Ice Cube is one of the most influential figures in the history of rap and hip-hop. Best known for the vitriol of his "angry black man" recordings of the late 1980s and mid 1990s, Ice Cube epitomizes the genre often referred to as gangsta rap. Much of his music from these years is focused on the disturbing realities of life in black urban ghettos, and as a result it chronicles such complex and controversial issues as racial stereotypes, street gangs, racial profiling, "black on black" crime, teen pregnancy, absentee fathers, and male-female relationships. His recordings with NWA are noteworthy for their sardonic humor in discussing dire issues. The group's landmark CD Straight Outta Compton (1988) is a palette of urban woes recounted in aggressive and hostile street vernacular, while Ice Cube's recordings of the 1990s now represent paradigms of the gangsta style. The first three chapters of The Words and Music of Ice Cube explore Ice Cube's recordings between 1988 and 1996 and situate Ice Cube in the context of other rappers of this period-most notably Public Enemy, Ice-T, Tupac, Biggie, and Snoop Dogg-whose music also chronicled explosive issues in urban ghettos. The fourth chapter considers Ice Cube's career in film, beginning with a discussion of his performance in Boyz n the Hood and ending with a look at his most recent films, Barber Shop, Barber Shop II, Are We There Yet? And Are We Done Yet? The fifth and final chapter looks back over all of Ice Cube's work to date and considers his impact and his legacy in music and popular culture at large. A discography, filmography, and bibliography supplement the work.

Crazy Rich Asians meets Gossip Girl by way of Jenny Han in this knock-out sequel, about a Korean American teen who is thrust into the competitive, technicolor world of K-pop, from Jessica Jung, K-pop legend and former lead singer of one of the most influential K-pop girl groups of all time, Girls Generation. Couture gowns, press parties, international travel. Rachel Kim is at the top of her game. Girls Forever is now the number-one K-pop group in the world, and her fame skyrockets after her viral airport styling attracts the attention of fashion's biggest names. Her life's a swirl of technicolour glamour and adoring fans. Rachel can't imagine shining any brighter. The only thing that's missing is love-but Rachel's determined to follow the rules. In her world, falling in love can cost you everything. Enter Alex. When Rachel literally falls head over designer heels into his lap on a crowded metro, she's tempted to give up her anti-love vows. Alex is more than just heart-stopping dimples and adorably quirky banter. He believes in Rachel's future-both in music and in fashion. But the higher you rise, the harder you fall. And when a shocking act of betrayal shatters her world, Rachel must finally listen to her heart.

In August 1970 Elton John achieved overnight fame after a rousing performance at the Troubadour in Los Angeles; over the next five years he was unstoppable, scoring seven consecutive number 1 albums and sixteen Top 10 singles in America. But behind his outre image and comedy glasses lay a desperately shy individual, conflicted about his success, his sexuality, and his narcotic indulgences. In 1975, at the apex of his fame, John attempted suicide twice yet, after announcing his retirement in 1977 at the age of thirty as well as coming out as a gay man, he gradually found his way back to music. Captain Fantastic is an intimate look at the rise, fall and rise again of John's fame-and-drug fuelled decade, with a final section bringing his life up to the present.

Glen Matlock was a founding member of the Sex Pistols and co-wrote most of their iconic songs. His story of the Pistols' rise to global infamy is an honest, insightful account of a group of intelligent malcontents, determined to change the music business and to attack hypocrisy and stale conventions in society at large. Glen brilliantly captures the flavour of seventies Britain and reveals the complexities and personality clashes that made the Pistols so explosive at that time. Also includes true tales of the Pistols reunion tours of 1996 and 2003. Never mind the other bollocks-filled books about the Sex Pistols, here's the truth. -- .

Buzztime Entertainment, the interactive gaming network, is played and enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people at home, in sports bars, and in restaurants. Now this popular game is available in book form--but unlike other trivia books, these are actually fun to play. While other books reveal the answers below the questions or group all of the answers together, the Buzztime format allows you to see only one answer at a time. That way, readers can play along. Besides being packed with challenging questions, the "Buzztime Trivia Series" provides fascinating facts along with the answers. These are no ordinary trivia books
"The Buzztime Trivia Series" is designed to put your knowledge of movies, radio, television, sports, and music to the test, with each celebrity author putting a little of himself in each game. And with dozens of individual games--nearly a thousand intriguing questions --each book is bound to provide hours of stimulating competition. From cover to cover, the "Buzztime Trivia Series" is pure entertainment.

Offering commentary, musical analysis, and detailed interpretation of her songs' lyrics, this book examines the qualities of Sheryl Crow's music that have served to establish the artist's success and popularity. Sheryl Crow continues to be celebrated for her legacy as a singer-songwriter and pop culture icon. This book provides an introduction to Sheryl Crow's entire music catalog. Organized into chronological periods of time, the author weaves biographical facts throughout a narrative rich with details about her songs: how they were created, recorded, distributed, and modified in live performance. Accompanying commentary features song analysis-including song structure, chord progression, and melody-and provides fascinating insights into the lyrical content of Crow's songwriting. The work begins with Crow's upbringing, her musical roots and influences, and how they manifested themselves in her later career. Subsequent sections delve into her road to success and eventual stardom, revealing how her rise to fame and widespread popularity was littered with broken friendships, acrimony, and suicide. The last several chapters follows her life after a diagnosis of breast cancer and the adoption of her sons. The work also includes a chapter on B-sides and rare songs by Crow. Presents an in-depth and complete listening guide to all of Crow's songs, including B-sides and rarities Features insightful commentary with song analysis Includes a glossary of musical and technical terms for the non-specialist

The Eighties were about big ideas writ large - new money, new style, gender fluidity, gay pride, attritional politics, the 'special relationship', nuclear fear, AIDS, cocaine, ecstasy, tabloid royalty, the rise of urban pop, and ultimately geopolitical chaos. Using a big narrative approach, Dylan Jones' history of the decade in pop frames the decade through some of its most important and popular hits, choosing records which either epitomised their time, or ushered in a new cultural shift. So we move seamlessly from Rapper's Delight and the genre defining moment of hip hop into The Specials' spectral, Ghost Town; from ABC and the apotheosis of New Pop (The Look of Love) to Madonna's breakthrough moment with Like a Virgin, and so on. In the '80s each year brought a new twist as technology shifted and genres snowballed, MTV reigned supreme and the story of pop became globalised. It was a decade of excess in all areas, especially ambition, but it was in the transcendent moments of pop perfection that the '80s found its true art-form. Subjective and idiosyncratic, SHINY AND NEW takes us from downtown New York to post-industrial Manchester, in the first widescreen attempt to weave together the stories, the songs and events that re-shaped music and society.

The Hiplife in Ghana explores one international site - Ghana, West Africa - where hip-hop music and culture have morphed over two decades into the hiplife genre of world music. It investigates hiplife music not merely as an imitation and adaptation of hip-hop, but as a reinvention of Ghana's century-old highlife popular music tradition. Author Halifu Osumare traces the process by which local hiplife artists have evolved a five-phased indigenization process that has facilitated a youth-driven transformation of Ghanaian society. She also reveals how Ghana's social shifts, facilitated by hiplife, have occurred within the country's 'corporate recolonization,' serving as another example of the neoliberal free market agenda as a new form of colonialism. Hiplife artists, we discover, are complicit with these global socio-economic forces even as they create counter-narratives that push aesthetic limits and challenge the neoliberal order.

Beast: John Bonham and the Rise of Led Zeppelin is the first-ever biography of the iconic John Bonham, considered by many to be one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) rock drummer of all time. Bonham first learned to play the drums at the age of five, and despite never taking formal lessons, began drumming for local bands immediately upon graduating from secondary school. By the late 1960s, Bonham was looking for a more solid gig in order to provide his growing family with a more regular income. Meanwhile, following the dissolution of the popular blues rock band The Yardbirds, lead guitarist Jimmy Page sought the company of new bandmates to help him record an album and tour Scandinavia as the New Yardbirds. A few months later, Bonham was recruited to join the band who would eventually become known as Led Zeppelin-and before the year was out, Bonham and his three bandmates would become the richest rock band in the world. In their first year, Led Zeppelin released two albums and completed four US and four UK concert tours. As their popularity exploded, they moved from ballrooms and smaller clubs to larger auditoriums, and eventually started selling out full arenas. Throughout the 1970s, Led Zeppelin reached new heights of commercial and critical success, making them one of the most influential groups of the era, both in musical style and in their approach towards the workings of the entertainment industry. They added extravagant lasers, light shows, and mirror balls to their performances; wore flamboyant and often glittering outfits; traveled in a private jet airliner and rented out entire sections of hotels; and soon become the subject of frequently repeated stories of debauchery and destruction while on tour. In 1977, the group performed what would be their final live appearance in the US, following months of rising fervor and rioting from their fandom. And in September of 1980, Bonham-plagued by alcoholism, anxiety, and the after-effects of years of excess-was found dead by his bandmates. To this day, Bonham is posthumously described as one of the most important, well-known, and influential drummers in rock, topping best of lists describing him as an inimitable, all-time great. As Adam Budofsky, managing editor of Modern Drummer, explained, "If the king of rock 'n' roll was Elvis Presley, then the king of rock drumming was certainly John Bonham."

This is the definitive biography of rap supergroup, Wu-Tang Clan (WTC). Widely regarded as one of the most influential groups in modern music--hip hop or otherwise--WTC has released seven albums [including four gold and platinum studio albums, as well as the genre-defining Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)] and has launched the careers of famous rappers like RZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, and more. Beyond the musicians in the group itself, WTC has also collaborated with many of the biggest names in the game-from Busta Rhymes and Redman to Nas and Kanye West), and one is hard pressed to find a group who's had a bigger impact on the evolution of the hip hop genre. S.H. Fernando, Jr. is a journalist who has interviewed WTC several times over the past several decades for publications like Rolling Stone, Vibe, and The Source. Over the years, he has "built up a formidable archive--including over 100 pages of unpublished transcribed interviews, videos of the group in action in the studio, and several notepads of accumulated memories and observations." The result is a startling portrait of innovation, collaboration, and adversity, giving us unparalleled access to the highs and lows of the WTC's illustrious career so far. And this book doesn't shy away from controversy--along with stories of the group's musical success, we're also privy to stories from their childhoods in the crime-and-cocaine infested hallways of Brooklyn and Staten Island housing projects, stints in Rikers for gun possession and attempted murderer, and million-dollar contracts that led to recklessness and drug overdoses (including Ol' Dirty Bastard's untimely death). Even more than just a history of a single group, this book tells the story of a musical and cultural shift that encapsulates and then expands beyond NYC in the 20th and 21st centuries. Though there have been biographies written about the band, both from members (like RZA) and collaborators (like Cyrus Bozorgmehr), most of the material that's been published so far has either focused on a single member of the group's story, or a narrow timespan of their work. This book will not only feature interviews with all living WTC members and a comprehensive look at their discography, it also includes never-before-revealed insight into their childhoods and the neighborhoods that shaped them growing up. It's unique in its breadth, scope, and access--a must-have for fans of WTC and music bios more generally.

An interdisciplinary annotated bibliography, this one volume covers 10 subject areas, eliminating the need to use disparate sources. It provides links among the various areas of rock music scholarship, thus imposing bibliographic control across a wide body of research that treats rock music in a serious manner. The disciplines include communication, education, ethnomusicology, history, literature and the arts, music, politics, psychology, religion, and sociology. Journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, and films and videos are reviewed. A quick and efficient way for scholars, students, and rock music fans to examine a broad range of works. Each entry contains full bibliographic information plus annotations that are designed to provide clear descriptive explanations of content. The publications reviewed are primarily interpretive and analytical rather than merely descriptive or just factual. They exclude most news publications, biographies, and histories, and include works that provide serious treatment of subjects that inform, enlighten, and educate. The work definitely provides an insightful, easy-to-use format for studying this particular expression of the human experience.

Lead author Bruno Nettl. The grand-daddy of Ethnomusicology compiled the first edition, and his name and contributions to the field have brought the book forward several editions. Chapters are written by established/known ethnomusicologists specializing in the particular region, in the perhaps the most balanced attempt to get expert authors together. Does not aim to teach students how to do field work (like Titon), per se, or other ethnomusicological study, and does not aim to teach music - rather, how to think about music in world perspective and the major themes and issues that emerge when we take the musics of the world seriously. Draws a big picture and explains why the musics of the world matter.....the economics, politics, and social dynamics of these sounds.

New Wave: Image is Everything traces the evolution of the often neglected pop music genre, new wave. Using artists from Elvis Costello to Cyndi Lauper as illustrations, the book argues that new wave was among the first flowerings of postmodern theory in popular culture.

One of the most important documentaries on rock music ever published, this is EMI Records' official diary-format history of every Beatles recording session. Now in paperback. Researched from hundreds of unreleased Abbey Road archive tapes, featuring thousands of previously unpublished studio documents and interviews with many of the key recording personnel. The book is filled with over 350 color and black-and-white photographs and illustrations, including rare photos by Linda McCartney and the first facsimile reproductions of Abbey Road recording sheets, tape boxes, album sleeve roughs, memos, contracts, press releases and much more.

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.

This is the untold story of black music - its triumph over racism, segregation, undercapitalised record labels, media discrimination and political anxiety - told through the perspective of the most powerful office in the world: from Louis Armstrong's spat with President Eisenhower and Eartha Kitt's stormy encounter with Lady Bird Johnson to James Brown's flirtation with Nixon, Reaganomics and the 'Cop Killer' scandal. Moving, insightful and wide-ranging, Hey America! charts the evolution of sixties soul from the margins of American society to the mainstream, culminating in the rise of urban hip-hop and the dramatic stand-off between Donald Trump and the Black Lives Matter movement.

For What It's Worth is a revealing insiders look at an influential and groundbreaking rock group whose remendous talents have gone on to achieve legendary status in the annals of rock music history. Besides chronicling Buffalo Springfield's roots and career, the book offers rare and personal glimpses into several seminal music scenes, notably the Greenwich Village folk movement, the embryonic San Francisco scene, and LA's Sunset Strip, along with a lesson in the pitfalls of the music industry. Written with founding member Richie Furay and including the insights, recollections, and reflections of band members, managers, close friends, associates, and contemporaries, the book paints a unique portrait of one of rock music's most beloved groups. Updated edition includes new epilogue.

Kurt Cobain and Ian Curtis. Through death, they became icons. However, the lead singers have been removed from their humanity, replaced by easily replicated and distributed commodities bearing their image. This book examines how the anglicised singers provide secular guidance to the modern consumer in an ever more uncertain world.

Winner of the Southwest Popular and American Culture Association's 2016 Peter C. Rollins Book Award in the category of Film/Television The popular music industry has become completely interlinked with the film industry. The majority of mainstream films come with ready-attached songs that may or may not appear in the film but nevertheless will be used for publicity purposes and appear on a soundtrack album. In many cases, popular music in films has made for some of the most striking moments in films and the most dramatic aesthetic action in cinema, like Ben relaxing in the pool to Simon and Garfunkel's 'The Sound of Silence' in The Graduate (1967), and the potter's wheel sequence with the Righteous Brothers' 'Unchained Melody' in Ghost (1990). Yet, to date, there have only been patchy attempts to deal with popular music's relationship with film. Indeed, it is startling that there is so little written on subject that is so popular as a consumer item and thus has a significant cultural profile. Magical Musical Tour is the first sustained and focused survey to engage the intersection of the two on both an aesthetic and industrial level. The chapters are historically-inspired reviews, discussing many films and musicians, while others will be more concentrated and detailed case studies of single films. Including an accompanying website and a timeline giving a useful snapshot around which readers can orient the book, Kevin Donnelly explores the history of the intimate bond between film and music, from the upheaval that rock'n'roll caused in the mid-1950s to the more technical aspects regarding 'tracking' and 'scoring'.

More than thirty years after The Beatles split up, the music of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison lives on. What exactly were the magical ingredients of those legendary songs? why are they still so influential for today's bands? This groundbreaking book sets out to exlore The Beatles' songwriting techniques in a clear and readable style. It is aimed not only at musicians but anyone who has ever enjoyed the work of one of the most productive and successful songwriting partnerships of the 20th century. Author Dominic Pedler explains the chord sequences, melodies and harmonies that made up The Beatles' self penned songs and how they uncannily complemented the lyrical themes. He also assesses the contributions that rhythm, form and arrangement made to the Beatles unique sound. Throughout the book the printed music of the Beatles' songs appears alongside the text, illustrating the authors explanations. The Songwriting Secrets of The Beatles is an essential addition to Beatles literature - a new and perceptive analysis of the music itself itself as performed by what Paul McCartney still calls 'a really good, tight little band'.

After the breakup of the Beatles in 1971, Paul McCartney formed Wings with his wife Linda on keyboards, ex-Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine, and American session drummer Denny Seiwell. For ten dramatic and turbulent years, the band weathered the critics, endured pot busts, survived a harrowing recording stint in Nigeria, changed drummers constantly, and produced a great deal of remarkable music. McGee's tale of one of the most successful bands of the seventies-the first book to focus exclusively on Paul's post-Beatles years-tells the stories behind the #1 hits "Listen To What the Man Said," "My Love," "Band on the Run," "Jet," "With a Little Luck," and "Coming Up." McGee reveals the band's inner dynamics and its relationship with the press and public, examining Paul's determination to pursue a new sound, the criticisms Linda initially got from fans and bandmates, and the character conflicts that kept the lineup changing. Appendices include interviews with former Wings guitarist Henry McCullough, a complete discography, a list of singles with Paul's comments on each, and rankings from the sales charts. Band on the Run also includes a trove of rare Wings promotional material-album covers, posters, ads, and candid photos of the band on tour.

This book examines social change in Africa through the lens of hip hop music and culture. Artists engage their African communities in a variety of ways that confront established social structures, using coded language and symbols to inform, question, and challenge. Through lyrical expression, dance, and graffiti, hip hop is used to challenge social inequality and to push for social change. The study looks across Africa and explores how hip hop is being used in different places, spaces, and moments to foster change. In this edited work, authors from a wide range of fields, including history, sociology, African and African American studies, and political science explore the transformative impact that hip hop has had on African youth, who have in turn emerged to push for social change on the continent. The powerful moment in which those that want change decide to consciously and collectively take a stand is rooted in an awareness that has much to do with time. Therefore, the book centers on African hip hop around the context of "it's time" for change, Ni Wakati.

As a co-founder of The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, Chris Hillman is arguably the primary architect of what's come to be known as country rock. He went on to record and perform in various configurations, including as a member of Stephen Stills's Manassas and as a co-founder of The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band. In the 1980s he formed The Desert Rose Band, scoring eight Top 10 Billboard country hits. He's released a number of solo efforts, including 2017's highly acclaimed Bidin' My Time - the final album produced by the late Tom Petty. In Time Between, Hillman shares his quintessentially Southern Californian experience, from an idyllic, rural 1950s childhood; to achieving worldwide fame thanks to hits such as "Mr. Tambourine Man," "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "Eight Miles High"; to becoming the first musician to move to Laurel Canyon. Featuring behind-the-scenes insights on his time in The Byrds, his productive but sometimes complicated relationship with Gram Parsons, his role in launching the careers of Buffalo Springfield and Emmylou Harris, and the ups and downs of life in various bands, music is only part of his story. Within the pages of Time Between, Hillman reveals the details of his personal life with candor and vulnerability, writing honestly about the shocking tragedy that struck his family when he was a teenager, his subsequent struggles with anger, and how his spiritual journey led him to a place of deep faith that allowed him to extend forgiveness and experience wholeness. Chris Hillman is much more than a rock star. He is truly a founding father of American music and a man who has faced down the challenges of life to discover what really matters.