Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division by Peter Hook (2013)
This is a book that I was so excited about that I pre-ordered it twice (a drunken oversight as the book’s publication was backed out a few months). Not only was there a new back-story to one of my all-time favorite bands, it was told by the band’s bassist. Continue reading
Just about a year ago I posted an article on my complete collection of the City Lights Pocket Poets Series. I continue to add to the collection and replace near fine copies with finer examples. It remains one of my proudest collective achievements. The above was an unexpected Continue reading
Ryan Adams: Losering, A Story of Whiskeytown by David Menconi (2012)
Originally published on Pop ‘stache
At first glance, the cover of Losering implies that it’s a Whiskeytown memoir written by none other than Ryan Adams. Upon closer inspection though, David Menconi’s name is detectable in the form of a beer label. This might disappoint some expecting Adams’ histrionic musings in print, but Continue reading
Will Oldham on Bonnie “Prince” Billy Edited by Alan Licht (2012)
Originally published on Pop ‘stache
Alan Licht, interviewer/editor of Will Oldham on Bonnie “Prince” Billy, does the once-thought impossible and Continue reading
Year Zero by Rob Reid (2012)
Originally published on Pop’stache
The premise behind Rob Reid’s first novel, Year Zero, is a music-centric universe that has been bankrupted by Earth’s copyright laws due to boundless piracy. Earth is subsequently targeted by certain biased alien races who believe that encouraging our self-annihilation might be the only way of saving Continue reading
Love Rock Revolution: K Records and the Rise of Independent Music by Mark Baumgarten (2012)
Some Velvet Sidewalk’s Al Larsen coined the term “love rock” in his music manifesto: “When Sonic Youth do ‘Kool Thing’ they are love rock. Or when Beat Happening trade roles, singer to guitarist to drummer. When Nation of Ulysses makes an absolute sincere mess or when the Melvins Continue reading
Seeing the Light: Inside the Velvet Underground by Rob Jovanovic (2010)
Republished on Pop ‘stache after some tidying up…
Lou Reed: “We put a ship in the water, it turned out to be a turbo-powered sub and it took a while for it to land wherever it landed. Time was the real judge. The proof was in the work, and the work is on the record.”
SHH: “Rob Jovanovic put out a book on The Velvets, it turned out to be a slow-chugging sub and although it infrequently put its periscope up for an interesting anecdote, it never lands. The proof is in the shlock, and the shlock is in the book.”
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Rob Jovanovic has penned very competent and comprehensive books on artists including R.E.M., Pavement and Big Star. His latest book on music is Seeing the Light Continue reading
Congratulations to SHH’s newest contributor, Brian. Aside from being an avid reader, he’s also a local scholar of HBO’s The Wire. Enjoy!
“Easy Money: Anatomy of a Drug Empire” is a series of five articles written by David Simon that ran in The Baltimore Sun from January 11, 1985 to January 15, 1985. Simon is best known as the creator of the HBO series The Wire, but he started his professional career as a reporter for The Baltimore Sun. He joined The Sun out of college in 1982 and left in 1995, disillusioned by the corporate culture that invaded his newspaper. While reading Simon’s first book, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, I found that “Easy Money” was referenced more than once by Simon and Continue reading
Totally Wired: Post-Punk Interviews and Overviews by Simon Reynolds (2010)
Simon Reynolds is one of the most critically acclaimed music journalists of the past decade and has found himself the authority on both 90’s electronic dance music and the post-punk movement of the late 70’s and early 80’s. If his 2006 release Rip It Up and Start Again: Post-Punk 1978-1984 is Continue reading
Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 by Michael Azerrad
Our Band Could Be Your Life is probably the most compelling book on music that I’ve read since Simon Reynolds’ Rip it Up and Start Again. Published in 2001, Michael Azerrad was the first to sing the praises of an era of music largely overlooked: the American independent scene from 1981-1991. Our Band Could Be Your Life documents thirteen bands in particular: Black Flag, The Minutemen, Mission of Burma, Minor Threat, Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, Sonic Youth, Continue reading
the self-hating hipster 