What is your go-to genre – that section of the bookshelf you search for when you need something comforting to read?
Mystery, romance, self-help, poetry? There are some sorts of books I consistently return to, even lugging completely inappropriate books along on vacation or spending Christmas Day deep in a super-depressing novel.
But when in need of a mental break, I often reach for books about music, bands and musicians. I love a good band bio; in fact, I love these bios even when the book (or band) isn’t all that great. I’m especially drawn to books about groups I know next to nothing about, like “The Big Midweek” by Steve Hanley and Olivia Piekars about Hanley’s chaotic years in the Mark E. Smith-led band, The Fall.
Here are some off the top of my head (and I know I’ll regret not including a bunch of others as soon as this posts): “White Bicycles” by Joe Boyd; “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” by Jeff Chang; “Miles: The Autobiography” by Miles Davis and Quincy Troupe; “Just Kids” by Patti Smith; “Raise Up Off Me” by Hampton Hawes; “Rip It Up and Start Again” by Simon Reynolds; “Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley” by Timothy White; “Los Lobos: Dream in Blue” by Chris Morris; “Girl in a Band” by Kim Gordon; “Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest” by Hanif Abdurraqib; “Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys,” by Viv Albertine; “The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop” by Jonathan Abrams; “Lady Sings the Blues” by Billie Holiday and William Dufty; “Mystery Train” by Greil Marcus; “This Is Memorial Device” by David Keenan; “Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk” by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain; “Words Without Music” by Philip Glass; and “Love Is a Mix Tape” by Rob Sheffield (his beautiful book about his late wife Renée Crist, a wonderful writer and absolutely delightful person I was fortunate to know when I was her editor at Option magazine).
Along with these riches, there are a slew of biographies, memoirs, oral histories and sweeping genre overviews to check out (including the upcoming “All Tomorrow’s Parties,” a graphic novel-style Velvet Underground biography by Koren Shadmi I’m looking forward to).
Then there’s the Beatles. Along with “Beatles ‘66,” “Revolution in the Head,” “Love Me Do!” and Sheffield’s glorious “Dreaming the Beatles,” there’s “Tune In,” the first volume of Mark Lewisohn’s proposed Beatles trilogy. You might justifiably resist the idea of reading a 944-page book about the Beatles that stops in 1962 – before Beatlemania! – especially when there’s a potentially George R.R. Martin-y wait for the final two installments. But seriously, friends, it’s fantastic. (There’s an even longer version I may break down and buy one day.)
Plus, there are so many books on music and bands we’ve covered in our pages, including Michelle Zauner’s “Crying in H Mart”; Dawnie Walton’s novel “The Final Revival of Opal & Nev”; Billy Bragg’s book on skiffle; memoirs by Guns N’ Roses members Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum; RJ Smith’s “Chuck Berry: An American Life”; Ani DiFranco’s “No Walls and the Recurring Dream”; Jim Ruland’s Bad Religion book; Gerrick Kennedy’s “Didn’t We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston”; Warren Ellis’ “Nina Simone’s Gum”; Bono’s “Surrender”; Jonathan Taplin’s memoir “The Magic Years”; “Last Chance Texaco” by Rickie Lee Jones; Jeff Tweedy’s “Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back)“; John Wray’s novel “Gone to the Wolves”; “Sweet Dreams: The Story of the New Romantics” by Dylan Jones; books by Go-Go’s Gina Schock and Kathy Valentine; books about the LA punk legends X; “Time Between” by Chris Hillman; “Set the Night on Fire” by Robby Krieger and “Beeswing” by Richard Thompson.
Plus, many audiobooks or audio originals these days are read by the authors, so Bruce Springsteen, Lucinda Williams, Chuck D, The Smiths’ Johnny Marr, Yo-Yo Ma, Elvis Costello, Brandi Carlile, and the polyphonic Beastie Boys book are all worth checking out. (Not to mention excellent music podcasts like A History of Rock n’ Roll in 500 Songs or Cocaine & Rhinestones – or this Twitter feed I came across while I was writing this that seemed to be on the same wavelength.)
And lastly, a shout-out to “Hadley Lee Lightcap” by Sam Sweet, a deeply reported book about the ’90s-era Los Angeles trio Acetone. It’s wonderful.
The reason this came up was because I’d been looking forward to Michael Schaub’s interview with Warren Zanes to discuss “Deliver Me From Nowhere,” Zanes’ deep dive into Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska” album – a book I couldn’t wait to read as soon as I heard about it. (Zanes responds to the Q&A below.)
While in college, I worked at a record store with a crew of passionate music fans. If you’ve seen or read “High Fidelity,” you get the gist, but the musical education I got has been as important to me as the one I got at school. Whether it was Public Enemy or Alex Chilton or Mel Tormé, there was always a show and someone to see it with (and I saw Mel Tormé a lot).
While there, my good friend and coworker Dave, a passionate Springsteen fan (and Prince fan, Tom Waits fan and …), demanded I address the outrageous fact that I’d never seen the Boss in concert. Since Springsteen was out on tour at the time, we waited in line for tickets and – I have no idea how – scored second-row center seats on the floor. A scalper offered me $500 as we walked away (or rather, as Dave dragged me away to stop me from closing a sale). We saw the show, it was terrific and I hardly ever think about that $500.
As well as Springsteen, Dave introduced me to the Del Fuegos, a band featuring Warren Zanes … who has just written a book about Springsteen. It all felt full circle, and as the song asks, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” Not by me, it won’t; I ordered Dave a copy and anticipate a lively conversation about it in the future.
OK, whew, if you’re still here reading I appreciate it. Please feel free to email me at epedersen@scng.com with the words “ERIK: BOOK PAGES” in the subject line and tell me about the music books you’ve enjoyed or the books that you’re reading and I may include it in an upcoming newsletter. (And as I mentioned banned books in the subject line, there’s a link to a story below about PEN America and Penguin Random House teaming up to fight a Florida ban.)
And if you enjoy this free newsletter, please consider sharing it with someone who likes books or getting a digital subscription to support local coverage.
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Warren Zanes on Claire Keegan, J.M Coetzee and Jim Harrison
Warren Zanes was a member of Boston’s the Del Fuegos and has released a number of solo albums. He’s wrote the first book in the 33+1/3 series, “Dusty Springfield’s Dusty in Memphis,” and a biography of Tom Petty; he also edited a book about Jimmie Rodgers. Along with work on music documentaries such as “George Harrison: Living in the Material World” and “20 Feet From Stardom,” Zanes has a Ph.D. in Visual and Cultural Studies and teaches at New York University. He spoke with Michael Schaub about the book and responds to the Book Pages Q&A below.
Q: How do you decide what to read next?
Like so many others, I have a pile of books beside my bed. Most are fiction, novels and story collections. Some are in the general “self-help” category, which seems like an odd classification (I mean, if you can help yourself, why do you need the book?). Occasionally there’s a book about music, if I’m in research mode. The actual decision regarding what I read next, however, is typically a matter of instinct. I just pulled out J.M Coetzee’s “Boyhood and Youth,” simply because I find his prose style inspiring. There’s an economy in his books that I associate more with poetry than prose. It’s spare but so complete.
Q: Do you remember the first book that made an impact on you?
Yes. My mother gave me a copy of Jim Harrison’s “Legends of the Fall,” which I then gave, tattered, to my eldest son on his 18th birthday. Jim Harrison turned me into a real reader, got me ready for college, made me want books. His characters were so alive to me. They were often in some kind of turmoil but also loved food, literature, beauty . . . the good stuff. I wanted to be in Harrison’s worlds, so I read everything of his I could find. By the end of that, I was a reader.
Q: Do you listen to audiobooks? If so, are there any titles or narrators you’d recommend?
I listen to audiobooks and always enjoy them. Mostly, I listen with my sons on road trips. Anything Ethan Hawke reads is worth hearing. We are filled with admiration for that guy.
Q: Is there a genre or type of book you read the most – and what would you like to read more of?
I come from a family of fiction readers. I remember when people in the house were reading Knut Hamsun. His books — “Mysteries,” “Growth of the Soil,” “Pan” — were going around like something you caught when the seasons changed. But I was the late bloomer in my family. Books were for the others. I was racing bicycles and more interested in shaving my legs. Then, after Jim Harrison shook me awake to fiction, I went back to Knut Hamsun and others. It made me reconsider my family. I figured they must have more depth, more hunger, than I realized. How can you read great fiction and not have great hunger? I just wasn’t sure why they didn’t talk about it more. But I was in for life with fiction.
Q: Which books do you plan, or hope, to read next?
Claire Keegan’s “Foster.” I’ve read a few story collections and one other novella. I think she’s a master. And, oddly enough, we were both at Loyola University in New Orleans at the same time. How did that happen?? I want to see her again and ask her. Her writing reminds me what writing can do at its best.
Q: Is there a person who made an impact on your reading life – a teacher, a parent, a librarian or someone else?
Absolutely. John Biguenet, poet, playwright, novelist, short story writer, teacher. He made me believe that the reward is the practice itself. To have a life that includes writing, and writing at any level: that’s the thing. I feel like he lives this. These days, though, I call him more to ask how to be a man in the world, how to carry on with a broken heart, how to let your kids go into the world, how to become a hockey fan in your fifties, stuff like that. He’s served me in every way. But it took me years to feel comfortable calling him by his first name, since we originally met in his classroom. Truth? He’ll always be Mr. Biguenet. I call him “John” very reluctantly.
Q: If you could ask your readers something, what would it be?
Will you be understanding if I feel compelled to write a memoir? Please?
More stories on books and authors
Mystery in the mail
A decades-old Holocaust secret fueled Anne Berest’s “The Postcard.” READ MORE
• • •
Resisting book bans
PEN America, Penguin Random House sue a Florida school district over book bans. READ MORE
• • •
The week’s bestsellers
The top-selling books at your local independent bookstores. READ MORE
What’s next on ‘Bookish’
The next Bookish event will be June 16 at 5 p.m. and include author Mona Simpson, host Sandra Tsing Loh & Samantha Dunn.
• • •
- Sign up for The Book Pages
- Miss last week’s newsletter? Find past editions here
- Dive into all of our books coverage
