Read any good music books lately? Or some all-time favorites?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Tim Wilson, Sep 2, 2014.

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  1. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member

    Probably only of interest to any musicians on the board, but I've just begun reading Arnold Schoenberg's Harmonielehre in the Roy E. Carter translation -- a great gift from my wife last Christmas -- and it's freakin' great: not just a harmony text book but also a personal aesthetic manifesto, a treatise on teaching, a kind of all encompassing book and look into Schoenberg's mind.
     
    elaterium likes this.
  2. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member

    Hmm.. I read either the first or second edition which had no co-author. She's a music scholar, he's an historian. I wonder what changes there have been to this third edition, maybe I'll have to read the book again in the new edition.
     
  3. elaterium

    elaterium Forum Resident

    I just got a biography of Charles Ives called Mad Music. Will report back after I've cracked it open.
     
    *Zod* likes this.
  4. kinkling

    kinkling Forum Resident

    The Story of Crass

    Clothes Clothes Clothes Music Music Music Boys Boys Boys by Viv Albertine

    Second the recommendation for Black Monk Time
     
  5. Crazyhorse11

    Crazyhorse11 Hoser

    Location:
    Edmonton, AB
    Finally got thru Julian Cope's Copendium. Great read for fans of Garage and Psych music.
     
    tremspeed likes this.
  6. Marko L.

    Marko L. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Turku, Finland
    From the back cover: " This third revised edition includes an extensive new chapter in which new coauthor Jocelyn R. Neal tracks developments in country music in the post-9/11 world, exploring the relationship between the current scene and the traditions from which the music emerged."

    That last chapter "A New Century" is about 30 pages.

    From the introduction: "For my part, I will not attempt a revision of the earlier chapters, although this is something I would like to do before I pass on to Hillbilly Heaven. Instead I will mention certain topics that need to be addressed by students of country music, and will acknowledge significant studies that have appeared since the publication of my second revision in 2002."
     
  7. kennyluc1

    kennyluc1 Frank Sinatra collector

    JUST FINISHED:
    " Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
    THE STORY OF POP MUSIC FROM BILL HALEY TO BEYONCE by BOB STANLEY
    It was a lot of information and a lot of comparison's
    between the British Chart's AND the American (Billboard ) chart's.
     
    hugh . g. and KaptKopter like this.
  8. Maseman66

    Maseman66 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Westchester, NY
    Recently finished "Brian Jones: The Making Of The Rolling Stones" by Paul Trynka. Interesting stuff. Seems it really was Brian's band early on but he couldn't compete with Mick's personality and charisma. That's the simple explanation, but so much **** went down. After reading the book and listening to their early stuff with new ears (for the umpteenth time), Keith, of course was a killer but Brian's rhythm guitar really helped to drive the band's early blues rockers. Also, he was an excellent slide player and being a multi-instrumentalist, he helped shape so much of their music.
     
    CrombyMouse, ssmith3046 and Jacline like this.
  9. gkella

    gkella Glen Kellaway From The Basement

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Today, I just picked up Ronnie, the Ronnie Wood autobiography and a
    book called Shelter From The Storm, the story of Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue.
    Looking forward to reading them.
    A couple of favourites are Garcia, which I have read twice and
    the Don Felder autobiography.
     
  10. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member

    Thanks. I'll look for a copy at a library so I can read that final chapter.
     
  11. Gene Parmesan

    Gene Parmesan Forum Resident

    Location:
    PA, USA
    I enjoyed Can't Buy Me Love by Jonathan Gould. I'm surprised it doesn't often pop up on lists of "Best Beatles books." It's a well-written combination of biography + cultural analysis + musical analysis. I didn't agree with all of his opinions on the Beatles' music, but I had been looking for a one-stop shop for a bio that focused on the music more than their personal lives and it certainly fit the bill.
     
    Jacline likes this.
  12. Folknik

    Folknik Forum Resident

    Despite several typos and a bit of misinformation, P.F. Sloan's memoir What's Exactly the Matter With Me is a fascinating read.
     
  13. dennis the menace

    dennis the menace Forum Veteran

    Location:
    Montréal
    The best I read has to be "Long time gone" by David Crosby.
     
    CrombyMouse and Brother Maynard like this.
  14. Chris Schoen

    Chris Schoen Rock 'n Roll !!!

    Location:
    Maryland, U.S.A.
    Didn't Brian Jones teach Jagger how to play harmonica?
     
  15. CEricBanister

    CEricBanister Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scottsburg, IN
    I started reading Whiskey Bottles and Brand-New Cars: The Fast Life and Sudden Death of Lynyrd Skynyrd by Mark Ribowsky this weekend. I'm almost halfway through the book and have threatened to stop reading it at least three times already.
     
  16. Boris number 9

    Boris number 9 Forum Resident

    I just read Billy Idol's autobiography. He wrote more big songs than I had realized. Kind of a depraved guy back in the day. I'm interested in reading that Don Felder book mentioned a few posts back.
     
  17. Drotz1

    Drotz1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    canada
    I enjoyed

    Dylan Chronicles I (Bob where is II?)
    Gregg Allman - My Cross to Bear (yes, many best friends and he loves them all)
    Both on Townes Van Zandt
    Charles Mingus - Beneath the Underdog
    Deborah Curtis - Touching from a Distance
    Keith's - Life

    Now reading
    Willie - Roll me up and smoke me when I'm gone
     
  18. veloso2

    veloso2 Forum Resident

    joe Jackson a cure for gravity
     
  19. ghostnotes

    ghostnotes Wish you were here.

    Location:
    Charlotte, NC
    I'm about to start "R.E.M.: Perfect Circle" by Tony Fletcher that I've heard great things about. Will report back.
     
  20. Matthew Tate

    Matthew Tate Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond, Virginia
    Just got jack bruce composing himself but haven't started it
     
  21. 24voltsdc

    24voltsdc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indianapolis, IN
    Almost finished with 'Journey to the Centre of The Cramps' by Dick Porter. There are only a handful of books out there on The Cramps and this is a good one.
    Interestingly enough he wrote one years ago before Lux passed away. This one is more up to date with some very cool photos of Lux and Ivy.
     
  22. Scott S.

    Scott S. lead singer for the best indie band on earth

    Location:
    Walmartville PA
    Man on the Run about McCartney in the 70s was pretty good.

    as was Neil Young - Special Deluxe

    also loved Greil Marcus' book on Van Morrison.
     
  23. DrBeatle

    DrBeatle The Rock and Roll Chemist

    Location:
    Midwest via Boston
    Just finished a couple of good ones that I posted reviews of to my site:

    Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre: A Biography of the Doors (posted last week)

    and

    Jimmy Page by Jimmy Page (review goes live tomorrow morning)

    Next one up in my queue is the recent reprint/updated edition of The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones
     
  24. *Zod*

    *Zod* Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    came in to post this.....a great read
     
  25. ConnieGuitar

    ConnieGuitar Here in my balloon...

    Just finished reading this myself - I also thought it was pretty good, though it did feel a bit rushed towards the end. Some great stories in there!

    Before that was "Let's Go Crazy: The Making of Purple Rain" by Alan Light - a very good look at the making of both the film and the album and how everything fell into place for and around Prince at that time to create a genuine cultural phenomenon. It definitely took me right back.

    I'm taking a brief (non-music) break with a book on "Pistol" Pete Maravich before getting back into it with "Woman With Guitar: Memphis Minnie's Blues".
     
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