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Books > Biography > Film, television, music, theatre
A uniquely illuminating memoir of the making of a musician, in which renowned pianist Jeremy Denk explores what he learned from his teachers about classical music: its forms, its power, its meaning - and what it can teach us about ourselves.
In this searching and funny memoir, based on his popular New Yorker article, renowned pianist Jeremy Denk traces an implausible journey. Life is difficult enough as a precocious, temperamental, and insufferable six-year-old piano prodigy in New Jersey. But then a family meltdown forces a move to New Mexico, far from classical music’s nerve centers, and he has to please a new taskmaster while navigating cacti, and the perils of junior high school. Escaping from New Mexico at last, he meets a bewildering cast of college music teachers, ranging from boring to profound, and experiences a series of humiliations and triumphs, to find his way as one of the world’s greatest living pianists, a MacArthur 'Genius,' and a frequent performer at Carnegie Hall.
There are few writers working today who are willing to eloquently explore both the joys and miseries of artistic practice. Hours of daily repetition, mystifying early advice, pressure from parents and teachers who drove him on – an ongoing battle of talent against two enemies: boredom and insecurity. As we meet various teachers, with cruel and kind streaks, Denk composes a fraught love letter to the act of teaching. He brings you behind the scenes, to look at what motivates both student and teacher, locked in a complicated and psychologically perilous relationship.
In Every Good Boy Does Fine, Denk explores how classical music is relevant to 'real life,' despite its distance in time. He dives into pieces and composers that have shaped him – Bach, Mozart, Schubert, and Brahms, among others – and gives unusual lessons on melody, harmony, and rhythm. Why and how do these fundamental elements have such a visceral effect on us? He tries to sum up many of the lessons he has received, to repay the debt of all his amazing teachers; to remind us that music is our creation, and that we need to keep asking questions about its purpose.
Wild and Crazy Guys is the larger-than-life story of the much-loved Hollywood comedy stars that ruled the 1980s.
As well as delving behind the scenes of classic movies such as Ghostbusters, Beverly Hills Cop, The Blues Brothers, Trading Places and dozens more, it chronicles the off-screen, larger-than-life antics of Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, John Candy et al. It’s got drugs, sex, punch-ups, webbed toes and Bill Murray being pushed into a swimming pool by Hunter S Thompson, while tied to a lawn chair.
It’s akin to Peter Biskind’s Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, following the key players through their highs and lows, and their often turbulent relationships with each other. Nick de Semlyen has already interviewed pretty much all the big names for Empire, as well as directors such as Walter Hill, John Landis and Carl Reiner, and is sitting on lots of unseen material.
Taking you on a trip through the tumultuous ’80s, Wild And Crazy Guys explores the friendships, feuds, triumphs and disasters experienced by these iconic funnymen. Based on candid interviews from the stars themselves, as well as those who entered their orbit, it reveals the hidden history behind the most fertile period ever for screen comedy.
Nu Metal: Resurgence documents the groundbreaking movement from its
original inception, right up to the present day. Featuring fully
detailed band biographies that includes major players such as Korn,
Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Papa Roach, Rammstein and Slipknot, a
guide to 'The Nu Breed' of bands coming up like Cane Hill, DED,
Frontstreet and Lethal Injektion, and exclusive interviews with
members of classic Nu Metal bands that includes Alien Ant Farm,
Coal Chamber, Kittie, Nonpoint, Orgy, Spineshank and Taproot; as
well as record producer extraordinaire Ross Robinson- Nu Metal:
Resurgence confirms once and for all that Nu Metal is indeed here
to stay.
A classically trained countertenor who sang with his high school
choir, Dee remembers the day he decided he was "not gonna take it"
and stopped caring what people thought about him. Following in the
footsteps of his idols Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath, Dee jumped
from band to band until he met Jay Jay French and Twisted Sister.
But it wasn't until he met his costume-designing soul-mate Suzette
that they developed his unique style. Dee's hard work finally paid
off with an impressive resume that includes: a monster hit record;
smash MTV videos; a long-running radio show, "The House of Hair";
appearances in film (Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Howard Stern's
Private Parts, StrangeLand) and television (Growing Up Twisted,
Celebrity Apprentice); and a starring role in Broadway's Rock of
Ages. He even authored a teenage survival guide that was required
reading in Russia! Filled with entertaining anecdotes and candid
confessions, Shut Up and Give Me the Miketakes you through the good
times and bad with a heavy metal star who worked as hard as he
played, and who did it all for his wife, four kids, and millions of
"SMF " (Sick Mother F******) fans.
This stunning book showcases the bold and original work of Royal
Designer Tony Meeuwissen. The artist also writes about his life at
the drawing board and the inspiration and ideas behind his imagery.
From the foreword by Peter Marren: Welcome to this gallery of the
work of a most individual and lovable artist. Many will have seen
Tony Meeuwissen's work without knowing the artist, for it has
appeared in so many decorative forms from books to playing cards,
from magazine and sheet music covers to postage stamps. His work
was described by the designer Mike Dempsey as 'inventive, intensely
detailed and full of wit and beauty'. Penguin Books art director
David Pelham praised him as an artist with the eye of an
illustrator and the mind of a designer, one able to solve visual
problems with 'remarkable originality, skill and panache.' To my
eye Tony's work is always affi rmative even in its darker moments.
It is playful but not saccharine, clever but not conceited. It
always wears a wry smile. Tony learned his craft in the market
place of commercial art. He learned how to handle a wide range of
media to develop graphic ideas while also discovering the beauty of
typefaces. In the process he evolved his very distinctive artistic
language, his own way of seeing the world: colourful, eye-catching,
beautifully executed, his work is a product of his unique vision.
He loves drawing animals, birds, insects and natural phenomena, but
usually with a characteristic twist: shape-changing fantastical
animals, a nuthatch hatching from a nut, a praying mantis in
bishop's vestments saying grace over a butterfly. On the memorable
Christmas stamps he designed for the Royal Mail in 1983, the Three
Kings are represented by chimney pots and the continents of the
world by melting snow slipping from an umbrella. His is a universe
where nothing is quite what it seems, where proverbs morph into
pictures and names turn out to have diff erent meanings. Words and
rhymes increase this pleasurable sense of an alternate world with
its own logic and rules. Tony Meeuwissen eschews computer-aided
methods preferring his drawing board, his pencils and his paintbox.
He has managed to inhabit the world of commercial art for more than
half a century without ever becoming commercial himself. His work
is always uncompromisingly his own: the product of a unique
imagination coupled with the skills and standards of a
perfectionist. Here for the fi rst time the full range of his work
is presented. Like the door to the magical garden in Alice, turn
the golden key and enter.
Rock stars to royalty, society to sobriety, get to know the real
Susannah Constantine in the hottest memoir of the year
'Sensational, juicy, gossipy, filthy and bravely honest in equal
measure, Susannah Constantine's memoir is a rollicking romp through
the upper middle classes' SUNDAY TIMES, 'BEST BIOGRAPHY AND MEMOIR
BOOKS OF 2022' 'Hilarious and honest. A book for anyone who's after
laughter, tears and one hell of a rollercoaster ride' GOOD
HOUSEKEEPING, 'BOOKS OF THE YEAR' 'Absolutely brilliant' ELTON JOHN
'Wildly fun' DAILY TELEGRAPH, 'BEST BOOKS OF 2022' 'Sensational,
juicy, honest, terrific - it reminded me of reading Lady Anne
Glenconner' GRAHAM NORTON, Virgin Radio 'Hilarious and unsparing.
An extraordinary story' REV. RICHARD COLES, Saturday Live 'Bonkers
and brilliant. With comedy and candour, she bares her soul . . .
Magnificent' SUNDAY MAIL 'There is a lot we can't mention on this
show - you have to buy the book to find out what we mean' STEVE
WRIGHT, BBC RADIO 2 __________ If you think you know Susannah
Constantine you may be surprised to learn the truth. That she made
her name as a 'style guru' from What Not to Wear is actually the
least interesting thing about her. Hers is a tale full to the brim
with extraordinary anecdotes. From lavatory dramas with Princess
Margaret, to behind-the-scenes power struggles between Thatcher and
the Queen at Balmoral and eye-opening sex-club etiquette with pop
royalty - her social landscape has been nothing, if not varied. But
appearances are deceptive and beneath it all, life had a darker
side: her mother's bipolar disorder, her father's inability to cope
and her own subsequent alcoholism. Somehow she had to forge her own
life, away from the expectations of others. Told with gobsmacking
honesty and great dollops of humour, Ready For Absolutely Nothing
is essential reading for anyone who loves a good memoir but
secretly just wants to read the naughty bits. __________
'Wonderfully written, very funny, but more than anything completely
genuine' LADY ANNE GLENCONNER, author of Lady in Waiting 'A romp .
. . Constantine comes across as a trooper with a filthy sense of
humour' THE TIMES 'A rollicking ride . . . What a life' SUNDAY
TIMES 'Fascinating, an incredible life' Christine Lampard on
LORRAINE 'Shrewd, funny, ideally candid and written with great
confidence, brio and aplomb. A feisty, thought-provoking delight'
WILLIAM BOYD 'A treasure trove of previously untold stories . . . A
riveting read' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 'Gives readers a fascinating
insight into [her] extraordinary life' WOMAN & HOME
'Entertaining and funny' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Sparkling' DAILY MAIL
'Fascinating' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Funny . . . Never dull' GUARDIAN
'Revealing' PRIMA 'We lunched better than we danced' ANTON DU BEKE
'Exuberant' i
'Have I succeeded, in my own life? I don't know. I don't think so. I'm
in my eighties now and I just don't know. But then, maybe "success" is
the wrong way of framing it. You just try, and when you fail, you keep
trying.'
Over the course of eight years, Martin Scorsese and Jesuit theologian
Antonio Spadaro discussed filmmaking and faith.
From his Catholic upbringing amidst the brutality of 1950s New York to
the heights of Hollywood, Scorsese sketches a unique self-portrait. And
from Mean Streets to Killers of the Flower Moon - and especially the
spiritual reckonings of The Last Temptation of Christ and Silence - he
grants readers a new understanding of his films.
Reflecting on grace and violence, fear and hope, passion and belief,
these rich and intimate conversations offer a remarkable insight into
the director's life and work.
In the span of four months in 2012, Tig Notaro was hospitalized for
a debilitating intestinal disease called C. diff, her mother
unexpectedly died, she went through a breakup, and then she was
diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer. Hit with this devastating
barrage, Tig took her grief onstage. Days after receiving her
cancer diagnosis, she broke new comedic ground, opening an
unvarnished set with the words: 'Good evening. Hello. I have
cancer. How are you? Hi, how are you? Is everybody having a good
time? I have cancer.' The set instantly went viral, and was
ultimately released as Tig's sophomore album, Live, which sold one
hundred thousand units in just six weeks and was later nominated
for a Grammy. Now, the wildly popular star takes stock of that no
good, very bad year - a difficult yet astonishing period in which
tragedy turned into absurdity and despair transformed into joy. An
inspired combination of the deadpan silliness of her comedy and the
open-hearted vulnerability that has emerged in the wake of that
dire time, I'm Just a Person is a moving and often hilarious look
at this very brave, very funny woman's journey into the darkness
and her thrilling return from it.
For the last 50 years, Clive James has been writing remarkable
songs - witty, moving, sometimes satirical, often thrillingly
poetic - with his musical partner, Pete Atkin. They've written more
than 200 together, releasing the first album of their work in 1970
and the last in 2015. John Peel loved them. So did Kenny Everett.
Stephen Fry is a huge fan. And Clive himself believes these songs
are the best things he's ever done. Loose Canon explores the
sparkling lyrics and brilliantly memorable tunes that have won
Clive and Pete a fanatical cult following but still managed to
remain the British music industry's best-kept secret. Stephen Fry
has written an incredibly generous and enthusiastic foreword.
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