Music Banter - Books By Famous Musicians

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No, I didn't know that story about Lennon's speech at Foyles. Surely B Epstien should've prepped him about what to expect.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ribbons (Post 2126966)

However: John later had the chance to put his oar in when a woman, while asking for his autograph, remarked, “I never thought I would stoop to asking for such an autograph.” To which John stooped to reply, “And I never thought I would be forced to sign my name for someone like you.” :laughing:

Hungover or not, at least JL had gathered his wits enough to give a snappy answer to that extremely rude woman.

It's been modernised since, but Foyles used to be a confusing labrynith covering 4 floors and a basement; you'd get lost trying to find the section you wanted, then get lost again trying to find your way out! Did you ever get a chance to go there, ribbons?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ribbons (Post 2126968)

Yes - a play on titles by Anais Nin or Jim Morrison, or both! :laughing:

Thanks, I'd forgotten where Jim got that title from. Jim could have done more to acknowledge this bit of thievery too:-

https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1...05l/527509.jpg

...which is right on topic for this thread , of course, and a good excuse to post this charming song, wth a gallery of great photos:-

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisnaholic (Post 2127027)

It's been modernised since, but Foyles used to be a confusing labrynith covering 4 floors and a basement; you'd get lost trying to find the section you wanted, then get lost again trying to find your way out! Did you ever get a chance to go there, ribbons?

I've never been to Foyles, unfortunately; your description of its original labyrinthine layout reminds me of The Strand Bookstore in NYC.

And I've realized that I misspelled Foyles in my earlier post! We Yanks are much more liberal (greedy?) than the Brits in the placement of the possessive apostrophe in business and place names. :)

Good catch on Jim Morrison's "thievery" of Richard Fariña's title, Been Down So Long It Looks Up To Me. You have piqued my interest in that book - I've heard about it for years but never managed to read it. Thanks for sharing that lovely song and video, as well. I've watched a few YouTube videos of Richard & Mimi appearing on Pete Seeger's show Rainbow Quest. I like Richard's dulcimer playing (almost an American-raga sound), and Mimi's vocals are so similar to sister Joan! Time to dig deeper into Richard & Mimi's music. :cool:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....4,203,200_.jpg
The Poetics of Music in the Form of Six Lessons by Igor Stravinsky

A series of lectures that Stravinsky presented to Harvard. There's a great deal of insight as is to be expected, but it's also weirdly authoritarian and reminds me a lot of the "dancing about architecture" trope whenever he digs into aesthetics specifically. The language, flow, and style of it is rough too, but I'll let the translator take the blame for that. Valuable for musicians and Stravinsky heads.

I think Patty Smith is the only musician whose books I've read. I loved Just kids.

https://d1w7fb2mkkr3kw.cloudfront.ne...0520266087.jpg

Theory of Harmony by Arnold Schoenberg

A textbook on harmony and everything surrounding it by the master. Better than most theory books I've looked at since Schoenberg tries to show what music is capable of as opposed to looking in the rearview mirror and dictating what music has done. Stravinsky should've stuck to doing and not teaching but Schoenberg is boss at both.

A must for musicians really, but readable enough for nonmusician fans of Schoenberg to take a gander. If you've read Cage's work, this would be a good supplement because you can spot some of Schoenberg's influence on his student.

https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/com...44l/922398.jpg
Orientations: Collected Writings by Pierre Boulez

An incredibly thorough look at historical approaches to music and where it's going, informed by his own compositions and those that he's conducted. Received this on christmas so I've only taken a glance at it but have high hopes.

Spoiler for table of contents:

Nick Cave - And the Ass Saw the Angel and also The Death of Bunny Munro

Steve Earle - Dog Roses and I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucem Ferre (Post 2125708)

What about Violent J's Behind The Paint?

He talks about how he used to throw bricks at prostitutes and the time he sexually assaulted Sheryl Crow at the final Woodstock.

I've listened to a few chapters of the audio book and it's pretty great. I like how he just wrote like he talks so can just sound like a grimy ******* for a whole book.