The Midnight Library / Reasons to Stay Alive


Matt Haig - 2020
    

Wondrous Strange: The Life and Art of Glenn Gould


Kevin Bazzana - 2003
    Looking beyond the legend of the self-taught and emotionally damaged recluse who burst onto the international musical scene in the mid-1950s but was dead at fifty, he presents a balanced portrait of a complex figure who, while uniquely gifted and genuinely eccentric, was also the product of his upbringing and surroundings. Bazzana explores the lasting effects on Gould of his sheltered middle-class Toronto upbringing, his unusual musical education, his brief but colourful concert career and his relations with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Columbia Records and Steinway and Sons. Drawing on candid recollections by Gould's friends and colleagues as well as newly available private papers, he provides fresh insights into Gould's famous eccentricities, his sometimes bizarre stage manner, his highly selective repertoire, his control mania, his private and sexual life, his hypochondria, and his abrupt retirement from concert performance to communicate solely through recorded performance and print.

The Art of Piano Playing


Heinrich Neuhaus - 1958
    His mother, Olga Blumenfeld, was sister of Felix Blumenfeld, a distinguished pianist, conductor and teacher. Horovitz was one of his most famous pupils. Through his maternal grandmother he was related to Karol Szymanowski who became a lifelong friend.Heinrich Neuhaus was, strictly speaking, self-taught, and the main formative influence on his musical development came from Felix Blumenfeld. He made his first public appearance at the age of eleven, playing some Chopin Waltzes and an Impromptu. In 1902 he accompanied Misha Elman in a recital in Elisavetgrad. His first solo recitals took place in Germany and Italy while studying under Godowsky, in Berlin and Vienna. He returned to Russia at the outbreak of the First World War.In 1922 he began teaching at the Moscow Conservatoire and helped to create in 1932 the famous Moscow Central Music School for specially gifted children. From 1934 to 1937 he was Director of the Moscow Conservatoire, a post he relinquished so as to be able to devote himself entirely to teaching. Amongst his pupils were Radu Lupu, Emil Gilels and Sviatoslav Richter who called him an artist of unique genius, a great teacher and friend. Seldom have artistic gifts been so closely matched by the qualities of selfless devotion, deep humanity, true culture and a great capacity for bestowing and winning friendship. He died on 10th October 1964. This book bears witness to his achievements as a man, musician and teacher.

Van Halen: A Visual History, 1978-1984


Neil Zlozower - 2007
    Nobody rockedor partiedharder. Photographer Neil Zlozower first met the band in 1978, worked with them again on Van Halen II, and soon became their friend, hanging out in L.A. and hitting the road on tour with them. Van Halen collects more than 250 backstage, candid, and full rock-out photos of the all-powerful, spandexed, high-kicking, guitar blazing, stadium-shaking, original Van Halen lineup. Accompanying Zlozower's amazing photos are an introduction about his wild ride with VH, a foreword by David Lee Roth, and testimony from the rock pantheon paying homage to the band, including members of Led Zeppelin, Guns N' Roses, Def Leppard, Judas Priest, KISS, Motley Cre, and more. Turn it up!

Jeff Lynne: Electric Light Orchestra - Before and After


John Van der Kiste - 2015
    From there he joined the ever-popular Move, then helped form the groundbreaking Electric Light Orchestra. After co-founder Roy Wood left in 1972, Lynne turned what had been a struggling rock and classical fusion into one of Britain s most consistently successful and popular acts. Following a run of hit singles, albums, and sell-out concerts throughout the world, he laid the group to rest in 1986 and combined a solo career as an artist and producer with membership of the ultimate supergroup, the Traveling Wilburys. His production credits include Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Del Shannon, George Harrison, and even the Beatles on their two final singles in the mid- 90s. Jeff Lynne: The Electric Light Orchestra, Before and After is the first-ever biography of one of the most prolific and highly regarded performers of the last fifty years. Rich in backstage anecdotes of overheated orchestras, frontmen rivalries, tour mishaps, cross-group partnerships, unlikely collaborations, and self-imposed exile from the stage in the quest for inspiration, this book will leave fans and general readers delighted and inspired by a career at the epicentre of twentieth-century rock. ** This electronic edition contains 35 photographs **

Black Knight: Ritchie Blackmore


Jerry Bloom - 2006
    Dubbed the 'man in black', guitarist Ritchie Blackmore found fame with Seventies rock giants Deep Purple, then walked away from them to create Rainbow, only to abandon them and form another band in 1997 - Blackmore's Night.

Chopin's Piano: In Search of the Instrument that Transformed Music


Paul Kildea - 2020
    Yet it begins and ends with Chopin’s Mallorquin pianino, which the great keyboard player Wanda Landowska rescued from an abandoned monastery at Valldemossa in 1913—and which assumed an astonishing cultural potency during the Second World War as it became, for the Nazis, a symbol of the man and music they were determined to appropriate as their own. In scintillating prose, and with an eye for exquisite detail, Paul Kildea beautifully interweaves these narratives, which comprise a journey through musical Romanticism—one that illuminates how art is transmitted, interpreted, and appropriated over the ages.“A sweeping story. . . . In graceful prose, Kildea explores developments in the history of piano-making, changes in the ways pianists have approached their craft, and, most luminously, the music of Chopin.” — Jonathan Rosenberg, Christian Science Monitor

Star Man: The Right Hand Man of Rock 'n' Roll


Michael Francis - 2003
    Paul hired Michael as his security guard, beginning a thirty-year music business career in which he worked with such legendary names as Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, The Osmonds, Sheena Easton, Frank Sinatra, Bon Jovi, Cher, and Kiss. As tour manager, Michael was responsible for every aspect of their safety and their comfort, from making sure they were not mobbed on stage to making sure they got paid. To some of them he became close. He was best man at Jon Bon Jovi's wedding, and provided personal security for Cher at her Malibu home. He shared their wildest excesses, their highs and their lows; he saw their fears, and all too often, their loneliness and paranoia. Sometimes hilarious, frequently shocking, always perceptive, Star Man is the outrageous, uncompromising, and brutally honest story of one man's life with the biggest stars of rock.

When's the Last Time?


Monica Walters - 2020
    Being raised by his father since the age of four without any involvement from his mother, makes him feel like he’s been missing something. Regardless of his dad’s endless love, he knows that his mother has to care about him. After his dad is shot and killed, his hopes are high for reuniting with his mother, but once again, he is left without her love. Moving in with his paternal grandparents wasn’t what he expected, but it’s his fate. Learning to adapt is hard and after his introduction to music, he uses it to ease his soul. At some point it’s not enough and he turns his attention to women. Sex gives him an adrenaline rush like no other and it helps him manage his demons. However, when he meets Ulanni Alvarez at a spoken word performance, he has a different outlook on life just from that moment of being in her presence. When she leaves, he knows she will be the one to change him forever. The problem was that he would have to convince her of that fact… after he can convince himself that he deserved everything she has to offer.

Melting Damali


Travena Terry - 2020
    Snow is fresh on the ground and the city is preparing for the holidays. For Damali, a musician and recording artist fresh off her first tour, her music isn’t flowing the same after leaving the energy of the stage. And for Lachlan, a photographer who prides himself on getting the perfect shot; he can’t seem to find that spark anymore. Two strangers, one cabin with one goal-to become inspired again so they can deliver their best Christmas projects.Will they find their getaways to be the spark that they need, or will they crash and burn?

Grime Kids: The Inside Story of the Global Grime Takeover


Dj Target - 2018
    *****A group of kids in the 2000s had a dream to make their voice heard - and this book documents their seminal impact on today's pop culture.DJ Target grew up in Bow under the shadow of Canary Wharf, with money looming close on the skyline. The 'Godfather of Grime' Wiley and Dizzee Rascal first met each other in his bedroom. They were all just grime kids on the block back then, and didn't realise they were to become pioneers of an international music revolution. A movement that permeates deep into British culture and beyond. Household names were borne out of those housing estates, and the music industry now jumps to the beat of their gritty reality rather than the tune of glossy aspiration. Grime has shaken the world and Target is revealing its explosive and expansive journey in full, using his own unique insight and drawing on the input of grime's greatest names.

Conversations with Glenn Gould


Jonathan Cott - 1984
    A strange genius and true eccentric, Gould was renowned not only for his musical gifts but also for his erratic behavior: he often hummed aloud during concerts and appeared in unpressed tails, fingerless gloves, and fur coats. In 1964, at the height of his controversial career, he abandoned the stage completely to focus instead on recording and writing. Jonathan Cott, a prolific author and poet praised by Larry McMurtry as "the ideal interviewer," was one of the very few people to whom Gould ever granted an interview. Cott spoke with Gould in 1974 for Rolling Stone and published the transcripts in two long articles; after Gould's death, Cott gathered these interviews in Conversations with Glenn Gould, adding an introduction, a selection of photographs, a list of Gould's recorded repertoire, a filmography, and a listing of Gould's programs on radio and TV. A brilliant one-on-one in which Gould discusses his dislike of Mozart's piano sonatas, his partiality for composers such as Orlando Gibbons and Richard Strauss, and his admiration for the popular singer Petula Clark (and his dislike of the Beatles), among other topics, Conversations with Glenn Gould is considered by many, including the subject, to be the best interview Gould ever gave and one of his most remarkable performances.

Blank Slate


Heather Justesen - 2011
    As she recovers from her injuries, she struggles with the expectations of everyone—her family, friends, and fiancé, Brock—who all want everything to go back to the way it was.Everyone except Gavin, Adrianna’s brother’s business partner, who finds himself drawn to the woman she is now. But he has his own problems. As he tries to get a handle on a former employee’s embezzlement, he fights his growing feelings for Adrianna.And then a trip to the emergency room shakes everything up, leaving her to stumble as she tries to regain her footing all over again.

Step By Step Mixing: How to Create Great Mixes Using Only 5 Plug-ins (Audio Issues #1)


Bjorgvin Benediktsson - 2017
     Learn a Proven Step By Step Mixing Process That's Helped Thousands of Musicians Like Yourself Make Amazing Mixes in Their Home Studio, Using Only EQ, Compression, Reverb, Delay, and Saturation "This is the NO BS guide to taking your mixes to the next level! Björgvin has been teaching and writing about recording for a decade, and really understands that stuff that we all struggle with in the home studio. Step By Step Mixing takes you through the full process of making sure your mixes rock from ruff to radio ready!" -Lij Shaw, Award winning Producer and Podcaster of Recording Studio Rockstars Let Me Ask You This: Do you fight to make all your instruments fit together in a busy mix? Do you struggle to EQ each instrument to sit in their frequency range without getting in the way of everything else? Do you tear your hair out finding the right compression setting for each track? Do you have a hard time using reverb and delay without cluttering up your mix? Do you get confused by saturation and how to use it to get a warmer sounding mix? If you answered yes to one of those questions - don't worry - you're not alone. If you want to make better mixes immediately in your home studio that translate to every speaker system, whether you're working on demos for your band of mixing records for your clients, grab Step By Step Mixing right now. Here's What You'll Learn Inside: Learn to get organized and simplify your mixing process to create more mixes that sound better in less time Learn practical EQ tips to make all of your instruments fit in your mix Learn to use compression to create punchy and tight mixes Learn to use reverb and delay to add space and depth to your mixes without cluttering up the song and making yourself sound like an amateur Learn everything you need to know about saturation to add that secret sauce to your songs that make people take notice of your skills Learn an invaluable process to getting your mix to translate to any speaker or sound system Step by Step Mixing covers the theory behind each processor while giving you simple to use, practical audio tips you can use to improve your mixes. Every chapter is broken down as such: Explanations on the theory behind what the plug-ins do and how to use them: You’ll get a thorough walkthrough of the various regions of the frequency spectrum. You’ll understand exactly how to use your compressors. You’ll learn all about the various reverb and delay settings (some reverbs are just too complex!) and you’ll get very familiar with using saturation (without overloading and distorting your mixes!). Common Problems and Their Practical Solutions: After you understand how each processor works we’ll talk about some real world scenarios. I’ll give you some practical and easy to use tips to make your mixes jump out of the speakers. Once you've mastered these five processors above you’ll be ready to make a killer mix in your home studio, whether you’re working on demos for your band or mixing records for your friends and

Les Miserables: Sheet Music


Claude-Michael Schonberg - 1987
    Piano duet arrangements of eight beautiful favorites from Les Mis: Bring Him Home * Castle on a Cloud * Do You Hear the People Sing? * A Heart Full of Love * I Dreamed a Dream * In My Life * On My Own * Stars.