One of New Wave's original "angry young men," Joe Jackson
highlights his journey from Portsmouth, England to the Royal
Academy of Music to pop star in this lively musical memoir.
Jackson, who emerged in the late '70s as a contemporary of Elvis
Costello and Graham Parker, and went on to score pop success with
such songs as "Is She Really Going Out With Him?," "Steppin' Out,"
"Breaking Us in Two," "Jumping Jive," and "I'm the Man," has proven
to be one of rock's most enigmatic performers. In fact, he's often
been accused of being confrontational and pretentious. The latter
trait is evidenced early in A Cure for Gravity, and often slows
down the flow of the book, as Jackson eschews the linear
autobiographical route for sometimes lengthy digressions into a
form of music criticism (on subjects that range from Steely Dan,
whom he calls one of his biggest influences, to Beethoven). It's
not that his views aren't interesting, as he clearly knows his
material; it's that they disrupt what is a sometimes comical,
dead-on portrayal of coming of age as a musical outcast. Growing up
in a portside town as a young asthmatic, Jackson was gawky and
unathletic, a deadly combination that often attracted what he calls
the "hardnuts" (bullies who ostracized him for being different).
However, by the time he was a teenager, he'd discovered his musical
gilt, first playing solos in local pubs (despite being underage),
then looking for bands to showcase his talents. His tales of the
horrible gigs he had to take early on, as in a Greek restaurant
where his group backed up a screaming singer and a belly dancer,
are often as hilarious as those in The Commitments. Jackson has a
remarkable recollection of his days as a struggling musician, and
those anecdotes not only entertain, they make Jackson remarkably
human, a characteristic not even his fans have always seen. A Cure
for Gravity should be required reading for anyone who's ever
attempted to start a band, either for fun or to make it as a
professional musician. And even those who've only thought about it
as a passing fancy will find much delight in this touching musical
journey. (Kirkus Reviews)
Since the release of his first best-selling album Look Sharp in
1979, Joe Jackson has forged a singular career in music through his
originality as a composer and his notoriously independent stance
toward music-business fashion. He has also been a famously private
person, whose lack of interest in his own celebrity has been
interpreted by some as aloofness. That reputation is shattered by A
Cure for Gravity , Jackson's enormously funny and revealing memoir
of growing up musical, from a culturally impoverished childhood in
a rough English port town to the Royal Academy of Music, through
London's Punk and New Wave scenes, up to the brink of pop stardom.
Jackson describes his life as a teenage Beethoven fanatic his early
piano gigs for audiences of glass-throwing skinheads and his days
on the road with long-forgotten club bands. Far from a
standard-issue celebrity autobiography, A Cure for Gravity is a
smart, passionate book about music, the creative process, and
coming of age as an artist.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(1)
(1)
(3)
