Best Music Books of 2003

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I didn't get around to buying too many from this year. Fiction (another REM biography) and that Lester Bangs anthology were both worthwhile reads though. I'd be interested in hearing what else was good.

― may pang (maypang), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 02:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Buncha illiterates.

― may pang (maypang), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 07:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Is that Beatles Box any good?

― Poppy (poppy), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 09:47 (twenty-two years ago)

It looks nice. I'll give it that.

― may pang (maypang), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 09:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Not that I read it. But I saw it in the store once.

― may pang (maypang), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 09:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Yep.

― may pang (maypang), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 09:53 (twenty-two years ago)

I suppose it's only worthwhile if you like the album, but Andy Miller's book on "Village Green Preservation Society" in the 33 and a third series is particularly wonderful.

― Rob M (Rob M), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 10:36 (twenty-two years ago)

...Andy Miller is also one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet, which is a bit of a bonus. Not music related at all, but his other book "Tilting at Windmills" is also well worth checking out.

My favourite music book of the year was probably the one I got for Christmas which was "In Search of the La's" by Matthew Macefield. It's written in a kind of naive style which I liked and contained some really interesting stuff for Mavers fans everywhere. Also firmly debunked the "There She Goes as heroin anthem" myth.

By coincidence one of my least favourite books of the year was the "Forever Changes" book in the 33 & 1/3 series - didn't get into it at all.

― reclusive hero (reclusive hero), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 11:19 (twenty-two years ago)

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0747557780.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

― JoB (JoB), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 12:56 (twenty-two years ago)

I've been waiting what seems like months for my local library to order in a copy of the above. Will it be worth the wait?

― David A. (Davant), Thursday, 1 January 2004 00:33 (twenty-two years ago)

my nominations:

Jonathon Lethem: The Fortress of Solitude
David Wondrich: Stomp & Swerve

― chuck, Thursday, 1 January 2004 00:42 (twenty-two years ago)

The Great Indie Discography 2nd Edition by Martin C Strong.

It is tons better than the first edition, with loads more small US bands this time - Henry's Dress, etc. 1104 pages of fun!

― svend, Thursday, 1 January 2004 00:54 (twenty-two years ago)

david- check the ILM thread on this book (also there's a morley thread on ILE). after you are done with it I'm sure yr copy will be waiting for you.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 1 January 2004 00:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Stomp and Swerve by a mile

― M Matos (M Matos), Thursday, 1 January 2004 01:12 (twenty-two years ago)

or maybe not a mile. but it's easily the best. Andy Greenwald's Nothing Feels Good is also excellent.

that Scorcese blues book is horrible.

― M Matos (M Matos), Thursday, 1 January 2004 01:20 (twenty-two years ago)

I liked Ian Christe's metal book. I desperately want to read the Morley book.

― adam (adam), Thursday, 1 January 2004 16:36 (twenty-two years ago)

I think I'm going with "Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince" by Alex Hahn, even though it wasn't nearly as revealing as I'd hoped. That Sting autobiography, which someone in my immediate family thought would make a great gift to me (?!?!?!?), was dreadful.

"Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues"
by Elijah Wald is coming out next week and I've been too lazy to get an advance, but I can't wait to read it.

― don weiner, Friday, 2 January 2004 13:04 (twenty-two years ago)

John Harris's "The Last Party" is pretty cool if a little over-skewed, movie-style, towards the Albarn-Frischmann-Anderson lurve triangle. Still, it's pretty much my life 1990-1997 so I shouldn't quibble I suppose.

Richard Kingsmill's "The J Files Compendium is, as any passing Australian will tell you, a damn fine read (although I think it came out in 2002). Worth seeking out for its fun music trivia and entertaining interviews anyway.

I got Daniel Blythe's "Encyclopaedia Of Classic 80s Pop for Christmas and it's already thrown up some surprises (I'm still only on A).

Mark Sturdy's "Truth & Beauty - The Story Of Pulp (another Christmas present) looks exhaustively researched and thus extremely promising.

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Friday, 2 January 2004 15:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Possessed was indeed pretty spiff, David Barnett's Suede bio most entertaining.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 2 January 2004 15:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Also really really really really good and important:

*Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970-1979* -- Tim Lawrence

― chuck, Friday, 2 January 2004 16:34 (twenty-two years ago)

King Jammy's-Beth Lesser. Obviously!

― cybele (cybele), Friday, 2 January 2004 16:39 (twenty-two years ago)

The Morley book has good things in it but it's also one of the most annoyingly written books ever; how long has he been doing that repitition thing he does? I gave up about 30 pages from the end a book has got to seriously piss you off to make you give up that close to the end.

― jed (jed_e_3), Friday, 2 January 2004 16:42 (twenty-two years ago)

the ending was the best bit!

― tom west (thomp), Friday, 2 January 2004 17:11 (twenty-two years ago)

This question will be pointless when PFM's Thesaurus Musicarum hits the streets....

― Nick Sylvester, Friday, 2 January 2004 18:27 (twenty-two years ago)

What did people think of that "Boogaloo" book that came out this year?

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Monday, 5 January 2004 01:02 (twenty-two years ago)

As a late candidate, Mark Paytress's Siouxsie and the Banshees official bio -- I like some of Paytress's work elsewhere but the format he did this time around was the best, as it's strictly an oral history from all the various participants telling their own stories (and sometimes with contradictions). Only a little ways into it so far but it's great and often very enlightening reading, plenty of good anecdotes, and Paytress even found first drummer Kenny Morris to talk to.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 5 January 2004 01:20 (twenty-two years ago)

That Daniel Blyth book is the worst music book ever, ever written, Charlie!

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Monday, 5 January 2004 01:22 (twenty-two years ago)

(Love Saves the Day's not out till Feb '04, Chuck)

― M Matos (M Matos), Monday, 5 January 2004 02:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Amazon.com says Love Saves the Day was released last month and is on sale.

The book seems to have a really large discography. Hmm.

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Monday, 5 January 2004 02:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Ethan Mordden's One More Kiss: The Broadway Musical in the 1970s

― tokyo rosemary (rosemary), Monday, 5 January 2004 04:00 (twenty-two years ago)

That Daniel Blyth book is the worst music book ever, ever written, Charlie!

Sorry Tom, you're right of course, the actual writing is fucking terrible lazy ill-conceived tripe. But it's educated me re: the existence of quite a few bands I've never heard of/heard before, so is serving some vague purpose.

It also makes me realise that if shite like this can find a publisher, then my (definitely a million times better) idea might get off the ground after all...

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Monday, 5 January 2004 17:22 (twenty-two years ago)

The fact his bit on Public Enemy made it past a publisher makes me shudder for the UK book trade.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Monday, 5 January 2004 17:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Allow me to cast another vote for Ian Christe's SOUNDS OF THE BEAST!

― yetimike (McGonigal), Monday, 5 January 2004 18:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Words and Music felt like it was originally conceived as a 300 page blog entry...

― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Monday, 5 January 2004 18:52 (twenty-two years ago)

if there's anyone in the uk who has access to a copy of the guardian guide's best books of 2003, i would really really appreciate it.

― mark p (Mark P), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 15:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Warren Zanes's book on Dusty was wonderful. One of the most rambling, idiosyncratic, intelligent things I've read in ages. Any music book that contains an entire chapter on pre-pubescent voyeurism is fine by me.

― Rick Spence (spencerman), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 18:24 (twenty-two years ago)

I looked at this in Barnes and Noble and I covet it so:

The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0760742189/qid=1073500178/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-6440303-9288711?v=glance&s=books

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 18:30 (twenty-two years ago)

After work I am going to pick up a copy of Stomp and Swoop that I ordered.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 19:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Inspired by this thread.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 19:01 (twenty-two years ago)

Thanks Adam and Mike. I hafta say my favorite year-end laurel is this legit photo of the mayor of Olympia, WA, waving a copy of SOUND of the BEAST aloft. It's the water!

http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20031205/frontpage/166395-88897.jpg

The expanded and corrected paperback is coming in about six weeks, and this time HarperCollins promises to do a better job of export to the UK. I hope so, else I'd have printed some myself.

― Ian Christe (Ian Christe), Monday, 12 January 2004 20:07 (twenty-two years ago)

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