This Searing Light, the Sun and Everything Else: Joy Division: The Oral History by Jon Savage

$39.99 AUD

Category: Music

An exciting new book on Joy Division, featuring never before told stories.   Jon Savage's oral history of Joy Division is the last word on the band that ended with the suicide of Ian Curtis in Macclesfield on 18 May, 1980. It weaves together interviews conducted by the author, but never used in the making of the film Joy Division (2007) which told the story of the band in their own words, as well as those of their peers, collaborators, and contemporaries.   Here are 15 or so vivid witnesses to the band's genesis, meteoric rise, and tragic demise, including Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner, Annike Honore, Deborah Curtis, Paul Morley, Tony Wilson, Rob Gretton, Martin Hannet ... It is the story of young men driven to create and cause rock n' roll havoc inspired by literature, radical ideas, and the wasteland that was post-industrial Manchester in the late 70s. It is as intense and funny and alive on the page as only an oral history can be, recalling masterpieces like Edie by Jean Stein and Meet me in the Bathroom by Lizzy Goodman. It is essential reading. ...Show more

No Way But This: In Search of Paul Robeson by Jeff Sparrow

$32.99 AUD

Category: Music

Film star. Icon. Agitator. Martyr. Paul Robeson was a prize-winning scholar and the greatest footballer of his era, even before he ascended to global superstardom as a singer, Hollywood actor, and activist. The son of an escaped slave, Robeson stunned audiences with 'Ol' Man River' and Othello, as his passion for social justice led him from Jazz Age Harlem to the mining towns of Wales, from the frontiers of the Spanish Civil War to Stalin's Russia. Charismatic, eloquent, and handsome, he had everything - and then lost it all for the sake of his principles. Jeff Sparrow traces Robeson's troubled life and stellar career, in a story that traverses the arc of the twentieth century and illuminates the fissures of today's fractured world. From Black Lives Matter to Putin's United Russia, Sparrow visits the places Robeson lived and worked, exploring race in America, freedom in Moscow, and the legacies of communism and fascism in Europe. Part travelogue, part biography, this is a tale of political ardour, heritage, and trauma - a luminous portrait of a remarkable man, and an urgent reflection on the crises that define us now. ...Show more

Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys by Viv Albertine

$16.99 AUD

Category: Music | Series: Faber Social Ser.

SUNDAY TIMES MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEARROUGH TRADE BOOK OF THE YEARMOJOBOOK OF THE YEARIn 1975, Viv Albertine was obsessed with music but it never occurred to her she could be in a band as she couldn't play an instrument and she'd never seen a girl play electric guitar.A year later, she was the guitarist in the hugely influential all-girl band the Slits, who fearlessly took on the male-dominated music scene and became part of a movement that changed music.A raw, thrilling story of life on the frontiers and a candid account of Viv's life post-punk - taking in a career in film, the pain of IVF, illness and divorce and the triumph of making music again -Clothes Music Boys is a remarkable memoir. ...Show more

When Words Fail: A Life with Music, War and Peace by Ed Vulliamy

$39.99 AUD

Category: Music

Walk This Way - Run-DMC, Aerosmith, and the Song That Changed American Music Forever by Geoff Edgers

$39.99 AUD

Category: Music

Washington Post staff writer Geoff Edgers takes a deep dive into the story behind "Walk This Way," Aerosmith and Run-DMC's legendary, groundbreaking mashup that forever changed music. The early 1980s were an exciting time for music. Hair metal bands were selling out stadiums, while clubs and house part ies in New York City has spawned a new genre of music. At the time, though, hip hop's reach was limited, an artform largely ignored by mainstream radio deejays and the rock-obsessed MTV network. But in 1986, the music world was irrevocably changed when Run-DMC covered Aerosmith's hit "Walk This Way" in the first rock-hip hop collaboration. Other had tried melding styles. This was different, as a pair of iconic arena rockers and the young kings of hip hop shared a studio and started a revolution. The result: Something totally new and instantly popular. Most importantly, "Walk This Way" would be the first rap song to be played on mainstream rock radio. In Walk This Way, Geoff Edgers sets the scene for this unlikely union of rockers and MCs, a mashup that both revived Aerosmith and catapulted hip hop into the mainstream. He tracks the paths of the main artists--Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Joseph "Run" Simmons, and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels--along with other major players on the scene across their lives and careers, illustrating the long road to the revolutionary marriage of rock and hip hop. Deeply researched and written in cinematic style, this music history is a must-read for fans of hip hop, rock, and everything in between. ...Show more

Grace Jones a to Z - The Life of an Icon - from Androgyny to Zula by Steve Wide; Babeth Lafon (Illustrator)

$29.99 AUD

Category: Music

An illustrated A-to-Z, celebrating the unparalleled artistic impact of the cultural icon Grace Jones.   Singer, songwriter, supermodel, record producer, actress, and iconoclast, Grace Jones is truly one of a kind, equal parts intriguing, intimidating, and indefatigable.   From her early da ys as a model working with Yves Saint Laurent and Kenzo, to her rise to disco stardom in New York City's Studio 54, followed by her storming the New Wave with her reggae-infused post-punk sound, through to her arresting, decade-defining work, Jean-Paul Goude, and featuring her eclectic and iconic film career and her continuing artistic output in the current day, Grace Jones A to Z charts her incredibly rich life. This book looks at her life, her art, creative collaborations, films, friendships, and fun--all in a brilliantly illustrated A-to-Z format. ...Show more

Sunbury: Australia's Greatest Rock Festival by Peter Evans

$49.95 AUD

Category: Music

After 45 years, here is the first book on the SUNBURY rock festival, the festival that is often referred to as 'Australia's Woodstock', that heralded a revolution in Australian music and culture. This book explores the history of the Sunbury rock festivals which were staged over the Australia Day long w eekends of 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1975. These, and the festivals which immediately preceded them, were staged at a time of renewal in Australian political and cultural life and a new awakening of national identity. The emphasis is on the first festival in 1972 as this was the ground-breaking event which, if it did not conceive Aussie pub rock was, at the very least, the midwife. In that birth can be seen the beginnings of Australian rock music transitioning from a poor cousin to that in America and the United Kingdom to an active export industry. Sunbury '72 is covered in detail, with the emphasis on subsequent festivals being on the changes which occurred both in the event and in the dominant music scene at the time. The book identifies the strength of the Sunbury festivals in the organisation that lay behind them, which allowed them to be more than just a single event. It also explores the musical highlights of the festivals and the experiences of those who attended. The book is heavily based on official documents and an extensive oral history program undertaken by the author. ...Show more

The Book of Daniel: From Silverchair to DREAMS by Jeff Apter

$32.99 AUD

Category: Music | Series: .

The highs, lows and incredible life of the enigmatic Daniel Johns, from Silverchair to Dreams.

30-Second Jazz - The 50 Most Fundamental Concepts in Physics, Each Explained in Half a Minute by Dave Gelly

$19.99 AUD

Category: Music | Series: 30 Second Ser.

For its initiates, jazz is instinctive and engaging--the way that popular music should be. For non-aficionados, it can be slippery and difficult to grasp: without familiar forms or a hard-and-fast format, and largely ruled by improvisation, jazz leaves the novice baffled, not sure how to listen, an d asking "how is it that they know what to play?" 30-Second Jazz explains, in easy, short riffs that keep you engaged, taking readers from the African-American roots of jazz all the way to today's global mix of musicians and styles. Along the way, it looks at the shape, style, and instruments of jazz, at key personalities and recordings in the jazz canon--and at what might be expected next from this most diverse of musical forms. ...Show more

Around the World in 80 Record Stores - A Journey to the Best Vinyl Emporiums on the Planet by Marcus Barnes

$24.99 AUD

Category: Music

Revealing the best places on the planet to buy records, this is a must-read for all vinyl lovers, crate diggers, and music fans.   Revealing the best places on the planet to buy records, this is a must-read for all vinyl lovers, crate diggers, and music fans.   Looking for the best place in Europe to buy electronic music? Want to get lost in the racks of the world's biggest independent record store? Are you constantly in search of the undiscovered, the original, the cult, the lost classics? Around the World in 80 Records Stores offers a unique look at where music lovers need to go to feed their addiction for new records. Boasting a truly global outlook--with record stores everywhere from Iceland and India to the coolest cities in Europe, the US, UK, plus the mecca for crate diggers that is Japan--and showcasing the best places to buy house, indie, jazz, rock, hip-hop, afrobeat, and everything in between, this is an essential companion for all record junkies. ...Show more

Queen: Album by Album by Martin Popoff

$39.99 AUD

Category: Music | Series: Album by Album Ser.

A thoughtfully curated and gloriously illustrated retrospective of the band's studio releases, Queen, comes just in time for the 45th anniversary of their debut LP and biopic. Formed in 1970, Queen went on to become one of the most popular--and most successful--rock bands of all time. Even following the untimely death of beloved and magnetic frontman Freddie Mercury, and nearly 50 years after their formation, interest in the band has continued, evidenced by scores of reissues, arena tours with surviving members, and a feature-film biopic. In this new installment in Voyageur Press's Album by Album series, rock journo Martin Popoff convenes a cast of 19 Queen experts and superfans to discuss all 15 of the band's studio albums (including their soundtrack for the 1980 film Flash Gordon). Panelists include Queen experts, rock journalists, musicians, and record industry figures. The results are freewheeling discussions delving into the individual songs, the circumstances that surrounded the recording of each album, the band and contemporary rock contexts into which they were released, and more. The engaging text of this beautifully designed book is illustrated throughout with rare live performance and candid offstage photography, as well as scads of rare Queen ephemera. The Album by Album series is a unique approach to the rock bio, injecting the varied voices of several contributors. The results have even the most diehard fans rushing back to their MP3 players (or turntables) to confirm the details and opinions expressed ...Show more

The Classical Music Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained by Dorling Kindersley Publishing Staff

$39.99 AUD

Category: Music

From Mozart to Mendelssohn, this comprehensive guide to classical music history and classical music biography is the perfect latest addition to the bestselling Big Ideasseries. Easy to understand and clear to follow, this history of classical music explores and explains music theory and the impact of s eminal pieces, while also providing fascinating stories about the lives of crucial composers and performers. The Classical Music Bookanalyses over 90 works by famous composers from Thomas Tallis in the early period to baroque masters like Bach and Handel to the classical genius of Beethoven and Wagner and beyond to the modern day in order to explore the key ideas underpinning the world's greatest classical compositions and musical traditions, and define their importance to the musical canon, placing them into their wider social, cultural, and historical context. Regardless of whether you are relatively new to the subject and want to learn or if you are a classical music aficionado, there is plenty to discover inThe Classical Music Book. ...Show more