Other music books - that aren't bios
- Jim of Seattle
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Other music books - that aren't bios
Bios are well and good. I also love reading other books about music in general. Here are some of my favorites. What are some others you'd recommend? I'm looking forward to Songbook by Nick Hornby, a collection of essays on his 30 favorite songs.
Da Capo Best Music Writing 200_ (any year) - Great collections of fascinating stories about music from various periodicals
The Recording Angel - A fascinating book about how recording has changed how we listen to music
Da Capo Best Music Writing 200_ (any year) - Great collections of fascinating stories about music from various periodicals
The Recording Angel - A fascinating book about how recording has changed how we listen to music
Here's my record label page thingie with stuff about me if you are so interested: https://greenmonkeyrecords.com/jim-of-seattle/
- Caravan Ray
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Re: Other music books - that aren't bios
I actually found Songbook to be a bit of a wank. However, Hornby's High Fidelity is a great read for anyone with a passing interest in contemporary music (ie. most people here, I'm guessing)Jim of Seattle wrote:I'm looking forward to Songbook by Nick Hornby, a collection of essays on his 30 favorite songs.
- JonPorobil
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Yeah, I saw Songbook on a shelf just the other day, and I thought it was a novel, so I started thumbing through it. When I saw what it was, I thought it was the most pretentious project any author could have undertaken. "These are 30 songs I think are great, and what they mean to me." I suppose his fans care, but it's awfully presumtuous of him.
"Warren Zevon would be proud." -Reve Mosquito
Stages, an album of about dealing with loss, anxiety, and grieving a difficult year, now available on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms! https://jonporobil.bandcamp.com/album/stages
Stages, an album of about dealing with loss, anxiety, and grieving a difficult year, now available on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms! https://jonporobil.bandcamp.com/album/stages
i always find it interesting to see what kind of songs other musicians enjoy, and why. i think it gives a unique perspective into how they think as a musician and sometimes gives additional insight into music that i hadn't seen before. i don't see anything pretentious or presumptuous about it at all.
- JonPorobil
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Well, it's descriptions along the vein of "I was seventeen when I first heard this song, and I knew it was great." The bits I saw were dull and challenged me to care.tviyh wrote:i always find it interesting to see what kind of songs other musicians enjoy, and why. i think it gives a unique perspective into how they think as a musician and sometimes gives additional insight into music that i hadn't seen before. i don't see anything pretentious or presumptuous about it at all.
"Warren Zevon would be proud." -Reve Mosquito
Stages, an album of about dealing with loss, anxiety, and grieving a difficult year, now available on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms! https://jonporobil.bandcamp.com/album/stages
Stages, an album of about dealing with loss, anxiety, and grieving a difficult year, now available on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms! https://jonporobil.bandcamp.com/album/stages
- Caravan Ray
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Nick Hornby's not a musician - he's a writer. And one who's now famous enough to say to his readers - "give me $20 and I'll tell you what my favourite songs are". As mentioned earlier - he did a much better job of writing about music in High Fidelitytviyh wrote:i always find it interesting to see what kind of songs other musicians enjoy, and why. i think it gives a unique perspective into how they think as a musician and sometimes gives additional insight into music that i hadn't seen before. i don't see anything pretentious or presumptuous about it at all.
BTW - from memory, his list of favourite songs was quite a good one
another BTW:
Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby is also a great book. Similar to High Fidelity - but concerning soccer rather than music. I know nothing about soccer - but enjoyed the book immensely
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It's only as presumptious as anyone writing any book is being. If you start thinking along the lines of 'well, what's so special about him that he can write a list of songs he likes and pass it off as some kind of insight into all our lives' then really you might as well stop reading books altogether, because the answer is 'nothing ... and?'
oh, i guess i misread the part of this thread where it was a book about his own favourite songs. but still, i can see where that would be an interesting read as well.. though i wouldn't shell out the money to buy it.Caravan Ray wrote:Nick Hornby's not a musician - he's a writer. And one who's now famous enough to say to his readers - "give me $20 and I'll tell you what my favourite songs are".
- JonPorobil
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Not books in general, but books of this sort don't tend to appeal to me. Hornby didn't seem to have much critical insight (I might have missed something in the 150 or so pages I didn't see). It looked to me like a collection of boring anecdotes, when I saw it.
"Warren Zevon would be proud." -Reve Mosquito
Stages, an album of about dealing with loss, anxiety, and grieving a difficult year, now available on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms! https://jonporobil.bandcamp.com/album/stages
Stages, an album of about dealing with loss, anxiety, and grieving a difficult year, now available on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms! https://jonporobil.bandcamp.com/album/stages
- Caravan Ray
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I agree with this completely - and the Hornby book did sound like it would be interesting. But it just wasn't.15-16 puzzle wrote:It sounds interesting and non-presumptuous to me as well. If it's poorly written, that's another matter entirely.
Have a read and you'll see where Generic and me are coming from
- Jim of Seattle
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Well, I've read both High Fidelity and How to Be Good and enjoyed them both immensely, partly due to his writing style which I find entertaining. So, what I'm hoping it will do is get me excited about some of the songs he writes about to the point where I can get excited about them too. I love it when good writers write good about good music. Of course, if it's not good, then that's not good. But I don't know if the people here who say it's not good say it's not good because they think Honby in general is not good or if they say it's not good because it's not AS good as other things he's written.
Here's my record label page thingie with stuff about me if you are so interested: https://greenmonkeyrecords.com/jim-of-seattle/
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- Ice Cream Man
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- Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
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I found that this hindered his ability to write about music.Caravan Ray wrote: Nick Hornby's not a musician - he's a writer.
...Has anyone read walter everett's "the beatles as musicians"? it's basically a critical analysis of every beatles song. It's really good because it not only touches on the music, but the recording techniques involved...as well as lyrical content, if you care about that.
make love, not music
- Bolio
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Very good book, highly recommended.nicegeoff wrote:...Has anyone read walter everett's "the beatles as musicians"?
I may not know karate, but I know KA-RAZY! -James Brown |Bolio on SoundCloud
- Caravan Ray
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Jim, did you ever get around to reading Hornby's Songbook? I'd be interested to hear if you got something out of it or if you were disappointed like I was.Jim of Seattle wrote:Well, I've read both High Fidelity and How to Be Good and enjoyed them both immensely, partly due to his writing style which I find entertaining. So, what I'm hoping it will do is get me excited about some of the songs he writes about to the point where I can get excited about them too. I love it when good writers write good about good music. Of course, if it's not good, then that's not good. But I don't know if the people here who say it's not good say it's not good because they think Honby in general is not good or if they say it's not good because it's not AS good as other things he's written.
And,
not a book, but recently the telly has been showing repeats of the series Walk on By: The Story of Popular Song - this is a great series, I'm enjoying it immensely. Essential viewing I think for anyone who may consider trying their hand at writing a song.
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- Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
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I picked up this book on circuit bending yesterday at Barnes&Noble. It had a 40% off sticker on it.
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitl ... 88877.html
This is the authors website.
http://www.anti-theory.com/bio/
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitl ... 88877.html
This is the authors website.
http://www.anti-theory.com/bio/
- Reist
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Mike Portnoy: Anthology Vol 1
I picked up this drum transcript (signed by mike portnoy), with transcripts of such songs as 6:00, Hell's Kitchen, Metropolis Pt 1, Strange Deja Vu, Etc. I recommend it for all drummers - really interesting if you enjoy picking through massive, complex transcripts in your spare time.
I picked up this drum transcript (signed by mike portnoy), with transcripts of such songs as 6:00, Hell's Kitchen, Metropolis Pt 1, Strange Deja Vu, Etc. I recommend it for all drummers - really interesting if you enjoy picking through massive, complex transcripts in your spare time.