Author: Steve Almond
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0679603654
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 241
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Book Description
Drooling fanatic, n. 1. One who drools in the presence of beloved rock stars. 2. Any of a genus of rock-and-roll wannabes/geeks who walk around with songs constantly ringing in their ears, own more than 3,000 albums, and fall in love with at least one record per week. With a life that’s spanned the phonographic era and the digital age, Steve Almond lives to Rawk. Like you, he’s secretly longed to live the life of a rock star, complete with insane talent, famous friends, and hotel rooms to be trashed. Also like you, he’s content (sort of) to live the life of a rabid fan, one who has converted his unrequited desires into a (sort of) noble obsession. Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life traces Almond’s passion from his earliest (and most wretched) rock criticism to his eventual discovery of a music-crazed soul mate and their subsequent production of two little superfans. Along the way, Almond reflects on the delusional power of songs, the awkward mating habits of drooling fanatics, and why Depression Songs actually make us feel so much better. The book also includes: • sometimes drunken interviews with America’s finest songwriters • a recap of the author’s terrifying visit to Graceland while stoned • a vigorous and credibility-shattering endorsement of Styx’s Paradise Theater • recommendations you will often choose to ignore • a reluctant exegesis of the Toto song “Africa” • obnoxious lists sure to piss off rock critics But wait, there’s more. Readers will also be able to listen to a special free mix designed by the author, available online at www.stevenalmond.com, for the express purpose of eliciting your drool. For those about to rock—we salute you!
Author: David Comfort
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
ISBN: 0806532122
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 697
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Book Description
Once you're dead, you're made for life. --Jimi Hendrix Hendrix. Janis. Morrison. Elvis. Lennon. Cobain. Garcia. Their reckless brilliance held the key to their self-destruction. Their deaths had much in common--and, surprisingly, so did their lives. From lonely childhoods marred by loss to groundbreaking music and turbulent careers that ended tragically and suspiciously, David Comfort explodes the myths as he probes: • The sinister roles of Hendrix's manager and girlfriend in his death and subsequent cover-up • The bizarre odyssey of Jim Morrison's corpse • Why Kurt Cobain was worth more dead than alive to Courtney Love • The twisted motives that caused John Lennon to sail through the Devil's Triangle to Bermuda--nearly going down in a storm--shortly before he was fatally shot • The crippling disease and "miracle" drug that drove Elvis to suicide Charismatic and gifted, but also isolated and conflicted, these are not the rock icons you thought you knew. Here are their larger-than-life stories of turmoil and excess that led to their early deaths and ultimate immortality. It's a wild ride to the other side of fame. "Fame is the soul eater." --Jerry Garcia "Everybody loves you when you're six foot in the ground." --John Lennon Includes Rare Photos David Comfort is the author of three bestselling nonfiction books. His short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines, including Eclectic Literary Forum, Pacific Review, Coe Review, and Belletrist Review. He has been the recipient of several literary prizes and a finalist for such prestigious awards as the Nelson Algren Award and America's Best. A former rock musician, he has spent over 30 years studying rock music, particularly the revolutionary and fatalistic pioneers of the 1960s. He lives in Santa Rosa, California.
Author: Graham Nash
Publisher:
ISBN: 0385347545
Category : Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 394
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Book Description
A founding member of the bands Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and the Hollies shares the story of his life from his youth in post-war England through his creative relationship with Joni Mitchell and his career as a solo musician and political activist
Author: Sean Kay
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442266058
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289
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Book Description
In Rockin' the Free World, international relations expert Sean Kay takes readers inside “Bob Dylan’s America” and shows how this vision linked the rock and roll revolution to American values of freedom, equality, human rights, and peace while tracing how those values have spread globally. Rockin' the Free World then shows how artists have engaged in advancing change via opportunity and education; domestic and international issue advocacy; and within the recording and broader communications industry. The book is built around primary interviews with prominent American and international performing artists ranging from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees and Grammy winners to regional and local musicians. The interviews include leading industry people, management, journalists, heads of non-profits, and activists. The book concludes with a look at how musical artists have defined the American experience and what that has meant for the world.
Author: Leila Sales
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
ISBN: 0374351392
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 288
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Book Description
Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski's strong suit. All throughout her life, she's been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing. Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, Leila Sales' THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together.
Author: Vanessa Hawes
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443898392
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 265
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Book Description
Music and/as Process brings together ideas about music and the notion of process from different sub-fields within musicology and from related fields in the creative arts as a whole. These can be loosely categorised into three broad areas – composition, performance and analysis – but work in all three of these groups in the volume overlaps into the others, covers a broad range of other musicological sub-fields, and draws inspiration from, non-musicological fields. Music and/as Process comprises chapters written by a mix of scholars; some are leaders in their field and some are newer researchers, but all share an innovative and forward-thinking attitude to music research, often not well represented within ‘traditional’ musicology. Much of the work represented here started as papers or discussions at one of the Royal Musical Association (RMA) Music and/as Process Study Group Annual Conferences. The first section of the book deals with the analysis of performance and the performance of analysis. The historical nature of music and the recognition of pieces as musical ‘works’ in the traditional sense is questioned by the authors, and is a factor in the analyses which address processes in composing, performing, and listening, and the links between these, in three very different but interlinking ways. These three approaches posit new directions and territory for musical analysis. The second section builds on the first, framing performance and/as process from the individual perspectives of the authors and their experiences as practitioners. Music by Berio, de Falla, music by the authors and their collaborators, and music composed for the authors are explored through looking at processes of interpretation and risk; processes which further undermine the ontology of the musical ‘work’ as traditionally understood, and bring the practitioner as active agent to the foreground of an examination of musical discourse. The third section encounters and questions the musical ‘work’ at its inception, exploring composition and/as process through its encounters with performance, analysis, collaboration, improvisation, translation, experimentation and cross-disciplinarity. Through explorations of new music, the way in which practitioners relate to music frame a personal and reflective account of the creative process, finally looking beyond music to musicology.
Author: Barry A. Farber
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313082804
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 233
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Book Description
In a novel look at rock 'n' roll lyrics, psychologist Barry Farber highlights those that rise above the rest because they are not only clever, but also wise in their psychological themes and conclusions. These great lyrics embody enduring truths about topics as diverse as love, identity, money, sex, religion, aging, social justice, and the search for meaning. Join Farber in a fun and informative journey across rock 'n' roll history to see how we can learn about significant areas of life through the medium of psychologically wise rock 'n' roll lyrics. The Beatles meet Sigmund Freud. Bob Marley trades ideas with Carl Rogers, and Joni Mitchell shares thoughts with psychological great Erik Erikson. Those aren't actual face-to-face meetings, but a reflection of the fascinating interplay developed for this book by Barry Farber. In a novel look at rock 'n' roll lyrics, Columbia University professor Farber shows us those lyrics that rise above the rest because they are not only clever but also wise in their psychological themes and conclusions. These great lyrics embody enduring truths about topics as diverse as love, identity, money, sex, religion, aging, social justice, and the search for meaning. Join psychologist Farber in a fun and informative journey across rock 'n' roll history to see how we can learn about significant areas of life through the medium of psychologically wise rock 'n' roll lyrics.
Author: William McKeen
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393047004
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 704
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Book Description
An electrifying collection of the most entertaining and illuminating writing on and from the rock-and-roll scene. "Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay" assembles the writing of those who played the music and pushed it to new limits, as well as those who were there to witness and celebrate its power. 20 photos.
Author: Time-Life Books
Publisher: Time Life Medical
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 160
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Book Description
300 pictures and countless quotations, bringing back the hopes, fear, and dreams of a one-of-a-kind generation, the nifty 50s.
Author: Timothy D. Neufeld
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442249404
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 261
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Book Description
U2’s significant career far exceeds that of most average successful rock bands, with a prolific output of thirteen well-received studio albums and a sometimes relentless touring schedule. The band is famous for uniquely drawing together music, art, faith, and activism, all within a lucrative career that has given each of these elements an unusual degree of social and cultural resonance. Broad-minded musically and intellectually, U2’soutput is thematically rich, addressing a slew of topics, from questions of faith to anxieties about commercialism to outright political statements. With one of the largest fan bases in the history of rock music, U2 and their work require contextualization and exploration. In U2: Rock ’n’ Roll to Change the World, Timothy D. Neufeld takes up this challenge. Neufeld explores U2’s move from the youthful idealism of a band barely able to play instruments through its many phases of artistic expression and cultural engagement to its employment of faith and activism as a foundation for its success. This book outlines how U2 reshaped the very musical and even political culture that had originally shaped it, demonstrating through close readings of its musical work the dynamic interplay of artistic expression and social engagement.
