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Books > Arts & Architecture > Music > Composers & musicians
How Tammy Wynette channeled the conflicts of her life into her
music and performance. With hits such as "Stand By Your Man" and
"Golden Ring," Tammy Wynette was an icon of American domesticity
and femininity. But there were other sides to the first lady of
country. Steacy Easton places the complications of Wynette's music
and her biography in sharp-edged relief, exploring how she made her
sometimes-tumultuous life into her work, a transformation that was
itself art. Wynette created a persona of high femininity to match
the themes she sang about-fawning devotion, redemption in
heterosexual romance, the heartbreak of loneliness. Behind the
scenes, her life was marked by persistent class anxieties; despite
wealth and fame, she kept her beautician's license. Easton argues
that the struggle to meet expectations of southernness, womanhood,
and southern womanhood, finds subtle expression in Wynette's
performance of "Apartment #9"-and it's because of these vocal
subtleties that it came to be called the saddest song ever written.
Wynette similarly took on elements of camp and political critique
in her artistry, demonstrating an underappreciated genius. Why
Tammy Wynette Matters reveals a musician who doubled back on
herself, her facade of earnestness cracked by a melodrama that
weaponized femininity and upended feminist expectations, while
scoring twenty number-one hits.
Focusing on key elements surrounding a group that stands alongside
legends such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin, this
book reveals the phenomenon that is AC/DC. Covering past and
present members, songs, gigs, events, albums, bootlegs, producers,
and numerous other subjects, this exhaustive overview spans an
extraordinary 35-year musical career--from the very earliest
incarnations of the band prior to Bon Scott's arrival, through the
era in which he fronted the band and his untimely death, to the
wildly successful landmark record "Back in Black," all the way to
their 2003 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and
beyond. Detailing a group that has sold an estimated 150 million
albums worldwide, this is the definitive reference of one of music
history's most notable pioneers of hard rock.
The Dead C’s Clyma est mort (1993) is the record of a live gig
for one person. Tom Lax was running the Siltbreeze label in
Philadelphia and had come to New Zealand to meet the artists he was
releasing. He heard The Dead C at their noisy, improvised best,
turning rock music on its head with a free-form style of blaring,
loosely organised sound. Leading a second wave of music from
Dunedin, New Zealand, The Dead C were an assault against the kind
of jangly pop that had made the Dunedin Sound famous during the
1980s. This book uses The Dead C and in particular their album
Clyma est mort (1993) to offer insights into the way the best of
rock music plays vertigo with our senses, illustrating a sonic
picture of freedom and energy. It places the album into the history
of independent music in New Zealand, and into an international
context of independent labels posting, faxing and phoning each
other.
From the moment Patti Smith burst onto the scene, chanting "Jesus
died for somebody's sins, but not mine," the irreverent opening
line to Horses, her 1975 debut album, the punk movement had found
its dissident intellectual voice. Yet outside the recording studio
-- Smith has released eleven studio albums -- the punk poet
laureate has been perhaps just as revelatory and rhapsodic in
interviews, delivering off-the-cuff jeremiads that emboldened a
generation of disaffected youth and imparting hard-earned life
lessons. With her characteristic blend of bohemian intellectualism,
antiauthoritarian poetry, and unflagging optimism, Smith gave them
hope in the transcendent power of art. Her interview archive serves
as a compelling counternarrative to the albums and books.
Initially, interviewing Patti Smith was a censorship liability.
Contemptuous of staid rules of decorum, no one knew what she might
say, whether they were getting the romantic, swooning for Lorca and
Blake, or the firebrand with no respect for an on-air seven-second
delay. Patti Smith on Patti Smith is a compendium of profound and
reflective moments in the life of one of the most insightful and
provocative artists working today.
Winner of the 2010 Non-Fiction National Book Award Patti Smith's
definitive memoir: an evocative, honest and moving coming-of-age
story of her extraordinary relationship with the artist Robert
Mapplethorpe 'Sharp, elegiac and finely crafted' Sunday Times
'Terrifically evocative ... The most spellbinding and diverting
portrait of funky-but-chic New York in the late '60s and '70s that
any alumnus has committed to print' New York Times 'Render,
harrowing, often hilarious' Vogue In 1967, a chance meeting between
two young people led to a romance and a lifelong friendship that
would carry each to international success never dreamed of. The
backdrop is Brooklyn, Chelsea Hotel, Max's Kansas City, Scribner's
Bookstore, Coney Island, Warhol's Factory and the whole city
resplendent. Among their friends, literary lights, musicians and
artists such as Harry Smith, Bobby Neuwirth, Allen Ginsberg, Sandy
Daley, Sam Shepherd, William Burroughs, etc. It was a heightened
time politically and culturally; the art and music worlds exploding
and colliding. In the midst of all this two kids made a pact to
always care for one another. Scrappy, romantic, committed to making
art, they prodded and provided each other with faith and confidence
during the hungry years--the days of cous-cous and lettuce soup.
Just Kids begins as a love story and ends as an elegy. Beautifully
written, this is a profound portrait of two young artists, often
hungry, sated only by art and experience. And an unforgettable
portrait of New York, her rich and poor, hustlers and hellions,
those who made it and those whose memory lingers near.
Acclaimed composer, sought-after conductor, esteemed educator,
tireless advocate for the arts--Tania Leon's achievements encompass
but also stretch far beyond contemporary classical music. Alejandro
L. Madrid draws on oral history, archival work, and ethnography to
offer the first in-depth biography of the artist. Breaking from a
chronological account, Madrid looks at Leon through the issues that
have informed and defined moments in her life and her professional
works. Leon's words become a starting ground--but also a
counterpoint--to the accounts of the people in her orbit. What
emerges is more than an extraordinary portrait of an artist's
journey. It is a story of how a human being reacts to the
challenges thrown at her by history itself, be it the Cuban
revolution or the struggle for civil and individual rights. Nuanced
and multifaceted, Tania Leon's Stride looks at the life, legacy,
and milieu that created and sustained one of the most important
figures in American classical music.
Mike Love is a founding member, lyricist and vocalist of The Beach Boys, considered to be the most popular American band in history, with 13 Gold Albums, 55 top-100 singles, and four number 1 hits. Love has been the lead singer of the group one of its principal lyricists since its inception in 1961.
In Good Vibrations, Mike Love tells the unique story of his legendary, chaotic, and ultimately triumphant five-decade tenure as the front man of The Beach Boys, from their Californian roots to international fame.
John Cage's contribution to twentieth-century music, literature and
art not only established his place as a leading figure in the
post-war avant-garde, but also guaranteed his enduring controversy.
His emphasis on chance, as opposed to intention, rejected
traditional artistic methods and caused uproar amongst his peers.
The shock provoked by pieces such as 4'33" still reverberates
today, as Cage's radical approach to art and aesthetics continues
to challenge and inspire artists worldwide. In his new biography
Rob Haskins considers John Cage's life, art, ideas and work,
evaluating the twin pillars of Cage's creative output and the ideas
that lie behind it. Demystifying the artist's use of chance, and
his relationship to Zen Buddhism, the book explores Cage's belief
that everyday life and art are one and the same. John Cage will
appeal to musicians and artists, as well as general readers
interested in the art, music and ideas of the twentieth century.
Bob Dylan once declared "I have no respect for factual knowledge. I
don't care what anybody knows." And he has often attempted to
confuse and mislead with a stream of misinformation and even
downright lies. Yet Dylan's persistent evasions have only served to
enhance his myth and fuel our curiosity. This book sifts the facts,
rumor and misinformation to deliver a concise and informative
biography of the man and a unique guide to his music, together with
insightful reviews of all his albums, details of his movies,
bootleg albums, books and more. What's more this new Fifth edition
is bang up to date and includes reviews of his latest album Rough
and Rowdy Ways as well as details of his Nobel Award for literature
speech.
Liverpool in the 1980s. With prospects for the city's youth bleak,
a scheme for unemployed musicians commenced, inadvertently shaping
the future for members of Cast, Space, the Lightning Seeds and
giving fresh impetus to the idea of song as a saviour for the city.
Foremost of the bands to emerge from this ill-fated scheme was The
La's. Inspired by a chance meeting with Captain Beefheart, Mike
Badger formed the band with the enigmatic Lee Mavers. First they
conquered the city, and then on the brink of hitting the big time,
and eventually inspiring what would become Britpop, Badger quit to
form Americana pioneers The Onset, find international recognition
as a sculptor, produce album art and videos for some of the
country's biggest bands, before finally co-founding Liverpool's
Viper record label (which has recently released its 100th album).
Featuring everyone from Arthur Lee to Frank Sidebottom, Jonathan
Richman to Half Man Half Biscuit, and above all with new insights
into the early years of the great lost Liverpool band The La's, The
Rhythm and the Tide is both the personal story of a restlessly
creative individual, and a reflection on the ebb and flow of the
music scene in the city that he loves.
Sin Documentos is a landmark album in Spanish popular culture and
continues to maintain considerable popularity more than two decades
after its release. The characteristic guitar riff of the title
song, a kind of rumba-rock, still occupies a place at every party
in Spain. Los Rodriguez's success came after a decade characterized
by the rise and fall of local-language punk and new wave bands. By
the time Sin Documentos appeared, however, rock journalism was
fascinated by the thriving indie scene, where the bands were
singing in English and had turned to grunge and noise rock. This
book evaluates the influence of Latin American pop-rock in the
modernization of Spanish popular music from the 1950s, despite the
Anglophilia of Spanish rock scenes, especially in the 1990s.
Through interviews with members of the band and members of the
record label DRO, analysis of the media coverage of the album and a
cultural analysis of its meanings, it delves into the cultural
trends of Spain throughout the 1990s and beyond.
Rick Bucklers autobiography is the first from a member of The Jam,
who some considered were the ultimate Mod band. Rick tells The Jam
story from growing up in Woking and meeting fellow members Paul
Weller and Bruce Foxton at school, through their formation in 1972
and tells of the band's early years before signing to Polydor
records. He provides a year by year account of The Jam's progress
whilst describing what it was like being a part of the music
industry during the 70's and 80's and some of the characters who he
met along the way including the Ramones, John Enwistle, Sid
Vicious, Blondie, Boy George and Paul McCartney. Rick shares his
own experiences and thoughts about what it was like to be in one of
the UK's most successful bands who spent a great deal of time
recording, performing and touring. Following The Jam's split in
1982, Rick gives a candid account of how he coped and his
subsequent relationship with Paul and Bruce. All three members of
The Jam stayed within the music industry and Rick takes the reader
through his years in Time UK and various other bands up until
forming From the Jam. A must read for any Jam fan.
Sprung from the roots of 70s hard rock, Metallica defined the
look and sound of 1980s heavy metal, just as Led Zeppelin had for
hard rock and the Sex Pistols for punk before them. Inventors of
thrash metal--Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth followed--it was always
Metallica who led the way, who pushed to another level, who became
the last of the superstar rockers.
Though plagued by adversities, including the death of their
bassist in a bus crash, infighting and substance abuse, they
survived to became the biggest-selling band in the world. With 100
million records sold worldwide, their music has extended its reach
beyond rock and metal, and into the pop mainstream, as they went
from speed metal to MTV with their hit single "Enter Sandman."
Until now there hasn't been a critical, authoritative, in-depth
portrait of the band. Mick Wall's thoroughly researched, insightful
work is enriched by his interviews with band members, record
company execs, roadies, and fellow musicians. He tells the story of
how a tennis-playing, music-loving Danish immigrant named Lars
Ulrich created a band with singer James Hetfield and made his
dreams a reality. "Enter Night" delves into the various
incarnations of the band, and the personalities of all key members,
past and present--especially Ulrich and Hetfield--to produce the
definitive word on the biggest metal band on the planet
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Trouble Bored
(Hardcover)
Matthew Ryan Lowery; Cover design or artwork by Scott White
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R607
Discovery Miles 6 070
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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Regurgitator’s second full-length album, Unit (1997), was
produced in a DIY warehouse studio at a time when this was unusual
for a major label band. The album went three times Platinum in
Australia and won five esteemed ARIA Awards in 1998, including
Album of the Year. The album’s success is indicative of a
particular point in time in popular music trends, when the world
was recovering from the impact of grunge and post-grunge bands.
Regurgitator’s subversive attitude toward pop music, punk
aesthetic, unique lyrical narratives and an ironic view on their
own creative product made their music potent in an alternative
market defying the prevailing music trends. Unit and Regurgitator
were the focus of divisive critical reviews, yet they continue to
rank highly as a quintessentially Australian band. This volume
situates the development of Unit amongst the DIY culture of a
politically charged Brisbane scene, and breaks down the album
through the lens of recording and songwriting processes. This book
outlines the impact of Regurgitator’s music locally and globally,
by discussing what made Unit a success at the peak of the
alternative music genre.
As there are several hundred piano studies by Czerny, it might
become confusing to attempt to pick out the most effective
exercises. To overcome this problem, Heinrich Germer, the original
editor, chose those he thought were best. Willard A. Palmer has
made several changes to metronome markings, fingerings and pedal
indications where he felt certain passages needed clarification.
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which
commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out
and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and
impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes
high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using
print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in
1974.
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.
Bella Ciao is the album that kick-started the Italian folk revival
in the mid-1960s, made by Il Nuovo Canzoniere Italiano, a group of
researchers, musicians, and radical intellectuals. Based on a
contested music show that debuted in 1964, Bella Ciao also featured
a double version of the popular song of the same title, an
anti-Fascist anthem from World War II, which was destined to become
one of the most sung political songs in the world and translated
into more than 40 languages. The book reconstructs the history and
the reception of the Bella Ciao project in 1960s' Italy and, more
broadly, explores the origins and the distinctive development of
the Italian folk revival movement through the lens of this pivotal
album.
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