For many, Kim Gordon, vocalist, bassist and founding member of Sonic Youth, has always been the epitome of cool.

Sonic Youth is one of the most influential and successful bands to emerge from the post-punk New York scene, and their legacy continues to loom large over the landscape of indie rock and American pop culture. Almost as celebrated as the band's defiantly dissonant sound was the marriage between Gordon and her husband, fellow Sonic Youth founder and lead guitarist Thurston Moore. So when Matador Records released a statement in the fall of 2011 announcing that—after twenty-seven years—the two were splitting, fans were devastated. In the middle of a crazy world, they'd seemed so solid.

What did this mean? What comes next? What came before?

In Girl in a Band, the famously reserved superstar speaks candidly about her past and the future. From her childhood in the sunbaked suburbs of Southern California, growing up with a mentally ill sibling who often sapped her family of emotional capital, to New York's downtown art and music scene in the eighties and nineties and the birth of a band that would pave the way for acts like Nirvana, as well as help inspire the Riot Grrl generation, here is an edgy and evocative portrait of a life in art.

Exploring the artists, musicians, and writers who influenced Gordon, and the relationship that defined her life for so long, Girl in a Band is filled with the sights and sounds of a pre-Internet world and is a deeply personal portrait of a woman who has become an icon.

With a listing of over 3,600 books about individual artists and groups, this is the most accurate and comprehensive bibliography available on Rock/Pop stars. It is the most authoritative source for English-language titles, which are listed in the main directory under an A-Z presentation of artists. For easy access, information is cross-referenced through the use of author, title, and subject indexes. A down-to-the-wire supplement completes the book in a timely fashion. Collectors will be pleased with entries for privately published and/or limited editions, of which many are very rare.

Fully revised and expanded second edition of the only chart book dedicated to British Hit EPs. Originally conceived as sort-of 'mini LP', the four-track extended play album or 'EP' achieved mass popularity in the late 1950s and early 1960s, later enjoying a revival during the punk/new wave era of the mid-1970s. Attractively packaged in glossy colour sleeves and often containing rare material, EPs also rapidly acquired a following among discerning music fans and record collectors that continues to the present day. Includes a history of the format, an artist-by-artist listing of every 7-inch hit EP from 1955 to 1989 (with full track details for each record), a trivia section, the official UK EP charts week by week, and much more. Profusely illustrated with over 600 sleeve shots.

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.

One of our great essayists and journalists-the Dean of American Rock Critics, Robert Christgau-takes us on a heady tour through his life and times in this vividly atmospheric and visceral memoir that is both a love letter to a New York long past and a tribute to the transformative power of art. Lifelong New Yorker Robert Christgau has been writing about pop culture since he was twelve and getting paid for it since he was twenty-two, covering rock for Esquire in its heyday and personifying the music beat at the Village Voice for over three decades. Christgau listened to Alan Freed howl about rock 'n' roll before Elvis, settled east of Manhattan's Avenue B forty years before it was cool, witnessed Monterey and Woodstock and Chicago '68, and the first abortion speak-out. He's caught Coltrane in the East Village, Muddy Waters in Chicago, Otis Redding at the Apollo, the Dead in the Haight, Janis Joplin at the Fillmore, the Rolling Stones at the Garden, the Clash in Leeds, Grandmaster Flash in Times Square, and every punk band you can think of at CBGB. Christgau chronicled many of the key cultural shifts of the last half century and revolutionized the cultural status of the music critic in the process. Going Into the City is a look back at the upbringing that grounded him, the history that transformed him, and the music, books, and films that showed him the way. Like Alfred Kazin's A Walker in the City, E. B. White's Here Is New York, Joseph Mitchell's Up in the Old Hotel, and Patti Smith's Just Kids, it is a loving portrait of a lost New York. It's an homage to the city of Christgau's youth from Queens to the Lower East Side-a city that exists mostly in memory today. And it's a love story about the Greenwich Village girl who roamed this realm of possibility with him.

I'm just a cosmic yob, I suppose.

I change every day. I'm not outrageous. I'm David Bowie.

I'm an instant star. Just add water and stir.

Genre-hopping, gender-bending: Bowie has never been afraid to push the boundaries. Whether masquerading as an alien, a spaceman or a goblin king, this rock 'n' roll hero was a true visionary. The death of the Man Who Fell to Earth shook fans around the world, but his influence lives on.

Pocket Bowie Wisdom is full of insights into music, identity, fame, love and creativity from one of the most pioneering musicians of all time.

This collection of quotes makes a perfect gift for the Bowie fan in your life.

When Cream broke up in 1968 it was by no means a foregone conclusion that it would be Eric Clapton who would enjoy continued commercial success. After all, it was Jack Bruce who had the looks, and who co-wrote and sang all the band's major hits, including "Sunshine of Your Love", "I Feel Free" and "White Room". But he was a singular talent who wanted to be a pioneer, not just a pop star, and he was never happy resting on his reputation. Cream split in their prime but their influence endured, and when they reformed in 2005 tickets were selling for nearly GBP 2000 on e-bay. In the 40 years since Cream split Bruce has continued his musical adventures with the likes of John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Carla Bley and Mick Taylor, never quite achieving the success and recognition he deserves. It has been an often troubled life - heroin addiction, management rip-offs, family tragedy, and a failed liver transplant, all of which he speaks about frankly in this book, telling a story that is sometimes funny, sometimes bleak, and always honest.

This text brings together spokespersons from several different disciplines who can present their arguments for or against rational suicide as a viable concept and, consequently, a realistic option. The pros and cons of the discussion format bring the readers to search for their beliefs, and the final decision of acceptance or rejection of the concept is left to each individual reader.

Ariana Grande captured the hearts of a nation with her One Love Manchester concert. Less than a fortnight after a terrorist killed twenty-two people at her Manchester show, the petite princess stood tall at her tribute concert that united and healed a shaken nation. She was the emotional core of a powerful evening that reminded us all of music's redemptive power. But who is Ariana Grande? This candid book traces the US pop star's story from her childhood in Florida, through her teenage years on Broadway and Nickelodeon, and on to her gleaming pop career which has seen her described as 'the new Mariah Carey'. This unauthorized biography tells the songbird's eventful and inspirational story in full for the first time, and shows how she became an award-winning, chart-topping pop idol, as well as an empowering inspiration for a generation of girls. It reveals that there is more to Ariana than the celebrity we all think we know, explaining how her smooth transition from a squeaky-clean teenage pop product to a sophisticated, bold artist was powered by a restless and resilient personality. A must read for all her fans, this is a full, unflinching portrait of a pop sensation and inspiring, uncompromising woman - the small, sassy girl with the ponytail who conquered the world.

Released in 1986, Hunters and Collectors' album Human Frailty is one of the most important Australian albums of the last two decades of the twentieth century. It was pivotal in the group's career and marked the group's move into pub rock. It is unashamedly concerned with love and desire. The album challenged traditional understandings of Australian masculinity while playing music to predominantly male audiences. No other Australian group would have dared, or indeed been able, to get their audience to roar 'You don't make me feel like a woman anymore,' the culminating line off Hunan Frailty's first track, and the first single taken from the album, "Say Goodbye". The second track on the album, "Throw Your Arms Around Me" has become an Australian standard, an anthem sung drunkenly more by women than men, in pubs, at weddings and similar occasions. Human Frailty is an album that transcended the critical categories of its time.

No other music reference offers this kind of diversity in one volume. Covering all areas of popular music, from pop to rock, jazz to blues, country to folk, and dance to world music, the updated edition of this unique resource features: more than five thousand of the world's leading musicians, singers, songwriters, producers and celebrities; valuable information on many up-and-coming artists difficult to obtain elsewhere; entries compiled from questionnaires sent to the biographees; career details including major concerts, recordings and compositions, publications, honors and contract address wherever possible; appendices listing international music organizations, record companies, festivals, music agents and management companies involved in the dynamic world of popular music.

This exciting new volume complements the International Who's Who in Music and Musician's Directory, which is already a leading source of classical and light classical music information. Together, these two references form an unrivaled guide to who really in who in all fields of music.

Shooting at the Moon celebrates the music and lyrics of Kevin Ayers, one of the great bohemian voices of British music. Kevin Ayers was an English singer-songwriter who was a major influential force in the English psychedelic movement and a founding member of the band Soft Machine in the 60s. With introductions by Galen Ayers, Josh Payne and Robert Wyatt, this book includes all the lyrics from Ayers' solo career and documents a period of the UK music scene between Psychedelia and Glam Rock. Immerse yourself in the world of this influential cult singer-songwriter, with pages from his own notebooks, exclusive photographs, Ayers' own collages and the occasional recipe.

Gender Issues in Scandinavian Music Education: From Stereotypes to Multiple Possibilities introduces much-needed updates to research and teaching philosophies that envision new ways of considering gender diversity in music education. This volume of essays by Scandinavian contributors looks beyond the dominant Anglo-American lens while confronting a universal need to resist and rethink the gender stereotypes that limit a young person's musical development. Addressing issues at all levels of music education-from primary and secondary schools to conservatories and universities- topics discussed include: the intersection of social class, sexual orientation, and teachers' beliefs; gender performance in the music classroom and its effects on genre and instrument choice; hierarchical inequalities reinforced by power and prestige structures; strategies to fulfill curricular aims for equality and justice that meet the diversity of the classroom; and much more! Representing a commitment to developing new practices in music education that subvert gender norms and challenge heteronormativity, Gender Issues in Scandinavian Music Education fills a growing need to broaden the scope of how gender and equality are situated in music education-in Scandinavia and beyond.

Selected and arranged by the author, and featuring a foreword by revered record producer Glyn Johns, The Weakness In Me presents the lyrics of Joan Armatrading for the first time in one unique volume. Since the release of her debut album Whatever's For Us in 1972, Joan Armatrading has, across a fifty-year career, traversed styles and genres to create a monumental body of work. Acknowledged as the first British female singer-songwriter to gain international success, her writing is alive with intelligence and empathy and paints the human experience with insight and emotion. Selected and arranged by the author, and featuring a foreword by revered record producer Glyn Johns, The Weakness In Me presents the lyrics of Armatrading for the first time in one unique volume. It also contains an introduction by Armatrading alongside annotations to a number of songs, giving a rare, personal glimpse into the creative process of a true pioneer. 'A genuinely groundbreaking artist.' Guardian 'Up there with the best of her generation.' Financial Times 'One of the finest singer-songwriters of her generation: a woman of fierce intelligence and self-effacing wit who never stopped reading your mind or keeping you guessing.' Pitchfork 'What distinguishes her work is the unique authenticity of each of her songs.' New York Times 'Joan Armatrading has always been a pioneer.' Rolling Stone

In this unique collection, theologians born and formed during the Cold War offer their insights and perspectives on theological relationships with such musical artists and groups as Joy Division, U2, Nick Cave, and John Coltrane. These essays demonstrate that one's personal music preferences can inform and influence professional interests.

How does rock music impact culture? According to authors B. Lee Cooper and Wayne S. Haney, it is central to the definition of society and has had a great impact on shaping American culture. In Rock Music in American Popular Culture, insightful essays and book reviews explore ways popular culture items can be used to explore American values. This fascinating book is arranged alphabetically for quick and easy reference to specific topics, but the book is equally enjoyable to read straight through.The influence of rock era music is evident throughout the text, demonstrating how various topics in the popular culture field are interconnected. Students in popular culture survey courses and American studies classes will be fascinated by these unique explorations of how family businesses, games, nursery rhymes, rock and roll legends, and other musical ventures shed light on our society and how they have shaped American values over the years.

How does rock music impact culture? According to authors B. Lee Cooper and Wayne S. Haney, it is central to the definition of society and has had a great impact on shaping American culture. In Rock Music in American Popular Culture, insightful essays and book reviews explore ways popular culture items can be used to explore American values. This fascinating book is arranged alphabetically for quick and easy reference to specific topics, but the book is equally enjoyable to read straight through.The influence of rock era music is evident throughout the text, demonstrating how various topics in the popular culture field are interconnected. Students in popular culture survey courses and American studies classes will be fascinated by these unique explorations of how family businesses, games, nursery rhymes, rock and roll legends, and other musical ventures shed light on our society and how they have shaped American values over the years.

This book launches a proposal: to fill some empirical and theoretical gaps that presently exists in populism studies by looking at the potential nexus between populist phenomena and popular culture. It provides a detailed account of the multiple mechanisms linking the production of pop music (as a form of popular culture) to the rise and reproduction of populism. The authors use a case study of Italy to interrogate these mechanisms because of its long-lasting populist phenomena and the contextual importance of pop music. The book's mixed-methods strategy assesses three different aspects of the potential relationship between pop music and populist politics: the cultural opportunity structure generated and reproduced by the production of music, the strategies political actors use to exploit music for political purposes, and, crucially, the ways fans and ordinary citizens understand the relationship between pop music and politics, and subsequent debates and identities. Moving from the case study, the book in its last chapter offers a more general understanding of the associations between pop music and populism.

"Ed's photos take us behind the scenes and in the middle of the action. I always felt like I was being transported to the location of the shot, and was experiencing it all first hand. The Stooges Funhouse sessions are my favorite rock photos of all time. I wanted to be those guys. Those images have stayed with me my entire life and continue to inspire me to this day !!!!!" - John Varvatos In May 1970, The Stooges were in the middle of recording their celebrated album, Fun House at Elektra Records Recording Studio in Los Angeles. That same month, they appeared at the Whisky a Go-Go on Sunset Boulevard for two incredible nights. Ed Caraeff, a new rock photographer who had burst onto the scene three years prior with his now-iconic image of Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar onstage at Monterey, happened to be in that crowd, and took a plethora of wonderful pictures. Only a few stills from that phenomenal gig were ever reproduced. Most famously, one was used on the cover of Fun House. The rest were filed away. Until now. Ed Caraeff's coverage of this monumental moment is reprinted here for the first time in book form. He not only captures the energy, madness and raw power of Iggy Pop's performance, but also the preceding minutes before the band stepped onto stage and made history. Along with images and contact sheets, original interviews shed new light on that unforgettable night. Interviewed by pop-culture historian Jennifer Otter Bickerdike, names include Jac Holzman, Head of Elektra Records during the recording of Fun House; Mikael Maglieri, son of Mario Maglieri, owner of the Whisky a Go-Go when The Stooges played in 1970; Danny Fields, a DJ/publicist credited for signing MC5 and The Stooges; and Jeff Gold, music historian and noted Iggy Pop biographer. A tribute to the band that rocked the world, Iggy & The Stooges: One Night at the Whisky, 1970 will revolutionise your view of music.

A nostalgic collection of portraiture and interviews featuring not only your favorite artists from the 1980s, but also artists you should know. The influence of '80s culture is undeniable, perhaps most popularly in music. So what are the musicians who built the sonic landscape of the '80s up to? Photographer Mike Hipple seeks to answer this and other burning questions with 40+ influential performers of the '80s, including Lol Tolhurst from the Cure, Cindy Wilson from the B-52s, Robyn Hitchcock, punk pioneer Alice Bag, and Kristin Hersh from Throwing Muses. Join Hipple on this fan's journey to three countries and all four corners of the US to get an intimate look at these hit makers' stories. Some are still releasing critically acclaimed records and touring, some could be the rock star that lives next door, and at least one is living a bohemian lifestyle in a 100-year-old farmhouse. Complete with a deft foreword by television personality and Esquire's L.A.-based editor-at-large Dave Holmes, this is the perfect book for fans of the eighties.

Prince's position in popular culture has undergone only limited academic scrutiny. This book provides an academic examination of Prince, encompassing the many layers of his cultural and creative impact. It assesses Prince's life and legacy holistically, exploring his multiple identities and the ways in which they were manifested through his recorded catalogue and audiovisual personae. In 17 essays organized thematically, the anthology includes a diverse range of contributions - taking ethnographic, musicological, sociological, gender studies and cultural studies approaches to analysing Prince's career.