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Books > Music > Composers & musicians
Although David Bowie has famously characterized himself as a "leper
messiah," a more appropriate moniker might be "rock god" someone
whose influence has crossed numerous sub-genres of popular and
classical music and can at times seem ubiquitous. By looking at key
moments in his career (1972, 1977-79, 1980-83, and 1995-97) through
several lenses--theories of sub-culture, gender/sexuality studies,
theories of sound, post-colonial theory, and performance studies
Waldrep will examine Bowie's work in terms not only of his auditory
output but his many reinterpretations of it via music videos,
concert tours, television appearances, and occasional movie roles.
Future Nostalgia will look at all aspects of Bowie's
career--musical recordings, live concerts, music videos, film
performances, and television appearance--in an attempt to trace
Bowie's contribution to the performative paradigms that constitute
contemporary rock music.
Sex, death and nostalgia are among the impulses driving Beatles
fandom: the metaphorical death of the Beatles after their break-up
in 1970 has fueled the progressive nostalgia of fan conventions for
48 years; the death of John Lennon and George Harrison has added
pathos and drama to the Beatles' story; Beatles Monthly predicated
on the Beatles' good looks and the letters page was a forum for
euphemistically expressed sexuality. The Beatles and Fandom is the
first book to discuss these fan subcultures. It combines academic
theory on fandom with compelling original research material to tell
an alternative history of the Beatles phenomenon: a fans' history
of the Beatles that runs concurrently with the popular story we all
know.
'Bowie, Cambo & All the Hype' traces the extraordinary and
pivotal friendship between David Bowie and drummer John Cambridge,
from the time when Bowie made his first major career breakthrough
in 1969 to his death from cancer in 2016. John 'Cambo' Cambridge
lived with Bowie at Haddon Hall when he had his first hit record
'Space Oddity' and toured with him in Junior's Eyes. He was there
when Bowie lost his father, passed his driving test and played his
first Glam Rock gig with Hype, even acting as best man when Bowie
married Angela Barnett in 1970. And if John had not persuaded his
former Rats colleague Mick Ronson to join Bowie in February 1970,
there might never have been a Ziggy Stardust or the stellar career
which followed. In this book we get a backstage pass to meet the
key people and witness the events of those crucial times in a
funny, moving, story of a unique friendship that survived the Hype.
An October 2022 IndieNext pick "[An] engaging and beautifully
narrated quest for personal fulfillment and musical
recognition...This is a fast-paced tale in which music and love
always take center stage...A truly gifted musician, Price writes
about her journey with refreshing candor."-Kirkus, starred review
"Brutally honest...a vivid and poignant memoir."-The Guardian
Country music star Margo Price shares the story of her struggle to
make it in an industry that preys on its ingenues while trying to
move on from devastating personal tragedies. When Margo Price was
nineteen years old, she dropped out of college and moved to
Nashville to become a musician. She busked on the street, played
open mics, and even threw out her TV so that she would do nothing
but write songs. She met Jeremy Ivey, a fellow musician who would
become her closest collaborator and her husband. But after working
on their craft for more than a decade, Price and Ivey had no label,
no band, and plenty of heartache. Maybe We'll Make It is a memoir
of loss, motherhood, and the search for artistic freedom in the
midst of the agony experienced by so many aspiring musicians: bad
gigs and long tours, rejection and sexual harassment, too much
drinking and barely enough money to live on. Price, though, refused
to break, and turned her lowest moments into the classic country
songs that eventually comprised the debut album that launched her
career. In the authentic voice hailed by Pitchfork for tackling
"Steinbeck-sized issues with no-bullshit humility," Price shares
the stories that became songs, and the small acts of love and
camaraderie it takes to survive in a music industry that is often
unkind to women. Now a Grammy-nominated "Best New Artist," Price
tells a love story of music, collaboration, and the struggle to
build a career while trying to maintain her singular voice and
style.
Experience the K-Pop phenomenon of BTS in this best-selling
Ultimate Fan Book! BTS are much more than just a group of seven
talented individuals, they are a band acclaimed for their
record-smashing, barrier-breaking, trend-setting dance-pop and
hip-hop tunes and personal philosophies. Featuring brand new
content and sensational new photos, BTS - The Ultimate Fan Book
includes everything you need to know about Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM,
Jimin, V and Jungkook, as well as the BTS ARMY. A celebration of
the K-Pop phenomenon, exploring in stunning technicolour detail the
group's origins, members and super rise to success, this Ultimate
Fan Book is beautifully accompanied by photographs showcasing the
band's kaleidoscope of personalities and passions that have made
them famous. BTS are more than just a boy band - they are a way of
life.
You can tell a lot about somebody in a minute. If you choose the
right minute. As a journalist (for Rolling Stone, the "New York
Times", and elsewhere) and bestselling author, Neil Strauss
considers it his job to hang around celebrities, rock gods, porn
queens, up-and-coming starlets, and iconic superstars long enough -
whether it takes moments or months - to find that minute, the one
when the curtain finally falls away and the real person is
revealed. In this new collection, Strauss offers up 120 of those
singular, hit-you-in-the guts, perception-altering, revolutionary
minutes, as only he can - with total honesty, deadpan wit, and
unmatched style. Among the game-changing moments collected here are
interviews with: Tom Cruise; Snoop Dogg; Madonna; Johnny Cash; Cher
and Dave Navarro; Oasis; Julian Casablancas of The Strokes; Brian
Wilson; Eric Clapton; and, Hugh Hefner. Wickedly illustrated
throughout with sketches by artist Sian Pattenden, Strauss'
first-ever collection of rock journalism is equally raw and
revealing (Tom Cruise on Scientology, Brian Wilson on drugs and
alcohol), hilarious (Snoop Dogg on record companies and baby
diapers), and deeply honest (Eric Clapton on the death of Kurt
Cobain and his own struggle with depression). "Everyone Loves You
When You're Dead" is Neil Strauss, cultural journalist, at his
finest.
The diva – a central figure in the landscape of contemporary
popular culture: gossip-generating, scandal-courting,
paparazzi-stalked. And yet the diva is at the epicentre of creative
endeavours that resonate with contemporary feminist ideas, kick
back against diminished social expectations, boldly call-out casual
sexism and industry misogyny and, in terms of hip-hop, explores
intersectional oppressions and unapologetically celebrates
non-white cultural heritages. Diva beats and grooves echo across
culture and politics in the West: from the borough to the White
House, from arena concerts to nightclubs, from social media to
social activism, from #MeToo to Black Lives Matter. Diva: Feminism
and Fierceness from Pop to Hip-Hop addresses the diva phenomenon
and its origins: its identity politics and LGBTQ+ components; its
creativity and interventions in areas of popular culture (music,
and beyond); its saints and sinners and controversies old and new;
and its oppositions to, and recuperations by, the establishment;
and its shifts from third to fourth waves of feminism. This
co-edited collection brings together an international array of
writers – from new voices to established names. The collection
scopes the rise to power of the diva (looking to Mariah Carey,
Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton, Grace Jones, and Aaliyah), then
turns to contemporary diva figures and their work (with Beyoncé,
Amuro Namie, Janelle Monáe, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Shakira,
Jennifer Lopez, and Nicki Minaj), and concludes by considering the
presence of the diva in wider cultures, in terms of gallery
curation, theatre productions, and stand-up comedy.
A stirring defense of Sinead O'Connor's music and activism, and an
indictment of the culture that cancelled her. In 1990, Sinead
O'Connor's video for "Nothing Compares 2 U" turned her into a
superstar. Two years later, an appearance on Saturday Night Live
turned her into a scandal. For many people-including, for years,
the author-what they knew of O'Connor stopped there. Allyson McCabe
believes it's time to reassess our old judgments about Sinead
O'Connor and to expose the machinery that built her up and knocked
her down. Addressing triumph and struggle, sound and story, Why
Sinead O'Connor Matters argues that its subject has been repeatedly
manipulated and misunderstood by a culture that is often hostile to
women who speak their minds (in O'Connor's case, by shaving her
head, championing rappers, and tearing up a picture of the pope on
live television). McCabe details O'Connor's childhood abuse, her
initial success, and the backlash against her radical politics
without shying away from the difficult issues her career raises.
She compares O'Connor to Madonna, another superstar who challenged
the Catholic Church, and Prince, who wrote her biggest hit and
allegedly assaulted her. A journalist herself, McCabe exposes how
the media distorts not only how we see O'Connor but how we see
ourselves, and she weighs the risks of telling a story that hits
close to home. In an era when popular understanding of mental
health has improved and the public eagerly celebrates feminist
struggles of the past, it can be easy to forget how O'Connor
suffered for being herself. This is the book her admirers and
defenders have been waiting for.
Sir Michael Tippett is widely considered to be one of the most
individual composers of the twentieth century, whose music
continues to be performed to critical acclaim throughout the world.
Written by a team of international scholars, this Companion
provides a wide ranging and accessible study of Tippett and his
works. It discusses the contexts and concepts of modernism,
tradition, politics, sexuality and creativity that shaped Tippett's
music and ideas, engaging with archive materials, relevant
literature and models of interpretation. Chapters explore the
genres in which Tippett composed, including opera, symphony, string
quartet, concerto and piano sonata, to shed new light on his major
works and draw attention to those that have not yet received the
attention they deserve. Directing knowledge and expertise towards a
wide readership, this book will enrich the listening experience and
broaden understanding of the music of this endlessly fascinating
and challenging composer.
Offering a fresh way to look at one of the best-selling hip hop
artists of the early 21st century, this book presents Eminem's
words, images, and music alongside comments from those who love and
hate him, documenting why Eminem remains a cultural, spiritual, and
economic icon in global popular culture. Eminem: The Real Slim
Shady examines the rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor
who has become one of the most successful and well-known artists in
the world. Providing far more than a biography of his life story,
the book provides a comprehensive description, interpretation, and
analysis of his personas, his lyrical content, and the cultural and
economic impact of Eminem's work through media. It also contains
the first in-depth content analysis of 200 of the rapper's most
popular songs from 1990 through 2012. The book is organized into
three sections, each focusing on one of the artist's public
personas (Slim Shady, Marshall Mathers, Eminem), with each section
further divided into chapters that explore various aspects of
Eminem's cultural, spiritual, and economic significance. Besides
being a book that every fan of Eminem and pop music will want to
read, the work will be valuable to researchers in the areas of race
and ethnicity, communication, cultural and musical studies, and hip
hop studies. Includes never before conducted analysis of 200 of
Eminem's most popular lyrics, presented visually with tables and
charts Provides an up-to-date, combined discography, videography,
and bibliography of the rapper's work
Based on the latest research, including Mozart family
correspondence recently released, this fully illustrated and
definitive portrait of one of the most revered yet enigmatic
figures of all time reveals heretofore unknown facets of Mozart's
complicated family background and explodes the myth of this musical
genius as the "eternal child". Photos & musical pieces.
Blackstar Theory takes a close look at David Bowie's ambitious last
works: his surprise 'comeback' project The Next Day (2013), the
off-Broadway musical Lazarus (2015) and the album that preceded the
artist's death in 2016 by two days, Blackstar. The book explores
the swirl of themes that orbit and entangle these projects from a
starting point in musical analysis and features new interviews with
key collaborators from the period: producer Tony Visconti, graphic
designer Jonathan Barnbrook, musical director Henry Hey,
saxophonist Donny McCaslin and assistant sound engineer Erin
Tonkon. These works tackle the biggest of ideas: identity,
creativity, chaos, transience and immortality. They enact a process
of individuation for the Bowie meta-persona and invite us to
consider what happens when a star dies. In our universe, dying
stars do not disappear - they transform into new stellar objects,
remnants and gravitational forces. The radical potential of the
Blackstar is demonstrated in the rock star supernova that creates a
singularity resulting in cultural iconicity. It is how a man
approaching his own death can create art that illuminates the
immortal potential of all matter in the known universe.
A pianist, arranger, and composer, William Pursell is a mainstay of
the Nashville music scene. He has played jazz in Nashville's
Printer's Alley with Chet Atkins and Harold Bradley, recorded with
Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline, performed with the Nashville Symphony,
and composed and arranged popular and classical music. Pursell's
career, winding like a crooked river between classical and popular
genres, encompasses a striking diversity of musical experiences. A
series of key choices sent him down different paths, whether it was
reenrolling with the Air Force for a second tour of duty, leaving
the prestigious Eastman School of Music to tour with an R&B
band, or refusing to sign with the Beatles' agent Sid Bernstein.
The story of his life as a working musician is unlike any other-he
is not a country musician nor a popular musician nor a classical
musician but, instead, an artist who refused to be limited by
traditional categories. Crooked River City is driven by a series of
recollections and personal anecdotes Terry Wait Klefstad assembled
over a three-year period of interviews with Pursell. His story is
one not only of talent, but of dedication and hard work, and of the
ins and outs of a working musician in America. This biography fills
a crucial gap in Nashville music history for both scholars and
music fans.
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