So, my 18th birthday is saturday. I'm pretty psyched. My family is full of scholars (well, my mom's side; my father's side is full of intellectual screw-ups) so they love to get me books as part of my present (I don't mind). I'm notoriously picky with what I read so they've started to just give me gift certificates to Amazon and Borders.

So, here's where you come in. What are some of your favorite books related to music? Fiction, nonfiction, biographies; any books music related.

I'll start. I'm a big Klosterman fan (although our music taste don't agree at all) so "Killing Yourself to Live", "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs", and the collection of his articles are some favorites of mine. I'm also a big fan of "Rip It Up and Start Again: Post-punk 1978-1984" by Simon Reynolds.

I've been obsessively reading books on rock music for the past 5 years. There are a bunch of great ones, but it kind of depends what subjects within rock interests you. So I'll break it down by subject.

History of Rock Radio -
One of my favorite books is "FM" by Richard Neer. He writes about the history of rock radio, mostly covering the rise and fall of FM radio. Neer was a big player in the industry from the mid-sixties to the early eighties as a program director for many of the countries biggest radio stations. I read this book at least 4 times already.

History of the Music Business -
Here are some great books on the record business and its top executives (in no particular order)
1.) "Music Man" by Dorothy Wade and Justine Picardie. This is a history of Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, but it covers that label's history pretty well, not just his.
2.) "The Operator" by Tom King. This is a great book on the life of David Geffen and his many record labels.
3.) "Follow the Music" by Jac Holzmann and Gavan Daws. This is a behind the scenes look on how Electra Records started from the founder himself, Jac Holzmann.
4.) "Exploding" by Stan Cornyn. This is a history of Warner Bros. Records.

One you want to avoid, at least in my opinion, is Walter Yetnikoff's "Howling at the Moon". It's an awfully written book about CBS Records. I hated this book, so buyer beware.

Authenticity in Rock -
There are two great books that examine authenticity in rock (amoung other things). The first is a great book called "Mansion On The Hill" by Fred Goodman. The book looks at the concept of "Authentic Artists", and what it means to be an authentic artist, as opposed to a "Sell Out" artist. This is a highly entertaining book. The second is a more cerebral one, Greil Marcus' "Mystery Train". Many people smarter than me consider this book the one true CLASSIC book on rock and roll.

Collection of Rock Critics' Writings -
1.) Anything by Lester Bangs (including the bio, "Let It Blurt", by Jim DeRogatis.
2.) "The Dark Stuff" by Nick Touches.
3.) "The Aesthetics of Rock" by Richard Meltzer.
4.) "Milk It!" by Jim DeRogatis.
5.) "Not Fade Away" by Ben Fong-Torres.

Rock Biographies -
Here's a few of my favorites (in no particular order)
1.) "Staring at Sound" by Jim DeRogatis. Book about The Flaming Lips.
2.) "Shakey" by Jimmy Mcdonough. Book about Neil Young.
3.) "Shout" by Philip Norman. Book about The Bealtes.
4.) "Wilco: Learning How to Die" by Greg Kot. Book about Wilco.

Electronica / Avant-Garde -
Two great books on electronica / Avant-Garde are "Haunted Weather" by David Toop and "The Ambient Century" by Mark Prendergast. Both books focus on the history and evolution of electronic music, about how it started in universities and then branched out into the mainstream.

Odds and Ends -
Okay, I'm getting lazy so let me just end by listing a few more rock-based books that don't quite fit in the above categories, but are definetly worth reading:
1.)"Rolling Stone Magazine" by Robert Draper. This is a history of Rolling Stone magazine and its founder, Jann Wenner. Very entertaining and informative read.
2.) "Our Band Could Be Your Life" by Michael Azerrad. A great book showcasing some of the eighties underground bands that never hit it big (but should've). It would compliment your book, "Rip It Up and Start Again" pretty well. A great introduction to 80s indie rock.

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Originally posted by musicfanatic:
Electronica / Avant-Garde -
Two great books on electronica / Avant-Garde are "Haunted Weather" by David Toop and "The Ambient Century" by Mark Prendergast. Both books focus on the history and evolution of electronic music, about how it started in universities and then branched out into the mainstream.

I just picked up "Experimental Music: Cage and Beyond" by Michael Nyman from the library today... have you checked this out?

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll have plenty of reading material soon.

I would highly recommend Joe Boyd's "White Bicycles" which details his involvement in the 1960s jazz and folks scenes. It also comes with a CD, which is pretty spiffy.

They aren't so much books on 'music' per se as books on life, but I would recommend anything written by the man himself, John Cage. Silence is a great collection of "lectures" (in the loosest sense of the word). I'm also working through a book of conversation of his called Musicage, which is great as well, 'cept I got sidetracked by this other amaaazing, but fairly heavy philosophical work recommended in Musicage called Art as Experience, by John Dewey.

As for rock books, I haven't read much besides Please Kill Me: the Uncensored Oral History of Punk, compiled by Punk magazine founders Legs Mcneil and Gilian McCain. If you haven't read this yet, you owe it to yourself. It's a fantastic read, composed of the oral recollections of the people who were there when shit went down. It starts out with the Detroit scene (MC5, the Stooges and the Fun House crew), and works its way to the CBGB's scene via Andy Warhol's Factory. Essential.

If you like "Rip it Up..." another good post-punk classic is "Touching from a Distance" Ian Curtis' wife did a biography of him written not long after he died. This is what the film 'Control', due out soon, is based on.

My other favourite is Michael Azerrad's "Our Band Could Be Your Life" (as previously suggested by musicfanatic). You've probably heard of it, but it's worth the hype, definately enjoyed that one. It's pretty much a must read.

Finally Martin C. Strong edits a book called "The Great Rock Discography", it's published and updated every few years. I don't know when the last edition came out, my copy is rather old. It's got short histories of over 1,500 bands from the last 50ish years (most mainstream or critically acclaimed artists are included) along with a history of everything they released and meta-ratings for their albums. I don't agree with a lot of the scores though, but rarely do I agree with anyone on most things, but the information is all solid and a good way to discover new stuff.

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Originally posted by vitunkrapula:
They aren't so much books on 'music' per se as books on life, but I would recommend anything written by the man himself, John Cage. Silence is a great collection of "lectures" (in the loosest sense of the word). I'm also working through a book of conversation of his called Musicage, which is great as well, 'cept I got sidetracked by this other amaaazing, but fairly heavy philosophical work recommended in Musicage called Art as Experience, by John Dewey.

I tried to get Silence and Musicage at my library yesterday but we didn't have it! So, I put it on my wishlist... it's nice to hear that they're as good as I was hoping.

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Originally posted by Jglass:
I tried to get Silence and Musicage at my library yesterday but we didn't have it! So, I put it on my wishlist... it's nice to hear that they're as good as I was hoping.

Well I'm a fan for what that's worth. I'm sure many people have been frustrated by his writings because they... erm, do things to you. Reading his stuff is something like reading Zen koans on music and art, if that gets you excited.

Here's an example:

The master Bankei's talks were attended not only by Zen students but by persons of all ranks and sects. He never quoted sutras not indulged in scholastic dissertations. Instead, his words were spoken directly from his heart to the hearts of his listeners.

His large audience angered a priest of the Nichiren sect because the adherents had left to hear about Zen. The self-centered Nichiren priest came to the temple, determined to have a debate with Bankei.

"Hey, Zen teacher!" he called out. "Wait a minute. Whoever respects you will obey what you say, but a man like myself does not respect you. Can you make me obey you?"

"Come up beside me and I will show you," said Bankei.

Proudly the priest pushed his way through the crowd to the teacher.

Bankei smiled. "Come over to my left side."

The priest obeyed.

"No," said Bankei, "we may talk better if you are on the right side. Step over here."

The priest proudly stepped over to the right.

"You see," observed Bankei, "you are obeying me and I think you are a very gentle person. Now sit down and listen."

That's brilliant...

Tricksy Zen monks... that's one of my favs. Here are a bunch of free ones, some better than others. The trick with the Cage stuff is finding the riddle - sometimes it gets confusing.

Miles by Miles Davis. One of the best autobiographies I have ever read. Blunt, honest and cold...but beautiful. It examines not only music, but drug addiction, race and relationships (good, bad and so, so ugly). It totally transcends "music" writing.

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Originally posted by wilsonna:
Miles by Miles Davis. One of the best autobiographies I have ever read. Blunt, honest and cold...but beautiful. It examines not only music, but drug addiction, race and relationships (good, bad and so, so ugly). It totally transcends "music" writing.

Heroin addiction has been a huge issue in a lot of scenes, huh?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JGlass,

Our Band Could Be Your Life should be required reading for all these narrow-minded and ignorant self-professed "indie rock" kids who have no idea who Big Black, Mission of Burma, or Beat Happening, much less understand why they defined "indie rock" to begin with.

England's Dreaming by Jon Savage is a classic, too.

There's a series called 33 1/3, which examines a lot of the stone cold classic albums. Each one is written by a different person (mostly) and from a different perspective, which makes them all unique (unfortunately that makes for some really bad books apparently, because some of them, namely OK Computer and Sign 'O' The Times, are pretty reviled for the way they were written.) "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" by Kim Cooper is the only one I have, I read it just a few days ago, I can definitely say I'd recommend it. Should probably get more in the series since I've heard most of the albums in the catalog.

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Originally posted by Nhazghaal:
There's a series called 33 1/3, which examines a lot of the stone cold classic albums. Each one is written by a different person (mostly) and from a different perspective, which makes them all unique (unfortunately that makes for some really bad books apparently, because some of them, namely OK Computer and Sign 'O' The Times, are pretty reviled for the way they were written.) "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" by Kim Cooper is the only one I have, I read it just a few days ago, I can definitely say I'd recommend it. Should probably get more in the series since I've heard most of the albums in the catalog.

I saw these at a local record store... the Loveless one caught my attention but I didn't buy it.

I bought Our Band Could Be Your Life and Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung (by Lester Bangs) from Borders today.

I'm pretty damn psyched to read them.

quote:

There's a series called 33 1/3, which examines a lot of the stone cold classic albums. Each one is written by a different person (mostly) and from a different perspective, which makes them all unique (unfortunately that makes for some really bad books apparently, because some of them, namely OK Computer and Sign 'O' The Times, are pretty reviled for the way they were written.) "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" by Kim Cooper is the only one I have, I read it just a few days ago, I can definitely say I'd recommend it. Should probably get more in the series since I've heard most of the albums in the catalog.

I have quite a few of these books. You have to be careful, definitely steer clear of the OK Computer and Meat is Murder ones. In response to Jglass, I would absolutely get the Loveless one if you're a My Bloody Valentine fan. It's one of the best in the series. Other really good ones are the Nirvana In Utero, David Bowie Low, Beastie Boys Paul's Boutique, and Joy Division Unknown Pleasures editions. I'm reading the one on R.E.M.'s Murmur currently. They're addictive little books.

Those books sound like good reads. Pity I'm a poor asshole who can't even buy the albums those books are based on. =P

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Originally posted by jonathanbrisby:
definitely steer clear of the OK Computer and Meat is Murder ones.

I didn't read the OK Computer issue, but to be fair I LOVED the Meat is Murder edition. It's the only one (I think?) in the series that is fiction. Written by Joe Pernice (yes, that Joe Pernice) it completely encapsulates what it was like to be a Smiths' fanboy in the 80s (and I should know ). I found myself nodding in agreement all the way through. So to sum up, if you are a fan of the Smiths (and especially if you lived through it) give it a chance.

Lots of good suggestions here (including a few that I need to check out!), here are a few I didn't see mentioned:

Two by my absolute favorite rock critic, Ritchie Unterberger: Unknown Legends of Rock & Roll and Urban Spacemen and Wayfaring Strangers.

Clinton Heylin's From the Velvets to the Voidoids

Roni Sarig's The Secret History of Rock

George Gimarc's Punk Diary and Post-Punk Diary

Jim Derogatis' Kaleidoscope Eyes

Jglass, you already picked two great ones BTW.