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

The latest is still Robert Wyatt's biography "Different Every Time" (2014). A great read, he's been sitting in a wheelchair since 1973 so it's a bit different life from the touring musician.

 

Encyclopedic indeed. Especially the most recent edition. A bit too much so for me, though I don't regret reading it. Just too many garage bands from LA that I had never heard of nor will I ever hear of again, that had no members who became known in later years. Now, if I had been alive and in southern California at the time, then I would've enjoyed it much more. I expected more on the actual unrest.

 

I'm not really into the straight artist/band biography anymore. Mainly because I read so much of them already.
Now I'm looking for more history of scenes, theories....almost a sociological approach...hard to explain.
The last few music books I've read were:

Rip it up and start again: Post punk 1978-1984 by Simon Reynolds
Retromania by Simon Reynolds
Perfecting sound forever by Greg Milner
How soon is now? A history of british independent record labels by Richard King

 

I just finished Graham Nash's autobiography, Wild Tales. It's a page turner tell-all and worth the quick read if you're a fan of any combination of CSN&Y. My only criticism, and by no means am I Mr. Proper, is that he felt the need to drop f-bombs on every page. I just don't see why it's necessary. Another thing that stands out to me is how quickly things change, even for a 70-something millionaire musician. He repeatedly praises his wife, the "love of his life" who is "probably the reason he's still alive" (paraphrasing), as well as talks about his enduring friendship with Crosby despite all the ups and downs throughout the years. The book was published in '13, and he's now going through divorces with both of them. Ugh.

 

One of my favorite rock bio's.

This is a good one too... Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970: David Browne: 9780306820724: Amazon.com: Books »

I'm digging this one now....The Vinyl Dialogues: Stories behind memorable albums of the 1970s as told by the artists - Kindle edition by Mike Morsch. Arts & Photography Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. »

 

Taking it one step further, Mr Nash loves himself.

 

I second that.

 

Hope you read the UK edition. It's significantly longer than what was published in North America. All of his books are phenomenal

 

Reading Neil Young's autobiography is no different- constantly praising his wife Pegi every other page and then unceremoniously dumping her for Darryl Hannah two years later.

 

Recent reads:
1. In Love With These Times by Roger Shepherd, kingpin of NZ's biggest little indie, Flying Nun. A brilliant book and great read, more so if you like Flying Nun music.

2. Stranger Than Fiction: The Life & Times of Split Enz. More kiwi music. Good story but the book (mostly unavailable) is formatted in a horrible way making it hard to read. The layout and paper quality are awful too. These get in the way of the readability, but otherwise quite well written by ex-member Mike Chunn. The story of a band who really struggled, and finally made it, but not quite as big time as they wanted, and then finally (split). It was written into their choice of name.

3. Neil Young's autobio is the most boring book I've ever read. Random observations, 'nice', dull. Quite disappointing to discover he's not capable of serious analytical thought.

 

Read 'In The All Night Cafe' today, a memoir of Belle And Sebastian's formative year.
A sweet little book that shows how dreams and magic can visit suddenly.

 

My favorite is the Zevon bio.

 

I took both of these to Cuba for beach reading. Great books.

 

On the train to Toronto this week I read Lita Ford's autobiography. I enjoyed it
very much. Didn't know that she wanted to put the Runaways back together but
Joan Jett was indifferent.

 

I read three amazing music books fairly to very recently. All three are now among my very favorites and many music book reads:

Kris Needs: Suicide, A New York Story

John Lydon: Anger is an Energy

Keith Morris: My Damage

Each one of these book kept me locked in all the way.

Needs' book recreated the vibe of early 70's New York along with a fine portrayal of an incredible musical duo. An amazing history of place, people and creativity. A+!

Mr. Lydon has created such a fine and honest work here, one that taught me so much again about the value of persistence, the desire to do well and the ability to forge anger into something good, creative and useful. I loved it. Long live Johnny Rotten!

Keith Morris's book is a wild ride through the LA punk scene and his struggle through some very rough personal trials. It left me thankful and filled with gratitude knowing this sweet and feisty soul still walks among us. I went to one of Keith's book signing and just totally dug having him tell me his story about filming for Repo Man. A really, really great guy and what an treat to meet him!

 

Jen Trynin, Everything I'm Cracked Up to Be. Superb memoir of someone who was going to be The Next Big Thing and wasn't. She is a brilliant writer, found the book utterly compelling and 10 times as interesting as Springsteen's autobiography (and I am a huge Bruce fan). Can't recommend it highly enough.

 

White Bicycle~ Joe Boyd.
Ideal marooned on a island book.

 

Yes, I discovered that book through a post here. Really stunning as a work of memoir

 

Gentlemanly Repose by Michael Ruffino is one of the best books ever about rock 'n' roll. Without a doubt it's the funniest.

https://www.amazon.com/Gentlemanly-Repose-Confessions-Debauched-Roller/dp/0806526262

 

"The Sound of the City (the Rise of Rock 'n' Roll") by Charlie Gillett.
The definitive history of the subject.

 

Shaun Ryder's auto is great
Really honest maybe a bit too much.

 

Street Player: My Chicago Story https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470416831/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_N2Ypyb555PCMG


1966: The Year the Decade Exploded https://www.amazon.com/dp/0571277624/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_x3YpybVJDR6MP

 

Just picked up the Nick Drake compendium Remembered for a While at a local Half Price. Amazing price for such a tremendously well put together book. When I heard his sister was spearheading this project, I was skeptical. Not that I had any specific reason to doubt her, but I generally think family aren't in a position to be objective in the way these things require. I was wrong. This truly reads as a labor of love. I've only begun to dive into it, but already it impressses.

Even better prices can be found on Amazon. But in any case, this book is clearly worth paying even the full list price.

https://www.amazon.com/Remembered-While-Nick-Drake/dp/0316340626

 

Non-fiction books about pop culture and musicians are my favorite genre. I've read at least a hundred. I haven't read all the posts in this thread, so I apologize if I'm duplicating any that have already been mentioned. And, I don't hold onto most the books I've read, so just glancing at my bookshelf:

Mojo Hand - The Life and Music of Lightnin' Hopkins, by Timothy J O'Brien and David Ensminger (no surprise, see my avatar)

Keith Richards - The Biography, by Victor Bockris

Stone Alone, by Bill Wyman with Ray Coleman

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead - The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon, by Crystal Zevon (wow)

Are You Excperienced - The Inside Story of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, by Noel Redding & Carol Appleby

The Life and Times of Little Richard, by Charles White

This Wheel's On Fire - Levon Helm and the Story of The Band, by Levon Helm with Stephen Davis

 

"Never A Dull Moment: 1971-The Year That Rock Exploded" by David Hepworth...a good read since 1971 was my first full year of buying records.