Black Box


Cassia Leo - 2014
    Their first encounter changes Mikki's life forever, but their second meeting leaves them both buried beneath the emotional wreckage of a violent attack. Mikki is left with more questions and grief than she can handle, while Crush is forced to forget the girl who saved his life.Now nineteen years old, Mikki Gladstone has decided she's tired of the mind-numbing meds. She books a flight to Los Angeles to end her life far away from her loving, though often distant, family.Twenty-one-year-old Crush has always channeled his blackest thoughts into his music, but he's never had great aspirations. He decides to fly to Los Angeles to record a demo of the only song he's never performed in public; a song he wrote for a girl he doesn't even know: Black Box. He has no expectations of fame and he's never felt like his life had any purpose... until he meets Mikki in Terminal B.When Mikki and Crush cross paths for the third time in Terminal B, neither has any idea who the other person is; until they slowly piece together their history and realize that fate has more in store for them than just another love story.

Leonard Bernstein


Humphrey Burton - 1994
    Burton successfuly brings to the page the exuberant vitality and unresolved obsessions that helped make Leonard Bernstein one of the most beloved and celebrated musical figures of our age.

Route 19 Revisited: The Clash and London Calling


Marcus Gray - 2009
    Even its cover—the instantly recognizable image of Paul Simonon smashing his bass guitar—has attained iconic status, inspiring countless imitations and even being voted the best rock ’n’ roll photograph ever by Q magazine.Now the breakthrough album from the foremost band of the punk era gets the close critical eye it deserves. Marcus Gray examines London Calling from every vantage imaginable, from the recording sessions and the state of the world it was recorded in to the album’s long afterlife, bringing new levels of understanding to one of punk rock’s greatest achievements. Leaving no detail unexplored, he provides a song-by-song breakdown covering when each was written and where, what inspired each song, and what in turn each song inspired, making this book a must-read for Clash fans.

Bob Marley: My Son


Cedella Marley Booker - 1997
    It begins with her shock at hearing about her son's illness and then goes on to recount his fight for survival together with his music, and tumultuous life.

One More Chance


Lucy Ayrton - 2018
    . . I loved every page' CLARE MACKINTOSH 'I loved this book. Its witchy, and sweaty and unputdownable. It takes a traditional thriller structure and turns it on it's head' DAISY JOHNSON'Refreshing, heartbreaking and magical . . . Every mother should read this' CATH WEEKS 'A riveting and utterly convincing story, that shines a light on the shadows between right and wrong. A sensitive and thought-provoking into the lives of women' KAREN MILLWARD HARGRAVE 'Fascinating. Enlightening. Sobering.' OXFORD TIMES 'Hard to believe it's a debut . . . utterly compelling' JENNY BLACKHURST 'Fiction that navigates issues not often showcased on the page with care and without judgement is something to savour. One More Chance does just that' SKINNY 'Gritty . . . Brutally honest. Emotionally powerful' MY WEEKLY *** THE BATTLE ON THE INSIDE IS JUST THE BEGINNING Dani hasn't had an easy life. She's made some bad choices and now she's paying the ultimate price; prison. With her young daughter Bethany, growing up in foster care, Dani is determined to be free and reunited with her. There's only one problem; Dani can't stay out of trouble.Dani's new cellmate Martha is quiet and unassuming. There's something about her that doesn't add up. When Martha offers Dani one last chance at freedom, she doesn't hesitate.Everything she wants is on the outside, but Dani is stuck on the inside. Is it possible to break out when everyone is trying to keep you in . . .*** What readers are saying A brilliant insight into the life of a prisoner told in such a clever and sympathetic way. . . that will have you gripped to the very end. A fantastic read. 5***** The story was . . . refreshingly different from anything l have read before. Well worth reading. A gritty, honest read. Really enjoyed it! Just couldn't put it down A brilliant engrossing story and I can't wait to read more by Lucy Ayrton I loved this book. I loved the plot and the story arc. I loved Danni.

The First Four Notes: Beethoven's Fifth and the Human Imagination


Matthew Guerrieri - 2012
     Music critic Matthew Guerrieri reaches back before Beethoven’s time to examine what might have influenced him in writing his Fifth Symphony, and forward into our own time to describe the ways in which the Fifth has, in turn, asserted its influence. He uncovers possible sources for the famous opening notes in the rhythms of ancient Greek poetry and certain French Revolutionary songs and symphonies. Guerrieri confirms that, contrary to popular belief, Beethoven was not deaf when he wrote the Fifth. He traces the Fifth’s influence in China, Russia, and the United States (Emerson and Thoreau were passionate fans) and shows how the masterpiece was used by both the Allies and the Nazis in World War II. Altogether, a fascinating piece of musical detective work—a treat for music lovers of every stripe.

Metallica: This Monster Lives: The Inside Story of Some Kind of Monster


Joe Berlinger - 2004
    Receiving unique, unfettered access, acclaimed filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky followed Metallica over two and a half years as they faced monumental personal and professional challenges that threatened to destroy the band just as they returned to the studio to record their first album in four years. Berlinger's book about the experience reveals the stories behind the documentary Some Kind of Monster, capturing the energy, uncertainty, and ultimate triumph of both the filming and Metallica's bid for survival. It weaves the on-screen stories together with what happened off-screen, revealing intimate details of the band's struggle amid personnel changes, addiction, and controversy. In part because Berlinger was one of the only witnesses to the intensive group-therapy sessions and numerous band meetings, his account of his experience filming the band is the most honest and deeply probing book about Metallica---or any rock band---ever written.This is the book both Metallica and film fans have dreamed of---a stark and honest look at one of rock's most important bands through the eyes of one of the most provocative documentary filmmakers working today.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers: An Oral/Visual History


The Red Hot Chili Peppers - 2010
    Together, Anthony Kiedis, John Frusciante, Flea, and Chad Smith tell the 61-million-album selling band’s rollercoaster story, with anecdotes of their concert tours and creative collaborations, memories of surprise successes and dark battles with drug addiction, revelations about their personalities and feelings, and admissions about their lives outside the band. With hundreds of photographs, poster images, ticket stubs, and other RHCP memorabilia, this is a must-have for any die-hard fan.

Mozart's Wife


Juliet Waldron - 2001
    "This author's fictionalized account of Constanze Webber--an extraordinary woman who just happened to marry an even more extraordinary man named Mozart--brings 18th Century Vienna and its people vividly alive. Constanze would have been a remarkable woman for any era, struggling with her own perspective on life while trying to cope and understand the icon composer with whom she chose to share her life. But as an 18th Century woman, she is all the more remarkable. This book is well written and thoroughly researched, that's obvious from the details in dialogue and events. I suspect little of this work is pure fiction, though, given the vast availability of historical information on Mozart and his contemporaries. However, the author melds background information with fictional material so seamlessly, it all seems real. Despite knowing a lot about the man already, I'm even more convinced now that Mozart was one of a kind in history and so was his wife Constanze. To me, great writing is all about imagery, characterization and dialogue. MOZART'S WIFE has all of that and more. Plus, it's a real eye opener to Mozart himself as seen by his closest companion. If you like historical fiction with a wealth of factual detail, this book should be on your reading list."

Miles Beyond: The Electric Explorations of Miles Davis, 1967-1991


Paul Tingen - 2001
    Readers will discover a new perspective on Miles's working methods, as well as in in-depth, chronological understanding and analysis of the music produced from 1967 to 1991 - a period that's been both neglected and misunderstood.

Johnny Thunders: In Cold Blood


Nina Antonia - 2000
    The cult bible of all things Thunders, it is the definitive portrait of the condemned man of rock 'n' roll, from the baptism of fire and tragedy that was the New York Dolls, through the junkie punk years of the Heartbreakers and beyond. It is an unflinching account of a unique guitarist whose drug problems often overshadowed his considerable style and talent, and whose influence on such bands as The Sex Pistols and Guns N' Roses is still resonant.

SMiLE: The Story of Brian Wilson's Lost Masterpiece


Domenic Priore - 2005
    He has been in the studio with Wilson, as well as on the road for the celebrated European Smile concerts, and the result is the full version of one of pop's mythic stories. Features forewords by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks.Previously published by Sanctuary.

Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing


Josef Lhevinne - 1972
    Lhevinne was, with Rachmaninoff, Schnabel, and Hoffman, one of the great modern masters, and was the first artist invited to teach at the newly formed Julliard Graduate School of Music. Technique, through essential, must be subordinate to musical understanding. Complete knowledge of scales, apprehended not mechanically but musically; understanding of the uses of rests and silence, which Mozart considered the greatest effect in music; a feeling for rhythm and training of the ear; these are the basic elements of a thorough grounding in musicianship and are accordingly emphasized in the opening chapters. The heart of the book is devoted to the attainment of a beautiful tone. Anyone who has heard Lhevinne play or has listened to one of his recordings will know how great were his achievements in that area. The secret lay, at least in part, in the technique he called "the arm floating in air," and in the use of the wrists as natural shock absorbers. The achievement of varieties of tone, of the singing, ringing tone, of brilliancy, of delicacy, and of power are all explained in terms of a careful analysis of the ways in which the fingers, hand, wrist, arm, and indeed the whole body function in striking the keys. There are further remarks about how to get a clear staccato and an unblurred legato, about the dangers of undue emphasis on memorization and the need for variety in practicing, and special comments on the use of the pedal, which should be employed with as much precision as the keys. Throughout, specific musical examples are presented as illustrations. The author draws not only upon his own experiences and methods, but upon the examples of Anton Rubenstein and of his teacher, Safonoff, for this remarkably lucid and concise formulation of basic principles.

Elevator Music: A Surreal History of Muzak, Easy-Listening, and Other Moodsong; Revised and Expanded Edition


Joseph Lanza - 1994
    It's Big Brother singing. Call it what you will -- elevator music, Moodsong ® easy listening, or Muzak ®. For a musical genre that was supposed to offend no one, it has a lot of enemies.Musical cognoscenti decry its insipid content; regular folk -- if they notice -- bemoan its pervasiveness; while hipsters and campsters celebrate its retro chic. Mindful of the many voices, Joseph Lanza's Elevator Music sings seriously, with tongue in cheek, the praises of this venerable American institution.Lanza addresses the criticisms of elites who say that Muzak and its ilk are dehumanized, vapid, or cheesy. These reactions, he argues, are based more on cultural prejudices than honest musical appraisal.Says Lanza, today's so-called mood music is the inheritor of a long tradition of mood-altering music stretching back to the ancients; Nero's fiddle and the sirens of Odysseus being two famous examples. Contemporary atmospheric music, Lanza argues, not only serves the same purpose, it is also the inevitable background for our media-dominated age.One of Lanza's premises, to quote Mark Twain, is that this music is "better than it sounds." "This book will have succeeded in its purpose," he writes, "if I can help efface...the distinction between one person's elevator music and another's prized recording."Joseph Lanza is an author, producer, and music historian. His most recent book is Russ Columbo and the Crooner Mystique.

The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity


Lee Strobel - 2000
    In The Case for Faith, Strobel turns his skills to the most persistent emotional objections to belief---the eight "heart barriers" to faith. This Gold Medallion-winning book is for those who may be feeling attracted to Jesus but who are faced with difficult questions standing squarely in their path. For Christians, it will deepen their convictions and give them fresh confidence in discussing Christianity with even their most skeptical friends. "Everyone --seekers, doubters, fervent believers-- benefits when Lee Strobel hits the road in search of answers, as he does again in The Case for Faith. In the course of his probing interviews, some of the toughest intellectual obstacles to faith fall away." --Luis Palau "Lee Strobel has given believers and skeptics alike a gift in this book. He does not avoid seeking the most difficult questions imaginable, and refuses to provide simplistic answers that do more harm than good." --Jerry Sittser, professor of religion, Whitworth College, and author of A Grace Disguised and The Will of God as a Way of Life