The Song Remains the Same: 800 Years of Love Songs, Laments and Lullabies by Andrew Ford; Anni Heino

$32.99 AUD

Category: Music

Often today, the word 'song' is used to describe all music. A free-jazz improvisation, a Hindustani raga, a movement from a Beethoven symphony, a Springsteen anthem or a Leonard Cohen ballad- they're all songs. But, in fact, a song is a specific musical form. It's not so much that they all have verses and choruses - though most of them do - but that they are all relatively short and self-contained; they have beginnings, middles and ends; they often have a single point of view, message or story; and, crucially, they unite words and music. Thus, a Schubert song has more in common with a track by Joni Mitchell or Sia than with one of Schubert's own symphonies. The Song Remains the Same traces these connections through seventy-five songs from different cultures and times- love songs, anthems, protest songs, lullabies, folk songs, jazz standards, lieder and pop hits; 'When You Wish Upon a Star' to 'We Will Rock You', 'Jerusalem' to 'Jolene'. Unpicking their inner workings makes familiar songs strange again, explaining and restoring the wonder, joy (or possibly loathing) the reader experienced on first hearing. Featuring songs by The Beatles, Cole Porter, Kate Bush, Carole King, Bob Marley, Tracy Chapman, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan and Violeta Parra; musical numbers by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Sondheim and the Gershwins; and works from great composers, including Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms. ...Show more

1-2-3-4: The Beatles in Time - One Two Three Four by Craig Brown

$32.99 AUD

Category: Music

From the award-winning author of Ma'am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret comes a fascinating, hilarious, kaleidoscopic biography of the Fab Four. On April 10th 2020, it will be exactly 50 years since Paul McCartney announced the break-up of the Beatles.  At that point, we will be at the sa me distance in time from 1970 as 1970 was from 1920, the year Al Jolson's 'Swanee' was the bestselling record and Gustav Holst composed The Planets. The Beatles continue to occupy a position unique in popular culture. They have entered people's minds in a way that did not occur before, and has not occurred since. Their influence extended way beyond the realm of music to fashion, politics, class, religion and ethics. Countless books have doggedly catalogued the minutiae of The Beatles. If you want to know the make of George Harrison's first car you will always be able to find the answer (a second hand, two-door, blue Ford Anglia 105E Deluxe, purchased from Brian Epstein's friend Terry Doran, who worked at a dealership in Warrington). Before she met John Lennon, who was the only Beatle Yoko Ono could name, and why? Ringo. Because 'ringo' means 'apple' in Japanese. All very interesting, but there is, as yet, no book about The Beatles that combines the intriguing minutiae of their day-to-day lives with broader questions about their effect - complicated and fascinating - on the world around them, their contemporaries, and generations to come. Until now.   Craig Brown's 1-2-3-4: The Beatles in Time is a unique, kaleidoscopic examination of The Beatles phenomenon - part biography, part anthropology, part memoir, by turns humorous and serious, elegiac and speculative. It follows the unique "exploded biography" form of his internationally bestselling, Ma'am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret. ia 105E Deluxe, purchased from Brian Epstein's friend Terry Doran, who worked at a dealership in Warrington). Before she met John Lennon, who was the only Beatle Yoko Ono could name, and why? Ringo. Because 'ringo' means 'apple' in Japanese. All very interesting, but there is, as yet, no book about The Beatles that combines the intriguing minutiae of their day-to-day lives with broader questions about their effect - complicated and fascinating - on the world around them, their contemporaries, and generations to come. Until now.   Craig Brown's 1-2-3-4: The Beatles in Time is a unique, kaleidoscopic examination of The Beatles phenomenon - part biography, part anthropology, part memoir, by turns humorous and serious, elegiac and speculative. It follows the unique "exploded biography" form of his internationally bestselling, Ma'am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret. ...Show more

A Masters Apprentice living in the sixties by Peter Tilbrook

$39.95 AUD

Category: Music

The Life & Times of Malcolm McLaren by Paul Gorman

$36.99 AUD

Category: Music

'This masterful and painstaking biography opens its doorway to an era of fluorescent disenchantment and outlandish possibility' Alan Moore Malcolm McLaren was one of the most culturally significant but misunderstood figures of the modern era. Ten years after his life was cruelly cut short by cancer, The Life & Times of Malcolm McLaren sheds fascinating new light on the public achievements and private life of this cultural iconoclast and architect of punk, whose championing of street culture movements including hip-hop and Voguing reverberates to this day. With exclusive contributions from friends and intimates and access to private papers and family documents, this biography uncovers the true story behind this complicated figure. McLaren first achieved public prominence as a rebellious art student by making the news in 1966 after being arrested for burning the US flag in front of the American Embassy in London. He maintained this incendiary reputation by fast-tracking vanguard and left-field ideas to the centre of the media glare, via his creation and stewardship of the Sex Pistols and work with Adam Ant, Boy George and Bow Wow Wow. Meanwhile McLaren's ground-breaking design partnership with Vivienne Westwood and his creation of their visionary series of boutiques in the 1970s and early '80s sent shockwaves through the fashion industry. The Life & Times of Malcolm McLaren also essays McLaren's exasperating Hollywood years when he broke bread with the likes of Steven Spielberg though his slate of projects, which included the controversial Surf Nazis Must Die and Wilde West, in which Oscar Wilde introduced rock'n'roll to the American mid-west in the 1880s, proved too rich for the play-it-safe film business. With a preface by the Alan Moore, who collaborated with McLaren on the unrealised film project Fashion Beast, and an essay by Lou Stoppard casting a twenty-first-century perspective over his achievements, The Life & Times Of Malcolm McLaren is the explosive and definitive account of the man dubbed by Melvyn Bragg 'the Diaghilev of punk'. ...Show more

Me: Elton John Official Autobiography (HB) by Elton John

$44.99 AUD

Category: Music

In his first and only official autobiography, music icon Elton John reveals the truth about his extraordinary life,  The result is Me - the joyously funny, honest and moving story of the most enduringly successful singer/songwriter of all time. Christened Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Budd y Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star. By the age of twenty-three, he was performing his first gig in America, facing an astonished audience in his bright yellow dungarees, a star-spangled T-shirt and boots with wings. Elton John had arrived and the music world would never be the same again. His life has been full of drama, from the early rejection of his work with song-writing partner Bernie Taupin to spinning out of control as a chart-topping superstar; from half-heartedly trying to drown himself in his LA swimming pool to disco-dancing with the Queen; from friendships with John Lennon, Freddie Mercury and George Michael to setting up his AIDS Foundation. All the while, Elton was hiding a drug addiction that would grip him for over a decade. In Me Elton also writes powerfully about getting clean and changing his life, about finding love with David Furnish and becoming a father. In a voice that is warm, humble and open, this is Elton on his music and his relationships, his passions and his mistakes. This is a story that will stay with you, by a living legend. ...Show more

Stranger Than Kindness: The Nick Cave Exhibition by Nick Cave

$49.99 AUD

Category: Music

Stranger Than Kindness is a journey in images and words into the creative world of musician, storyteller and cultural icon Nick Cave. This highly collectible book contains images selected by Cave from 'Stranger Than Kindness: The Nick Cave Exhibition', presented by the Royal Danish Library in partnershi p with Arts Centre Melbourne. Featuring full-colour reproductions of original artwork, handwritten lyrics, photographs and collected personal artefacts, it presents Cave's life, work and inspiration and explores his many real and imagined universes. Images are paired with commentary and meditations from Cave and celebrated writer Darcey Steinke on themes that are central to Cave's work. Stranger Than Kindness asks what shapes our lives and makes us who we are, and celebrates the curiosity and power of the creative spirit. ...Show more

Kim Salmon and the Formula for Grunge by Douglas Galbraith

$39.99 AUD

Category: Music

This book follows Australian musician Kim Salmon, from bands The Scientists, Surrealists and Beasts of Bourbon, from childhood in Perth through his many bands, albums, tours, family upheavals, triumphs, disappointments and examines the characters of the music business he collaborates with along the way. The book explores the forces that shaped his style to create an idiosyncratically Australian sound that went on to spark a worldwide music & cultural movement-Grunge. It's a tribute to the life-long pursuit of artistic mastery, and celebration of the growing international recognition, well overdue for this unique Australian artist. ...Show more

My Name Is Prince by Randee St. Nicholas

$99.00 AUD

Category: Music

The ultimate collection of stunning photographs documenting the career of one of the world's greatest superstars There has never been or will there ever be an artist like Prince. "A 5′ 3″ Mastermind . . . satiated with virtuosity, controversy, stubbornness, and poise . . . His influence on M usic transcended any and every category given titles by industry wizards and musicologists. Pop, Rock, Rhythm & Blues, Classical, Funk, Jazz, Soul, and Rap . . . He did it all and he did it well . . . and in his time . . . He did it first," writes Randee St. Nicholas. For twenty-five years, this legendary photographer, with a storied career of her own, worked closely with Prince, capturing some of his most intimate and revealing moments both on and off stage. Now, the fruits of their numerous collaborations are on full display in My Name Is Prince, the largest collection of the most iconic photographs that will ever exist of one of the world's greatest superstars. In this dazzling collector's edition, readers are treated to a front-row seat to their innovative and awe-inspiring projects, from his music videos Gett Off and My Name Is Prince; to their impromptu photo shoots...just because; their adventures around the world from London to Tokyo to Prague, and his breathtaking, showstopping live concert appearances from great stages at Coachella and the 02 Arena to intimate nightclubs. Many of the trips, we will discover, are either unplanned or hastily arranged. And yet you will marvel at the results--as Prince expected nothing less than the best. When they met, Prince was ready for a change. The quixotic performer was known for seizing a moment and then on to the next. After their initial 1991 photo shoot in her Los Angeles studio, Prince assured St. Nicholas, "Don't worry, I'll be back." Over the next twenty-five years he would return again and again, challenging himself and St. Nicholas to reach higher and to go further with every original pursuit. My Name Is Prince is the story of that unique working relationship and artistic evolution that produced many stunning images and lasted from their first meeting until the end: He had incredible timing, not just musically but spiritually, emotionally, and creatively . . . that Prince rhythm fueled a spontaneity that was contagious, enabling you to be more fearless and flexible than you thought you ever could be. When he would call . . . you had to be ready for anything . . . to jump on a plane with an hour or two notice, to put together a crew in a city you had never worked in before without any preparation time . . . or to simply just go outside your house at four in the morning where he was parked in his car, waiting for you to get in and listen to new music he had just recorded. One never knew what to expect . . . but it was always an inspired adventure. Told through 384 pages of striking visuals and poignant, intimate stories, the insights revealed in My Name Is Prince show a side of the enigmatic megastar that few have ever seen. We go beyond the genius and meet the man--playful, moody, disciplined, sensual, serious, and soulful. And in hundreds of photographs, we see that incandescent light behind his hypnotic eyes; that sly smile, strong hands, and transformative and transcendent presence that connected people from every part of the globe through his music. As his sound lives on, My Name Is Prince is a visual testimony to his greatness and a space that can never be filled.   ...Show more

The Eighth by Stephen Johnson

$34.99 AUD

Category: Music

The compelling story of Mahler's titanic Eighth Symphony.

More Myself: A Journey by Alicia Keys

$34.99 AUD

Category: Music

One of the most celebrated musicians of modern time shares her quest for truth--about herself, her past, and her shift from sacrificing her spirit to celebrating her worth. With the raw honesty that epitomizes her artistry, this work is at once a riveting account and a clarion call to readers to define themselves in a world that rarely encourages a true and unique identity.tity. ...Show more

Roots: How Melbourne Became the Live Music Capital of the World by Craig Horne

$34.99 AUD

Category: Music

Roots is the history of live music in Melbourne, from jazz to blues, country, folk, rhythm and blues to rock, and the socio-political stories of those musicians who played what they wanted, when they wanted, without a damn.

The Birth of Loud - Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll by Ian S. Port

$26.99 AUD

Category: Music

"A hot-rod joy ride through mid-20th-century American history" (The New York Times Book Review), this one-of-a-kind narrative masterfully recreates the rivalry between the two men who innovated the electric guitar's amplified sound--Leo Fender and Les Paul--and their intense competition to convince rock stars like the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton to play the instruments they built. In the years after World War II, music was evolving from big-band jazz into rock 'n' roll--and these louder styles demanded revolutionary instruments. When Leo Fender's tiny firm marketed the first solid-body electric guitar, the Esquire, musicians immediately saw its appeal. Not to be out-maneuvered, Gibson, the largest guitar manufacturer, raced to build a competitive product. The company designed an "axe" that would make Fender's Esquire look cheap and convinced Les Paul--whose endorsement Leo Fender had sought--to put his name on it. Thus was born the guitar world's most heated rivalry: Gibson versus Fender, Les versus Leo. While Fender was a quiet, half-blind, self-taught radio repairman, Paul was a brilliant but headstrong pop star and guitarist who spent years toying with new musical technologies. Their contest turned into an arms race as the most inventive musicians of the 1950s and 1960s--including bluesman Muddy Waters, rocker Buddy Holly, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton--adopted one maker's guitar or another. By 1969 it was clear that these new electric instruments had launched music into a radical new age, empowering artists with a vibrancy and volume never before attainable. In "an excellent dual portrait" (The Wall Street Journal), Ian S. Port tells the full story in The Birth of Loud, offering "spot-on human characterizations, and erotic paeans to the bodies of guitars" (The Atlantic). "The story of these instruments is the story of America in the postwar era: loud, cocky, brash, aggressively new" (The Washington Post). ...Show more