My musical bucket list is pretty damn short these days. But Billy Childish is most definitely on it. Of course, I doubt I’ll ever be lucky enough to see the elusive singer-songwriter perform, let alone interview him — so I’ll make do (at least for now) with this new biography. For the rest of the week’s options, read on:
To Ease My Troubled Mind: The Authorized Unauthorized History of Billy Childish
By Ted Kessler
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In 1977, 17-year-old Steven Hamper was a stonemason in the dockyards of Chatham, Kent, in England. His heart, however, beat in sync with the punk rock tremors of the era, seduced by its celebration of amateurism. So, in a gesture of revolutionary defiance, he took a three pound club hammer and smashed his hand, vowing to never work again. In doing so, Steven Hamper metamorphosed into Billy Childish, a true Renaissance man. Childish has since remained steadfastly true to punk’s DIY cred, becoming one of the most recognizable and authentic voices in whichever artistic endeavor he undertakes. He has released over 150 albums of raw rock ’n’ roll, punk, blues, and folk; and has written many volumes of searing poetry as well as several autobiographical novels. But what he is perhaps best known for in recent years is his painting, for which he is now critically, commercially, and internationally feted. He hasn’t changed course in any of his disciplines, though. The world just caught up with the sheer volume of his brutally honest work. To Ease My Troubled Mind is a mosaic portrait collated over a year of interviews with Childish, as well as with close family, ex-girlfriends, band members past and present, friends, foes, collaborators, even his therapist. It is an unflinching, yet frequently spiritual and funny portrait of an artist who is now one of the most prolific and uncompromising of his generation.”
Everyone’s a Winner: The Story of a Punk Band Called London
By John Van der Kiste
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Simon Le Bon said they were the first band he ever saw, Paul Simonon of The Clash remembered them as “a great live band with good songs,” and Simon Napier-Bell described them as “the band that blew my bloody ears off!” Everyone’s A Winner: The Story of a Punk Band Called London by John Van der Kiste, is an illustrated history of the cult band including a song-by-song breakdown of their albums, a detailed discography, complete gig listings and over 300 photos. Find out why Paul McCartney made a beeline for singer Riff at his Buddy Holly night and discover how London tried to pinch Captain Sensible from The Damned, only to have him steal their drummer a few weeks later to replace Rat Scabies. Read about punch-ups on tour with The Stranglers, rubbing shoulders with the punk greats of the day, and the time Sting nicked their guitarist for The Police. Formed in 1976, London were Riff Regan (vocals), Steve Voice (bass/vocals), Dave Wight (guitar) and Jon Moss (drums). They quickly secured a contract with MCA Records, an experienced manager, and the support slot on The Stranglers’ notorious Rattus Norvegicus tour. They split just as their album Animal Games was released in 1978. Moss went on to form Culture Club with Boy George, and Regan, under his real name Miles Tredinnick, became a comedy writer for Frankie Howerd. Regan and Voice reunited the band in 2008 with Hugh O’Donnell (guitar) and Colin Watterston (drums). New albums followed — Reboot in 2012 and The Hell for Leather Mob in 2020. This illustrated history, including recollections from members of both lineups, recounts the rollercoaster tale of a band who were there at the beginning of punk and reappeared 30 years later to take their place in a musical landscape that had changed beyond recognition.”
Hunters in High Heels
By Omar Rodríguez-López
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Omar Rodríguez-López may be best known for his filmmaking and transcendent songwriting/guitar playing with The Mars Volta, At the Drive-In and other bands, but many people aren’t aware that he is also an exceptional photographer. Hunters in High Heels is Omar’s first book of photographs, comprising photos taken between 2000 and 2006, during which the sheer scope of output and travel undertaken by the Grammy–winning musician and his fellow bandmates was nothing short of exhausting. Sharply juxtaposed with typical books of rock ’n’ roll imagery, Omar’s photographs — all shot on 35mm film — present a more elusive and evocative aesthetic that includes subjects such as highway signage, city skylines, and cloud formations, along with empty arenas and recording studios with friends and colleagues. This body of work provides an intimate glimpse into a specific period in the artist’s life. In her preface, photo editor Stephanie Celaya writes, “Omar is deeply interested in the world… an observer of changing landscapes, shifting cultures, and evolving relationships. Omar’s camera has become his touchstone. The combination of his international recognizability paired with his desire for privacy provides a unique and captivating glimpse into his nomadic life. The irony that Omar Rodríguez-López connects to and captures the quietest moments amid, and in between, some of the loudest places is not lost.”
Before Elvis: The African American Musicians Who Made the King
By Preston Lauterbach
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “After Baz Luhrmann’s movie Elvis hit theaters, audiences and critics alike couldn’t help but question the Black origins of Elvis Presley’s music and style, reigniting a debate that has been circling for decades. In Before Elvis: The African American Musicians Who Made the King, author Preston Lauterbach answers these questions definitively, based on new research and extensive, previously unpublished interviews with the artists who blazed the way and the people who knew them. Within these pages, Lauterbach examines the lives, music, legacies, and interactions with Presley of the four innovative Black artists who created a style that would come to be known as rock ’n’ roll: Little Junior Parker, Big Mama Thornton, Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, and mostly unknown eccentric Beale Street guitarist Calvin Newborn. Along the way, he delves into the injustices of copyright theft and media segregation that resulted in Black artists living in poverty as white performers, managers, and producers reaped the lucrative rewards. In the wake of continuing conversations about American music and appropriation, Before Elvis is indispensable.”
33 1/3: Coke Studio | Season 14
By Rakae Rehman Jamil & Khadija Muzaffar
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In a country fraught with political instability and violence, the television show Coke Studio serves as a beacon of hope and progress in Pakistan. For over a decade, its music has not only acted as a medium for sharing Pakistan’s rich musical heritage across the world, but also created an appreciation and awareness of the musical traditions embedded within the diverse communities of the country. The show has profound cultural impact in its exposure of not only Pakistan’s, but the entire South Asian region’s indigenous musical compositions and ancient musical traditions dating back to the 12th century. Referencing his own personal experiences working as a session artist in Coke Studio‘s second and 11th seasons, Jamil emphasizes on how the show has taken a major shift in sonic palettes, visual style and production approach in the 14th season. This was largely due to the introduction of Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan (aka Xulfi) and his team of electronic producers who have hugely impacted the local music in Pakistan for more than five years with their hybrid production approach to Pakistani music; electronic dance music applied to regional melodies and instrumentation.”
Listening Devices: Music Media in the Pre-Digital Era
By Jens Gerrit Papenburg
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “From 1940 to 1990, new machines and devices radically changed listening to music. Small and large single records, new kinds of jukeboxes and loudspeaker systems not only made it possible to playback music in a different way, they also evidence a fundamental transformation of music and listening itself. Taking the media and machines through which listening took place during this period, Listening Devices develops a new history of listening. Although these devices were (and often still are) easily accessible, up to now we have no concept of them. To address this gap, this volume proposes the term “listening device.” In conjunction with this concept, the book develops an original and fruitful method for exploring listening as a historical subject that has been increasingly organized in relation to technology. Case studies of four listening devices are the points of departure for the analysis, which leads the reader down unfamiliar paths, traversing the popular sound worlds of 1950s rock ‘n’ roll culture and the disco and club culture of the 1970s and 1980s. Despite all the characteristics specific to the different listening devices, they can nevertheless be compared because of the fundamental similarities they share: they model and manage listening, they actively mediate between the listener and the music heard, and it is this mediation that brings both listener and the music listened to into being. Ultimately, however, the intention is that the listening devices themselves should not be heard so that the music they playback can be heard. Thus, they take the history of listening to its very limits and confront it with its “other” — a history of non-listening. The book proposes “listening device” as a key concept for sound studies, popular music studies, musicology, and media studies. With this conceptual key, a new, productive understanding of past music and sound cultures of the pre-digital era can be unlocked, and, not least, of the listening culture of the digital present.”
