Book picks similar to
Perfect Lives: An Opera by Robert Ashley


poetry
music
male
retro-video-and-old-computers

Richard Cory


Edwin Arlington Robinson - 2012
    frequently anthologized poem

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.

मेरी श्रेष्ठ कविताएँ


Harivansh Rai Bachchan - 2009
    An anthology of some the best poems written by Harivansh Rai Bachchan,which have been selected specially for this anthology by himself.

The Inflatable Volunteer


Steve Aylett - 2000
    .

Tape Delay


Charles Neal - 1987
    A virtual Who's Who of people who've done the most in the eighties to drag music out of commercial confinement."--NMEContributors: Marc Almond, Dave Ball, Cabaret Voltaire, Nick Cave, Chris & Cosey, Coil, Einsturzende Neubauten, The Fall, Diamanda Galas, Genesis P-Orridge, Michael Gira, The Hafler Trio, Matt Johnson (The The), Laibach, Lydia Lunch, New Order, Psychic TV, Boyd Rice, Henry Rollins, Clint Ruin, Silverstar Amoeba, Mark E. Smith (The Fall), Sonic Youth, Stevo, Mark Stewart, Swans, Test Dept, David Tibet (Current 93), Touch.

A Midsummer's Night Dream (Shakespeare Stories)


Leon Garfield - 1993
    A retelling of Shakespeare's light-hearted comedy of mistaken identity, tangled lovers, meddling fairies, and bumbling amateur actors, set in a wood on a midsummer night.

Little Murders


Jules Feiffer - 1968
    As their wedding day grows near, Alfred finds himself embroiled in an urban nightmare not the least of which is his fiance's family, the possiblity of marriage without Faith, muggings, and a sniper's bullet.

Thea's Parrot


Marcia Willett - 1995
    Just about everyone knows of George's long-standing affair with Felicity Mainwaring, the intimidating wife of a naval colleague. Her husband's death the previous year had prompted many to speculate that George would end up marrying his formidable mistress. No one expected it more than Felicity herself and as her letters and calls to George go unanswered she becomes suspicious. He somehow manages to duck Felicity's attempts to contact him long enough to marry Thea, and the couple embark on a harmonious life together in the heart of rural Devon. Thea enjoys matrimony immensely and through the naval network, finds a soul mate in Polly, another youthful bride, but not with such an understanding husband. But everything changes for Thea and George when she mentions that an old friend of his had dropped in for a chat while he was in London - Felicity Mainwaring.

Working on a Song: The Lyrics of HADESTOWN


Anaïs Mitchell - 2020
    Heralded as "The best new musical of the season," by the Wall Street Journal, and "Sumptuous. Gorgeous. As good as it gets," by The New York Times, this show is the breakout hit of 2019, and is positioned to be a longtime Broadway favorite with its poignant social commentary, to the tune of spellbinding music and lyrics.   In this book, Anais Mitchell takes readers inside her more than decade's-long process of building the musical from the ground up--detailing her inspiration, breaking down the lyrics, and offering thoughtful annotations of Hadestown. Fans of the musical will love this deeply thoughtful, revealing, and open look at how the songs from “the underground” evolved and became what they are today.

Articles on Novels By George R. R. Martin


Hephaestus Books - 2011
    This book contains articles available free on Wikipedia and other free sources.

American Legends: The Life of Dean Martin


Charles River Editors - 2013
    *Includes some of Martin's most colorful quotes. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. "If people want to think I get drunk and stay out all night, let 'em. That's how I got here, you know." - Dean Martin A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. Like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin is an American legend for his longevity and success across a garden variety of different platforms. Martin began as a nightclub singer, performed in a comedy act, starred in films, recorded hit albums, and capped his career by serving as a television host. In fact, there may be no star who was better able to transcend the different avenues of entertainment. Martin's success was made all the more amazing by the fact that he never had to change his personality or persona to find success in his different endeavors. From the beginning, Martin's public persona remained largely unchanged. He grew more famous and wealthy, but he always remained the smooth-talking Italian with the easy charm and the cool veneer. As Jerry Lewis noted in his memoirs about Martin, "Dean had this uncanny way of making everything bad look like it wasn't all that bad." If anything, Martin suggested that no matter the circumstances, people can always face their situation with leisurely charm. Martin's versatility is unprecedented even today, an era in which stars routinely alternate between film and musical careers. Martin was able to simultaneously work across different media at the same time; even after rising to fame as a singer, he continued to perform with Jerry Lewis and star in films. But after his film career took off, he continued to perform the crooning style of music that had made him famous and had long since been outdated. While other actors were forced to drastically alter their persona to keep up with the times, Martin's ability to fuse suave glamour with an everyday ordinariness ensured he didn't need to transform anything. Martin's life and career are often compared to his close friend and contemporary Frank Sinatra, and for good reason. Both came from proud Italian families, both were cohorts in the famed Rat Pack in the 1960s, and they each maintained success even late in their careers. However, Sinatra's career was filled with far more ups and downs than Martin, and his public image experienced highs and lows along with it. It's also somewhat ironic that it was Martin who Anglicized his name but remained a bigger Italian icon than Sinatra. They each began their careers as Italian crooners, but Martin maintained his style while Sinatra adopted a brasher, more "All-American" singing method. Martin never strayed far from his humble background, even as he became one of America's biggest stars. American Legends: The Life of Dean Martin profiles the life and career of one of America's most famous performers. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Dean Martin like you never have before, in no time at all.

The Seventh Octave: The Early Writings of Saul Williams


Saul Williams - 1998
    The Seventh Octave features some of this great young poets most revered poems. From "OHM," to "Sha Clack Clack," Saul's words are breathtaking and powerful with every read. The Seventh Octave is a must-have collection for any aspiring poet or seasoned writer. Lyrical and electric, full of brilliant imagery and truth. The Seventh Octave is for lovers of language and the magic poets can create.

Granta 151: Membranes


Sigrid Rausing - 2020
    This issue is devoted to currents of all kinds, and to barriers that check them

National Lampoon: 1964 High School Yearbook: 39th Reunion Edition


P.J. O'Rourke - 1974
    Estes Kefauver High School in Dacron, Ohio!  They’re all back in glorious black and white with color Magic Marker–Chuck U. Farley, Maria Teresa Spermatozoa, Purdy “Psycho” Lee Spackle, Faun Laurel Rosenberg, and, of course, Dacron’s most famous son, Larry Kroger.  Learn everything there is to know about Kroger’s past before he became the pop-culture legend Pinto (Tom Hulce), the virgin fraternity pledge in National Lampoon’s Animal House. With a hilarious “Where are they now?” addendum and a brilliantly funny new introduction by P. J. O’Rourke, the 39th Reunion Edition is sure to be the talk of the baby boomers who grew up with National Lampoon and of the new generation of comedy fans spawned by the success of The Onion.

Simon Scarrow Collection: The Eagle's Prophecy, The Eagle In The Sand, The Eagle And The Wolves, The Eagle's Prey, The Gladiator, Centurion, When The Eagle Hunts, The Eagle's Conquest, Under Th


Simon Scarrow