Whether it’s photos from post-punk Auckland in ’80s Aotearoa, or music biographies (Amy Winehouse, Thurston Moore, Sinéad O’Connor, Bowie, recorded sound itself…), there are plenty of good reads in this month’s picks of the new music books. Have a browse…
Amy Winehouse : in her words
“Global icon, six-time Grammy winner, headline-maker, the most talented recording artist of her generation; much has been said about Amy Winehouse since her tragic death aged just 27. But who was the real Amy? Amy Winehouse: In Her Words shines a spotlight on her incredible writing talent, her wit, her charm and lust for life. Bringing together Amy’s own never-before-seen journals, handwritten lyrics and family photographs together for the first time, this intimate tribute traces her creative evolution from growing up in North London to global superstardom, and provides a rare insight into the girl who became a legend.” (Catalogue)
Sonic life : a memoir / Moore, Thurston
“Thurston Moore moved to Manhattan’s East Village in 1978 with a yearning for music. He wanted to be immersed in downtown New York’s sights and sounds–the feral energy of its nightclubs, the angular roar of its bands, the magnetic personalities within its orbit. But more than anything, he wanted to make music — to create indelible sounds that would move, provoke, and inspire. His dream came to life in 1981 with the formation of Sonic Youth, a band Moore co-founded with Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo. […] In the spirit of Just Kids, Sonic Life offers a window into the trajectory of a celebrated artist and a tribute to an era of explosive creativity. It presents a firsthand account of New York in a defining cultural moment, a history of alternative rock as it was birthed and came to dominate airwaves, and a love letter to music, whatever the form. This is a story for anyone who has ever felt touched by sound — who knows the way the right song at the right moment can change the course of a life.” (Catalogue)
Crush : photos from post-punk Auckland / Ganley, Jonathan
“CRUSH – Photos from Post-Punk Auckland looks back at the hard-edged music of the years 1982 to 1990 through the eyes of photographer Jonathan Ganley. With 136 images of 33 groundbreaking local and international bands and musicians, the book showcases era-defining artists such as The Clash, The Fall, The Clean, Fetus Productions, Chris Knox, Straitjacket Fits, and Sonic Youth. Alongside his evocative analogue images that vividly capture the scene and the times, the book also contains Jonathan Ganley’s eye-witness accounts of the first Auckland gigs by some of the best international post-punk bands, and describes some of his experiences photographing local musicians, on-stage and off. CRUSH – Photos from Post-Punk Auckland celebrates a decade of innovative music that still reverberates with music fans around the world.” (Catalogue)
Why Sinéad O’Connor matters / McCabe, Allyson
“A stirring defense of Sinéad O’Connor’s music and activism, and an indictment of the culture that cancelled her. Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor burst onto the pop scene in 1987 with her album The Lion and the Cobra, and followed it with the Grammy-winning I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (1990), which featured a cover of Prince’s song “Nothing Compares 2 U.” In 1992, she infamously tore a picture of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live to protest the sexual abuse committed by priests and covered up by church authorities. O’Connor was immediately castigated for her politics, which were already radical, and her career suffered ever since. […] The book works through O’Connor’s life and career in chronological order, from her abused childhood to initial success, stardom, and the ensuing fallout. McCabe compares O’Connor with Madonna, digs into how she aspired to be a protest singer rather than a pop star, and McCabe explores O’Connor’s attempts to de-stigmatize mental illness” (Catalogue)
Into the groove : the story of sound from tin foil to vinyl / Scott, Jonathan
“The story of recorded sound – the technological developments, the people that made them happen and the impact they had on society – from the earliest inventions via the phonograph to LPs, EPs and the recent resurgence of vinyl. While Thomas Edison’s phonograph, the first device that could both record and reproduce sound, represented an important turning point in the story of recorded sound, it was really only the tip of the iceberg, and came after decades of invention, tinkering and experiment. Into the Groove tells the story of the birth of recorded sound, from the earliest serious attempts in the 1850s all the way up to the vinyl resurgence we’re currently enjoying. This book celebrates the ingenuity, rivalries and science of the modulated groove. […] Read this book, and find a new appreciation of the not-so-simple black disc that holds a special place in the history of music and sound.” (Catalogue)
Parachute women : Marianne Faithfull, Marsha Hunt, Bianca Jagger, Anita Pallenberg, and the women behind the Rolling Stones / Winder, Elizabeth
“The Rolling Stones’s innovative music and iconic performances defined a generation. Behind these larger-than-life rock stars were four women who inspired, styled, wrote for, remixed, and ultimately helped create their legend. Winder profiles the contributions that Marianne Faithfull, Marsha Hunt, Bianca Jagger, and Anita Pallenberg made to the Rolling Stones, transforming them into international stars — yet were themselves marginalized by the male-dominated rock world of the late 60s and early 70s.” (Catalogue)
Bing and Billie and Frank and Ella and Judy and Barbra / Callahan, Dan
“Crosby, Holiday, Sinatra, Fitzgerald, Garland, and Streisand were the major interpreters of the American songbook, and this is the interlocking story of their lives and careers. Here is the epic tale of how these artists dominated American popular music over a fifty-year period, a roller coaster ride that gains momentum through the 1930s and ’40s, reaches a crest of magical creativity in the 1950s and early ’60s, and then crashes down by the early 1970s, a half century when the great American songbook dominated the airwaves and the fight for racial equality came to the forefront.” (Catalogue)
David Bowie Rainbowman : 1967-1980 / Soligny, Jerome
“In David Bowie Rainbowman, Jerome Soligny tells the story of David Bowie the musician with the help of those intimately involved with the creation of his music. This uniquely exhaustive work on Bowie’s 1967-1980 albums draws on over 150 interviews with the musicians, producers and friends who knew Bowie best, including Robert Fripp, Hermione Farthingale, Lou Reed, George Underwood, Mick Ronson, Carlos Alomar, Trevor Bolder, Mike Garson, Woody Woodmansey and many, many others. With an essay by Soligny on each album followed by oral histories from the most trusted and influential figures in Bowie’s musical life, David Bowie Rainbowman is the definitive guide to a singular and mercurial genius – the Rainbowman himself.” (Catalogue)
