A GUARDIAN AND INDEPENDENT BEST MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR 'At last an expert classicist gets to grips with Bob Dylan' Mary Beard 'Thomas's elegant, charming book offers something for everyone - not just the super-fans' Independent When the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to Bob Dylan, the literary world was up in arms. How could the world's most prestigious book prize be awarded to a famously cantankerous singer-songwriter in his Seventies, who wouldn't even deign to make an acceptance speech? In Why Dylan Matters, Harvard Professor Richard F. Thomas answers that question with magisterial erudition. A world expert on Classical poetry, Thomas was initially ridiculed by his colleagues for teaching a course on Bob Dylan alongside his traditional seminars on Homer, Virgil and Ovid. Dylan's Nobel prize win brought him vindication. This witty, personal volume is a distillation of Thomas's famous course, and makes a compelling case for moving Dylan out of the rock n' roll Hall of Fame and into the pantheon of Classical poets. You'll never think about Bob Dylan in the same way again.

The #1 New York Times Bestseller Updated with a new introduction and featuring never-before-seen photos Jessica reveals for the first time her inner monologue and most intimate struggles. Guided by the journals she's kept since age fifteen, and brimming with her unique humor and down-to-earth humanity, Open Book is as inspiring as it is entertaining. This was supposed to be a very different book. Five years ago, Jessica Simpson was approached to write a motivational guide to living your best life. She walked away from the offer, and nobody understood why. The truth is that she didn't want to lie. Jessica couldn't be authentic with her readers if she wasn't fully honest with herself first. Now America's Sweetheart, preacher's daughter, pop phenomenon, reality tv pioneer, and the billion-dollar fashion mogul invites readers on a remarkable journey, examining a life that blessed her with the compassion to help others, but also burdened her with an almost crippling need to please. Open Book is Jessica Simpson using her voice, heart, soul, and humor to share things she's never shared before. First celebrated for her voice, she became one of the most talked-about women in the world, whether for music and fashion, her relationship struggles, or as a walking blonde joke. But now, instead of being talked about, Jessica is doing the talking. Her book shares the wisdom and inspirations she's learned and shows the real woman behind all the pop-culture cliche's - "chicken or fish," "Daisy Duke," "football jinx," "mom jeans," "sexual napalm..." and more. Open Book is an opportunity to laugh and cry with a close friend, one that will inspire you to live your best, most authentic life, now that she is finally living hers.

Bob Dylan's impact on popular music has been incalculable. Having transformed staid folk music into a vehicle for coruscating social commentary, he then swept away the romantic platitudes of rock 'n' roll with his searing intellect. From the zeitgeist-encapsulating protest of 'Blowin' in the Wind' to the streetwise venom of 'Like a Rolling Stone', and from the stunning mid-sixties trilogy of albums - Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde - to Time Out of Mind, his stunning if world-weary comeback at the age of 56, Dylan's genius has endured, underpinned by the dazzling turn of phrase that has made him the pre-eminent poet of popular music. Because Dylan's achievements have no equal, his career is the most chronicled in rock history. Here, Sean Egan presents a selection of the best writing on Dylan, both praise and criticism. Interviews, essays, features and reviews from Dylan intimates and scholars such as John Bauldie, Michael Gray, Nat Hentoff and Jules Siegel are interspersed with new narrative and reviews of every single album to create a comprehensive picture of the artist whose chimes of freedom still resound.

Blending the insights of musicians and psychologists from D.W. Winnicott to Gregory Bateson to Ornette Coleman, Jazz and Psychotherapy is a groundbreaking exploration of improvisation that reveals its potential to transform our experience of ourselves and the challenges we face as a species. What we all share with the professional improvisers known as "psychotherapists" and "jazz musicians" is the reality of not knowing what those around us-or even we ourselves-are going to do next. Rather than avoiding it, however, these practitioners have learned to revere our inherent unpredictability as precisely the feature of human living that makes transformative change possible, fully incorporating it into the theories and practices that constitute their disciplines. Jazz and Psychotherapy provides a sophisticated but accessible overview of the revolutionary approaches to human development and creative expression embodied in these two seemingly disparate twentieth-century cultural traditions. Readers interested in music, psychotherapy, social psychology and contemporary theories of complexity will find Jazz and Psychotherapy engaging and useful. Its colorful synthesis of perspectives and multidimensional scope make it an essential contribution to our understanding of improvisation in music and in life.

Pop Music Production delves into academic depths around the culture, the business, the songwriting, and most importantly, the pop music production process. Phil Harding balances autobiographical discussion of events and relationships with academic analysis to offer poignant points on the value of pure popular music, particularly in relation to BoyBands and how creative pop production and songwriting teams function. Included here are practical resources, such as recording studio equipment lists, producer business deal examples and a 12-step mixing technique, where Harding expands upon previously released material to explain how 'Stay Another Day' by East 17 changed his approach to mixing forever. However, it is important to note that Harding almost downplays his involvement in his career. At no point is he center stage; he humbly discusses his position within the greater scheme of events. Pop Music Production offers cutting-edge analysis of a genre rarely afforded academic attention. This book is aimed at lecturers and students in the subject fields of Music Production, Audio Engineering, Music Technology, Popular Songwriting Studies and Popular Music Culture. It is suitable for all levels of study from FE students through to PhD researchers. Pop Music Production is also designed as a follow-up to Harding's first book PWL from the Factory Floor (2010, Cherry Red Books), a memoir of his time working with 1980s pop production and songwriting powerhouse, Stock Aitken Waterman, at PWL Studios.

No one explodes one of the longest-held misconceptions of music history better than Steve Lukather and his band Toto. The dominant pop-culture sound of the late-1970s and '80s was not in fact the smash and sneer of punk, but a slick, polished amalgam of rock and R&B that was first staked out on Boz Scaggs' Silk Degrees. That album was shaped in large part by the founding members of Toto, who were emerging as the most in-demand elite session muso-crew in LA, and further developed on the band's self-titled three-million-selling debut smash of 1978. A string of hits followed for the band going into the '80s and beyond. Running parallel to this, as stellar session players, Lukather and band-mates David Paich, Jeff Porcaro and Steve Porcaro were also the creative linchpins on some of the most successful, influential and enduring records of the era. In The Gospel According to Luke, Lukather tells the Toto story: how a group of high school friends formed the band in 1977 and went on to sell more than 40 million records worldwide. He also lifts the lid on what really went on behind the closed studio doors and shows the unique creative processes of some of the most legendary names in music: from Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks and Elton John to Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, Don Henley, Roger Waters and Aretha Franklin. And yet, Lukather's extraordinary tale encompasses the dark side of the American Dream. Engaging, incisive and often hilarious, The Gospel According to Luke is no ordinary rock memoir. It is the real thing . . .

Drawing upon extensive new first hand interview material from DebbieHarry, Chris Stein and many other significant players in the band's longhistory, a huge archive of personal materials and unpublished interviews,Blondie: Parallel Lives is the definitive eye-witness account of the group'slong and often tumultuous existence.Beginning with their childhoods, backgrounds and influences, the book isalso an evocative homage to the unique New York scene of the 1970s. Itcharts the development of Blondie to their massive popular success andeventual break up.How Debbie Harry set her career aside to nurse Chris through adebilitating and life-threatening genetic disease.It recounts the group's 1997 reformation, subsequent renaissance withtheir No Exit album, the controversies surrounding the 2006 induction tothe Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, ending in the present with the release ofPanic of Girls.Co-author Kris Needs established a friendship with Harry, Stein and therest of the band that endures to this day. As a trusted confidante, he nowrecounts the full story.

When they met for the first time in Los Angeles in 1993, the Beastie Boys and Spike Jonze were rising stars of their respective fields - the golden ages of both east coast hip hop and MTV. Immediately a connection formed between the three MCs and the young filmmaker, which has lasted throughout their careers. Twenty-five years later, this book collects for the first time more than two hundred of Spike Jonze's personal photographs of his time spent with the Beastie Boys. Edited and with an afterword by Jonze, and including a foreword by Horovitz, this book shows the greatest act of the hip hop generation in their truest colours as only a close friend could see them. From going on stage at Lollapalooza to writing together at Mike D's apartment; getting into character for a video to dressing up as old men to hit the basketball court; recording an album in the studio in Los Angeles to goofing around in barber shops. From the music video to Sabotage to the cover of the Sounds of Science album, Spike Jonze is responsible for some of the most iconic images of the band ever made - but here, the emphasis is on the candid, the unexpected, and the real.

A surprising, informative, enlightening and at times outrageous must have guide to life from the world's most famous rock stars. Together with the finest selection from the Q magazine archives and new unseen material, TEN COMMANDMENTS presents ten rules for life from fifty musicians. 'Thou shalt not play golf.' BONO 'Painting is good for the soul.' IGGY POP 'A sexy man is one who looks after his family.' TORI AMOS 'Snakes are built for the Summer.' ALICE COOPER 'Make like a boy scout.' STEVIE NICKS 'Do as Madonna says.' NILE RODGERS 'Always be honest to your wife.' JOHN LYDON 'Check the caffeine content.' JOHNNY MARR

(Easy Guitar). Easy arrangements in notes and tab for 19 of the Beach Boys' best, including: Barbara Ann * California Girls * Fun, Fun, Fun * God Only Knows * Good Vibrations * Help Me Rhonda * I Get Around * In My Room * Kokomo * Little Deuce Coupe * Sloop John B * Surfer Girl * Surfin' Safari * Surfin' U.S.A. * Wouldn't It Be Nice * and more.

A catalog nearly fifty years in the making, Bruce Springsteen's music remains popular and a frequent subject of study yet little critical attention has been given to its inclusion in film and television. This book examines a selection of films and TV shows from the 1980s to the present-including Mask, High Fidelity, The Sopranos and The Wrestler-that feature Springsteen's music on the soundtrack. Relating his thematic preoccupations with religion, the Vietnam War, the promise of the open road, economic disparity and blue-collar malaise, his songs color narrative and articulate the inner lives of characters. This book explores the many on-screen contexts of Springsteen's work from Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. to Springsteen on Broadway.

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.

The definitive no-holds-barred biography of John Entwistle, The Who's legendary bass guitarist It is an unequivocal fact that in terms of rock bands, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Who represent Year Zero; the beginning of all things, ground-breakers all. To that end, John Entwistle - the Who's beloved bassist - is also without question one of the most important and influential figures in the annals of rock. He is also among an even more rarefied few by virtue of his being such a fascinating, transfixing and gloriously oversized character. However, Entwistle has not been the subject of a major biography. Likely, this was due to no-one being able to gain close access to the subject himself: the still in many other respects enigmatic Entwistle's enduring legacy has been carefully guarded by his surviving family. With the full co-operation of the Entwistle family, The Ox will correct this oversight and in doing so, shine a long overdue light on one of the single greatest, and most impactful figures in rock history. Drawing on his own notes for an unfinished autobiography that he started before his death in 2002 (and which will be quoted from extensively), as well as his personal archives and interviews with his family and friends, The Ox will give readers a never-before-seen glimpse into the two very distinct poles of John Entwistle. On the one hand, he was the rock star incarnate, being larger than life, self-obsessed to a fault, and proudly and almost defiantly so. Extravagant with money, he famously shipped two vintage American cars across the Atlantic without having so much as a driver's license, built exponentially bigger and grandiose bars into every home he owned, and amassed an extraordinary collection of possessions, from arachnids, armor, and weaponry, to his patented Cuban-heeled boots. But beneath this fame and flutter, he was also a man of simple tastes and traditional opinions. He was a devoted father and family man who loved nothing more than to wake up to a full English breakfast, or to have a supper of fish, chips, and a pint at his local pub. After his untimely death, many of these stories were shuttered away into the memories of his family, friends, and loved ones, but now, for the first time, The Ox will introduce us to the man behind the myth-the iconic and inimitable John Entwistle.

* GORGEOUSLY ILLUSTRATED: Each of the 40 cards in this oracle deck is vibrantly illustrated with original artwork; let The Snake Charmer (of VMAs fame) inspire you to face your fears, or the The Ringleader (of the "Circus" video) lead you to call the shots-these and many more Britney oracles in this one-of-a-kind set celebrate the superstar in her greatest moments from her music videos, stage performances, and more * DELUXE SET: This set includes 40 full-color illustrated cards (3 x 5 inches), shrink wrapped in an interior travel case; an 88-page, full-color illustrated paperback book (3 x 5 inches); and a keepsake magnetic closure box; cards and travel case are embedded in an interior tray * FULLY ILLUSTRATED ORACLE GUIDEBOOK: This set includes a full-color illustrated companion book to the card deck, providing the back story of each oracle and a dose of inspiration * PERFECT GIFT: This joyful, beautiful oracle deck and book set is an ideal gift for the most fabulous people in your life, for birthdays, Mother's Day, graduation, or any occasion at all * OFFICIALLY LICENSED: Set is officially licensed with Britney Brands, Inc A note on packaging: In order to help honor our planet and reduce waste, we have only shrink wrapped the interior cards, rather than the keepsake box. Please feel confident that your product is not defective or used.

NEW YORK TIMES and INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER In Face the Music, Paul Stanley-the co-founder and famous "Starchild" frontman of KISS-reveals for the first time the incredible highs and equally incredible lows in his life both inside and outside the band. Face the Music is the shocking, funny, smart, inspirational story of one of rock's most enduring icons and the group he helped create, define, and immortalize. Stanley mixes compelling personal revelations and gripping, gritty war stories that will surprise even the most steadfast member of the KISS Army. He takes us back to his childhood in the 1950s and '60s, a traumatic time made more painful thanks to a physical deformity. Born with a condition called microtia, he grew up partially deaf, with only one ear. But this instilled in him an inner drive to succeed in the most unlikely of pursuits: music. With never-before-seen photos and images throughout, Stanley's memoir is a fully realized and unflinching portrait of a rock star, a chronicle of the stories behind the famous anthems, the many brawls and betrayals, and all the drama and pyrotechnics on and off the stage. Raw and confessional, Stanley offers candid insights into his personal relationships, and the turbulent dynamics with his bandmates over the past four decades. And no one comes out unscathed-including Stanley himself. "People say I was brave to write such a revealing book, but I wrote it because I needed to personally reflect on my own life. I know everyone will see themselves somewhere in this book, and where my story might take them is why I'm sharing it." -Paul Stanley

In the 1960s rock 'n' roll music began crossing the Atlantic Ocean--with The Beatles and The Who leading the British Invasion of the United States--and the Pacific Ocean, as American and European rock slowly began to take hold in Japan. This insightful study from visionary rock musician Julian Cope explores what really happened when Western music met Eastern shores. The clash between traditional Japanese values and the wild renegades of 1960s and 1970s rock 'n' roll is examined, and the seminal artists in Japanese post-World War II culture are all covered. From itinerate art-house poets to violent refusenik bands with penchants for plane hijacking, this is the story of the Japanese youths and musicians who simultaneously revolutionized a musical genre and the culture of a nation.

The long-awaited, never-before-told, no-holds-barred memoir from the legendary Aerosmith frontman. Finally, all the lurid tales of debauchery, sex, drugs and rock n' roll are told straight from the horse's lips as The Demon of Screamin' describes his unimaginable highs and unbelievable lows as lead singer of the biggest rock band in the world. Prolific frontman, rock icon and sex symbol, Steven Tyler is a living legend. With his raw, sharp-edged vocals, musical versatility and unprecedented song writing skills, Tyler has, as lead singer of Aerosmith, sold millions of records and played sell-out concerts to as many as 450,000 people. Now, at last, he tells his own story, taking us on a wild rollercoaster ride through the bust-ups, binges, orgies and good old American excess in the jaw-droppingly honest, in-your-face way that only Tyler can. Following a fateful meeting with his 'mutant twin' Joe Perry in the summer of 1970, Aerosmith was formed...and the rest, as they say, is rock history. They released their first album in 1973, and by 1976 Aerosmith had gone from being nobodies to massive to off the radar, making history as a multi-platinum, chart-topping band. But with great success comes great excess. Nicknamed the Toxic Twins for their insatiable appetite for drugs, booze and women, Tyler and Perry got caught up in the glamour of self-destruction - smashing each other up with guitars, having seizures and passing out on stage. By 1980 it seemed that the band and its members were set to implode, but after successful stints in drug rehab, Aerosmith were back on track and better than ever. But although he may have given up his wicked, wicked ways, Tyler still enjoys talking about the bad old days. He has so many outrageous stories to tell, and he's gonna tell them all. All the uncensored, head-spinning tales of debauchery, sex, booze, transcendence and chemical dependence you will ever want to hear. As raucous, intoxicating and edgy as his music, this is the most outrageous rock n' roll autobiography of all time.

A ROUGH TRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR "To flip through the book is to be immersed back in the glory days of Cool Britannia... and it's just as cool as you remember" GQ Remember Britpop and the '90s through hundreds of its most striking images - with many seen here for the very first time. Taken by renowned photographer Kevin Cummins, chief photographer at the NME for more than a decade, the images in this book explore the rise and fall of Cool Britannia and all that came with it. Nostalgic, anarchic and featuring contributions from icons of the Britpop era including Noel Gallagher and Brett Anderson, While We Were Getting High is a seminal portrait of a decade like no other. Artists featured include: Oasis Blur Suede Pulp Elastica Supergrass The Charlatans Gene Sleeper Kula Shaker Echobelly The Bluetones ...and many more

John Lennon, 1980: The Final Days in the Life of Beatle John tells the story of the legendary musician's incredible last year. For Lennon, 1980 had begun as a ceaseless shopping spree in which he and wife Yoko Ono fell into the doldrums of purchasing blue-chip real estate and indulging their every whim. But for John, that pivotal year would climax in several moments of creative triumph as he rediscovered his artistic self in dramatic fashion, only to be cut down by an assassin's bullets on Monday, December 8th, 1980, in the prime of a new life that was only just beginning to blossom.

Following their first tour to Japan in 1966, the Beatles would become an important part of Japan's postwar cultural development and its deepening relationship with the West. By the 1960s Japan's dramatic rise in prosperity and the self-confidence of the country's 'economic miracle' period were yet to come; it was not, at this stage, considered a fully-fledged partner of the West. All these potential developments were consolidating around the time of the 1966 tour. The Beatles' concerts in Tokyo contributed to the construction of a new Japanese national identity and introduced Japan as a new potential market to UK and US music producers, broadening the country's transnational cultural links. This book explores the Beatles' engagement with Japan within the larger context of the country's increased global connection and large-scale economic, social and cultural change. It describes the great impact of the Beatles' contentious 1966 tour, which took place amid public displays of both euphoric 'Beatlemania' and angry protests, and discusses the lasting impression of this tour on Japanese culture and identity to the present day. The Beatles' relationship with Japan did not end after their departure; this book also examines the Beatles' subsequent contacts with Japan, including John Lennon's marriage and artistic partnership with Yoko Ono, and Paul McCartney's later Japanese tours and the warm reception the ex Beatles and their musical legacy have received over the years.

William S. Burroughs's fiction and essays are legendary, but his influence on music's counterculture has been less well documented-until now. Examining how one of America's most controversial literary figures altered the destinies of many notable and varied musicians, William S. Burroughs and the Cult of Rock 'n' Roll reveals the transformations in music history that can be traced to Burroughs. A heroin addict and a gay man, Burroughs rose to notoriety outside the conventional literary world; his masterpiece, Naked Lunch, was banned on the grounds of obscenity, but its nonlinear structure was just as daring as its content. Casey Rae brings to life Burroughs's parallel rise to fame among daring musicians of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, when it became a rite of passage to hang out with the author or to experiment with his cut-up techniques for producing revolutionary lyrics (as the Beatles and Radiohead did). Whether they tell of him exploring the occult with David Bowie, providing Lou Reed with gritty depictions of street life, or counseling Patti Smith about coping with fame, the stories of Burroughs's backstage impact will transform the way you see America's cultural revolution-and the way you hear its music.

Madchester may have been born at the Hacienda in the summer of 1988, but the city had been in creative ferment for almost a decade prior to the rise of acid house. The end-of-the-century party is the definitive account of a generational shift in popular music and youth culture, what it meant and what it led to. First published right after the Second Summer of Love, it tells the story of the transition from new pop to the political pop of the mid-1980s and its deviant offspring, post-political pop. Resisting contemporary proclamations about the end of youth culture and the rise of a new, right-leaning conformism, the book draws on interviews with DJs, record company bosses, musicians, producers and fans to outline a clear transition in pop thinking, a move from an obsession with style, packaging and synthetic sounds to content, socially conscious lyrics and a new authenticity. This edition is framed by a prologue by Tara Brabazon, asking how we can reclaim the spirit, energy and authenticity of Madchester for a post-youth, post-pop generation. It is illustrated with iconic photographs by Kevin Cummins. -- .

When I'm Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen hit stores in 1991, Leonard Cohen's career had plummeted from its revered 1960s high. Cohen's record label had refused to release his 1984 album Various Positions--including the song "Hallelujah"--in the United States. Luckily, Velvet Underground founder John Cale was one of the few who did hear "Hallelujah," and he covered it for I'm Your Fan, a collection of Cohen's songs produced by a French fanzine. Jeff Buckley adored the tribute album and covered Cale's cover in 1994, never having heard Cohen's still-obscure original version. In 2016, Stereogum labeled the tribute album "possibly the most universally derided format in pop music." However, without a tribute album, you wouldn't know the song "Hallelujah." Through Buckley through Cale, "Hallelujah" is now one of the most often-performed songs in the world--and it wouldn't be without this tribute album. I'm Your Fan thus offers a particularly notable example of a much broader truth: Despite all the eye-rolling they inspire, tribute albums matter. They can resuscitate legends' fading careers, or expose obscure artists who never had much of a career to begin with.