Rough Trade's Book of the Year Electronic Sound Magazine's Book of the Year Mute Records is one of the most revered and influential independent music labels of all time. Through the music of its tight-knit community of artists - ranging from Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle, Nick Cave's The Birthday Party and Einsturzende Neubauten to Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure, Laibach and Goldfrapp - it has had an incalculable impact on popular music for forty years. This authoritative, sumptuously illustrated history of the label features stunning artwork and photography - much of it previously unseen - and insights from those who have worked with the label. Text contributions from key players, together with ground-breaking shots and video stills from lengendary photographers, make this book the definitive chronicle of the iconic label, which today has offices in the USA, UK, Germany and France and an unparalleled reputation worldwide.

Updated 2021/2, this is a step-by-step guide to playing the electric guitar, shown in over 600 photographs, illustrations and exercises. It shows you how to master a range of diverse musical styles, such as funk and disco, heavy rock, indie rock, electric blues, country guitar, jazz, lounge and reggae. It includes a beautifully illustrated directory of over 250 electric guitars from the 1930s up to the modern day. It discusses the complete history of the electric guitar, from the early archtops and lap steels up to the latest developments, including the Fender stratocaster, the Gibson Les Paul, the electric bass and the superstrats. It contains boxed features on influential electric heroes, such as Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, George Harrison, Allan Holdsworth, B. B. King, Jimmy Page, and many more. The electric guitar is arguably the most important musical instrument of the modern age. This book explains how to buy the right instrument and set it up, and how to play. It demonstrates basic techniques and chords, and introduces genres such as rock 'n' roll, jazz, heavy rock, metal and blues. A history section explores the first electric guitars, and how the great rivalry between Fender and Gibson led to an explosion in the popularity of the instrument. With expert step-by-step instructions, an illustrated directory of over 250 guitars, and over 600 photographs and musical exercises, this comprehensive manual is an essential guide for all electric guitarists.

Everybody relishes a juicy scandal, and the scandals in this book cover the field.

Included in Electronic Sound magazine's Books of the Year Round Up This spectacular volume is a compendium of beautiful recording and playback equipment and at the same time an engaging, comprehensive history of sound recording. Organized chronologically, it showcases specially commissioned photography of the beautiful, iconic and rarely seen objects contained within the diverse collections of the EMI Archive Trust. Recording equipment, playback devices, catalogues, artist files, records, master tapes, radios and televisions are all here, accompanied by detailed specifications and intriguing archival photographs. Interspersed with the timeline and images are in-depth articles that tell the complete stories of the pioneering advances in the evolution of sound technology, from the invention of the 'Gramophone' method to the development of electronic signal amplifiers, and from the arrival of magnetic tape recording to the advent of CDs and the dawn of the digital age. It is sure to prove irresistible to music geeks and design lovers alike.

A comprehensive examination of the factors that contribute to family dysfunction and how families can break free of them.