William Kinderman's detailed study of Parsifal, described by the composer as his "last card," explores the evolution of the text and music of this inexhaustible yet highly controversial music drama across Wagner's entire career, and offers a reassessment of the ideological and political history of Parsifal, shedding new light on the connection of Wagner's legacy to the rise of National Socialism in Germany. The compositional genesis is traced through many unfamiliar manuscript sources, revealing unsuspected models and veiled connections to Wagner's earlier works. Fresh analytic perspectives are revealed, casting the dramatic meaning of Parsifal in a new light. Much debated aspects of the work, such as Kundry's death at the conclusion, are discussed in the context of its stage history. Path-breaking as well is Kinderman's analysis of the religious and ideological context of Parsifal. During the half-century after the composer's death, the Wagner family and the so-called Bayreuth circle sought to exploit Wagner's work for political purposes, thereby promoting racial nationalism and anti-Semitism. Hitherto unnoticed connections between Hitler and Wagner's legacy at Bayreuth are explored here, while differences between the composer's politics as an 1849 revolutionary and the later response of his family to National Socialism are weighed in a nuanced account. Kinderman combines new historical research, sensitive aesthetic criticism, and probing philosophical reflection in this most intensive examination of Wagner's culminating music drama.

Steve Beresford's polymathic activities have formed a prism for the UK improv scene since the 1970s. He is internationally known as a free improviser on piano, toy piano and electronics, composer for film and TV, and raconteur and Dadaist visionary. His résumé is filled with collaborations with hundreds of musicians and other artists, including such leading improvisers as Derek Bailey, Evan Parker and John Zorn, and he has given performances of works by John Cage and Christian Marclay. In this book, Beresford is heard in his own words through first-hand interviews with the author. Beresford provides compelling insight into an extensive range of topics, displaying the broad cultural context in which music is embedded. The volume combines chronological and thematic chapters, with topics covering improvisation and composition in jazz and free music; the connections between art, entertainment and popular culture; the audience for free improvisation; writing music for films; recording improvised music in the studio; and teaching improvisation. It places Beresford in the context of improvised and related musics – jazz, free jazz, free improvisation – in which there is growing interest. The linear narrative is broken up by 'interventions' or short pieces by collaborators and commentators.

The international Number One bestseller.

Over a million copies sold in the English language.

Published in 23 foreign languages.

‘A heartfelt memoir . . . there is a fearlessness to his prose, a willingness to engage with his past, that chimes with his songwriter’s desire to give voice to the people around him’ Sunday Times “Writing about yourself is a funny business…But in a project like this, the writer has made one promise, to show the reader his mind. In these pages, I’ve tried to do this.” —Bruce Springsteen, from the pages of Born to Run

In 2009, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed at the Super Bowl’s halftime show. The experience was so exhilarating that Bruce decided to write about it. That’s how this extraordinary autobiography began.

Over the past seven years, Bruce Springsteen has privately devoted himself to writing the story of his life, bringing to these pages the same honesty, humor, and originality found in his songs.

He describes growing up Catholic in Freehold, New Jersey, amid the poetry, danger, and darkness that fueled his imagination, leading up to the moment he refers to as “The Big Bang”: seeing Elvis Presley’s debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. He vividly recounts his relentless drive to become a musician, his early days as a bar band king in Asbury Park, and the rise of the E Street Band. With disarming candor, he also tells for the first time the story of the personal struggles that inspired his best work, and shows us why the song “Born to Run” reveals more than we previously realized.

Born to Run will be revelatory for anyone who has ever enjoyed Bruce Springsteen, but this book is much more than a legendary rock star’s memoir. This is a book for workers and dreamers, parents and children, lovers and loners, artists, freaks, or anyone who has ever wanted to be baptized in the holy river of rock and roll.

Rarely has a performer told his own story with such force and sweep. Like many of his songs (“Thunder Road,” “Badlands,” “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” “The River,” “Born in the U.S.A.,” “The Rising,” and “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” to name just a few), Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography is written with the lyricism of a singular songwriter and the wisdom of a man who has thought deeply about his experiences.

This multidisciplinary collection of readings offers new interpretations of Richard Wagner's ideological position in German history. The issues discussed range from the biographical - the reasons for Wagner's travels, his political life - to the aesthetic and ideological, regarding his re-creation of medieval Nuremberg, his representations of gender and nationality, his vocal iconography, his anti-Semitism, his vegetarian and Christian arguments, and, finally, his musical heirs. The essays avoid journalistic or iconoclastic approaches to Wagner, and depart from the usual uncritical admiration of earlier scholars in an attempt to develop a stimulating and ultimately cohesive collection of new perspectives.

This violent and introspective memoir reveals not only 50 Cent's story but also the story of a generation of youth faced with hard choices and very few options. It is a tale of sacrifice, transformation, and redemption, but also one of hope, determination, and the power of self. Told in 50's unique voice, the narrative drips with the raw insight, street wisdom, and his struggle to survive at all costs -- and behold the riches of the American Dream.

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.

I m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I m notdumb and I m not blonde either. Don t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life. People are always asking me in interviews, What do you think of foreign affairs? I just say, I ve had a few. Dolly Parton or the Dolly Lama, as she has been called is renowned for her hilarious quotes, witty one-liners, and self-deprecating humor.In "Pocket Dolly Wisdom," the Queen of Country s best quotes have been compiled into a handy pocket-sized edition, perfect for reading on the go. So if you re feeling blue, need a laugh, a hug, or some solid Southern advice, this is the book for you. From love to diets, life advice, and more, there s something for every Dolly fan."

During a time when toughskin blue jeans, button-down shirts, and flat-top haircuts were all the rage, Gene Odom and Ronnie Van Zant became best friends. Growing up on the same block, Ronnie and Gene fished, played football, anddreamed together. Years later, one of the boys would become famous-and the other would stand by his side through thick and thin. This is the story of two young men from the same neighborhood, school, and world who together, discovered the meaning of true friendship.

As Ronnie's dreams of becoming a professional musician finally became a reality, Lynyrd Skynyrdbegan selling out arenas and became famous for not only their music, but also their substance abuse. After Ronnie offered Gene a job as a security officer for the band, he embarked on an unforgettable journey into a world like no other. But everything would change in October 1977 when the plane carrying the band plummeted from the sky.

"Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ronnie Van Zant, and Me ... Gene Odom" provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse of what it was like to be friends with one of the biggest rock stars of the 1970s and how a friendship between two childhood buddies stood the test of time.

Elliott Smith was one of the most gifted songwriters of the nineties, adored by worshipful fans for his subtly melancholic words and melodies. The sadness had its sources in the life. There was trauma from an early age, years of drug abuse and a chronic sense of disconnection that sometimes seemed almost self-engineered. Smith died violently in Los Angeles in 2003, under what some believe to be questionable circumstances, of a single fatal stab wound to the chest. By this time fame had found him, and record buyers who shared the listening experience felt he spoke directly to them from beyond: lonely, lovelorn, frustrated, fighting until he could fight no more. And yet, although his achingly intimate lyrics carried the weight of truth, Smith remained unknowable. In Torment Saint, William Todd Schultz gives us the first proper biography of the rock star, a decade after his death, imbued with affection, authority, sensitivity and long-awaited clarity. Torment Saint draws on Schultz's careful, deeply knowledgeable readings and insights, as well as on more than 150 hours of interviews with close friends, lovers, bandmates, peers, managers, label owners, and recording engineers and producers. This book unravels the remaining mysteries of Smith's life and his shocking, too-early end. It will be an indispensable examination of his life and legacy, both for Smith's legions of fans as well as readers still discovering his songbook.

Here is an up-to-date, thoroughly researched biography of the world's most popular pop-punk band. Green Day is almost certainly the world's most popular pop-punk band. How they got there is the subject of Green Day: A Musical Biography, the first book to follow the band from their beginnings through the spring 2009 release of 21st Century Breakdown. Tracing the band's evolution from fiercely independent punks to a global powerhouse, Green Day starts with the members' earliest musical influences and upbringing and the founding of the punk club 924 Gilman Street that shaped their sense of community. Discussion of their conflicted feelings about signing to a major label explores the classic rock 'n' roll conundrum of "selling out," while details of their decline and 2004 rebirth offer an inspirational story of artistic rejuvenation. Interviews with the band members and key figures in their lives, excerpted from punk 'zines and other publications, offer a perspective on their methods of self-promotion and the image they have chosen to project over time.

It took being caught at a border without proper documents for me to realise I'd always been a prisoner of sorts. Kuduro had been my passport to the world, thanks to it I'd travelled to places I'd never dreamed of visiting. But the chickens had come home to roost . . . Hours before performing at one of Europe's most iconic music festivals, Kalaf Epalanga is detained at the border on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant. Trapped, his thoughts soon thrum to the beat of kuduro, the blistering, techno-infused Angolan music which has taken him from Luanda to Kristiansund, Beirut to Rio de Janeiro, Paris to Lisbon. Shifting between his reflections while incarcerated, and the stories of Sofia - Kalaf's friend at the heart of the Lisbon dance scene - and the 'Viking', the immigration official holding Kalaf's fate in his hands, Whites Can Dance Too is a celebration of the music of Epalanga's homeland, and a hypnotic paean to cultural roots, to freedom and love. 'Both a manifesto and a love story . . . Electrifying . . . What you will find is a story so compelling and visceral that it has the power to move your heart and remind you that the only real borders are the ones we set around ourselves.' Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow King (shortlisted for the Booker Prize) 'A novel full of swag and swing, entertaining and courageous . . . An excellent first novel.' José Eduardo Agualusa

This collection of essays celebrates the work of Sir Harrison Birtwistle, one of the key figures in European contemporary music. Representing current research on Birtwistle's music, this book reflects the diversity of his work in terms of periods, genres, forms, techniques and related issues through a wide range of critical, theoretical and analytical interpretations and perspectives. Written by a team of international scholars, all of whom bring a deep research-based knowledge and insight to their chosen study, this collection extends the scholarly understanding of Birtwistle through new engagements with the man and the music. The contributors provide detailed studies of Birtwistle's engagement with electronic music in the 1960s and 1970s, and develop theoretical explanations of his fascination with pulse, rhythm and time. They also explore in detail Birtwistle's interest in poetry, instrumental drama, gesture, procession and landscape, and consider the compositional processes that underpin these issues.

Bill Anderson is one of the most successful songwriters, performers, and personalities in country music history. Known as "Whisperin' Bill" to generations of fans, Anderson's soft vocalisations and spoken lyrics are the hallmarks of his style. A long-standing member of the weekly Grand Ole Opry radio program and stage performance in Nashville, he also discovered future Country Music Hall of Famer Connie Smith and wrote her first hits, toured with Johnny Cash, hosted his own television show, sang eighty charting singles and thirty-seven Top Ten country music hits, and wrote songs recorded by James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Louvin Brothers, Dean Martin, Aretha Franklin, and many more. Anderson's current and reinvigorated career is covered in this revision and expansion of his 1989 autobiography. Over the past twenty years, he has won two Country Music Association Song of the Year prizes, been nominated for GRAMMY awards, won the Academy of Country Music's Song of the Year distinction, and had works recorded by superstars Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney, Alison Krauss, George Strait, Vince Gill, Elvis Costello, and many more. In 2001, he entered the Country Music Hall of Fame. Whisperin' Bill: An Unprecedented Life in Country Music presents a portrait of a long-gone Nashville and introduces readers to the famous and fascinating characters who helped build what is now known as country music. Richly illustrated with black-and-white photos of Anderson interacting with the superstars of American roots music, including such legends as Patsy Cline, Vince Gill, and Steve Wariner, this autobiography highlights Anderson's trajectory in the business and his influence on the past, present, and future of this dynamic genre.