Their sexuality didn't matter to the music itself (in my opinion), but it is such a huge part of who they were/are that to ignore it completely is just bad writing. This seems especially true in light of the hardcore music scene they were a part of. They shared a lot of fans with bands like Black Flag, and from what I know about the early Black Flag shows, a lot of the folks who went to them probably would not have been happy to know the truth about Bob and Grant. That had to weigh heavily on the band.
This one isn't bad, especially if you're into UK indie pop from the 80's and 90's.
"Lost in Music" is about growing up with pop music - about hearing it, buying it, loving it, and attempting to play it in public for money. A brilliant combination of the confessional and the unapologetic, this is a book for anyone who has ever treasured vinyl, or sung into a roll-on deodorant in front of the bedroom mirror and dreamed of playing Wembley.
As you can see, one of the badges has an XTC logo on it...
Music journalist Heylin has written a sympathetic, fascinating, and path-breaking history of the rock bootleg industry. After a brief historical introduction that distinguishes between bootlegs (live or unreleased performances) and pirates (counterfeits of official releases), he describes the making of and reaction to the first rock bootleg: Bob Dylan's Great White Wonder. The author continues with the growth of rock bootlegs, the impact of the 1976 Copyright Act, and the beginnings of British bootlegging, spurred by punk rock. He ends with a discussion of the attempt by record companies to block DAT (digital audio tape) in the hopes of curbing home copying and the appearance of compact disc bootlegs...
Obviously it needs an update, since it was published in 1996 and let's face it, CD-R bootlegging would have supplanted DATs even without industry interference, just as MP3's and filesharing supplanted CD-R boots. But it's still a good book for the historical stuff, from the vinyl and cassette era.
Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music, Greg Milner
I'm part way through this and am enjoying it. The basic premise is about how has recording techniques have evolved, so our notion of what it means for a recording to sound "good" has kept shifting as well, and so debates about "fidelity" are on shifting sand. Peppered with good anecdotes from the history of recording going back to the early days. Well written, non-technical, and interesting. Focuses on what people were hearing in the music at a given time, not just the technology.
Comments
I don't think they liked cats very much, though. No one's perfect...
Craig
The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century Not about rock until a later chapter, but probably the most insightful book about music I've ever read.
Author's blog
NY Times review
Guardian review
As you can see, one of the badges has an XTC logo on it...
Obviously it needs an update, since it was published in 1996 and let's face it, CD-R bootlegging would have supplanted DATs even without industry interference, just as MP3's and filesharing supplanted CD-R boots. But it's still a good book for the historical stuff, from the vinyl and cassette era.
Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music, Greg Milner
I'm part way through this and am enjoying it. The basic premise is about how has recording techniques have evolved, so our notion of what it means for a recording to sound "good" has kept shifting as well, and so debates about "fidelity" are on shifting sand. Peppered with good anecdotes from the history of recording going back to the early days. Well written, non-technical, and interesting. Focuses on what people were hearing in the music at a given time, not just the technology.