August 18th, 2010 / 12:18 am
Music

The Best Music Books?


Last month I initiated a discussion about film books.  Now I’m wondering about music books.  Following the template of the question from last time:

Which are the most inspirational five books about music ever written?

Here are my four — sadly, the scope of music books I’ve read and really enjoyed is so limited I haven’t got five that I can think of — so I’m super thrilled to get recommendations from you:

Michael Nyman – Experimental Music: Cage and Beyond
Alex Ross – The Rest is Noise
Paul D. Miller, ed. – Sound Unbound
Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman – No One Here Gets Out Alive

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187 Comments

  1. Reynard Seifert

      krautrocksampler by julian cope

  2. Wordsworthe

      Klosterman IV

  3. Peter landau

      THE PEOPLE’S MUSIC and REVOLUTION IN THE HEAD by Ian MacDonald

  4. Tim Horvath

      That’s a great one. Made me run out and get all of Can. Think he maybe overesteems “Yeti,” though.

  5. kdr

      Please Kill Me – Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
      Hellfire – Nick Tosches
      Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung: Lester Bangs
      The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones (a/k/a Dance With the Devil) – Stanley Booth
      Coal Miner’s Daughter: Loretta Lynn
      33 1/3: Let’s Talk About Love – Carl Wilson

      …too many more.

      (And I second the recommendation for Cope’s Krautrocksampler.)

  6. Reynard Seifert

      yeah, i’m not too crazy bout amon duul 2, they’re okay

  7. Tim Horvath

      Joshua Cohen’s Cadenza for the Schneidermann Violin Concerto is a personal fave.

      There’s This is Your Brain on Music. Daniel Levitin. Found this a bit more engaging than Oliver Sacks’s in the same vein. Always wanted to read Steven Mithen’s The Singing Neanderthals but haven’t gotten to it.

      In Ishiguro’s Nocturnes there is one pretty wonderful story about a celeb in hiding while recuperating from plastic surgery. All the stories therein have musical motives.

      I’ve long been a Kyle Gann fan. His Music Downtown pulls together his Voice columns.

      I read part of but didn’t finish The Song is You by Arthur Phillips, but not for lack of entertainment value. Stuff just came up.

      If my first novel was ready to see light of day it might inspire somebodies; it goes on a musical binge or two.

  8. alex

      Michael Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life
      Albert Mudrian (ed.) Precious Metal (it’s a collection from Decibel Magazine, but it’s in a book form)
      John Darnielle’s take on Master of Reality for the 33 1/3 series is pretty good, too

  9. Tim Horvath

      But he put me onto Neu!, too. So he can overshoot the mark all he wants.

  10. kdr

      Welp, I’m way too crazy ’bout Amon Duul II at the moment. To each his own, I s’pose.

  11. Pemulis

      Jesus. My wallet’s still recovering from the film thread (new faves from that bunch: Barzun’s What is Cinema and Truffaut’s Films in My Life)…

      Music, I’m going with Sugarman’s Doors book and also Hammer of the Gods.

  12. Pemulis

      Ooh — and Foger shattuck’s The Banquet Years. 1/4 of which is devoted to Erik Satie.

      Amazing book.

  13. Pemulis

      *Roger Shattuck

  14. Gaby

      Harry Partch – Genesis of a Music

      Milton Babbitt – The Collected Essays of Milton Babbitt

      A bit more nitty-gritty than the aforementioned.

  15. Lincoln

      No one has said The Loser by Bernhard?

  16. Lincoln

      Dance of Days is nice for non-fiction

  17. Nathan Goldman

      I quite like the 33 1/3 books on In The Aeroplane Over The Sea and Master of Reality (the latter by John Darnielle). Our Band Could Be Your Life. This Is Your Brain on Music.

  18. Nathan Goldman

      Oh! Chuck Klosterman: Fargo Rock City, Killing Yourself to Live.

  19. Kristin

      The Rest Is Noise is a great one, Alex also maintains a very decent blog.

      Sound Art by Alan Licht and Jim O’Rourke

      Memories and Commentaries: Igor Stravinsky edited by Robert Craft is so so good, i am partial also to the diaries of Vaslav Nijinskii, though that might tread dance territory.

      Music, Body, and Desire in Medieval Culture by Bruce W. Holsinger is perhaps one of the most fascinating books i have read. period.

      Writings Through John Cage’s Music Poetry + Art edited by David Bernstein and Christopher Hatch

      Silence: Writings and Lectures by John Cage

      In the Blink of an Ear: Toward a Non-Cochlear Sonic Art by Seth Kim-Cohen

      anything by Brandon Labelle

      there’s an extraordinary and gorgeous book that came out recently on visual/graphic notation but i can’t remember the name of it.

      these just off the top of the head but there are so so many.

      The Loser is a fucking cake taker.

  20. Kristin

      duh, kristin.

      Gödel Escher Bach.

  21. Janey Smith

      Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century, Greil Marcus.

  22. Reynard Seifert

      krautrocksampler by julian cope

  23. Wordsworthe

      Klosterman IV

  24. Peter landau

      THE PEOPLE’S MUSIC and REVOLUTION IN THE HEAD by Ian MacDonald

  25. Tim Horvath

      That’s a great one. Made me run out and get all of Can. Think he maybe overesteems “Yeti,” though.

  26. kdr

      Please Kill Me – Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
      Hellfire – Nick Tosches
      Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung: Lester Bangs
      The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones (a/k/a Dance With the Devil) – Stanley Booth
      Coal Miner’s Daughter: Loretta Lynn
      33 1/3: Let’s Talk About Love – Carl Wilson

      …too many more.

      (And I second the recommendation for Cope’s Krautrocksampler.)

  27. Reynard Seifert

      yeah, i’m not too crazy bout amon duul 2, they’re okay

  28. Tim Horvath

      Joshua Cohen’s Cadenza for the Schneidermann Violin Concerto is a personal fave.

      There’s This is Your Brain on Music. Daniel Levitin. Found this a bit more engaging than Oliver Sacks’s in the same vein. Always wanted to read Steven Mithen’s The Singing Neanderthals but haven’t gotten to it.

      In Ishiguro’s Nocturnes there is one pretty wonderful story about a celeb in hiding while recuperating from plastic surgery. All the stories therein have musical motives.

      I’ve long been a Kyle Gann fan. His Music Downtown pulls together his Voice columns.

      I read part of but didn’t finish The Song is You by Arthur Phillips, but not for lack of entertainment value. Stuff just came up.

      If my first novel was ready to see light of day it might inspire somebodies; it goes on a musical binge or two.

  29. alex

      Michael Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life
      Albert Mudrian (ed.) Precious Metal (it’s a collection from Decibel Magazine, but it’s in a book form)
      John Darnielle’s take on Master of Reality for the 33 1/3 series is pretty good, too

  30. Tim Horvath

      But he put me onto Neu!, too. So he can overshoot the mark all he wants.

  31. kdr

      Welp, I’m way too crazy ’bout Amon Duul II at the moment. To each his own, I s’pose.

  32. Pemulis

      Jesus. My wallet’s still recovering from the film thread (new faves from that bunch: Barzun’s What is Cinema and Truffaut’s Films in My Life)…

      Music, I’m going with Sugarman’s Doors book and also Hammer of the Gods.

  33. Pemulis

      Ooh — and Foger shattuck’s The Banquet Years. 1/4 of which is devoted to Erik Satie.

      Amazing book.

  34. Pemulis

      *Roger Shattuck

  35. Gaby

      Harry Partch – Genesis of a Music

      Milton Babbitt – The Collected Essays of Milton Babbitt

      A bit more nitty-gritty than the aforementioned.

  36. Lincoln

      No one has said The Loser by Bernhard?

  37. Lincoln

      Dance of Days is nice for non-fiction

  38. Nathan Goldman

      I quite like the 33 1/3 books on In The Aeroplane Over The Sea and Master of Reality (the latter by John Darnielle). Our Band Could Be Your Life. This Is Your Brain on Music.

  39. Nathan Goldman

      Oh! Chuck Klosterman: Fargo Rock City, Killing Yourself to Live.

  40. Joseph RIippi

      The Rest is Noise is first that comes to mind, as it seems to be for a few folks here.

      I really enjoyed Musicophilia, Oliver Sacks. Made an otherwise shitty plane ride worthwhile.

      I’ll just got ahead and say High Fidelity.

      Also Bob Dylan’s Chronicles and Bob Spitz’s The Beatles.

  41. kristin

      The Rest Is Noise is a great one, Alex also maintains a very decent blog.

      Sound Art by Alan Licht and Jim O’Rourke

      Memories and Commentaries: Igor Stravinsky edited by Robert Craft is so so good, i am partial also to the diaries of Vaslav Nijinskii, though that might tread dance territory.

      Music, Body, and Desire in Medieval Culture by Bruce W. Holsinger is perhaps one of the most fascinating books i have read. period.

      Writings Through John Cage’s Music Poetry + Art edited by David Bernstein and Christopher Hatch

      Silence: Writings and Lectures by John Cage

      In the Blink of an Ear: Toward a Non-Cochlear Sonic Art by Seth Kim-Cohen

      anything by Brandon Labelle

      there’s an extraordinary and gorgeous book that came out recently on visual/graphic notation but i can’t remember the name of it.

      these just off the top of the head but there are so so many.

      The Loser is a fucking cake taker.

  42. kristin

      duh, kristin.

      Gödel Escher Bach.

  43. SrLansky

      Nowhere to Run – Gerri Hirshey
      Rip It Up And Start Again – Simon Reynolds

      I’m a big fan of the annual DaCapo Best Music Writing compilations.

  44. Janey Smith

      Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century, Greil Marcus.

  45. Tony O'Neill

      “Deep In A Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker” by James Gavin (on of my favorite books, music related or not.)
      “Hellfire” Nick Tosches (already mentioned by kdr, but fuck it, it’s a brilliant book)
      “Please Kill Me” – Legs McNeil (ditto)
      “Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs” – Johnny Rotten

  46. scott mcclanahan

      I second KDR’s choices and the Janey Smith choice. I would add:
      G. Marcus — At the Crossroads.
      Peter Guralnick — Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love.

  47. Steven Augustine

      1. “Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll (1983)” by my buddy Ed Ward. You want to know where Rock comes from or why Elvis was called a “cat” (and dressed like he did), that’s the source you go to. Greil is the better writer but Ed is the better historian. Did Greil ever sit on Bob Marley’s hotel bed, strumming a guitar and shooting the shit? Nah. But Ed did.

      2. “Cocksucker Blues”. Better than reading a book on the topic. Available on Google video (or it was last time I checked).

  48. Slowstudies

      2 great jazz books:

      John Litweiler’s THE FREEDOM PRINCIPLE

      Art and Laurie Pepper’s STRAIGHT LIFE

  49. zeno

      I dunno about the “best” music books, but I remember being 12 and reading some crappy biography of the Cure, before I had heard any of their songs. After I had read the whole thing, I went and borrowed all the Cure albums my aunt had, and listened to them incessantly until I was 18, and actually went to a Cure concert. After that, I never listened to them again. The book had marked the beginning of being a teenager, randomly picking it up defined my tastes for six years, and the concert itself (3 hours and a half long…) marked the end of it. I should read more biographies of bands I’ve never listened to, they’re way more interesting, even if they aren’t very well written.

  50. amoo

      ditto on Lester Bangs

  51. Tyler Flynn Dorholt

      The 33 1/3 Series is a great platform for music books, as the writer has to remain within the confines of discussing one album and one album only, which keeps a theoretical brevity going on–not that this is needed but it is refreshing for music writing. There are a chunk of these that are great yet I am sure many that fail as well. (http://www.continuumbooks.com/series/browse.aspx?SeriesId=2101)

  52. Steve

      Seconds on the Stanley Booth and Ian MacDonald. Tosches’ Country and Where Dead Voices Gather are right up there with Hellfire. Miles Davis’ autobiography wins for “most creative uses of the word m*therf*cker”. It Came From Memphis by Robert Gordon. Notes and Tones, jazz interviews conducted by drummer Art Taylor. Keyboardist Ian McLagan’s memoir All The Rage.

  53. Shane Anderson

      you might want to check out:

      1. audio cultures
      2. noise, water, meat
      3. the cardew lectures/papers, esp. slamming stockhausen
      4. morton feldman’s essays
      5. ives’ essays before a sonata (been a long time since i read this, but i remember liking it)
      6. the cage books; silence being my favorite.
      7. my friend luciano chessa’s releasing a book soon with university of california press on futurism and his noise makers; it’s a real doozy.

  54. Colin Herd

      NOISE/MUSIC : A HISTORY by Paul Hegarty

      Give My Regards to Eighth Street: The Collected Writings of Morton Feldman

  55. Colin Herd

      BIG YES re: Cardew.

  56. Sheldon Lee Compton

      Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje

  57. Jeff

      -Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung: Lester Bangs
      (all-time fave)

      -Mystery Train: Greil Marcus
      (for Americana – Robert Johnson to Randy Newman to Sly Stone)

      -England’s Dreaming: Jon Savage
      (for punk; for a more theory-bound version of the same story, Lipstick Traces by Greil Marcus)

      -Visions of Jazz: Gary Giddins
      (Louis Armstrong to Cecil Taylor; for jazz criticism as short stories, But Beautiful by Geoff Dyer)

      -The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones: Stanley Booth
      (other great bios: Last Train to Memphis by Peter Guralnick; Nico: The End by James Young; The Clash: A Riot of Our Own by Johnny Green; Hellfire by Nick Tosches; The Life and Times of Little Richard, etc)

  58. Jeff

      great choices!

  59. Tony O'Neill

      Jeff – have you ever read “Nico: Life and Lies of an Icon”?

      I’m a big Nico fan, and thought that it was a better book than James Young’s book – more comprehensive, and definitely well written in some respects. It has a lot of good interviews in it, but the author, Richard Witts, seemed like a bit of a frustrated shrink, as he constantly tries to analyze his subject and so it can get pretty pretentious and aggravating in places. But if you can get past that, it offers a pretty concise portrait…

      Its out of print though, and currently sells for around 70 bucks on abebooks….

  60. Salvatore Pane

      Roddy Doyle’s “The Commitments”. Really nice novel.

  61. Johannes Goransson

      I’m not very original in this regard; mostly I think of Greil Marcus books:
      Dead Elvis
      Lipstick Traces
      Invisible Republic
      probably more

      Those are all good. I like his purple prose.

      Recently read an interesting bio of Tony Conrad. Can’t remember what it was called.

      Johannes

  62. Johannes Goransson

      And what about Helter Skelter about the Manson Murders. Only obliquely about pop music, but it’s the best.

      Johannes

  63. rk

      The Rest is Noise showed me a lot about the relationship between the artist and the audience and how maybe its best sometimes that nobody is looking.

      Banquet Years was also mentioned. Probably my favorite non-fiction.

  64. kdr

      YES (!) to Ondaatje’s Coming Through Slaughter

  65. kdr

      Check out Luc Sante’s Kill Your Darlings, too. Includes some truly g-r-e-a-t music-related pieces — Dylan, Buddy Bolden, et al.

  66. Jordan

      Taruskin though I’ll never finish it. I have hazy memories of the Grove being fun to dip into. Berlioz’s memoirs. Stendhal’s books on Haydn, Mozart, Metastasio, Rossini, especially the Rossini one.

  67. Sheldon Lee Compton

      Will do.

  68. davidpeak

      has anyone read thomas mann’s doctor faustus?

  69. David B. Applegate

      “Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae” by M. Veal
      Awesome, scholarly-yet-readable book about dub & Jamaican culture.

      All volumes of “Arcana” ed. by John Zorn
      Amazing articles by musicians about extended technique, weirdness, etc.

  70. Steve

      I forgot about Charles Mingus’ Beneath The Underdog. As much about sex and pimpin’ as it is about music. E.T.A. Hoffmann’s Kater Murr (about a composer and his literate cat) is fun stuff. Learned about that one from reading Alex Ross.

  71. Matt K

      Black Music by LeRoi Jones, Landing on the Wrong Note: Jazz, dissonance and critical practice by Ajay Heble, Lipstick Traces by Greil Marcus

  72. Jim W

      Adam Voith’s Bridges With Spirit is top notch. I’ve probably purchased, and given as gifts, at least five copies of it. It really captures what it’s like to be a music fan, to have hat be your defining thing

      Greg Kot’s Wilco: Learning How to Die is quite a great history of the band (and their Uncle Tupelo years). Great stuff.

      Jim Derogatis did a fantastic job with the Flaming Lips book (what can I say, I love me the Sound Opinions boys).

      I have a friend who contends Michael Azerad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life is the best music book ever. Not sure I agree, but it does have awesome stuff about the Replacements and the Minutemen.

  73. Joseph RIippi

      The Rest is Noise is first that comes to mind, as it seems to be for a few folks here.

      I really enjoyed Musicophilia, Oliver Sacks. Made an otherwise shitty plane ride worthwhile.

      I’ll just got ahead and say High Fidelity.

      Also Bob Dylan’s Chronicles and Bob Spitz’s The Beatles.

  74. romeo jones

      for disco …

      Love Saves The Day – Tim Lawrence (there’s supposed to be a second volume of this coming out that covers the 80s more … psyched for that)
      Turn The Beat Around – Peter Shapiro
      My Life and The Paradise Garage : Keep On Dancin’ by Mel Cheren

      Dancer From the Dance -Andrew Holleran, an amazing novel that deals with the early NYC gay nightlife/disco scene

      for post-disco dance stuff …

      Techno Rebels – Dan Sicko (detroit techno)
      More Brilliant Than The Sun – Kodwo Eshun

  75. Jeff

      hey Tony – I love Nico, too. I haven’t read the Witts book but it sounds fascinating. Maybe I can secure a copy through inter-library loan. Does it talk much about her film work with Phillip Garrel? I’ve become obsessed with seeing those movies but most of them are rarer than hen’s teeth.

      I like the James Young book b/c of the highly evocative snapshot it offers of her last few years. Hardly comprehensive, though. The Clash book A Riot of our Own book by Johnny Green functions in a similar way, capturing the time before London Calling when the band was without a label and rehearsing in an old bunker. Have you checked out that one?

      Anyhow, thanks for the tip!

  76. Tony O'Neill

      Yeah it does… I read the book maybe 7 or 8 years ago, and its hidden away in a box somewhere back in England, so I’m working form memory here, but I do remember that the Garrel stuff was definitely covered.

      Apparently her son, Ari, has a book out too, except it’s only available in French.

  77. Adam R

      Yes.

  78. Jordan

      Somehow I forgot Carl Wilson’s Celine Dion book.

      I know exactly how I forgot Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung.

  79. davidpeak

      i liked the parts about composing music.

  80. John Mark

      The Sam McPheeters guest-edited “Anti-Music” issue of Vice Magazine that just came out is amazing. Required reading.

  81. SrLansky

      Nowhere to Run – Gerri Hirshey
      Rip It Up And Start Again – Simon Reynolds

      I’m a big fan of the annual DaCapo Best Music Writing compilations.

  82. Tony O'Neill

      “Deep In A Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker” by James Gavin (on of my favorite books, music related or not.)
      “Hellfire” Nick Tosches (already mentioned by kdr, but fuck it, it’s a brilliant book)
      “Please Kill Me” – Legs McNeil (ditto)
      “Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs” – Johnny Rotten

  83. scott mcclanahan

      I second KDR’s choices and the Janey Smith choice. I would add:
      G. Marcus — At the Crossroads.
      Peter Guralnick — Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love.

  84. Steven Augustine

      1. “Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll (1983)” by my buddy Ed Ward. You want to know where Rock comes from or why Elvis was called a “cat” (and dressed like he did), that’s the source you go to. Greil is the better writer but Ed is the better historian. Did Greil ever sit on Bob Marley’s hotel bed, strumming a guitar and shooting the shit? Nah. But Ed did.

      2. “Cocksucker Blues”. Better than reading a book on the topic. Available on Google video (or it was last time I checked).

  85. mark

      love is a mixtape

      love is a mixtape

      love is a mixtape

      love is a mixtape

      dixie lullaby

  86. Slowstudies

      2 great jazz books:

      John Litweiler’s THE FREEDOM PRINCIPLE

      Art and Laurie Pepper’s STRAIGHT LIFE

  87. kdr

      Steve-

      Indeed. I’ve often stated that Miles’ book should have just been titled “Motherf*cker” — his use of the, um, term is downright gymnastic.

      Is the McLagan’s memoir that good? I often shy away from such tomes, but if it’s a unique endeavor, perhaps I should reconsider. After all, the correct answer to the age-old question “The Beatles or the Stones?” is, in fact, “The Faces!”

      Lastly, Booth’s contributions to music writing (hell, he’s written the only decent/literate Stones book!) is straight-up criminal, I think.

  88. zeno

      I dunno about the “best” music books, but I remember being 12 and reading some crappy biography of the Cure, before I had heard any of their songs. After I had read the whole thing, I went and borrowed all the Cure albums my aunt had, and listened to them incessantly until I was 18, and actually went to a Cure concert. After that, I never listened to them again. The book had marked the beginning of being a teenager, randomly picking it up defined my tastes for six years, and the concert itself (3 hours and a half long…) marked the end of it. I should read more biographies of bands I’ve never listened to, they’re way more interesting, even if they aren’t very well written.

  89. Jeff

      I love Chet Baker, but wasn’t aware of Deep in a Dream. I’ll definitely have to seek that out.
      Please Kill Me is amazing.

  90. amoo

      ditto on Lester Bangs

  91. Tyler Flynn Dorholt

      The 33 1/3 Series is a great platform for music books, as the writer has to remain within the confines of discussing one album and one album only, which keeps a theoretical brevity going on–not that this is needed but it is refreshing for music writing. There are a chunk of these that are great yet I am sure many that fail as well. (http://www.continuumbooks.com/series/browse.aspx?SeriesId=2101)

  92. Jacob Wren
  93. Steve

      Seconds on the Stanley Booth and Ian MacDonald. Tosches’ Country and Where Dead Voices Gather are right up there with Hellfire. Miles Davis’ autobiography wins for “most creative uses of the word m*therf*cker”. It Came From Memphis by Robert Gordon. Notes and Tones, jazz interviews conducted by drummer Art Taylor. Keyboardist Ian McLagan’s memoir All The Rage.

  94. Shane Anderson

      you might want to check out:

      1. audio cultures
      2. noise, water, meat
      3. the cardew lectures/papers, esp. slamming stockhausen
      4. morton feldman’s essays
      5. ives’ essays before a sonata (been a long time since i read this, but i remember liking it)
      6. the cage books; silence being my favorite.
      7. my friend luciano chessa’s releasing a book soon with university of california press on futurism and his noise makers; it’s a real doozy.

  95. Colin Herd

      NOISE/MUSIC : A HISTORY by Paul Hegarty

      Give My Regards to Eighth Street: The Collected Writings of Morton Feldman

  96. Colin Herd

      BIG YES re: Cardew.

  97. Dustin Luke Nelson

      Saw it on here once already, but it’s worth reiterating. Azzerad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life is my favorite book on rock music. Darnielle’s 33 1/3 on Black Sabbath is entertaining though. And The Rest is Noise is fantastic as well.

  98. Sheldon Lee Compton

      Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje

  99. Jeff

      -Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung: Lester Bangs
      (all-time fave)

      -Mystery Train: Greil Marcus
      (for Americana – Robert Johnson to Randy Newman to Sly Stone)

      -England’s Dreaming: Jon Savage
      (for punk; for a more theory-bound version of the same story, Lipstick Traces by Greil Marcus)

      -Visions of Jazz: Gary Giddins
      (Louis Armstrong to Cecil Taylor; for jazz criticism as short stories, But Beautiful by Geoff Dyer)

      -The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones: Stanley Booth
      (other great bios: Last Train to Memphis by Peter Guralnick; Nico: The End by James Young; The Clash: A Riot of Our Own by Johnny Green; Hellfire by Nick Tosches; The Life and Times of Little Richard, etc)

  100. Jeff

      great choices!

  101. kdr

      John Niven’s ‘Music From Big Pink’ entry is one of the few fiction pieces in the series (aside from the oft mentioned Darnielle) and, I think, unjustly ignored. A good read, if memory serves.

  102. Tony O'Neill

      Jeff – have you ever read “Nico: Life and Lies of an Icon”?

      I’m a big Nico fan, and thought that it was a better book than James Young’s book – more comprehensive, and definitely well written in some respects. It has a lot of good interviews in it, but the author, Richard Witts, seemed like a bit of a frustrated shrink, as he constantly tries to analyze his subject and so it can get pretty pretentious and aggravating in places. But if you can get past that, it offers a pretty concise portrait…

      Its out of print though, and currently sells for around 70 bucks on abebooks….

  103. Salvatore Pane

      Roddy Doyle’s “The Commitments”. Really nice novel.

  104. Johannes Goransson

      I’m not very original in this regard; mostly I think of Greil Marcus books:
      Dead Elvis
      Lipstick Traces
      Invisible Republic
      probably more

      Those are all good. I like his purple prose.

      Recently read an interesting bio of Tony Conrad. Can’t remember what it was called.

      Johannes

  105. Johannes Goransson

      And what about Helter Skelter about the Manson Murders. Only obliquely about pop music, but it’s the best.

      Johannes

  106. scott mcclanahan

      Amen to England’s Dreaming. Have you read Jon Savage’s Kinks bio?

  107. rk

      The Rest is Noise showed me a lot about the relationship between the artist and the audience and how maybe its best sometimes that nobody is looking.

      Banquet Years was also mentioned. Probably my favorite non-fiction.

  108. kdr

      YES (!) to Ondaatje’s Coming Through Slaughter

  109. kdr

      Check out Luc Sante’s Kill Your Darlings, too. Includes some truly g-r-e-a-t music-related pieces — Dylan, Buddy Bolden, et al.

  110. Jordan

      Taruskin though I’ll never finish it. I have hazy memories of the Grove being fun to dip into. Berlioz’s memoirs. Stendhal’s books on Haydn, Mozart, Metastasio, Rossini, especially the Rossini one.

  111. Sheldon Lee Compton

      Will do.

  112. davidpeak

      has anyone read thomas mann’s doctor faustus?

  113. Jeff

      No – I didn’t even know it existed! When did it come out? Is it as good as England’s Dreaming?

  114. David B. Applegate

      “Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae” by M. Veal
      Awesome, scholarly-yet-readable book about dub & Jamaican culture.

      All volumes of “Arcana” ed. by John Zorn
      Amazing articles by musicians about extended technique, weirdness, etc.

  115. Steve

      I forgot about Charles Mingus’ Beneath The Underdog. As much about sex and pimpin’ as it is about music. E.T.A. Hoffmann’s Kater Murr (about a composer and his literate cat) is fun stuff. Learned about that one from reading Alex Ross.

  116. Matt K

      Black Music by LeRoi Jones, Landing on the Wrong Note: Jazz, dissonance and critical practice by Ajay Heble, Lipstick Traces by Greil Marcus

  117. Jim W

      Adam Voith’s Bridges With Spirit is top notch. I’ve probably purchased, and given as gifts, at least five copies of it. It really captures what it’s like to be a music fan, to have hat be your defining thing

      Greg Kot’s Wilco: Learning How to Die is quite a great history of the band (and their Uncle Tupelo years). Great stuff.

      Jim Derogatis did a fantastic job with the Flaming Lips book (what can I say, I love me the Sound Opinions boys).

      I have a friend who contends Michael Azerad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life is the best music book ever. Not sure I agree, but it does have awesome stuff about the Replacements and the Minutemen.

  118. thom bunn

      Me too!

      That and the description of deep sea diving.

      And when the Gentleman Stan visits.

      I meant Satan, not Stan…..

  119. romeo jones

      for disco …

      Love Saves The Day – Tim Lawrence (there’s supposed to be a second volume of this coming out that covers the 80s more … psyched for that)
      Turn The Beat Around – Peter Shapiro
      My Life and The Paradise Garage : Keep On Dancin’ by Mel Cheren

      Dancer From the Dance -Andrew Holleran, an amazing novel that deals with the early NYC gay nightlife/disco scene

      for post-disco dance stuff …

      Techno Rebels – Dan Sicko (detroit techno)
      More Brilliant Than The Sun – Kodwo Eshun

  120. thom bunn

      Yes to this also!

      Most of the posts here are about Rock or Post-Rock or Punk writing, and y’all side of the Atlantic too, which is fair enough.

      I don’t know if he’s written any books, but dip your toes in Martin Clark’s mainly dubstep-concerned, and resolutely Londoncentric http://blackdownsoundboy.blogspot.com/ . It’s topnotch.

  121. Jeff

      hey Tony – I love Nico, too. I haven’t read the Witts book but it sounds fascinating. Maybe I can secure a copy through inter-library loan. Does it talk much about her film work with Phillip Garrel? I’ve become obsessed with seeing those movies but most of them are rarer than hen’s teeth.

      I like the James Young book b/c of the highly evocative snapshot it offers of her last few years. Hardly comprehensive, though. The Clash book A Riot of our Own book by Johnny Green functions in a similar way, capturing the time before London Calling when the band was without a label and rehearsing in an old bunker. Have you checked out that one?

      Anyhow, thanks for the tip!

  122. Steve

      The McLagan book is much better than you’d think. It’s very anecdote-y, but in a good way. I think he was inspired by Harpo Speaks, and it is sort of the music world version of that.

      I’ve always wondered if Booth’s Keith Richards bio is any good.

  123. Tony O'Neill

      Yeah it does… I read the book maybe 7 or 8 years ago, and its hidden away in a box somewhere back in England, so I’m working form memory here, but I do remember that the Garrel stuff was definitely covered.

      Apparently her son, Ari, has a book out too, except it’s only available in French.

  124. Adam Robinson

      Yes.

  125. Jordan

      Somehow I forgot Carl Wilson’s Celine Dion book.

      I know exactly how I forgot Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung.

  126. davidpeak

      i liked the parts about composing music.

  127. John Mark

      The Sam McPheeters guest-edited “Anti-Music” issue of Vice Magazine that just came out is amazing. Required reading.

  128. Schylur Prinz

      see, these are real music books. Not books about music.

  129. Schylur Prinz

      1: George Russell: The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization. Western Harmony is a sham, man!
      2: Iannis Xenakis: Formalized Music: Thought and Mathematics in Composition. Where did all the little black notes go?

  130. kdr

      The Richards bio is very so-so. His collection, Rhythm Oil, on the other hand, is uber-fantastic.

  131. Matthew Simmons

      Hellfire definitely deserves multiple mentions, but don’t forget Where Dead Voices Gather and Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock and Roll, as well.

  132. Matthew Simmons

      There they are.

  133. Matthew Simmons

      Mingus playing chess with Bobby Fischer.

  134. mark

      love is a mixtape

      love is a mixtape

      love is a mixtape

      love is a mixtape

      dixie lullaby

  135. kdr

      Steve-

      Indeed. I’ve often stated that Miles’ book should have just been titled “Motherf*cker” — his use of the, um, term is downright gymnastic.

      Is the McLagan’s memoir that good? I often shy away from such tomes, but if it’s a unique endeavor, perhaps I should reconsider. After all, the correct answer to the age-old question “The Beatles or the Stones?” is, in fact, “The Faces!”

      Lastly, Booth’s contributions to music writing (hell, he’s written the only decent/literate Stones book!) is straight-up criminal, I think.

  136. Jeff

      I love Chet Baker, but wasn’t aware of Deep in a Dream. I’ll definitely have to seek that out.
      Please Kill Me is amazing.

  137. Jacob Wren
  138. Dustin

      Saw it on here once already, but it’s worth reiterating. Azzerad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life is my favorite book on rock music. Darnielle’s 33 1/3 on Black Sabbath is entertaining though. And The Rest is Noise is fantastic as well.

  139. Marcos

      I also wanted to mention Michael Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life. It’s a great fucking book.

  140. kdr

      John Niven’s ‘Music From Big Pink’ entry is one of the few fiction pieces in the series (aside from the oft mentioned Darnielle) and, I think, unjustly ignored. A good read, if memory serves.

  141. scott mcclanahan

      Amen to England’s Dreaming. Have you read Jon Savage’s Kinks bio?

  142. Jeff

      No – I didn’t even know it existed! When did it come out? Is it as good as England’s Dreaming?

  143. deadgod

      A Bad Sign

      Time (magazine) cover stories are Big News, and Rick Johnson died thinking that nobody wanted to pay him to read his writing.

  144. thom bunn

      Me too!

      That and the description of deep sea diving.

      And when the Gentleman Stan visits.

      I meant Satan, not Stan…..

  145. thom bunn

      Yes to this also!

      Most of the posts here are about Rock or Post-Rock or Punk writing, and y’all side of the Atlantic too, which is fair enough.

      I don’t know if he’s written any books, but dip your toes in Martin Clark’s mainly dubstep-concerned, and resolutely Londoncentric http://blackdownsoundboy.blogspot.com/ . It’s topnotch.

  146. Steve

      The McLagan book is much better than you’d think. It’s very anecdote-y, but in a good way. I think he was inspired by Harpo Speaks, and it is sort of the music world version of that.

      I’ve always wondered if Booth’s Keith Richards bio is any good.

  147. Schylur Prinz

      see, these are real music books. Not books about music.

  148. Schylur Prinz

      1: George Russell: The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization. Western Harmony is a sham, man!
      2: Iannis Xenakis: Formalized Music: Thought and Mathematics in Composition. Where did all the little black notes go?

  149. kdr

      The Richards bio is very so-so. His collection, Rhythm Oil, on the other hand, is uber-fantastic.

  150. Matthew Simmons

      Hellfire definitely deserves multiple mentions, but don’t forget Where Dead Voices Gather and Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock and Roll, as well.

  151. Matthew Simmons

      There they are.

  152. Matthew Simmons

      Mingus playing chess with Bobby Fischer.

  153. Marcos

      I also wanted to mention Michael Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life. It’s a great fucking book.

  154. Nick

      1. Gulcher, Post-Rock Cultural Pluralism in America (1649-1980), by Richard Meltzer

      2. Subculture: The Meaning of Style, by Dick Hebdige

  155. deadgod

      A Bad Sign

      Time (magazine) cover stories are Big News, and Rick Johnson died thinking that nobody wanted to pay him to read his writing.

  156. Christopher Higgs

      Wow! So much good stuff here — thanks everybody! — keep it coming, I’m building a list…

  157. kdr

      Right on, right on. Both required texts.

  158. Nick

      1. Gulcher, Post-Rock Cultural Pluralism in America (1649-1980), by Richard Meltzer

      2. Subculture: The Meaning of Style, by Dick Hebdige

  159. Christopher Higgs

      Wow! So much good stuff here — thanks everybody! — keep it coming, I’m building a list…

  160. kdr

      Right on, right on. Both required texts.

  161. t-ed

      forget the title, but a memoir by tony ortega, who was a roadie/drug buyer for the rolling stones. great take on the brian jones era, and the rock and roll scene in london (and in general) during that time.

      anything by greil marcus

  162. t-ed

      forget the title, but a memoir by tony ortega, who was a roadie/drug buyer for the rolling stones. great take on the brian jones era, and the rock and roll scene in london (and in general) during that time.

      anything by greil marcus

  163. PHM

      Don’t know if anyone’s mentioned it, but Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records is truly amazing.

  164. Sean

      Improvisation

      by

      Derek Bailey

  165. PHM

      Don’t know if anyone’s mentioned it, but Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records is truly amazing.

  166. Sean

      Improvisation

      by

      Derek Bailey

  167. Regina

      Are there any good books on opera? Whether about traditional or experimental. I’m sort of on an opera kick right now, having by accident ignored it my entire life.

  168. Joshua H

      Simon Ford’s exhaustive (exhausting?) dissection of Throbbing Gristle, Wreckers of Civilisation, gets my vote.

  169. Adam
  170. ael

      I’m a huge fan of A Night at the Opera: An Irreverent Guide to The Plots, The Singers, The Composers, The Recordings by Sir Denis Forman and out from The Modern Library. Comprehensive and every page makes you want to throw a record on.

  171. Regina

      Are there any good books on opera? Whether about traditional or experimental. I’m sort of on an opera kick right now, having by accident ignored it my entire life.

  172. Joshua H

      Simon Ford’s exhaustive (exhausting?) dissection of Throbbing Gristle, Wreckers of Civilisation, gets my vote.

  173. Guest
  174. ael

      I’m a huge fan of A Night at the Opera: An Irreverent Guide to The Plots, The Singers, The Composers, The Recordings by Sir Denis Forman and out from The Modern Library. Comprehensive and every page makes you want to throw a record on.

  175. Chris

      Nice to find Coming through Slaughter mentioned here. PBS did a show on New Orleans music today, and they talked about Buddy Bolden. Will have to pass the book along to a musician friend of mine.

  176. mimi

      Coming Through Slaughter is a beautiful book. Ondjaate’s best.

  177. mimi

      *Ondaatje

  178. Chris

      Nice to find Coming through Slaughter mentioned here. PBS did a show on New Orleans music today, and they talked about Buddy Bolden. Will have to pass the book along to a musician friend of mine.

  179. mimi

      Coming Through Slaughter is a beautiful book. Ondjaate’s best.

  180. mimi

      *Ondaatje

  181. Regina

      thanks!

  182. Reeshard

      Uptight: The Velvet Underground Story (Victor Bockris & Gerard Malanga) The first and still possibly the best of the now many books about the Velvets. Also, the only book with Bockris’ name on it (elsewhere shorthand for sycophantic Eurotrash) that’s worth spit.

      33 1/3: Low (Hugo Wilckens) The defining title in the 33 1/3 series. Wilckens’ book deploys theory, history and gossip in exact proportions. His writing fits the tone of Bowie’s record, dry and stylish in the same go.

      Unsung Heroes Of Rock ‘n’ Roll (Nick Tosches) The chapter detailing a meeting between author Tosches and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (“Horror and the Foot-Shaped Ashtray”) is worth the price of admission.

  183. Regina

      thanks!

  184. Reeshard

      Uptight: The Velvet Underground Story (Victor Bockris & Gerard Malanga) The first and still possibly the best of the now many books about the Velvets. Also, the only book with Bockris’ name on it (elsewhere shorthand for sycophantic Eurotrash) that’s worth spit.

      33 1/3: Low (Hugo Wilckens) The defining title in the 33 1/3 series. Wilckens’ book deploys theory, history and gossip in exact proportions. His writing fits the tone of Bowie’s record, dry and stylish in the same go.

      Unsung Heroes Of Rock ‘n’ Roll (Nick Tosches) The chapter detailing a meeting between author Tosches and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (“Horror and the Foot-Shaped Ashtray”) is worth the price of admission.

  185. i.s.

      Great post and list. I haven’t read a lot in this area, but one of my favorite books this summer was *No Such Thing as Silence: John Cage’s 4’33″* by Kyle Gann (not mentioned yet, I think?).

  186. i.s.

      Great post and list. I haven’t read a lot in this area, but one of my favorite books this summer was *No Such Thing as Silence: John Cage’s 4’33″* by Kyle Gann (not mentioned yet, I think?).

  187. christina

      high fidelity-nick hornby