Music books recommendations? (1 Viewer)

[muffin]

brilliant, I've never met anyone else who read this book! This might sound a bit emo, but I bought it when I was about 15/16 and can honestly say it did change my life in a small way.

I read it when I was about that age too and felt the same too! Then I lent it to a dude when I got to college and I never got it back and I seriously mourned the loss of it! It took me years to find another copy. I really liked the Kim Gordon interview. In fact I'm off to root out my copy and re-read it!

 

[sweetoblivion]

I read it when I was about that age too and felt the same too! Then I lent it to a dude when I got to college and I never got it back and I seriously mourned the loss of it! It took me years to find another copy. I really liked the Kim Gordon interview. In fact I'm off to root out my copy and re-read it!

aw yay! Glad you got another copy of it
It's such a powerful book, such a simple concept but pretty radical too.

 

[Kermit McDermott]

The book 'Courtney Love: The Real Story' by Poppy Z Brite is a really interesting look at Courtney's life.

Frances bean better turn 18 soon or Nancy Spungen will have blown all her inheritance.

 

[David Kronenbourg]

has anyone read shakey? i didn't really like it. neil young seems like a bit of a prick and he's a really boring interviewee

 

[sweetoblivion]

Poor Frances Bean

has anyone read shakey? i didn't really like it. neil young seems like a bit of a prick and he's a really boring interviewee

I started it but didn't get very far...

 

[muffin]

I'd recommend

it's a collection of articles. Some are better than others but interesting.

a book of essays..Haven't read it from cover to cover but have enjoyed what I have read so far.

And Peter Guralnick's biographies of Elvis are probably two of the best biographies I've ever read. Seriously amazing.

 

[GO]

I just read this.ESSENTIAL.

Written by a Donegal bloke.

 

[Scientician 0.8]

Fucking deadly recommendations folks. Thanks.

 

[tommytrousers]

Crazy from the Heat- David Lee Roth. genius. if you have a rock'n'roll bone in your body you will love it.

 

[GO]

Oh yeah,Trousers knows the skizzore.

 

[dudley]

I thought Shakey was great, also Dylans Chronicles, even though I hate the music. Zoot Horn Rollo's book about life in the Beefheart band is good if a little scary.

Little Richard wrote his own autobiography, that's mindblowingly filthy...

Mark E Smiths Renegade is fucking hilarious, in his own words he "hopes it will become mein kampf for the Hollyoaks generation".

That new Peel collection of articles is pretty good, a little disjointed but some very fine pieces in it.

The Dirt is the daddy of them all, though the Slash autobiography comes a close 2nd for sheer filth.

Also fantastic, "I'm with the band", by Pamela Des Barres, groupie extraordinaire.

 

[Scientician 0.8]

I must give Dylan's Chronicle(s) another go I found it really really dull.

 

[Oggy Pip]

I have to disagree about the Pamela Des Barre book. If you like reading about musicians, the process, touring etc then a tell-all book from a groupies perspective is a bit dull and Bunty-ish.

Shakey was terrific. Well informed and well told by the man himself.

Paul Trynkas Open Up and Bleed is similarly good. Well worth a read if you like Iggy/Stooges/the Detroit scene

 

[Lili Marlene]

I found this quite hard to get into so I sort of dip in and out of it occasionally. Has some interesting anecdotes about the growth of British pop.

I'd agree this is hard to get into because it's so wide-ranging and tries to cover anything, I'd recommend this one a million times though, basically covers his years managing Wham!

I'd also recommend this book over any Spector biography

 

[Kermit McDermott]

has anyone read shakey? i didn't really like it. neil young seems like a bit of a prick and he's a really boring interviewee

I read Shakey, quiet good from what I remember. Nice people don't make for a good book.

 

[Tayor Bodytonic]

my favs are

Rip It Up & Start Again - Simon Reynolds
White Bicycles - Joe Boyd
Theres a riot going on
The Colonel - Alanna Nash on Elvis' manager
Altered State - on the begining of rave and electronic music culture is probably the most inspiring music book i've ever read


auto-biogs

Miles Davis
Michael Jackson
Paul McCartney all good
Jon Peel's one is okay , but what got on my nerves with it was that 'self depracting' old la-de-da English style of writing both he and then his wife write in . After a while just did my head in and i stopped reading it .

i've never read it , hard book to track down but Howling At The Moon by Walter Yetnikoff is supposed to be great

 

[David Kronenbourg]

I read Shakey, quiet good from what I remember. Nice people don't make for a good book.

that's true. i just found him boring. he's a boring boreface

 

[Charlie Bucket]

aw yay! Glad you got another copy of it
It's such a powerful book, such a simple concept but pretty radical too.

yeah i remember readin this back in the day for the tanya donnelly and kim gordon interviews....one for all the riot grrls/boys

 

[Charlie Bucket]

my favs are


White Bicycles - Joe Boyd


i've never read it , hard book to track down but Howling At The Moon by Walter Yetnikoff is supposed to be great

i found white bicycles a very dry read. boyd lived and produced records in an incredibly interesting time and with some amazing people but he prose is very vacuum sealed and doesn't drip with any passion.

Howling at the moon is totally terrible - avoid!!

 

[Oggy Pip]

Are you joking? "Howling at the Moon" was great! Yetnikofs hilarious. Its the type of book where you wouldn't really care if its exaggerated slightly. Its a tell-all but he's very frank about his own life too.

His "business" relationship with Moris Levy alone is worth the price.