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Post by pete1951 on Oct 31, 2012 17:38:20 GMT
Just started to read `The Twang Dynasty` by Deke Leonard A great and funny book, listing his favorite guitarists and guitars. He starts with the Elvis rock and roll boom ,but soon gets on to blues and a short history of the electric guitar. very earthy and always fun Pete T.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2012 18:51:18 GMT
Recently reread Music: A Vary Short Introduction by Nicholas Cook. The Very Short Introduction series does pretty much what it says on the tin, what makes it stand out is that the writers are leading experts in their field. Cook is a Research Fellow at Royal Holloway University of London. One of the main points of the book is that musicology has traditionally been far too focused on classical music, not just ignoring other musical forms but forcing them to be interpreted in a classical style if they are to be interpreted at all. So music with more harmonic structure, for example, attracts more study than music where rhythm or powerful performance are the main characteristics. This is perhaps (according to Cook) why there is more critical writing examine The Beatles than there is for The Rolling Stones. Traditional musicology has also, according to Cook, created the myth of the lone genius composer possessing some kind of hotline to the muses. From this popular music inherited ideas of originality and authenticity which led to writers and composers of their own music being admired more than 'mere' performers. I'd recommend the book to anyone with an eclectic musical taste, though if you have a complete aversion to classical music I guess it could be a pointless. Or maybe it would surprise you
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Post by Stevie on Oct 31, 2012 21:15:55 GMT
"My Cross to Bear" by Gregg Allman (or ghost writer?) A good read. The style of prose makes you feel like you're cruising down (what's left of) Route 66. Reveals weaknesses as well as success. I got the back stage passes with my signed copy. Since I'm going to read it again, I guess it must be recommended. Jazz-blues-slide-fishin'-chemicals-hooch-women....What a life style! Great bit about shooting himself in the foot to jump the draft, I still want to believe it. Well, you couldn't make all of it up...
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2012 14:27:15 GMT
Just finished reading "The Mayor of MacDougal Street", the biography of Dave Van Ronk. Dave started playing acoustic blues in New York City in the 50s' and was close friends with Brownie McGhee and Rev Gary Davis. When Bob Dylan first came to New York, he slept on Dave's couch.
Great book and great stories from a great man, music scholar and one of a kind player/performer.
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Post by mikeshipman on Dec 24, 2012 15:21:04 GMT
Lomax's American Folk Songs - some great stories from / about the singers they were collected from. Added bonus of lots of lyrics too!
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Post by mikeshipman on Dec 29, 2012 12:42:18 GMT
Got some Xmas reading, "The Music Life of JD Crowe", that well known resonator picker (!) and a couple of "coffee table look at books" - Beatles Revealed and the Rolling Stones Revealed - both interesting viewing for those of us of a certain age, with the odd resonator guitar to be seen.
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Post by pete1951 on Dec 30, 2012 10:00:20 GMT
Another plug for `The Twang Dynasty` by Deke Leonard, just finished it. (I`m a slow reader) It was fun and sometimes moving . Also, I read a book by Julian Dawson (singer/songwriter/ harp player) called `Also on Piano` the life of Nicky Hopkins. Though never a `Star` he player on more hit records than you can find in a juke box, The next book I hope will be more pictures than reading and is by Mark Makin...............
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Post by oldmanblue on Dec 30, 2012 19:03:20 GMT
Just finished who i am by pete townsend ,great read i think i have my cross to bear greg allman ,at the moment i am reading an inpector banks book then a book blues traveller.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2012 21:32:05 GMT
OMB
I also read Pete Townshends autobiography and thoroughly enjoyed it, have just finished a book about Phil Lynott called "The Rocker", the first part of which gives a great insight into the dedication required to make it in the business, the second part gives an equal insight into the colateral damage that all too frequently resulted. Am just about to read "No More sad Refrains" about Sandy Denny, sadly the outcome will be familiar.
Happy New Year , good reading, listening and playing to all.
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Post by bod on Jan 5, 2013 10:57:41 GMT
My OH brought Life by Keith Richards home from the library in case I fancied a read - found it hard to get into to start with, thought I might give it up as a bad job, but a few chapters in and I am enjoying it much more.
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Post by mikeshipman on Jan 6, 2013 19:36:46 GMT
Just worked my way through "Looking back at me" bio of Wilko Johnson - another of my favourites!
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Post by Michael Messer on Jan 6, 2013 20:15:29 GMT
David Byrne - 'How Music Works' This is a wonderful book, it is well written, informative and very enjoyable. David talks about music, making music, doing business with music and everything in between. AMAZON PRESS RELEASE: How Music Works is an unparalleled account of a life in music and an explanation of how and why music works from one of the world's most accomplished performers. With his albums for Talking Heads, his work with Brian Eno or his solo output, David Byrne has been consistently at the forefront of musical - and artistic - innovation. In this extraordinary book Byrne explores why the past matters and what the future might bring. From personal accounts of devising and performing his most famous work, to an exploration of the possibilities of new technologies, Byrne discovers that artistic creation is less about an internal creative spark than we thought and more about external factors such as history, architecture and technology. "The universe of music follows broad and basic evolutionary patterns-as does birdsong, to take one example. It seems the will only triumphs if the context is amenable, just as in Darwinian adaptation. What we hear is determined by what we want to hear, by what can be heard, and by the circumstances that allow it to come into being." Shine On Michael
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2013 20:37:58 GMT
Life and Times of Rory Gallagher. Nothing new really, but my memory is so rotten, I could read it every year, and half of it would still seems like news. TT
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Post by SoloBill on Jan 7, 2013 23:54:33 GMT
Life and Times of Rory Gallagher. Nothing new really, but my memory is so rotten, I could read it every year, and half of it would still seems like news. TT Hi TT, What do you think is the 'best' bio of Rory to read? Bill PS I'm reading 'Wonderful Today' by Pattie Boyd and 'My Music, My Life' by Ravi Shankar.
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Post by gouranga on Jan 8, 2013 7:56:21 GMT
I am reading an old Indian/ Bengali books of songs about the yearning for eternal love and the feelings of seperation from that mood of love. The book is by an old indian poet called Narottama Das. It's Prema bhakti chandrika. or , the shining rays of the moonlight of eternal devoted love.
Take care and best wishes to all.
Gouranga
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