A Turtle comes out of his shell, BTS take you behind the scenes, Rush and Alan Parsons get tracked — and more titles to put on your reading list. Take a look:
Happy Forever: My Musical Adventures With The Turtles, Frank Zappa, T. Rex, Flo & Eddie, And More
By Mark Volman & John Cody
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Mark Volman has led a storied life, and many of those stories are contained in Happy Forever. A true son of Southern California, he has gone from topping the charts with The Turtles (Happy Together) to underground cred with Frank Zappa and beyond. As Flo & Eddie, Mark and his longtime singing partner Howard Kaylan were the not-so-secret ingredient on many other artist’s records, taking Bruce Springsteen into the Top 10 for the very first time and helping T. Rex dominate the British charts. Then came The Ramones, U2, Blondie, Duran Duran and so many more; the list of credits is long and varied. Happy Forever covers all of that, along with subsequent forays into animation, a stint as a radio personality in Los Angeles and New York, and a midlife return to academia, which led Mark to create and run innovative college programs in L.A. and Nashville. But this is not the world according to Volman, and it is not your average musical autobiography. Alongside his own comments, this uniquely insightful book contains contributions from more than 100 of Mark’s peers, friends, and lovers who share their thoughts on the man himself and on topics that span the social and cultural landscape of past half-century. Happy Forever’s cast list reads like a who’s who of popular music, featuring members of The Doors, Monkees, Byrds, E Street Band and many more; producers Tony Visconti, Bob Ezrin and Hal Willner; voice actors from The Simpsons and Firesign Theatre; and key figures from the worlds of radio, animation, and academia. The book also includes previously unseen photographs and forewords by Alice Cooper and Chris Hillman.”
While you wait for this, you can read my 2002 interview with Volman HERE.
Beyond The Story: 10-Year Record of BTS
By BTS & Myeongseok Kang
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “After taking their first step into the world on June 13, 2013, BTS have just celebrated the 10th anniversary of their debut. They have risen to the peak as an iconic global artist and during this meaningful time, they look back on their footsteps in the first official book. In doing so, BTS nurture the power to build brighter days and they choose to take another step on a road that no one has gone before. BTS share personal, behind-the-scenes stories of their journey so far through interviews and more than three years of in-depth coverage by Myeongseok Kang, who has written about K-pop and other Korean pop culture in various media. Presented chronologically in seven chapters from before the debut of BTS to the present, their vivid voices and opinions harmonize to tell a sincere, lively, and deep story. In individual interviews that have been conducted without a camera or makeup, they illuminate their musical journey from multiple angles and discuss its significance. In addition, portrait photos that show BTS as individuals and artists open the book, and throughout there are concept photos, tracklists of all previous albums, and over 330 QR codes. As digital artists, BTS have been communicating with the world through the internet and this book allows readers to immediately access trailers, music videos, and more online to have a rich understanding of all the key moments in BTS history. Complete with a timeline of all major milestones, Beyond The Story is a remarkable archive ― truly everything about BTS in one volume.”
Rush: Every Album, Every Song
By Will Romano
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Veteran Canadian rockers Rush are something of a musical miracle. They successfully transformed themselves from a Led Zeppelin– and Cream-influenced power trio to progressive band with a serious sci-fi and fantasy fixation, and ultimately to anything they’d ever imagined. Few bands could have so effortlessly navigated, much less survived, these radical transitions — all while moving tens of millions of units across the globe. Although each member of the band has been heralded for his individual technical prowess, Rush has always been greater than the sum of its parts. A string of studio recording classics from the mid-1970s through to the early 1980s, including 2112, A Farewell to Kings, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures and Signals, catapulted bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart into the upper echelons of rock stardom. In the ensuing years, Rush boldly explored new technology and compositional strategies, shifting musical directions and risking the possibility of alienating much of its fan base. By the late 1980s and into the 1990s, gone were the programmed, keyboard-laden musical superhighways mapped out for Power Windows and Hold Your Fire. In the last days of the 20th century and into the current era, Rush experienced paradigm-shifting career reconstruction, personal tragedy, professional hiatus, a rediscovery of sci-fi-inspired concepts, and, in 2013, induction into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. Analysing both the musical and lyrical content of the band’s considerable output, and providing a sprinkling of archival and new interviews, this entry traces all the various sonic sojourns in the decades-long Rush saga. In the wake of the recent and devastating passing of legendary drummer Peart, we pay tribute as well as provide a useful guide to one of the most revered body of works of the rock musical form.”
Alan Parsons Project: Every Album, Every Song
By Steve Swift
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “They were never trendy, but they were incredibly popular worldwide. The brainchild of Pink Floyd’s legendary engineer Alan Parsons and his cohort, songwriter Eric Woolfson, this studio project mixed considerable instrumental prowess with superb melodies and vocals. The Alan Parsons Project were unusual, gloriously odd at times but for those who discovered them, they were unique, mixing orchestral music with soft rock and smooth funk. Heart-rending ballads were a major trademark. These elements shouldn’t have worked together. But they did, producing some of the most memorable music of the 1970s and 1980s. As well as Parsons and Woolfson, a host of musicians were involved, including arranger Andrew Powell, guitarist Ian Bairnson bassist David Paton and vocalists Chris Rainbow and Colin Blunstone. They debuted with the well-received Tales Of Mystery And Imagination and their popularity reached its height with Eye In The Sky in 1982. This book gives you every album, every song, plus related solo work and much more. The Alan Parsons Project’s music was loved by so many; this book might just show why.”
Parody in the Age of Remix: Mashup Creativity vs. the Takedown
By Ragnhild Brøvig
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Parody needn’t recognize copyright — but does an algorithm recognize parody? The ever-increasing popularity of remix culture and mashup music, where parody is invariably at play, presents a conundrum for internet platforms, with their extensive automatic, algorithmic policing of content. Taking a wide-ranging look at mashup music — the creative and technical considerations that go into making it; the experience of play, humor, enlightenment, and beauty it affords; and the social and legal issues it presents — Parody in the Age of Remix offers a pointed critique of how society balances the act of regulating art with the act of preserving it. In several jurisdictions, national and international, parody is exempted from copyright laws. Ragnhild Brøvig contends that mashups should be understood as a form of parody, and thus be protected from removal from hosting platforms. Nonetheless, current copyright-related content-moderation regimes, relying on algorithmic detection and automated decision making, frequently eliminate what might otherwise be deemed gray-area content — to the detriment of human listeners and, especially, artists. Given the inaccuracy of takedowns, Parody in the Age of Remix makes a persuasive argument in favor of greater protection for remix creativity in the future — but it also suggests that the content-moderation challenges facing mashup producers and other remixers are symptomatic of larger societal issues.”
