In Feedback: The Who and Their Generation, historian Casey Harison offers a cultural and social history of one of the most successful bands of the 1960s British Invasion. In this historically sensitive account of the superband's impact during its first decade, Harison describes the key role played by The Who in the formation of the "Atlantic Generation" of rock 'n' roll fans. When the band first burst onto the scene, they quickly established their reputation for amping up the volume, pushing distortion effects (feedback), and destroying instruments on stage at the end of performances. If The Who did nothing else for their generation, they would have easily secured a place in rock 'n' roll history for high volume, smashed guitars, and kicked over drum sets. Ever since, The Who's stage antics have achieved iconic status in rock 'n' roll. But we should not forget how startling this on-stage violence was and what it signified. Audiences had never experienced music so loud, a band so energetic, and stage destruction so redolent of the frustrations they shared. If anything, who'd have thought the three in combination-with excellent songwriting and studio production-would emerge as a formula for success? Feedback: The Who and Their Generation begins with the roots of rock music, setting the stage for The Who when its four band members came together in 1964 to produce their most successful work over the next decade. Throughout, Harison looks at the musical and social cross-Atlantic feedback that characterized The Who's reception and impact. From distorted guitars to "big sound" drum solos, The Who mirrored youth culture-its anger and its frustrations, from the class conflicts of England and Europe to the Vietnam protest movements of the United States. The Who, like no other British Invasion band, assumed a signal role in the transatlantic cultural traffic. From the American music traditions they borrowed-rock, blues, R&B-they transformed and returned to America the very music that served as their source of anger, echoing audiences' angst while developing enormous fan bases in Europe and America.

Pianists will delight in this updated songbook, in which the piano/vocal arrangements have been notably improved (compared to older published sheet music renditions) to accurately reflect what was played on the band's original hit recordings. Basic guitar chord grids are also included. (A note-for-note guitar tablature edition is also available; sold separately.) Titles: Only the Young * Don't Stop Believin' * Wheel in the Sky * Faithfully * I'll Be Alright Without You * Any Way You Want It * Ask the Lonely * Who's Crying Now * Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) * Lights * Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' * Open Arms * Girl Can't Help It * Send Her My Love * Be Good to Yourself.

'In the beginning,' Billy Joel entertained Long Island locals, with The Hassles and Attila, prior to forging a solo career in 1971. One year later, the singer-songwriter-pianist captivated college students when 'Captain Jack' dominated the Philadelphia airwaves. 'And so, it goes...' Cold Spring Harbor was rife with barrelhouse piano and tear-stained balladry but with Turnstiles Joel realised his dream of forming a stellar band. The success of The Stranger led to sold-out arenas and 52nd Street honoured the heyday of American jazz, while The Nylon Curtain highlighted socio-economic inequities and wartime brotherhood. 1993's River of Dreams fused reggae and world music. Then, in the early 2000's, his celebration of classical works ushered in a sea change. Unquestionably, Billy's catalogue has thrived, despite constantly changing trends in the music industry. Over a fifty-plus year span, many of his relatable songs have become standards, covered by countless artists. The third best-selling solo artist in the U.S. has continued to attract multi-generational audiences across the planet, so if you're 'all in the mood for a melody,' read on. Billy Joel On Track contains behind-the-scenes stories and an analysis of Joel's extensive studio recordings, many of which became top 40 hits in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. ...

Talks of an abusive, violent childhood at the hands of her father a strict and sadistic soldier in the US Army, who made family life hell. Christina was taken out of school and home educated for a period after bullying from peers reached an all-time high. Tells of how her desperation to flee the violence - as well as a desire to save her mother, who was trapped in her marriage financially - drove Christina into childhood stardom. How she was first discovered, on TV talent shows and a starring role on The Mickey Mouse Club, which would eventually lead to a record deal and the first number 1 single of many. Gives the inside story on how she rebelled against being a bubble-gum pop singer, parted ways with a controlling management, and made a comeback with a raunchy controversial new look. Reveals the death threats she received and the media backlash as she lost her reputation as America's good girl forever. Also explains how she began to assert herself and write her own songs in the studio. Tells the inside story on the making of each of Christina's albums as well as her marriage, motherhood and her subsequent divorce. Coverage of the making of her seventh album Lotus and her stint on The Voice brings the story up to date

Lady Gaga is a once-in-a-decade artist, and the rare instant celebrity whose appearance can become a cultural event. No other music star of the last decade combines the talents Lady Gaga possesses: she’s a genuine singer, composer, songwriter, designer, and performance artist, who uses technology and social media to shape her art and career. In the space of fifteen months, she has become a demographic-smashing pop icon with global reach and impact.

Not since Madonna’s breakout success in the mid-eighties has the world witnessed the advent of a pop-culture provocateur who mixes high-and-low culture, the avant-garde with the accessible, “downtown” authenticity with the sheen of glamorous artifice. She has quickly formed a symbiotic relationship with her rabid fan base who have taken to dressing as she does, imitating her hair and make-up in tribute. Gaga, too, is a cultural shape-shifter, allowing her fans to project their needs, wants, confusions, and desires onto her.

This is a must-read for Gaga fans, who, devoted as they are, know next to nothing about who she is and how she got that way, as well as for anyone who has heard Lady Gaga on television and the radio and is curious about America’s latest over-the-top cultural success story.

Late on 8 December 1980, the world stopped turning for millions when news broke that its best-loved rock star had been gunned down in cold blood in New York City. But who, or what, really killed him? And when did the 'real' John Lennon die? Peeling back the layers, acclaimed music biographer and journalist Lesley-Ann Jones tracks the highs and lows that led Lennon to relocate to New York, where he was shot dead on the street outside his apartment building that fateful winter night. Using fresh first-hand research, unseen images and exclusive interviews with those who knew Lennon best, the author's search for answers in this enthralling exploration offers a gripping, 360-degree view of one of our most iconic music legends, four decades on from his tragic death. There have been countless books about the Beatles and John Lennon. There has never been one quite like this.

Eric Clapton is acknowledged to be rock's greatest virtuoso, the unrivalled master of its most essential tool, the solid-body electric guitar. Clapton transfigured three of the 1960s' most iconic bands - the Yardbirds, Cream and Blind Faith - walking away from each when it failed to measure up to his exacting standards. He was the only outsider be an honorary member of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, and the studio musician of choice for solo superstars from Bob Dylan to Aretha Franklin. No life has been more rock 'n' roll than Clapton's in his epic consumption of drugs and alcohol, his insatiable appetite for expensive cars, clothes and women - most famously revealed when he fell in love with Pattie Boyd, the wife of his best friend, George Harrison, and the inspiration for 'Layla'. With the benefit of unrestricted access to family members, close friends and fellow musicians, and his encyclopedic knowledge of Sixties music and culture, Philip Norman has created the definitive portrait of this brilliant insecure, often pain-racked man.

Teaching the Beatles is designed to provide ideas for instructors who teach the music of the Beatles. Experienced contributors describe varied approaches to effectively convey the group's characteristics and lasting importance. Some of these include: treating the Beatles' lyrics as poetry; their influence on the world of art, film, fashion and spirituality; the group's impact on post-war Britain; political aspects of the Fab Four; Lennon and McCartney's songwriting and musical innovations; the band's use of recording technology; business aspects of the Beatles' career; and insights into teaching the Beatles in an online format.

Popular Music and the Moving Image in Eastern Europe is the first collection to discuss the ways in which popular music has been used cinematically, from musicals to music videos to documentary film, in Eastern Europe from 1945 to the present day. It argues that during the period of state socialism, moving image was an important tool of promoting music in the respective countries and creating popular cinema. Yet despite this importance, filmmakers who specialized in musicals lacked the social prestige of leading 'auteurs' and received little critical attention. The resulting scholarly prejudice towards pop culture created a severe shortage of critical studies of the genre. With the fall of state socialism - and with it, the need for economically viable film and media industries - brought about an unprecedented upsurge of films utilizing popular music, and a greater recognition of popular cinema as a legitimate object of study. Popular Music and the Moving Image in Eastern Europe fills the gap and demonstrates why the popular music-cinema interface needs to be theorized with respect to the political, ideological, and social forces invested in popular culture.

Redefining Mainstream Popular Music is a collection of seventeen essays that critically examines the idea of the "mainstream" in and across a variety of popular music styles and contexts. Notions of what is popular vary across generations and cultures - what may have been considered alternative to one group may be perceived as mainstream to another. Incorporating a wide range of popular music texts, genres, scenes, practices and technologies from the United Kingdom, North America, Australia and New Zealand, the authors theoretically challenge and augment our understanding of how the mainstream is understood and functions in the overlapping worlds of popular music production, consumption and scholarship. Spanning the local and the global, the historic and contemporary, the iconic and the everyday, the book covers a broad range of genres, from punk to grunge to hip-hop, while also considering popular music through other mediums, including mash-ups and the music of everyday work life. Redefining Mainstream Popular Music provides readers with an innovative and nuanced perspective of what it means to be mainstream.

**THE PERFECT GIFT FOR BILLIE EILISH FANS** A celebration of Billie Eilish's refreshing outlook, creativity and independence. We all want a bit more Billie in our lives! Billie Eilish isn't up for conforming to others' expectations of what a young woman should look and sound like. This multi-award-winning artist lays down her own beat and refuses to be labelled, restricted or dismissed. She uses her platform to advocate openness around mental health and to work towards positive change in the world around her. With chapters on learning to be yourself, standing up for what you believe and dealing with haters, Be Bad, Be Bold, Be Billie explores Billie's incredible journey to stardom, providing hints and tips on how to adopt her poise and no-nonsense attitude to get to where you want to be.

From the huge success of the Chords' "Sh-Boom" to the arrival of the Beatles a decade later, rock 'n' roll influenced an entire generation of young Americans. Combining popular culture and social history with a sourcebook of lists and a biographical dictionary. That Old-Time Rock & Roll recreates the fun and excitement of rock's first decade and shows how the music reflected American life and thought in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Richard Aquila provides an overview of the birth and growth of this pivotal genre and demonstrates early rock's links to both the youth culture and the dominant culture of the Eisenhower/Kennedy era. Year-by-year timelines and a photo essay place the music in historical perspective by illustrating the decade's top news stories, movies, TV shows, fads, and lifestyles. A concise biographical dictionary details all the performers who made the charts between 1954 and 1963, along with the label and chart position of each hit.

Both a history of the music and a history of the times, That Old-Time Rock & Roll is an outstanding source of information about the charter members of the baby-boom generation. In a new introduction, Aquila discusses how his long-time interest in rock 'n' roll came to fruition and surveys the progress of rock 'n' roll scholarship since his book's original publication.

David Bowie: The Golden YearsAuthor Roger GriffinABOUT THE BOOKDavid Bowie's career is defined by the 70s, his golden years. This book chronicles Bowie's creative life during that decade in a year by year, month by month, day by day format, placing his works in their historical, personal and creative contexts. Every live performance: when and where and who played with him. Every known recording: session details, who played on it, who produced it and release details. Every collaboration is also covered, including production and guest appearances. Film, stage and television appearances: Bowie brought his theatrical training into every performance and created a new form of rock spectacle.Follows Bowie on his journeys across the countries that fired his imagination and inspired his greatest work. A detailed illustrated discography documenting every Bowie recording during this period, including tracks he left in the vault. Many of these ended up on reissues and compilations, which are covered comprehensively - an invaluable reference work.

I can confirm that should you ever find yourself on stage playing the bass guitar with three left hands, it is usually the one in the middle that is the real one. The other two are probably phantoms. Playing the Bass with Three Left Hands tells the story of one of the most revered British bands of the 1980s: Spacemen 3. As the decade turned and acid house hit the mainstream, the band imploded spectacularly, going their separate ways just as they were on the cusp of breakthrough success. Here, Will Carruthers tells the story of his time in a wholly dysfunctional yet hugely influential band, in one of the funniest and most memorable music memoirs.

Bono is one of the most influential musicians at work today. Over the past twenty-five years his band, U2, have sold a staggering 130 million albums and collected 14 Grammys. Their success has made Bono one of the most recognisable faces in the world. Here, in a series of conversations with his friend, the music journalist, Michka Assayas, Bono reflects on his transformation from extrovert singer of a small, Irish, post-punk band into an international rock star. Along the way he speaks candidly about his childhood, about his mother's death, about his Christian faith and about his difficult relationship with his father, who died recently. Bono also speaks passionately about how he has used his fame as a platform to campaign fervently on a range of global issues, and why these issues - which include the IRA ceasefire, Third World debt and, most recently, the growing AIDS crisis in Africa - are so important to each of us. Intimate, humorous, and fiercely opinionated, BONO ON BONO is Bono's story in his own words. It will fascinate and challenge fans of U2 and general readers alike.

DIY House Shows and Music Venues in the US is an interdisciplinary study of house concerts and other DIY ('do-it-yourself') music venues in the US, such as warehouses, all-ages clubs and guerrilla shows, with its primary focus on West Coast American DIY locales. Focusing on DIY houses, music venues, social spaces, and local and translocal cultural geographies, the author examines how American DIY communities constitute themselves in relation to their social and spatial environment. The ethnographic approach shows the inner-workings of American DIY culture, and how the particular people within particular places strive to achieve a social ideal of an "intimate" community.

Whiskey and porn stars, hot reds and car crashes, black leather and high heels, overdoses and death. This is the life of Mötley Crüe, the heaviest drinking, hardest fighting, most oversexed and arrogant band in the world. Their unbelievable exploits are the stuff of rock 'n' roll legend. They nailed the hottest chicks, started the bloodiest fights, partied with the biggest drug dealers, and got to know the inside of every jail cell from California to Japan. They have dedicated an entire career to living life to its extreme, from the greatest fantasies to the darkest tragedies. Tommy married two international sex symbols; Vince killed a man and lost a daughter to cancer; Nikki overdosed, rose from the dead, and then OD'd again the next day; and Wick shot a woman and tried to hang his own brother. But that's just the beginning. Fueled by every drug they could get their hands on and obscene amounts of alcohol, driven by fury and headed straight for hell, Mötley Crüe raged through two decades, leaving behind a trail of debauched women, trashed hotel rooms, crashed cars, psychotic managers, and broken bones that has left the music industry cringing to this day. All these unspeakable acts, not to mention their dire consequences, are laid bare in The Dirt.

Here -- directly from Nikki, Vince, Tommy, and Mick -- is the unexpurgated version of the whole glorious, gut-wrenching story. In these pages, published for the first time anywhere, are Tommy Lee's letters to Pamela Anderson from prison: Mick's confession to having an incurable disease that is slowly killing him; Vince's experience burying his own daughter -- and the train wreck that his life became afterward; and Nikki's anguished struggle to deal with an entire life fueled by anger over his childhood abandonment, his discovery of the family he never knew he had -- and his subsequent loss of them. And all of it accompanied by scores of rare, never-before-published photographs, mug shots, and handwritten lyrics. No one is spared. Not David Lee Roth, Ozzy Osbourne, Vanity, Aerosmith, Heather Locklear, AC/DC, Lita Ford, Iron Maiden, Pamela Anderson, Guns N' Roses, Donna D'Errico, RATT, or those two girls from Dallas, Texas.

Make no mistake about it: these guys are geniuses. They invented glam metal and then left it in the dust; sold more than forty million albums from Shout at the Devil to Dr. Feelgood; toured the world dozen times and have the scars to prove it it; and maintained a rabid following in an era of throwaway pop stars. Mötley Crüe has done nothing less than tattoo the psyche of the entire MTV generation. They are the ultimate rock 'n' roll band. And if you don't believe it, read The Dirt. You don't know what decadence is...

The world stopped in 1970 when Paul McCartney announced that he was through with the Beatles. Though the Beatles' breakup was widely viewed as a cultural tragedy, one of the most fascinating phases of their story was just beginning.

In You Never Give Me Your Money, journalist Peter Doggett tells the behind-the-scenes story of the personal rivalries and legal feuds that have dominated the Beatles' lives since 1969. It is both a compelling human drama and an equally rich and absorbing story of the creative and financial empire the band members set up to safeguard their interests but that ultimately controlled their lives. You Never Give Me Your Money charts the Shakespearean battles between Lennon and McCartney, George Harrison's raging inner conflict between spirituality and fame, and the struggle with alcoholism that nearly cost Richard Starkey his life. From tragedy to triumphant reconciliation, from individual chart success to bitter courtroom battles, this meticulously researched work tells the previously untold story of a group and a legacy that will never be forgotten.

It all started in London. More than fifty years ago, a generation of teens created something that would change the face of music forever. London, Reign Over Me immerses us in the backroom clubs, basement record shops, and late-night faint radio signals of 1960s Britain, where young hopefuls like Peter Frampton, Dave Davies, and Mick Jagger built off American blues and jazz to form a whole new sound. Author Stephen Tow weaves together original interviews with over ninety musicians and movers-and-shakers of the time to uncover the uniquely British story of classic rock's birth. Capturing the stark contrast of bursting artistic energy with the blitzkrieg landscape leftover from World War II, London, Reign Over Me reveals why classic rock 'n' roll could only have been born in London. A new sound from a new generation, this music helped spark the most important cultural transformation of the twentieth century. Key interviews include: *Jon Anderson (Yes) *Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) *Rod Argent (The Zombies) *Chris Barber (Chris Barber Jazz Band) *Joe Boyd (Producer/manager) *Arthur Brown (Crazy World of Arthur Brown) *David Cousins (The Strawbs) *Dave Davies (The Kinks) *Spencer Davis (Spencer Davis Group) *Judy Dyble (Fairport Convention) *Ramblin' Jack Elliott (Solo folk/blues artist) *Peter Frampton (Humble Pie, solo artist) *Roger Glover (Deep Purple) *Steve Howe (Yes) *Neil Innes (Bonzo Dog Band; Monty Python) *Kenney Jones (The Small Faces; The Who) *Greg Lake (King Crimson; Emerson, Lake & Palmer) *Manfred Mann (Manfred Mann) *Terry Marshall (Marshall Amplification) *Dave Mason (Traffic) *Phil May (The Pretty Things) *John Mayall (The Bluesbreakers) *Jim McCarty (The Yardbirds) *Ian McLagan (The Small Faces) *Jacqui McShee (The Pentangle) *Peter Noone (Herman's Hermits) *Carl Palmer (Atomic Rooster; Emerson, Lake & Palmer) *Jan Roberts (Eel Pie Island Documentary Project) *Paul Rodgers (Free) *Peggy Seeger (Solo folk artist) *Hylda Sims (Club owner) *Keith Skues (DJ: Radio Caroline, Radio London, Radio One) *Jeremy Spencer (Fleetwood Mac) *John Steel (The Animals) *Al Stewart (Solo folk artist) *Dick Taylor (The Pretty Things) *Ray Thomas (The Moody Blues) *Richard Thompson (Fairport Convention) *Rick Wakeman (The Strawbs, Yes) *Barrie Wentzell (Photographer: Melody Maker)

This is an in-depth study of a pivotal moment in Ween's development, as they became one of the world's most endearing, and enduring, cult bands. In 1993, the scruffy, pointedly silly Pennsylvania duo Ween appeared to be just another alt-rock also-ran enjoying its five minutes of post-Nirvana MTV fame. But currently the band presides over one of pop music's most devoted cult fan bases, complete with feverish bootlegging, copious online message boards, a string of Billboard 200 albums and sold-out three-hour-plus shows nationwide. How did such a seemingly frivolous project evolve into a genuine American institution? The answer might lie in 1994's Chocolate and Cheese. The album marked the first time Ween set aside its low-budget home-recording style in favor of entering a bona fide studio. Sporting a lusher sound though still retaining the insular oddness that had made the band's early work so charming, Chocolate and Cheese reassured die-hard fans and started Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo on their way to becoming posthippie folk heroes. Hank Shteamer speaks to the band, producer Andrew Weiss and many others in an attempt to figure out how Ween turned its grassroots goofiness into something that leftfield-pop enthusiasts everywhere could appreciate. "33 1/3" is a series of short books about a wide variety of albums, by artists ranging from James Brown to the Beastie Boys. Launched in September 2003, the series now contains over 60 titles and is acclaimed and loved by fans, musicians and scholars alike. It was only a matter of time before a clever publisher realized that there is an audience for whom "Exile on Main Street" or "Electric Ladyland" are as significant and worthy of study as "The Catcher in the Rye" or "Middlemarch...The" series, which now comprises 29 titles with more in the works, is freewheeling and eclectic, ranging from minute rock-geek analysis to idiosyncratic personal celebration - "The New York Times Book Review", 2006. This is a brilliant series...each one a word of real love - NME (UK). For more information on the series and on individual titles in the series, check out our blog.