“No Elvis, Beatles or The Rolling Stones,” The Clash vowed back in 1977 (the song and the year). Toss in Bob Dylan, David Bowie and a few more usual suspects, and they could easily have been singing about next week’s new music books, which go off the beaten track to focus on lesser-known artists, labels and topics. Such as:
Here They Come With Their Make-Up On: Suede, Coming Up . . . And More Tales From Beyond The Wild Frontiers
By Jane Savidge
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Here They Come With Their Make-Up On examines in exquisite detail how Suede emerged from the chaotic, ruined remnants of their career and somehow managed to conjure up their most joyously evocative and celebrated album to date. Coming Up — the extraordinary record in question — stumped the band’s most ardent critics and hit the jackpot, with sales that eclipsed those of their first two releases combined. As the band’s publicist throughout that period, Jane Savidge is uniquely placed to reveal exactly how they did it. This book is also a personal journey into the heart of an album that Jane loves — if not unconditionally then as a piece of work that has ultimately survived the ravages of time — and the brutish, nasty, and not-so-short nature of the media scrutiny that had threatened to confine the band to the dustbin of history. In addition, it features yet more outlandish tales from Jane’s time with Suede and those around them back then, as well as new interviews with band members Brett Anderson, Richard Oakes and Neil Codling, and Coming Up’s producer Ed Buller.”
Annapurna Devi: The Untold Story of a Reclusive Genius
By Atul Merchant
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Legendary musician Annapurna Devi’s life has been shrouded in mystery. Daughter of the unparalleled Allauddin Khan of Maitra and the first wife of Pandit Ravi Shankar, she conquered the summit of Indian classical music, only to later renounce public life to spend her entire life as a recluse in the confinement of her house. Until the age of 16, Devi was confined to her family home at Maihar, where her father was a court musician and guru to the maharaja. During this period, she devoted herself exclusively to the deepest study and practice of Indian classical music under the strict tutelage of her father. After her estrangement from her husband, Devi went ever deeper into self-imposed seclusion. The only people whom she met and communicated with were her disciples who used to visit her for music lessons, which included some of the greatest musicians our era has seen, including Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Bahadur Khan, Aashish Khan, Dhyanesh Khan, Nityanand Haldipur and Basant Kabra, to name a few. Full of anecdotes and untold stories, this is her life story as told by her to her disciples over a period of time, giving valuable insights into their Guru Ma’s personality, music and teachings.”
Medical Grade Music
By Steve Davis & Kavus Torabi
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The story of two outsiders and obsessives whose collision prompted an evangelistic alliance on the furthest frontiers of underground music. Steve Davis first met Kavus Torabi — guitarist with Gong, Guapo, Cardiacs and Knifeworld — in the mid-2000’s at a gig by French underground rock legends Magma. Over the next few years, this unlikely duo’s shared affinity for visionary psychedelic music would become the foundation of not only a firm friendship, but also the most infectiously inclusive broadcasting style since the much-mourned death of John Peel. In their weekly radio shows and a one-of-a-kind live DJ roadshow, Steve and Kavus mapped out a musical landscape of rare enchantment, where the only passport needed was a pair of open ears. As Steve and Kavus were starting to get to grips with the challenge of their newfound status, events took a further unexpected turn. Suddenly they found themselves in a band together. And not just any band … as two-thirds of Britain’s (if not the world’s) leading harmonium, guitar and analogue synth power-trio (with Michael J.York of Coil) The Utopia Strong, the two friends found themselves plunging into a vortex of spontaneous compositional excitement. How Steve and Kavus pulled this off is just one of the many questions Medical Grade Music will try to answer. Part sonic memoir, part Socratic dialogue, part gonzo mission to the heart of what makes music truly psychedelic this book is the first work of joint autobiography to ever trace the evolution of a life-changing friendship through the discographies of Gentle Giant and Voivod. It’s a funny and fearless buddy movie of the soul, with a soundtrack that will make your eyes bleed.”
Making Tracks: A Record Producer’s Southern Roots Music Journey
By Scott Billington
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “From the 1980s through the early 2000s, a golden era for southern roots music, producer and three-time Grammy winner Scott Billington recorded many of the period’s most iconic artists. Working primarily in Louisiana for Boston-based Rounder Records, Billington produced such giants as Irma Thomas, Charlie Rich, Buckwheat Zydeco, Johnny Adams, Bobby Rush, Ruth Brown, Beau Jocque and Solomon Burke. The loving and sometimes irreverent profiles in Making Tracks reveal the triumphs and frustrations of the recording process, and that obsessive quest to capture a transcendent performance. Billington’s long working relationships with the artists give him perspective to present them in their complexity while providing a vivid look at the environs in which their music thrived. He tells about Boozoo Chavis’s early days as a musician, jockey, and bartender at his mother’s quarter horse track, and Ruth Brown’s reign as the most popular star in rhythm and blues. In addition, Making Tracks provides a widely accessible study in the craft of recording. Details about the technology and psychology behind the sessions abound. Making Tracks sings unforgettably like a ‘from the vault’ discovery.”
Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records
by Jim Ruland
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Greg Ginn started SST Records in the sleepy beach town of Hermosa Beach, Calif., to supply ham radio enthusiasts with tuners and transmitters. But when Ginn wanted to launch his band Black Flag, no one was willing to take them on. Determined to bring his music to the masses, Ginn turned SST into a record label. On the back of Black Flag’s relentless touring, guerilla marketing and refusal to back down, SST became the sound of the underground. In Corporate Rock Sucks, music journalist Jim Ruland relays the unvarnished story of SST Records, from its remarkable rise in notoriety to its infamous downfall. With records by Black Flag, Minutemen, Hüsker Dü, Bad Brains, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Screaming Trees, Soundgarden and scores of obscure yet influential bands, SST was the most popular indie label by the mid-’80s — until a tsunami of legal jeopardy, financial peril, and dysfunctional management brought the empire tumbling down. Throughout this investigative deep-dive, Ruland leads readers through SST’s tumultuous history and epic catalog. Featuring never-before-seen interviews with the label’s former employees, as well as musicians, managers, producers, photographers, video directors, and label heads, Corporate Rock Sucks presents a definitive narrative history of the ’80s punk and alternative rock scenes, and shows how the music industry was changed forever.”
What I See: The Black Flag Photographs of Glen E. Friedman
By Glen E. Friedman
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “What I See: The Black Flag Photographs of Glen E. Friedman is an incredible compilation of all of Friedman’s most iconic and recognizable images (from 1980 to 1983), of this seminal American punk band, as well as over one hundred never-before-seen photos made during those phenomenal peak years in the group’s history. The book includes a foreword by Chuck Dukowski, a cofounder and bass player of Black Flag. Friedman’s own introduction to the book takes readers through his journey with the group, from the very first time he heard their music, to his perspectives on the music of the era, to the how, why, and what Black Flag were doing at the time. His words provide additional context to the imagery, explaining what drove him to create his art alongside the band. From the streets around Black Flag’s single-room home base/office, rehearsing for their first album, handing out flyers, wheat-pasting posters, driving for hours to a show and returning the same night, house parties, clubs, to the big stage and the beach, Friedman was there with his heart, soul, and most importantly his camera. In What I See, he shares with us and inspires us with these images that were made over an incredibly volatile four-year time span.”
A Scene In Between (Revised Edition)
By Sam Knee
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “A Scene In Between sets out to excavate the sartorial treasures of the U.K.’s 1980s guitar scenes. Using original archive photography from scenesters, band members and amateur photographers of the time, Sam Knee takes you on a fashion trip through the visual racket of pivotal indie bands including Primal Scream, Spacemen 3, The Smiths, My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Tallulah Gosh, The Vaselines and countless others. Charity shop chic, anoraks, bowl cuts, leather trousers and stripy tees are all de-riguer in this evocative photographic historical capsule. Seven years on from the release of the first edition, Knee has expanded his photographic contact base, and built a loyal Instagram following of over 60,000 (including many big names in fashion and music). This revised edition features a new cover and intro, interviews with Johnny Marr, Deb Googe and Lawrence from Felt, plus many many more.”
The Best Jobs in the Music Industry: Straight Talk from Successful Music Pros
by Michael Redman
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Most people looking at the music industry as a career only think of artist, producer, and engineer as their only options, but there are a multitude of other exciting career options that will offer you financial security and keep you close to the music you love. The Best Jobs in the Music Industry is an essential guide for those who love music and are exploring different areas of the music industry beyond obvious routes. This second edition includes updates and even more interviews, giving a look at how music jobs have changed and the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on the industry. Michael Redman boils down what each job really is and what you will need to get your foot in the door including the job requirements, skill set, potential revenue, longevity, benefits, and challenges of a variety of music careers, from performer to label executive to recording engineer and music producer. The book features interviews with over sixty professionals in the business, including Lee Sklar (session and touring musician), Damon Tedesco (scoring mixer), Adam Parness (executive licensing at Spotify), Mike Ladman (worldwide director of music for Droga5 advertising), David Newman (composer), Michael Semanick (re-recording mixer), Conrad Pope (orchestrator), Todd Rundgren (music legend), Gary Calamar (music supervisor), Mark Bright (producer), and Steven Vincent (executive in charge of Disney music). They share their experiences, the good and bad, and how you might take your next steps in your career.”
Jason Derulo’s UZO
By Anthony Piper & Jason Derulo
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In the distant future, a mysterious asteroid accelerates the effects of climate change and turns the planet into a frozen wasteland where the last gasps of humanity fight over dwindling resources. A lone champion named Uzo becomes the last hope for both humanity and the planet!”
