Books you think we ought to check out

[Hydrofly]

As above, music related books of course.
Recently went through a copy of - How equal temperament ruined music (and why you should care).
A great book for anyone interested in knowing how to make use of fretless string instruments, moveable frets and whatnot.

 

[niteblade]

fretboard roadmaps!

good for improving on your theory aspect

 

[kerplunk182]

Books by Mitch Albom, David Pelzer, Neil Humphrey and last but not least, Stephanie Meyer \m/

 

[Hydrofly]

=kerplunk666

Music related books. Dave Pelzer's books quite umm, detailed.

 

[XLayaR]

Guitar for dummies

Bass for dummies

Drums for dummies

Music for dummies

Piano for dummies

Singing for dummies

Basically anything within the 'dummy' series

Not sure if all those tittles exist, I saw the guitar one though

Enjoy...

 

[shredded]

Not sure if all those tittles exist, I saw the guitar one though

sounds abit wrong

 

[Hydrofly]

=shredded

damn you have sharp eyes

 

[shaneypants]

Not exactly music related but what the heck.

The Orphaned Anything's by Stephen Christian.

I'll be honest, I haven't read the book. But I've read some pretty rad reviews about it so if it's available here, I'll grab mine.

 

[THOA]

This is a great book for producers of electro/industrial/experimental music:

"Electro Shock! - Groundbreakers of Synth Music" by Greg Rule

Contains a collection of interviews of musicians/producers on how they produce their stuff. Artistes includes Trent Reznor of NIN, Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons of Chemical Brothers, William Orbit, Flood of Depeche Mode etc.

Some of the stuff I discovered are just insane and inspiring to say the least.

 

[Kamelot]

Got this from another forum:

Anti-Rock: The Opposition to Rock & Roll by Linda Martin & Kelly Segrave

Big Beat Heat: Alan Freed and the Early Years of Rock 'N' Roll by John A. Jackson

The Billboard Book of #1 Hits by Fred Bronson

The Billboard Book of #1 R&B Hits by Adam White & Fred Bronson

Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock 'N' Roll by Rick Coleman

Buddy Holly: A Biography by Ellis Amburn

A Change Is Gonna Come: Music, Race and the Soul of America by Craig Werner

Chuck Berry: The Autobiography by Chuck Berry

The Commitments by Roddy Doyle

The Death of Rhythm & Blues by Nelson George

Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye by David Ritz

Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme by Mary Wilson

The Encyclopedia of R&B and Doo-Wop Vocal Groups by Mitch Rosalsky

England's Dreaming: Anarchy, Sex Pistols, Punk Rock and Beyond by Jon Savage

Hank Williams: A Biography by Colin Escott

The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made by Dave Marsh

Louie, Louie: The History & Mythology of the World's Most Famous Rock 'N' Roll Song by Dave Marsh

Night Train To Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley and Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick

Nowhere To Run: The Story of Soul Music by Gerri Hirshey

Sweet Soul Music: R&B and the Southern Dream of Freedom by Peter Guralnick

They All Sang on the Corner by Phil Groia

You Send Me: The Life and Times of Sam Cooke by Daniel J. Wolff

Bob Dylan : Chronicles vol.1
Very good book about his youth and beginning of his career. I don't think that the second volume(if it ever comes out) is going to be even half as interesting as this one...

Ray Manzarek : Light My Fire
The only book about the Doors that I've read. The first half of the book is very interesting, Rays telling about the things he and Jim did in LA before the band became famous... The rest of the book isn't that interesting, at least for me.

Nicholas Schaffner : The Pink Floyd Odyssey
For some reason I really like to read about the normal life of rock stars, before they hit it big. It's the same with this one, the beginning is really interesting. Anyway, well written book and what I've heard, it's the best Floyd book there is.

According to the Rolling Stones

The history of the Rolling Stones as told by Mick, Keith, Charlie, and Ronnie between November of 2002 thru May of 2003.
A real insightful look into the inner circle of The Rolling Stones. Not much is sugar coated. If they felt another member, a song/album, or an person associated with the group didn't live up to their usual standards, they say so.
Great insiders stories about the Stones and again, as with Wyman's book, lots of rare photo's. Some of the stories about their feelings on each other and about their music, surprised this old Stones fan.
ie. Mick thinks Exile On Main Street is rubbish except for 4 songs.

Dark Stuff by Nick Kent

A great book that includes 23 chapters on 23 different artist written by Kent over the years. Brian Wilson, Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, The Stone Roses, Mile Davis Kurt Cobain Johnny Cash, Morrisey, and Iggy Pop are a few of the artists that are exposed in this rare insight into the "dark" side of rock.
Iggy Pop wrote the forward and, in part, says, "I read this nasty book with an unusual degree of interest...it needs to be mentioned that Mr. Kent has a side to his history as sordid and generally unsavory and sometimes downright hilarious as anyone described in this book."


Turn! Turn! Turn! by Ritchie Unterberger

Extensively researched book by Unterberger the early 60's folk-rock scene up through 1966. Dozens of first hand interviews with those involved in the scene. (Arlo Guthrie, Donovan, John Sebastian, Janis Ian, etc). If you want to know about that part of music history, this is the book to get.

Eight Miles High by Ritchie Unterberger

Covers the folk-rock movement, in both the USA and UK, from 1966 on. A great look at the scene from extensive research done by Unterberger. Dozens of first hand interviews with the people involved in that music. (Roger McGuinn, Jorma Kaukonen, Chris Hillman, Jim Messina, Richie Furay)

Unknown Legends Of Rock And Roll by Ritchie Unterberger

It's exactly as the title states--profiles of 61 musicians in 13 chapters that were overlooked for one reason or another. Includes a 12 track CD of 12 of the artists covered in the book (John's Children, The Mystic Tide, The Rising Storm, The Deviants, Savage Rose, Penelope Houston, Aisha Kandisha, The Cleaners from Venus, Merrell Fankhauser, The Outsiders, Savage Republic, The Music Machine).
Once again, Unterberger has done his homework and supplies information about each of the 61 musicians and some of the reasons most probably have never heard of them (but should have.)

Urban Spacemen and Wayfaring Strangers by Ritchie Unterberger

Another comprehensive well researched book by Unterberger concerning those fringe artists that had more of an effect on the music scene then most would imagine. Included is a six song CD with Richard and Mimi Faina, The fugs, The Electric Prunes, Thee Midnighters, The Bobby Fuller Four, The Poets. Again, utilizes first hand interviews to explain details behind the groups, their influence, and the music they made.

Summer Of Love by Joel Selvin

Is a look at mid sixties to early seventies of the West Coast music scene. Members from The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Janis Joplin, CCR, Steve Miller, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Bill Graham and more were interviewed for this insiders look into that scene.
Doesn't sugarcoat any of the feelings or happenings of that time.

Michael Azzerad - "Our Band Could Be Your Life" - great look at the US underground/independent bands of the 1980s (Minor Threat, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., etc)

Andrew Stafford - "Pig City" - great look at the musical history of Brisbane, Australia (especially how the politics of the ultra-conservative Joh Bjelke-Petersen government played an influence)

Charles R Cross - "Heavier Than Heaven" - Kurt Cobain biography - really puts you into the time and place of the events being described. Wish it would have delved slightly more into the Kurt/Krist/Dave inner workings of the band though.

Pat Gilbert "Passion Is a Fashion: The Real Story of the Clash" - very detailed. As with the Kurt Cobain and Pig City books, made me feel in the heat of the events described.