Showing titles in History & Criticism

Danny Goldberg's new book is a subjective history of 1967, the year he graduated from high school. It is, he writes, "an attempt at trying to remember the culture that mesmerized me, to visit the places and conversations I was not cool enough to have been a part of." It is also a refreshing and new analysis of the era; by looking at not only the political causes, but also the spiritual, musical, and psychedelic movements, Goldberg provides a unique perspective on how and why the legacy of 1967 lives on today.

After February 9, 1964, everyone wanted to be Debbie Gendler. She was one of a handful of lucky fans who were in the live audience for the Beatles' historic performance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Everyone has a story about where they were when they watched the appearance, but very few were there in-person—and even fewer would go on not just to meet the Beatles, but end up building a career around the band. But Debbie did.

From the beginning of time, music has been used to build community and empower people. Music is a strong force that has led movements; marched influential changemakers and innovators to rhythms that have shaped the world. In the 21st century, music continues to play a pivotal role in inspiring positive change and moving people to tackle some of the biggest social issues of our times.

Decoding "Despacito" tracks the stories behind the biggest Latin hits of the past 50 years. From the salsa born and bred in the streets of New York City, to Puerto Rican reggaetón and bilingual chart-toppers, this rich oral history is a veritable treasure trove of never-before heard anecdotes and insight from a who's who of Latin music artists, executives, observers, and players. Their stories, told in their own words, take you inside the hits, to the inner sanctum of the creative minds behind the tracks that have defined eras and become hallmarks of history.

From 1993 to 2021, Daft Punk were the world's most influential electronic group. But how much of the cultural landscape did they change, and how much changed around them? After Daft draws on new interviews with over 100 groundbreaking and commercially dominant artists, creative teams, record labels and concert promoters to illustrate how dance & electronic music transformed from a fringe concern to the indispensable pulse of 21st century culture.

Moby, the biggest selling electronica artist in history, ponders the question: why did so many people hate my guts? His surreal new documentary Moby Doc documents his brutal childhood, his rise and fall from pop stardom, and the drugs and booze that nearly did him in. Andrew Goldman interviews “Master of Chaos” music manager Allen Kovac, who shares all the grisly details of managing Mötley Crüe, Meatloaf, Duran Duran … and Richard Marx.

Drawing on interviews with family members, managers, promoters, and the jazz musicians who worked with her, as well as contemporary newspaper articles and reviews, Late Life Jazz tells the unsung story of one of America's finest singers, Rosemary Clooney. Ken Crossland and Malcolm Macfarlane trace Rosemary's life from her hardscrabble beginnings in Maysville Kentucky, through her first performances singing with the Barney Rapp Band in Cincinnati, through her rise to pop stardom in the early 1950s.

Em Como a música ficou grátis, o jornalista Stephen Witt investiga a fundo a história secreta da pirataria de músicas na internet, partindo dos engenheiros alemães criadores do mp3,, passando por uma fábrica de CDs na Carolina do Norte da qual um funcionário chamado Dell Glover vazou cerca de dois mil álbuns ao longo de uma década e também pelo centro de Manhattan, onde o executivo Doug Morris dominou o mercado mundial do rap, e finalmente mergulhando nos redutos mais obscuros da web até um site ilegal quatro vezes maior do que a loja do iTunes.

Lisa Robinson has interviewed the biggest names in music--including Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, John Lennon, Patti Smith, U2, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Jay Z and Kanye West. She visited the teenage Michael Jackson many times at his Encino home. She spent hours talking to John Lennon at his Dakota apartment - and in recording studios just weeks before his murder.

Rock and roll was birthed in basements and garages, radio stations and dance halls, in cities where unexpected gatherings of artists and audience changed and charged the way music is heard and celebrated, capturing lightning in a bottle. Musician and writer Lenny Kaye explores 10 crossroads of time and place that define rock and roll, its unforgettable flashpoints, characters and visionaries, how each generation came to be, how it was discovered by the world.

Discover the cosmic roots of Egyptian musical, vocal, and dancing rhythmic forms. Learn the fundamentals (theory and practice) of music in the typical Egyptian way: simple, coherent, and comprehensive. Review a detailed description of the major Egyptian musical instruments, playing techniques, functions, etc. Discover the Egyptian rhythmic practices in all aspects of their lives.

Dal primo nucleo di quelli che diventeranno i Rolling Stones, all'arrivo di Brian Jones, che ne sarà l'anima per qualche tempo, fino alla costituzione della vera "fabbrica" Jagger/Richards. Questo audioBook è un viaggio avventuroso e a volte impietoso lungo le tappe di una delle carriere più "granitiche" del rock: quella delle Pietre per eccellenza, i Rolling Stones. Un disco dopo l'altro per raccontare l'avventura della band più longeva della musica senza dimenticare qualche aneddoto curioso e, soprattutto, dando il giusto spazio a quello che più conta.

From Nelson George, supervising producer and writer of the hit Netflix series The Get Down, Hip Hop America is the definitive account of the society-altering collision between Black youth culture and the mass media.

From the beloved host and creator of NPR's All Songs Considered and Tiny Desk Concerts comes an essential oral history of modern music, told in the voices of iconic and up-and-coming musicians, including Dave Grohl, Jimmy Page, Michael Stipe, Carrie Brownstein, Smokey Robinson, and Jeff Tweedy, among others - published in association with NPR Music.

This is the fascinating story of music. How it started with a song and became one of our most beloved arts. Learn how early composers added modal rhythm to religious chants and turned them into something greater. Discover how the printing press standardized music and helped it spread across the globe. Witness the birth of musical theater, opera, and classical music and the explosion of popular freeform music such as rhapsodies and preludes.

Just what was it about the Grateful Dead that made them rock and roll's most beloved band? In Deadheads, those with the real story, who were there and are still listening to the music, explain it all. Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow talks about his lifelong friendship with Dead guitarist Bob Weir. Cajun chef Rick Begneaud shares his memories of feeding the Dead. John Popper of Blues Traveler recalls playing with the Dead at Bill Graham's memorial tribute .

This guide provides introductory and closing commentary for works from many famous classical composers, and includes time-stamped commentary to explain the technical aspects of what is being heard in the piece and the composer's intent in real time. This innovative audiobook enables you to hear both the music and the commentary in parallel.

Critical Mass is a treasure trove of sparkling, spiky prose and a fascinating portrait of our lives and cultural times over the past decades. In an age where a great deal of back scratching and softball pitching pass for criticism, James Wolcott’s fearless essays and reviews offer a bracing taste of the real critical thing.

Millions of people know the name of the iconic country music artist, George Jones, but few people know that behind the man and his golden voice was a strong, feisty woman who not only saved his life from cocaine addiction, alcoholism, and other abusive and self-destructive behaviors, but also was instrumental in saving his soul. For the first time, in Playin' Possum, Nancy Jones reveals the true “insider” perspectives and little known poignant and as well as humorous stories about the country music icon.

House is the first descendant of disco. While Black and Hispanic communities were jamming and party DJs spinning records, a new birth of rhythm gave way to music lovers from Chicago and New York in the form known as house music. Developed in Chicago's underground dance club culture in the early 1980s, today house music is worldwide and continues to dominate most club scenes and has expanded beyond its subculture beginning.