R.E.M. or ODB? Buzzcocks or New Order? Elvis or Miley? Jazz piano or classical symphonies? They’re all on the ballot next week. Cast your vote now:
Autonomy: Portrait Of A Buzzcock
By Steve Diggle
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “From bass player to lead guitarist, singer and last remaining founding member, Steve Diggle has been the driving force keeping Buzzcocks alive since he first met Pete Shelley in 1976. Together they would ignite the Manchester music scene, kickstart indie and become one of the best loved and most influential punk groups of all time. Following Shelley’s untimely death in 2018, Autonomy is Diggle’s definitive inside account of their shared musical legacy and complex friendship through the band’s rise, fall, and rise again — from their punk origins supporting Sex Pistols with original singer Howard Devoto to Top Of The Pops, the excess of success, breakup, reformation and life beyond bereavement. Funny, honest and touchingly philosophical, it is also Diggle’s very personal story of working class escape, dreams, redemption and loss — an ultimately heroic survivor’s tale from an irrepressible rock ’n’ roll spirit.”
The Name of This Band Is R.E.M.: A Biography
By Peter Ames Carlin
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In the spring of 1980, an unexpected group of musical eccentrics came together to play their very first performance at a college party in Athens, Georgia. Within a few short years, they had taken over the world — with smash records like Out Of Time, Automatic For The People, Monster and Green. Raw, outrageous, and expressive, R.E.M.’s distinctive musical flair was unmatched, and a string of mega-successes solidified them as generational spokesmen. In the tumultuous transition between the wide-open 80s and the anxiety of the early ’90s, R.E.M. challenged the corporate and social order, chasing a vision and cultivating a magnetic, transgressive sound. In this rich, intimate biography, critically acclaimed author Peter Ames Carlin looks beyond the sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll to open a window into the fascinating lives of four college friends — Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry — who stuck together at any cost, until the end. Deeply descriptive and remarkably poetic, steeped in ’80s and ’90s nostalgia, The Name of This Band is R.E.M. paints a cultural history of the commercial peak and near-total collapse of a great music era, and the story of the generation that came of age at the apotheosis of rock.”
New Order | From Heaven to Heaven: New Order Live – The Early Years (1981-1984) at Close Quarters
By Dec Hickey
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “A truly unique biography that documents in detail the early live career of an iconic band as never before. Including every U.K. gig between Feb ’81 and June ’84 — some 50-plus nights — Dec Hickey witnessed New Order’s first formative steps on from the demise of Joy Division. Out of print since an initial, very limited first-edition run in 2012, this version contains an exclusive 7” featuring a previously unreleased 1983 interview with Bernard Sumner, along with more than 400 unique-to-this-publication photos of the band and 200 plus images of rare memorabilia. Writes Paul Morley in his introduction: ‘I can very much understand someone having an obsession with New Order… It was inevitable that a fan, a loyal, attentive follower, of such a group on such a meticulous label releasing records packaged with such scrupulous suggestive care would themselves be particularly obsessive… The fan(atic) symbolises the idea that without obsession, life is nothing… For the fan, New Order are an ideal object of desire, the perfect pop group — in the form of a perfect puzzle, an actual sign of fluid intelligence — to obsess over, to collect, analyse, interpret, treasure, and ultimately possess.’
ODB | Oddities, Discord & B-Sides: Lyrical Ruckus in the City
By Ike Reed, David Gorden, Jason Pierre
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “From an all-star cast of creative talents comes a volatile, genre-defying homage to hip-hop icon Ol’ Dirty Bastard that reimagines New York City’s five boroughs through the eyes of the maverick MC and Wu-Tang Clan co-founder. In a fractured New York City, an elemental impact event has caused different versions of the city’s most infamous neighborhoods from across the multiverse to converge together into a single reality. Spectral apparitions now haunt the streets of Queens. In the Lower East Side, a rogue artificial intelligence has seized the streets. A hundred blocks north, time travelers are throwing a block party in Harlem. And that’s only the beginning… Our guide through this splintered mutation of New York’s past, present, and future is none other than Ol’ Dirty Bastard himself. Follow him as he leads us through odd, urgent, and powerful tales that cast freedom and oppression, wealth and poverty, love and loss, and even life or death like so many dice in a cosmic game of chance.”
Avicii: The Life And Music Of Tim Bergling
By Annica Triberg
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “From ambitious dreamer to modern sensation. From a young age, Tim Bergling was described as passionate, thoughtful, and full of big dreams waiting to become a reality. Little did he realize that his big breakthrough as Avicii in 2011 would redefine an entire music genre. Avicii is a photography book that pays tribute to Tim’s most euphoric moments on and off stage. Inside, you’ll get to experience flashbacks of his songwriting process, connect with music lovers worldwide, and feel the magic of his sold-out concerts in vivid lighting and color. Meet the Avicii behind the neon lights. Despite his sudden passing at the age of 28, Tim is remembered to this day not only for being a record-breaking DJ, but also for his incredible spirit. Follow over 200 visual stories from family, friends, and fans as they recount how brightly he shined in everyone’s lives. With behind-the-scenes photos of his life growing up, exploring the world, and reconnecting with himself and loved ones between concerts, you’ll discover how much Bergling can inspire us today.”
Elvis: The King Of Fashion
By Lorraine Gibson
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “A marvel and celebration that contains interviews of those intimately involved in the legacy of an intensely shy and disadvantaged boy from the wrong side of Tupelo, Miss., who went on to become one of the most idolized and imitated solo performer of all time. A highly engaging homage to the iconic style of Elvis Presley, who shook up the world of music and fashion, triggering a cultural revolution that stopped 1950s America in its tracks. Born into poverty, his voice of liquid gold and show-stopping appearance propelled him into a life of extreme wealth. Elvis’s extraordinary story — told through a fashion lens — celebrates the shy, lonely boy who awakened an entire generation to forbidden fruit. The defiant hair, the sultry good looks, the gender-ambivalent outfits — even the famous sideburns of the man who would be King — are all considered in loving detail. From impoverished scamp and teenage antihero in pink, through Hollywood heartthrob and sensual leather-clad rock star, to caped superhero in Vegas jumpsuits, the author describes his clothes with as much joy as she does his journey through the decades. A rags-to-riches tale, forged in the hardship and music of the poor South, it personifies the American Dream, retold with style by an author raised on Elvis’s songs and movies and who walked in his shoes through Memphis to discover they really were two-toned.”
Pop Chameleon: The Little Guide To Miley Cyrus
By Orange Hippo!
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In February 2024, America’s favourite wild child Miley Cyrus received recognition from her peers, finally after 15 years. With two Grammy Awards, over 20 million albums and 55 million singles sold worldwide and a wardrobe full of iconic outfits, Miley is now a pop chameleon equal to her idols Madonna, Dolly Parton and Debbie Harry, as well as an inspiring feminist role model to her global fanbase and a leading female songwriter willing to break all the industry rules. This Little Guide to Miley Cyrus is packed with all the wonderful wit, wisdom and wisecracks her fans have come to expect… and a whole lot more. Taken from interviews across her entire career, this tiny tome reveals the real Cyrus, one candid, controversial and classic quote at a time.”
Every Valley: The Story of Handel’s Messiah
By Charles King
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “London, 1741. An actress mired in scandal plans her escape from an abusive husband. A penniless sea captain sets out to rescue the city’s abandoned infants. An African Muslim and former captive in the colonies becomes a celebrity. A grieving political dissident seeks release from his torment. And a great composer to kings — George Frideric Handel — now ill and straining to keep an audience’s attention, faces a decision that will secure his place in history. Evoking a pivotal moment at the birth of modernity, a time of fear, conspiracy and uprising, and featuring some of the most unusual and brilliant personalities of the eighteenth century, Every Valley is a resonant story of hope in the darkness and the entangled lives that shaped a masterpiece.”
501 Essential Albums of the ’90s: The Music Fan’s Definitive Guide
By Gary Graff
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Break out the flannel, scrunchies, and high-rise jeans and indulge in this nostalgic illustrated trip through the 1990s’ most influential albums across all genres. In 501 Essential Albums Of The ’90s, Gary Graff leads a cast of fellow music journalists in presenting the music of everyone’s favorite decade… the last decade before the proliferation of social media and digital downloads. The journalists detail the circumstances of the releases, notable singles from each, their influence on contemporary and later artists… in short, why each is considered one of the best of the decade. Britney or Body Count, Nirvana or N Sync, Metallica or Morisette, Garth or Green Day, Weezer or Wu Tang — whatever your tastes, you will relish this ultimate retrospective of the decade’s music.”
Nights At The Red Steinway: Adventures in Jazz Piano
By Will Friedwald
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Through curated essays, readers will experience a deeply personal and engaging survey of key figures in jazz in the book that Publishers Weekly calls “a cheerful celebration of an uniquely American musical form.” Whether in the compositions of foundational figures like Jelly Roll Morton, Thomas “Fats” Waller and Earl “Fatha” Hines; swing pioneers such as Teddy Wilson and Joe Bushkin; torch-bearers like Mary Lou Williams and her student Thelonious Monk; technical masters including Bud Powell and Bill Evans; or modern mixologists such as Sun Ra and Keith Jarrett, the piano has been the site of historic innovations in jazz, and the stage on which some of its most colorful personalities have cemented their legacies. It’s no coincidence that several legendary pianists — Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Nat King Cole — are named after royalty. As one of the leading writers on jazz today, author, journalist, and historian Will Friedwald has witnessed over a half-century of epochal developments in the genre and the central role that the piano has played in its evolution. Nights At The Red Steinway collects key writings to form a deeply personal and engaging survey of key figures from Abrams to Zawinul. Irreverent when it wants to be but serious when it counts, Friedwald’s writing offers a wide-ranging, deeply considered tour through the history of jazz piano. It is an indispensable collection for fans of all stripes.”
Jazz Habana
By Enrique ‘Kike’ Smith
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In this photographic collection, seven photographers who have built their artistic reputation documenting Cuban jazz over the years, bring together images celebrating musicians who have performed at Jazz Plaza — Havana’s annual international jazz festival. These photographers present very personal, subjective views on the jazz performances that they document. The images themselves becoming silent participants in the events they show, demonstrating that without photography, jazz would not be the same. Introduced by Pablo Rigal, with an exclusive interview with Bobby Carcassés, founder of Jazz Plaza. Seven photographers are featured — all of them active in Havana’s cultural scene, and with years of experience photographing jazz performances: Abel Carmenate, Xavier Carvajal, Maite Fernández, Elio Miniello, Enirque ‘Kike’ Smith, Gonzalo Vidal and Jorge Villa. The book is full of colour and black-and-white photographs of Cuban and international jazz musicians.”
