Music Related Books

ON SOME FARAWAY BEACH
The Life and Times of Brian Eno
By David Sheppard



What a wonderful bio!
Eno's career has serendipitously influenced and molded popular music far beyond just the people that he fell in with.
This book connects all the pieces of his recorded musical output and his personal life into an entertaining and fascinating history that I completely identified with.
Hence, my avatar change.
As much information that I gleaned about Eno, he still remains an enigma.
An excellent read and recommended.

 

Found this coffee table edition of Jazz Giants- A Visual Retrospective. Hundreds of photos, both color and B&W.

 

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Better Git It in Your Soul: An Interpretive Biography of Charles Mingus Hardcover by Krin Gabbard

 

the stoogesne night at the whiskey- not much text pretty much a picture book, but worth picking up for the great photos

 

I sit, & listen to the hiss
of traffic & invoke
into this burned & gutted
room some ghost, some
vague resemblance of a time

Off-on, on and off,
like one long sick
electric dream.
This state is confused
state. Out there everyone
is greedy for her love.

They will drain her life
like warm connectors,
plug into her soul
From every side & melt
her form for me.

But I deserve this,
Greatest cannibal of all.
Some tired future.
Let me sleep. Get on w/the disease.

Jim Morrison

 

ENGLAND'S HIDDEN REVERSE
By David Keenan



I'm a ravenous Nurse With Wound fan.
I'm also into much of Coil's musicial output.
I can also appreciate what Current 93 is about.

This book is a fascinating exploration of the early industrial/noise scene in England in the late 70s.

It starts out with Coum Transmissions and moves through the evolution of the industrial scene based around Throbbing Gristle and later Psychic TV.

It touches on many of the bands of the day; Whitehouse, Caberet Voltaire, Pure, Sex Pistols, etc, but really focuses on Sleazy, Balance, Stapleton and Tibet.

It jumps back and forth between the three bands as they work on pivotal recordings or have noteworthy experiences happen to them.

Much of the mystic of NWW is rationally explained and assumptions I had about particular recordings were clarified. His working method endlessly fascinating to me.
Much of his inspiration gained from LSD.

The boys in Coil were out of their collective minds much of the time and had their ups and downs as a result. Drugs, sex and music mixed into one neverending lifestyle /party that eventually consumed them.

David Tibet was a voracious collector of rare books and paintings and was infatuated with the occult early on. He later switched gears and began a quest for more Christian beliefs, mainly due to his many mental breakdowns from too much speed.

The book leaves off in 2006 after the death of Jhon Balance.

Wonderful pictures are included and overall a well written, easy to follow time line.
I also love the beautiful cover.

 

Burning Desire: The Jimi Hendrix Experience through the Lens of Ed Caraeff

another photo book, collection of photos of the experience from ed caraeff

 

I've read three music books since Christmas, but I forget if I mentioned acquiring them or not.

Duke by Terry Teachout (an Ellington bio), The Will To Swing by Gene Lees (and Oscar Peterson bio), and When I Left Home by Buddy Guy.

I can recommend all three.
The Ellington and Peterson bios were interesting to me, in that they took a little of the sheen off of them that I had in my mind.
The Buddy was a good read, even though I can't say it's all that well written. It reads like you're sitting there listening to him bs about his life in the blues world.
Which is a good thing. He's not a writer, he's a kickass guitar player.

 

I jumped into the world of digital books yesterday, and read about 115 pages of Blues People: Negro Music In White America by Leroi Jones.
I've done plenty of 'digital' reading with online newspapers, blogs, etc, but this is my first book. So far so good. I wasn't sure if I'd like reading that many pages digitally in one sitting, but I didn't have any fatigue.
Good book so far, too. Pretty sure it was @poppachubby who hipped me to it, so thanks!

 

I forget what I sent you but ya, I have all the good stuff if you need more.

 

Must be about 50 titles.

I still need to sort out what reader I'm going to use. I'm not much of an Android guy, but that's what I'm using.
I'm reading this book with BFReader, but I'm going to look around at what else is out there.

I'm pretty stoked to finally be getting back to reading more.
I don't do well with reading when there are interruptions, and having a kid around is all interruptions, lol. She's finally at an age where she'll sit and read for an hour or so. She's currently going through the Harry Potter books. Gives me time to read, too.

 

LOL. Well, I was just about to post this. Saved me the trouble. LOL Great book. Great minds well you know the rest.

 

An awesome book, especially if you like their cover art. I have poured over the pages and loved every minute of it. Great pictures and stories to go along with the behind the scenes adventures of these two incredible artists! A must read even though it is out of print. I found this copy a couple of years ago for $20 brand new in an on-line used book store.

 

This looks incredible!!! I have some friends in the Hardcore scene, including former A&R turned author Howie Abrams. Last year he released the definitive book on HR of Bad Brains - highly recommended. I would also highly suggest you read Roger Miret's memoir - incredible time in NYC during his come up - "old New York".

 

I love these coffee table books. I have a couple with B&W photos which I don't look at too often but when I do, I generally end up flipping through the whole thing.

 

Today's find at GW Buy the Pound.

 

I am a guide to the labyrinth
Come & see me
in the green hotel
Rm. 32
I will be there until 9:30 P. M.

I will show you the girl of the ghetto
I will shoe you the burning well
I will show you strange people
haunted, beast-like, on the
verge of evolution

-- Fear The Lords who are
secret among us

Jim Morrison

 

RIP IT UP AND START AGAIN postpunk 1978-1984 (first edition)
By Simon Reynolds


Exhaustive examination of the bands that weren't pigeonholed by the confines of the punk revolution.

Punk had the attitude but not the intellect.
Punk influenced many creative people that took it to the next level.
This book is about those artists and record labels.

The author has a flawless understanding of the band members, their influences and the circumstances in which they were able to bring their artistic visions to fruition.
His enthusiasm for the artists is always genuine.

The book is basically broken up by each chapter highlighting a specific scene or location and all of the political and social motivations associated within it.
Whether it be in England or the United States.

The author started to loose me towards the end with his in-depth examination of New Pop. But it all has a part to the understanding of where postpunk came from and where it was headed.

Extremely entertaining and highly informative, this book was a great source in which to fill many of the blanks for me.

 

about the Haight-Ashbury scene back in 67, great photos of the gratefull dead,jefferson,airplane,janis joplin, jimi hendrix