Best of
Music-Biography

2000

Stockhausen on Music: Lectures and Interviews


Karlheinz Stockhausen - 2000
    Reason? His music lasts.With penetrating philosophical and spiritual insights Stockhausen describes, in this collection of lectures and interviews conducted in English, a whole new universe of sounds and events."Stockhausen's uncompromising attitude to conventional aesthetics has made him one of the world's most admired musicians."?The Independent"Let there be no doubt that he is a giant, a monster cartographer of massive new spaces."?Tempo"The great innovator of the 1950s and 1960s is still a fountain of ideas. Stockhausen on Music shows the extrordinary range of his mind."?The Sunday Times

Captain Beefheart: The Biography


Mike Barnes - 2000
    The owner of a remarkable four-and-one-half octave vocal range, he employs idiosyncratic rhythms, absurdist lyrics, and an unholy alliance of free jazz, Delta blues, latter-day classical music, and rock & roll to create a singular body of work virtually unrivalled in its daring creativity.

One Train Later: A Memoir


Andy Summers - 2000
    . . A rollicking you-are-there history of the 60s-80s rock era.---Entertainment WeeklyIn this extraordinary memoir, world-renowned guitarist Andy Summers provides the revealing and passionate account of a life dedicated to music. From his first guitar at age thirteen and his early days on the English music scene to the ascendancy of his band, the Police, Summers recounts his relationships and encounters with the Big Roll Band, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, the Animals, John Belushi, and others, all the while proving himself a master of telling detail and dramatic anecdote. Andy's account of his role as guitarist for the Police---a gig that was only confirmed by a chance encounter with drummer Stewart Copeland on a London train---has been long-awaited by music fans worldwide. The heights of fame that the Police achieved have rarely been duplicated, and the band's triumphs were rivaled only by the personal chaos that such success brought about, an insight never lost on Summers in the telling. Complete with never-before-published photos from Summers's personal collection, One Train Later is a constantly surprising and poignant memoir, and the work of a world-class musician and a first-class writer.

This is Spinal Tap: Official Companion


Karl French - 2000
    Largely ad-libbed by lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), lead singer David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), and bassist Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer)-as well as a succession of drummers whose careers were cut short by spontaneously combusting, drowning in somebody else's vomit, or other untimely deaths- This Is Spinal Tap chronicles the band's latest American tour in a cunning satire of rock and roll culture.Now, just in time for the theatrical re-release of This is Spinal Tap, as well as the ensuing video and DVD release, comes The Official Companion, featuring: Fully illustrated textA complete transcript of the film (much of the film was ad-libbed, so an ordinary screenplay can lack entire scenes) Never-before-seen stills from cut footage A comprehensive A-to-Z Guide featuring everything you've ever wanted to know about This Is Spinal Tap Don't miss the chance to see behind the scenes of one of the most riotous and memorable satires of our time!

Gabriel Fauré


Jessica Duchen - 2000
    This is a comprehensive biography of the French composer Gabriel Faure for the general reader, placing his work in the context of his times.