Music Books

Drawing on a range of sources and fields, the rich life story of this polymathic composer.This groundbreaking biography offers fresh perspectives on the life, ideas, and music of French twentieth-century composer, organist, and ornithologist Olivier...

Do you really know Pink Floyd? This comics documentary retraces the history of the group, from their meeting to the solo adventures of the artists. A great opportunity to revisit famous episodes in the life of the mythical group and explore what made...

A critic's notebook on sparkle and spectacle. An Atlantic Edition, featuring long-form journalism byAtlanticwriters, drawn from contemporary articles or classic storytelling from the magazine's 165-year archive.A collection of essays on musicians,...

'Everything was just so intense. There was an alienation and awkwardness about Josef K, but that was actually very true to life for me. Listening today I find really difficult because it brings back so many memories, so many ghosts and characters from...

Chopping Wood is Pete Seeger up close and personal like never before. Derived from years of conversations between Seeger and his close friend and collaborator David Bernz, it takes readers on a uniquely personal journey through this legendary folksinger...

'There's love in the music and people can relate to the love, regardless of whether you're two years old or 92 years old. For me, music is about love. Love is the message I want to share. I hope people feel that in my music. That makes the hard...

A culmination of nearly six decades of writing from the mind of iconoclastic film, literary, and music critic Jonathan Rosenbaum.Looking back at his more than 50 years of writing, where many flights of fancy and fantasy prove to suggest certain duties as...

Growing up in the Boston suburbs, Tom Werman was deeply affected by pop music from a young age. He long dreamed of a career in music-first as Elvis, then as the next George Harrison-but it almost didn't turn out that way. Dutifully following the path his...

Like her much-loved heroine Emma Woodhouse, Jane Austen 'played and sang'. Music occupied a central role in her life, and she made brilliant use of it in her books to illuminate characters' personalities and highlight the contrasts between them.Until...

This is the story of an emancipation, that of a young black and poor woman living in an America marked by segregation.This is the story of a fierce battle, that of a musician involved in the civil rights movement.This is the story of a long career, that...

This book is a four step method to develop the skills and concepts needed to play contemporary jazz guitar.To listen to any of the top jazz guitarist today , it is easy to hear a blending of guitar styles and techniques that include blues, jazz, rock and...

Featuring a foreword from Annie MacIn Welcome to the club, Manchester legend DJ Paulette shares the highs, lows and lessons of a thirty-year music career, with help from some famous friends.One of the Hacienda's first female DJs, Paulette has scaled the...

The White Stripes Complete Lyrics is a deluxe new 300+ page hardbound book documenting all of Jack White's original words written for the 6x Grammy Award-winning duo he and Meg White formed in 1997 through the release of their final album in 2007. The...

'Kevin does what I pretend to do. Kevin's a proper musician.' David Bowie'Kevin Armstrong has been around, and around.' Iggy PopGrowing up in a world of punk squats and the London pub-rock scene, suburban rookie guitarist Kevin Armstrong found himself...

On December 8, 1980, twenty-something rock journalist Laurie Kaye entered the legendary Dakota apartments in New York to interview her longtime idol John Lennon. It was the last interview Lennon would ever give- just hours later, outside that same...

How the creative use of pop music in film-think Saturday Night Fever or Apocalypse Now-has shaped and shifted music history since the 1960s Quick: What movie do you think of when you hear "The Sounds of Silence"? Better yet, what song comes to mind when...

When BEATLEMANIA seized the nation: Relive the Mayhem of 1963The Beatles broke up more than half a century ago, yet millions around the globe are still drawn to the legacy of four lads from Liverpool. It really shouldn't be like this. But, from...

'John Robb is as punk rock as The Clash.' - Alan McGeeDo You Believe in the Power of Rock & Roll? is a history of alternative rock from music writer John Robb, with the music still ringing in his ears. This collection follows Robb's...

A Grateful Dead concert, Ray Robertson argues, is life.Like life, it can be alternately compelling and lackluster; familiar and foreign; occasionally sublime and sometimes insipid. Although the Grateful Dead stopped the day Jerry Garcia's heart did, what...

"We're not ashamed of a little hairspray and makeup. We've always said it takes a real man to wear makeup."-Bret Michaels, PoisonThere was a time-not so long ago-when pomp and spandex dominated MTV and pop radio playlists. Nearly 20 years after the first...

John, Paul, George, and Ringo were more than great musicians: they were the quintessential fashion icons of one of the most exciting and memorable fashion eras of all time. From their starts in black leather through Sergeant Pepper to Nehru collars and...

'An ode to storytelling itself...A gorgeous and heart-rending story of survival.' - Melissa Febos, author of GirlhoodA moving and essential exploration of what it takes to find your voice as a woman, a survivor, an artist, and an icon...

Prince Rogers Nelson aka Prince was a complete artist, all at once author, composer, performer, multi-instrumentalist and producer. A real showman on stage, songs like " 1999" or " Purple Rain," made him an international star. With his tormented life,...

Crosby, Holiday, Sinatra, Fitzgerald, Garland, and Streisand were the major interpreters of the American songbook, and this is the interlocking story of their lives and careers. Here is the epic tale of how these artists dominated American popular music...

Rebel Music: Bob Marley & Roots Reggae is a tribute to the leading icon in music, Bob Marley. In 1975, after meeting Marley in London, photographer Kate Simon gained unique access to the Wailers, capturing intensely personal moments and momentous...

'Mark is one of the most indomitable yet gentle spirits I've ever met. He will always be one of my favorite artists I've ever worked with. And someday when I grow up, I want to be just like him.'Alice Cooper'This book is a puzzle. The outside frame...

The first authorised visual record of one of New York's greatest bands.An intimate and impressionistic narrative of The Strokes' first ten years, including images of the guys when they were students at the Dwight School in Manhattan and would gather for...

In 1906, Denver's Pietro Satriano and his 25-piece brass band became the first musical act to perform at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, then christened the Garden of the Titans. Over a century later, Denver is a must-stop for every nationally touring act, and...

An experimental account of one woman's quest to shed addictive substances and behaviors from her life-which dares to ask if we're really better off without them.In January 2021, Freda Love Smith, acclaimed rock musician and author of Red Velvet...

This is the first comprehensive history of goth music and culture. Across more than 500 pages, John Robb explores the origins and legacy of this enduring scene, which has its roots in the post-punk era.Drawing on his own experience as a musician and...

Donald Fagen will forever be associated with Steely Dan, the band he formed with Walter Becker and four other musicians in 1972.The smooth, radio-friendly veneer of the duo's songs made Steely Dan internationally popular and famous in the 1970s, but the...

Of the many Cold War radio DJs who broadcast to the USSR, Seva Novgorodsev must be near the top of the list. A masterful BBC presenter, Seva was considered a sage of rock 'n' roll. His programs introduced forbidden western popular music and culture into...

Author is the authority on boxmaking in the woodworking community. Making boxes is the most popular project for woodworkers of all skill levels, in particular beginners. Makes everything easy: offers a super simple method for woodworkers, makers, and...

In extensive interviews with scene pioneers and mainstays including Chris Carrabba (Dashboard Confessional), Geoff Rickly (Thursday), Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance), Gabe Saporta (Midtown/Cobra Starship), and Max Bemis (Say Anything), veteran music...

The only encyclopedic and definitive book on American indie metal!If all you know about metal music was what was heard on commercial radio, then you don't know metal at all. Heroes of the Metal Underground profiles over 1100 American bands from every...

The Monkees represent a vital problem for rock and pop, and perhaps the major question: is it the music that matters or the personality and image of the performers? This book explores the system behind the Monkees, the controversial made-for-tv band that...

This book is a critical history of Sub Pop, the Seattle independent rock label that launched the careers of countless influential 'grunge' bands in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It focuses in particular on the languages and personas...

Johnny Thunders: In Cold Blood is the definitive portrait of the condemned man of rock'n'roll, from the baptism of fire and tragedy that was the New York Dolls, through the junkie punk years of the Heartbreakers, to his sudden and mysterious death in...

Get inside the head of Rihanna: musician, fashion designer, and business mogul.This collection of quotes has been curated from Rihanna's numerous public statements - interviews, books, social media posts, television appearances, and more. It's a...

Brian May, Roger Taylor, and Freddie Mercury form one of the greatest rock bands in the world. Under the leadership of its charismatic singer, Queen is a planetary success for each hit with its decadent shows, inimitable aesthetics, and style...

From the depths of the '70s rock 'n' roll excesses through unimaginable personal losses to an inspiring late-life transformation, Cidny Bullens's story is an utterly compelling journey about living and singing with your authentic voice.An androgynous...

What can hip-hop tell us about Egypt today?A decade ago, millions of Egyptians took to the streets in a people-led revolution that captivated the world's attention and sent ripples across the Middle East. But the so-called "Arab Spring" quickly faded,...

An essential, inspiring collection of quotations about creativity, social justice, and more from musician, producer, artist, and designer Pharrell WilliamsRising to global fame with his hit single 'Happy,' Pharrell Williams has...

Elvis, Eddie, Chuck, Gene, Buddy and Little Richard were the original rockers. Dylan, The Beatles, The Stones and The Who formed rock's second coming. As the 1960s turned into the 1970s, the crucial question was who would lead rock...

**AVanity FairBest Book of 2022****Mosaic Magazine Best Book of 2022**The untold story of Leonard Cohen's concert tour to the front lines of the Yom Kippur War, including never-before-seen selections from an unfinished manuscript by Cohen and rare...

This book takes you through the first two years of the legendary Led Zeppelin's career from their first concert to becoming the biggest rock band in the world with interviews, memories and rare and unseen photographs.Fifty years ago on 7th September 1968...

Photographer Monika Rittershaus is regarded as an inspiring interpreter of today's musical theatre in all its diversity, opulence, and drama, but also in its human profundity, uniqueness, and veracity.As a highly sensitive observer, she looks...

Discover the magic and mysticism of bells around the world, including their political and religious power, their musicality, and their familiarity in daily life.We live in a world of bells but seldom notice them. However, bells have existed in all...