to find its way back toward unity and global leadership.”
Made In Hollywood: All Access with the Go-Go’s
By Gina Schock
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Go-Go’s were the first all-female rock group in history to write their own songs, play their own instruments, and reach the top of the charts with their debut album Beauty and the Beat. Made In Hollywood is drummer Gina Schock’s personal account of the band, which includes a treasure trove of photographs and memorabilia collected over the course of her 40-year career. Beauty and the Beat rose to the top of the charts in 1981 and their hit songs We Got the Beat, Our Lips Are Sealed, Vacation and Head Over Heels (to name a few) served as a soundtrack to our lives in the ’80s. Now, after the release of their Critics Choice Award-winning Showtime documentary, and in anticipation of their forthcoming induction into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame and their 2021 West Coast shows, Gina takes fans behind the scenes for a rare look at her personal images documenting the band’s wild journey to the heights of fame and stardom. Featuring posters, photographs, Polaroids, and other memorabilia from her archives, Made In Hollywood also includes stories from each member of The Go-Go’s, along with other cultural luminaries like Kate Pierson, Jodie Foster, Dave Stewart, Martha Quinn and Paul Reubens. With a style as bold and distinctive as any Go-Go’s album, Made In Hollywood is the perfect tribute to one of the world’s most iconic groups.”
Three Pianos: A Memoir
By Andrew McMahon
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “From beloved indie musician Andrew McMahon comes a searingly honest and beautifully written memoir about the challenges and triumphs of his life and career, as seen through the lens of his personal connection to three pianos. McMahon grew up in sunny Southern California as a child prodigy, learning to play piano and write songs at a very early age, stunning schoolmates and teachers alike with his gift for performing and his unique ability to emotionally connect with audiences. McMahon would go on to become the lead singer and songwriter for Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin, and to release his debut solo album, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, in 2014. But behind this seemingly optimistic and quintessentially American story of big dreams come true lies a backdrop of overwhelming challenges that McMahon has faced — from a childhood defined by his father’s struggle with addiction to his very public battle with leukemia in 2005 at the age of 23, as chronicled in the intensely personal documentary Dear Jack. Overcoming those odds, McMahon has found solace and hope in the things that matter most, including family, the healing power of music and the one instrument he’s always turned to: his piano. Three Pianos takes readers on a beautifully rendered and bitter-sweet American journey, one filled with inspiration, heartbreak, and an unwavering commitment to shedding our past in order to create a better future.”
The Book of Mac: Remembering Mac Miller
By Donna-Claire Chesman
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Following Mac Miller’s tragic passing in 2018, Donna-Claire Chesman dedicated a year to chronicling his work through the unique lens of her relationship to the music and Mac’s singular relationship to his fans. Like many who’d been following him since he’d started releasing mixtapes at 18 years old, she felt as if she’d come of age alongside the rapidly evolving artist, with his music being crucial to her personal development. The project evolved to include intimate interviews with many of Mac’s closest friends and collaborators, from his Most Dope Family in Pittsburgh to the producers and musicians who assisted him in making his everlasting music, including Big Jerm, Rex Arrow, Wiz Khalifa, Benjy Grinberg, Just Blaze, Josh Berg, Syd, Thundercat and more. These voices, along with the author’s commentary, provide a vivid and poignant portrait of this astonishing artist — one who had just released a series of increasingly complex albums, demonstrating what a musical force he was and how heartbreaking it was to lose him.”
Famous for Fifteen People: The Songs of Momus 1982 – 1995
By John Robinson
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The life and songs of singer-songwriter Momus during his time at Creation Records and beyond. Momus — the stage name of musician Nicholas Currie — is one of the most prolific and talented indie songwriters of the last 40 years. His work is controversial, influential and highly regarded. From aspiring indie pop star of the 1980s to Japanese chart success in the 1990s through many experimental works to the present day, he has been a constant in the search for intelligent, thinking person’s pop. Jarvis Cocker asked him to produce his band Pulp, the NME memorably awarded his album Hippopotamomus 0/10, Creation Records dropped him when he proved too dangerous for them, and his more controversial work led to astounding legal tussles. His personal life has involved scandal and heartbreak and he lost an eye following an infection, resulting in his distinctive eye-patch. His songs including The Hairstyle of the Devil, The Guitar Lesson and I Want You but I Don’t Need You are acclaimed and have been covered by artists including Amanda Palmer and Steven Wilson.”
Minds Behind The Music: Music Stars Unite To Save The Planet
By Phil G
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “What does Francis Rossi of Status Quo think about global warming? Does Ian Gillan of Deep Purple think we’re doing a good job of caring for the planet? These questions and more are tackled by going to the source and asking them. Suzi Quatro, Don McLean, Kenney Jones, Marcella Detroit, Simon Kirke and many more: Over 80 music stars, past and present, are quizzed on their opinions about religion, aliens, politics and of course, the issues of climate change. Why? To raise awareness about the plight the planet is in. Nothing speaks to humans more than music and the influence these legends of rock and pop have is immense. Funny, thought provoking and eye opening, Minds Behind the Music is a book unlike any other. So settle down with a nice environmentally friendly cup of tea and enjoy.”
Sellout: The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore (1994-2007)
By Dan Ozzi
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Punk rock found itself at a crossroads in the mid-90’s. After indie favorite Nirvana catapulted into the mainstream with its unexpected phenomenon, Nevermind, rebellion was suddenly en vogue. Looking to replicate the band’s success, major record labels set their sights on the underground, and began courting punk’s rising stars. But the DIY punk scene, which had long prided itself on its trademark authenticity and anti-establishment ethos, wasn’t quite ready to let their homegrown acts go without a fight. The result was a schism: those who accepted the cash flow of the majors, and those who defiantly clung to their indie cred. In Sellout, seasoned music writer Dan Ozzi chronicles this embattled era in punk. Focusing on 11 prominent bands who made the jump from indie to major, Sellout charts the twists and turns of the last “gold rush” of the music industry, where some groups “sold out” and rose to surprise super stardom, while others buckled under mounting pressures. Sellout is both a gripping history of the music industry’s evolution, and a punk rock lover’s guide to the chaotic darlings of the post-grunge era, featuring original interviews and personal stories from members of modern punk’s most (in)famous bands.”
Freedom Girls: Voicing Femininity in 1960s British Pop
By Alexandra Apolloni
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Freedom Girls: Voicing Femininity in 1960s British Pop shows how the vocal performances of girl singers in 1960s Britain defined — and sometimes defied — ideas about what it meant to be a young woman in the 1960s British pop music scene. The singing and expressive voices of Sandie Shaw, Cilla Black, Millie Small, Dusty Springfield, Lulu, Marianne Faithfull, and P.P. Arnold reveal how vocal sound shapes access to social mobility, and consequently, access to power and musical authority. The book examines how Sandie Shaw and Cilla Black’s ordinary girl personas were tied to whiteness and, in Black’s case, her Liverpool origins. It shows how Springfield and Jamaican singer Millie Small engaged with the transatlantic sounds of soul and and ska, respectively, transforming ideas about musical genre, race, and gender. It reveals how attitudes about sexuality and youth in rock culture shaped the vocal performances of Lulu and Faithfull, and how Arnold has re-narrated rock history to center Black women’s vocality. Freedom Girls draws on a broad array of archival sources, including music magazines, fashion and entertainment magazines produced for young women, biographies and interviews, audience research reports, and others to inform analysis of musical recordings (including such songs as As Tears Go By, Son of a Preacher Man, and others) and performances on television programs such as Ready Steady Go!, Shindig and other 1960s music shows. These performances reveal the historical and contemporary connections between voice, social mobility, and musical authority, and demonstrate how singers used voice to navigate the boundaries of race, class, and gender.”
Soundscapes of Liberation: African American Music in Postwar France
By Celeste Day Moore
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In Soundscapes of Liberation, Celeste Day Moore traces the popularization of African American music in postwar France, where it signaled new forms of power and protest. Moore surveys a wide range of musical genres, soundscapes, and media: the US military’s wartime records and radio programs; the French record industry’s catalogs of blues, jazz, and R&B recordings; the translations of jazz memoirs; a provincial choir specializing in spirituals; and US State Department-produced radio programs that broadcast jazz and gospel across the French empire. In each of these contexts, individual intermediaries such as educators, producers, writers, and radio deejays imbued African American music with new meaning, value, and political power. Their work resonated among diverse Francophone audiences and transformed the lives and labor of many African American musicians, who found financial and personal success as well as discrimination in France. By showing how the popularity of African American music was intertwined with contemporary structures of racism and imperialism, Moore demonstrates this music’s centrality to postwar France and the convergence of decolonization, the expanding globalized economy, the Cold War, and worldwide liberation movements.”
NuMetal: A Definitive Guide
By Matt Karpe
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Nu Metal: A Definitive Guide revisits one of the most remarkable eras of heavy music, when mainstream charts, magazines, radio, and TV were all taken over by a host of diverse artists performing their own brands of hard rock and heavy metal. This book features an A-Z run down of the movement’s most influential artists, from the main players such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Slipknot and System Of A Down, to the lesser-known acts who may have only released one or two albums yet still made a lasting impact. It also looks at the new breed of bands coming through today who still share nu metal’s original aesthetics. The book also includes exclusive interviews with musicians from some of the original movement’s most prominent acts (Coal Chamber, Kittie, Staind, Taproot, and more), plus informative essays on its record producers, its collaborations with hip-hop artists, movie soundtracks and a brief history of heavy metal as a genre. Nu Metal: A Definitive Guide is the most in-depth book ever to be released on the most successful period in heavy metal’s lengthy history.”
Hip-Hop (And Other Things)
By Shea Serrano & Arturo Torres
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Hip-Hop (And Other Things) is about, as it were, rap, but also some other things. It’s a smart, fun, funny, insightful book that spends the entirety of its time celebrating what has become the most dominant form of music these past two and a half decades. Tupac is in there. Jay-Z is in there. Missy Elliott is in there. Drake is in there. Pretty much all of the big names are in there, as are a bunch of the smaller names, too. There’s art from acclaimed illustrator Arturo Torres, there are infographics and footnotes; there’s all kinds of stuff in there. Some of the chapters are serious, and some of the chapters are silly, and some of the chapters are a combination of both things. All of them, though, are treated with the care and respect that they deserve. Hip-Hop (And Other Things) is the third book in the (And Other Things) series. The first two — Basketball (And Other Things) and Movies (And Other Things) — were both bestsellers.
Muse Sick: A Music Manifesto In Fifty-Nine Notes
By Ian Brennan
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Grammy-winning music producer Ian Brennan’s seventh book Muse-Sick: A Music Manifesto In Fifty-Nine Notes, acts as a primer on how mass production and commercialization have corrupted the arts. Broken down into a series of core points and actions plans, Muse-Sick is a concise and affordable pocket primer followup to Brennan’s two previous music missives, How Music Dies (or Lives): Field Recording And The Battle For Democracy In The Arts and Silenced by Sound: The Music Meritocracy Myth. Popular culture has woven itself into the social fabric of our lives, penetrating people’s homes and haunting their psyche through images and earworm hooks. Justice, at most levels, is something that the average citizen might have little influence upon leaving us feeling helpless and complacent. But pop music is a neglected arena where some change can concretely occur — by exercising active and thoughtful choices to reject the low-hanging, omnipresent commercialized and pre-packaged fruit, we begin to re-balance the world, one engaged listener at a time. In 59 concise and clear points, Brennan reveals how corporate media has constricted local culture and individual creativity, leading to a lack of diversity within “diversity.” Muse-Sick’s narrative portions are driven and made corporeal via the author’s ongoing field-recording chronicles with widely disparate groups, such as the Sheltered Workshop Singers. Marilena Umuhoza Delli’s striking photographs accompany and bring to life each tale.”
