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Up Close: Elvis Presley
by Wilborn HamptonFor fans of the king, the newest installment to the Up Close biography series! Elvis Presley made a sound so different it ushered in a new kind of music: rock and roll. He was able to combine gospel, honky-tonk, country and rhythm and blues to create a unique sound that crossed racial and cultural divides. Though he was incredibly popular, at heart, Elvis was a shy and polite man, and the demands of fame began to take a toll. While his dependence on prescription drugs cut short his life, Elvis's influence on music and popular culture endures to this day.
Watch You Bleed: The Saga of Guns N' Roses
by Stephen DavisThe New York Times bestselling epic tale of the last great rock band From the bestselling author of Hammer of the Gods comes the complete story of Guns N? Roses ? from their drug-fueled blastoff in the 80s to the turbulent life of legendary singer Axl Rose, and his fifteen-year, multimillion dollar quest to make the perfect hard rock album. Riotous world tours. Drug-induced rampages. One hundred millions albums sold. In his sixth major rock biography, Stephen Davis details the riveting story of the last great rock band. Watch You Bleed documents the life of every band member, including the improbable story of W. Axl Rose. Davis brilliantly captures the Guns? raw power ? from the gutters of Sunset Strip to the biggest stadiums on the planet. Based on exclusive interviews, private archives, and packed with stunning revelations, Watch You Bleed is the savage, definitive, and highly unauthorized story of Guns N? Roses. For the first time, millions of fans will learn the whole truth about this legendary band.
Watch You Bleed
by Stephen DavisWith 90 million of the band's records sold worldwide since 1987, Guns N' Roses prolonged rock music past its sell by date with controversial albums and immense, often riotous world tours. But the band's complete story has never been fully told - until now. In his sixth major rock biography, Stephen Davis - author of the legendary Hammer of the Gods - details the riveting story of a band that originated in the gutters of Sunset Strip and went on to become the biggest, baddest band on the planet. Davis brilliantly captures the birth of Guns' raw power, which - despite rape charges, drug-induced rampages, and a general appetite for destruction - launched the band into the pantheon of rock gods such as Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. With a wealth of detail, Davis looks at Axl's unrelenting quest to release the long-awaited, mystery shrouded Chinese Democracy album, as well as the further adventures of some of the Gunners under the banner of the hard-rocking band Velvet Revolver. In Watch You Bleed, for the first time, millions of Guns N' Roses fans will learn the whole truth - sometime funny, sometimes tragic - about the last of the great rock bands.
Read the Beatles
by Astrid Kirchherr June Skinner SawyersA must-have volume for all Beatles fans-a career-spanning selection of writings about the Fab Four There are, of course, many books on the Beatles, but this is the only one available that is a comprehensive, career-spanning collection of journalism about the legendary band, before and after the breakup. Consisting of more than fifty articles, essays, interviews, record and movie reviews, poems, and book excerpts-many of them rare and hard to find-Read the Beatles is an unprecedented compilation that follows the arc of the Fab Four's iconic and idiosyncratic career, from their early days in Liverpool through their tragic and triumphant histories after the group's split. The book also includes original essays from noted musicians and journalists about the Beatles' lasting influence and why they still matter today.
The Ghost Sonata
by Jennifer AllisonGilda Joyce?s best friend, Wendy Choy, is chosen to participate in a piano competition in Oxford, England, so of course super-sleuth Gilda finds a way to go too. Once there, the grueling practice schedule takes a backseat to strange and spooky occurrences. There are foreboding tarot cards that keep appearing to the participants and ominous numbers etched in frosty windowpanes. But even more chilling are Wendy?s ghostly nightmares of a young boy?and the haunting melody she can?t shake out of her mind. Could there be a sinister connection to the piano competition? Gilda has a genuine haunting on her hands, and solving this one will take every ounce of psychic intuition she?s got! .
There's No Traffic on the Extra Mile
by Rickey MinorThe ultimate American Idol insider reveals what it takes to achieve your dreams, recalling his journey from South Central to center stage. As a highly successful musician and producer, Rickey Minor has worked with some of the world's most celebrated performers. He knows firsthand that there are reasons why some people succeed, while others fail despite their talent. As American Idol's music director, Rickey Minor helps contestants reach for their dreams week after week. He's seen it all behind the scenes at the wildly popular show. In There's No Traffic on the Extra Mile, Minor spins stories from his life in the music business into inspirational gold, imparting the lessons he has learned the hard way, including:* Always give people more than they were expecting. But remember that you can't please everyone all the time. * Look for mentors. Minor recounts how Quincy Jones became his. * Why every action moves you closer or farther away from your aspiration-and how to tell the difference. * If you can't get what you want, it may be because you're not ready yet. When the time comes, you'll know. He also provides juicy behind-the-scenes anecdotes about Idol contestants, and the keys to their success. He sees the show as a condensed version of life itself. The setbacks the performers face, and their triumphs, mirror our own. But his bottom line, no matter what your field of endeavor, is this: If you drive hard enough, sooner or later you will be the only one left on the road.
Bound for Glory
by Woody GuthrieBound for Glory is the autobiography of Woody Guthrie, the founder of modern American folk music. It is a funny, cynical, earthy and tragic account of his life in an Oklahoma oil-boom town, of the Depression that followed,and of his subsequent travels in, on,and under trains, in stolen cars and on his feet, round an America going rotten from the top downwards
The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Classical Music
by Tim Smith Michael Tilson ThomasFor the beginner or the devotee--it's everything the classical music buff needs to know. The major composers from Bach and Bartok to Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky Significant performers from Maurice Andre and Leornard Bernstein to Georg Solti and Yo Yo Ma The landmark works from Appalachian Spring to Don Juan A concise history of classical music A deconstruction of the art form The language of classical music Valuable resources for the Curious Listener
The Last Days (Peeps #2)
by Scott WesterfeldStrange things are happening: people going crazy in the streets, old friends disappearing, angels (or devils) clambering on the fire escapes of New York City. But for Pearl, Moz and Zahler, all that matters is their new band. As the city reels under a mysterious epidemic, the three combine their talents with a vampire lead signer and a drummer whose fractured mind can glimpse the coming darkness. Will their music stave off the end of the world? Or summon it? Set against the gritty apocalypse that began in Parasite Positive, THE LAST DAYS is about five teenagers who find themselves creating the soundtrack for the end of the world.
Racing in the Street
by June Skinner Sawyers Martin ScorseseFor more than three decades, Bruce Springsteen's ability to express in words and music the deepest hopes, fears, loves, and sorrows of average Americans has made him a hero to his millions of devoted fans. Racing in the Street is the first comprehensive collection of writings about Springsteen, featuring the most insightful, revealing, famous, and infamous articles, interviews, reviews, and other writings. This nostalgic journey through the career of a rock-'n'-roll legend chronicles every album and each stage of Springsteen's career. It's all here--Dave Marsh's Rolling Stone review of Springsteen's ten sold-out Bottom Line shows in 1975 in New York City, Jay Cocks's and Maureen Orth's dueling Time and Newsweek cover stories, George Will's gross misinterpretation of Springsteen's message on his Born in the USA tour, and Will Percy's 1999 interview for Double Take, plus much, much more.
The Science of String Instruments
by Thomas D. RossingThis book will be a non-technical book on string instruments that includes some technical information as well. The emphasis will be on the practical understanding of string instruments, with the interests of performers and instrument builders in the forefront. Authors of the chapters will be musicians, scientists, and instrument designers and builders with practical experience. The mathematics will be kept as simple as possible by translating ideas from the language of physics (mathematics) to non-mathematical language. Considerable emphasis will be placed on the design and construction of string instruments. Following the structure of the author's successful Science of Percussion Instruments (World Scientific, 2000), technical ideas will be presented as "interludes." Readers who wish to go beyond the simple ideas in this book can easily follow the references to more scientific books and to the original scientific literature.
Counting Down Bruce Springsteen: His 100 Finest Songs
by Jim BevigliaFor 40 years, Bruce Springsteen has held center stage as the quintessential American rock and roll artist, expressing the hopes and dreams of the American everyman and every woman through his vast array of insightful and inspirational songs. In Counting Down Bruce Springsteen: His 100 Finest Songs, rock writer Jim Beviglia dares to rank his finest songs in descending order from the 100th to his no. 1 greatest song. In this unique book, Beviglia reflects not only on why each song has earned its place on list but lays out the story behind each of the 100, supplying fresh insights on the musical and lyrical content of Springsteen's remarkable body of work. Counting Down Bruce Springsteen brings together critical historical and biographical information to explain the making and importance of each song to its listeners, painting a fascinating portrait of Springsteen as a major American songwriter and consummate recording artist. Counting Down Bruce Springsteen is the perfect playlist builder, whether it is
Experiencing Leonard Bernstein: A Listener's Companion
by Kenneth LaFaveLeonard Bernstein is a household name. Most know him for his classic musical reworking of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as Broadway’s West Side Story. But Bernstein accomplished so much more as a composer, and his body of work is both broad and varied. He composed ballets (Fancy Free, Facsimile, Dybbuk), operas (Trouble in Tahiti, Candide, A Quiet Place), musicals (On the Town, Wonderful Town), film scores (On the Waterfront), symphonies, choral works, chamber music pieces, art songs, and piano works. In Experiencing Leonard Bernstein: A Listener’s Companion, Kenneth LaFave guides readers past Bernstein’s famously tortured personal problems and into the clarity and balance of his Serenade after Plato’s Symposium for Violin and Orchestra, the intense drama of his music for On the Waterfront, the existential cosmography of his three symphonies, and his vibrant works for the musical stage. Perhaps the most famous American classical musician born in the twentieth century, Bernstein divided his time between c
Experiencing Film Music: A Listener's Companion
by Kenneth LaFaveOf all the elements that combine to make movies, music sometimes seems the forgotten stepchild. Yet it is an integral part of the cinematic experience. Minimized as mere "background music," film scores enrich visuals with emotional mood and intensity, underscoring directors' intentions, enhancing audiences' reactions, driving the narrative forward, and sometimes even subverting all three. Trying to imagine The Godfather or Lawrence of Arabia with a different score is as difficult as imagining them featuring a different cast. In Experiencing Film Music: A Listener's Companion, Kenneth LaFave guides the reader through the history, ideas, personalities, and visions that have shaped the music we hear on the big screen. Looking back to the music improvised for early silent movies, LaFave traces the development of the film score from such early epic masterpieces as Max Steiner's work for Gone With the Wind, Bernard Herrmann's musical creations for Alfred Hitchcock's thrillers, Jerry Goldsmith's sonic presentation of Chinatown, and Ennio Morricone's distinctive rewrite of the Western genre, to John Williams' epoch-making Jaws and Star Wars. LaFave also brings readers into the present with looks at the work over the last decade and a half of Hans Zimmer, Alan Silvestre, Carter Brey, and Danny Elfman. Experiencing Film Music: A Listener's Companion opens the ears of film-goers to the nuance behind movie music, laying out in simple, non-technical language how composers and directors map what we hear to what we see--and, not uncommonly, back again.
The Americana Revolution: From Country and Blues Roots to the Avett Brothers, Mumford and Sons, and Beyond (Roots of American Music: Folk, Americana, Blues, and Country)
by Michael Scott CainAmericana is a music that defies definition. It isn’t rock, although it does encompass rock. It isn’t folk, but folk is there. It isn’t Celtic, but it is woven with Celtic threads. It is a blend of forms, music that draws on a wide range of influences. Gathering these many genres together, Americana continually reinvents itself and actively tells the story of its origins and its future. <p><p> The Americana Revolution: From Country and Blues Roots to the Avett Brothers, Mumford & Sons, and Beyond is an informal social history that describes Americana as both a musical genre and a movement, showing what it is, where it came from, and where it is going. Musician and historian Michael Scott Cain examines how the idea of genre, especially Americana, affects the creation and consumption of music. He tries to discern the formulas of this slippery genre and seeks out the places where artists have broken or bent those formulas in the name of creativity. Through anecdotes and interviews, Cain provides a firsthand view into the creation of Americana to clarify how the genre can be categorized and defined. <p><p> Through the stories of its creators both long gone and new to the scene, Americana music comes alive as a diverse melting pot of creative genius. With this book, Cain grants music lovers from all backgrounds an unparalleled view into the future of a music that embraces new influences but never forgets its roots.
Fashionistas (School Gyrls #1)
by Mo MoneyMonica "Mo Money" Marriott is worried her mother won't measure up to her classmates' wealthy parents during Parent's Weekend, so she lies about her mother's background.
Copy Cat (School Gyrls #2)
by Jacque NimbleJacque is struggling with school work. If she doesn't make good grades, she'll have to leave the school -- and her friends!
Virtuosity
by Jessica MartinezAn intensely romantic, “brilliant debut” (Kirkus Reviews) about a dangerous addiction, a fierce rivalry, and a forbidden love.Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen’s whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn’t just hot…what if Jeremy is better?Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can’t end well, but she just can't stay away. Nobody else understands her—and riles her up—like he does. Still, she can’t trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win, she takes antianxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even sicker of always doing what she’s told, doing what’s expected.Sometimes being on top just means you have a long way to fall….
Virtuosity
by Jessica MartinezAn intensely romantic, “brilliant debut” (Kirkus Reviews) about a dangerous addiction, a fierce rivalry, and a forbidden love.Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen’s whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn’t just hot…what if Jeremy is better?Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can’t end well, but she just can't stay away. Nobody else understands her—and riles her up—like he does. Still, she can’t trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win, she takes antianxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even sicker of always doing what she’s told, doing what’s expected.Sometimes being on top just means you have a long way to fall….
Over the Moon
by Jake Van Leer Jodi Picoult Ellen WilberMaster storyteller and bestselling author Jodi Picoult teams up with Jake van Leer and Ellen Wilber to bring you an original musical, sure to breathe life into any middle-school and high school drama curriculum. Part Shakespearean comedy and part Fractured Fairy Tales, Over the Moon is all fun. Narrated by a cross-dressing Hairy Godmother (no, that's not a typo), the story begins when Luna (the moon) descends to a small town on earth disguised as a boy, and sets out to help humans find love. But Luna herself falls in love with Prince Jack... who's in love with Felicity... who has fallen for Luna. On the way to happily ever after are a steady stream of clever puns and topical jokes about American Idol, universal health care, Bernie Madoff, and just about every fairy tale creature you've ever heard of! With nineteen original hum-worthy songs and plenty of spots to tailor the play to any city or town, Over the Moon is the perfect choice for every school looking to perform an energetic show that's fresh, funny, and timeless.
Dissonance
by Erica O'RourkeIn this inventive romantic thriller, Del has the power to navigate between alternate realities--and the power to save multiple worlds.Every time someone makes a choice, a new, parallel world is spun off the existing one. Eating breakfast or skipping it, turning left instead of right, sneaking out instead of staying in bed--all of these choices create alternate universes in which echo selves take the roads not traveled. Del knows this because she's a Walker, someone who can navigate between the worlds, and whose job is to keep the dimensions in harmony.But Del's decisions have consequences too. Even though she's forbidden from Walking after a training session goes horribly wrong, she secretly starts to investigate other dissonant worlds. She's particularly intrigued by the echo versions of Simon Lane, a guy who won't give her the time of day in the main world, but whose alternate selves are uniquely interested. But falling for Simon draws Del closer to a truth that the Council of Walkers is trying to hide--a secret that threatens the fate of the entire multiverse."O'Rourke brilliantly builds an intricate and complex alternate science-fiction universe that contains beautiful imagery and visualization. A definite page-turner." --School Library Journal
Dissonance
by Erica O'RourkeIn this inventive romantic thriller, Del has the power to navigate between alternate realities—and the power to save multiple worlds.<P> Delancey knows for sure that there is more than one universe. Many more. Because every time someone makes a choice, a new, parallel world is spun off the existing one. Eating breakfast or skipping it, turning left instead of right, sneaking out instead of staying in bed—all of these choices create alternate universes in which echo selves take the roads not traveled. Del knows all of this because she’s a Walker, someone who can navigate between the worlds, and whose job is to keep the dimensions in harmony.<P> But Del’s decisions have consequences too. Even though she’s forbidden from Walking after a training session goes horribly wrong, she secretly starts to investigate other dissonant worlds. She’s particularly intrigued by the echo versions of Simon Lane, a guy who won’t give her the time of day in the main world, but whose alternate selves are uniquely interested. But falling for Simon draws Del closer to a truth that the Council of Walkers is trying to hide—a secret that threatens the fate of the entire multiverse.
Resonance
by Erica O'RourkeAs a Walker between worlds, Del is responsible for the love of her life--and the fate of millions--in this thrilling sequel to Dissonance.Del risked everything to save Simon, and now he's gone, off in another world with no way for Del to find him.She's back at the Consort--training to be a Walker like everyone in her family. But the Free Walkers have other plans for her. This rebel group is trying to convince Del that the Consort is evil, and that her parents are unwittingly helping the Consort kill millions of people. The Free Walkers make Del the ultimate promise: if Del joins their fight, she will be reunited with Simon.In agreeing, Del might be endangering her family. But if she doesn't, innocent people will die, and Simon will be lost to her forever. The fate of the multiverse depends on her choice..."O'Rourke brilliantly builds an intricate and complex alternate science-fiction universe...fans will be longing for the next installment." --School Library Journal
Girl Defective
by Henry Beer Simmone HowellIn the tradition of High Fidelity and Empire Records, this is the literary soundtrack to Skylark Martin's strange, mysterious, and extraordinary summer.This is the story of a wild girl and a ghost girl; a boy who knew nothing and a boy who thought he knew everything. It's a story about Skylark Martin, who lives with her father and brother in a vintage record shop and is trying to find her place in the world. It's about ten-year-old Super Agent Gully and his case of a lifetime. And about beautiful, reckless, sharp-as-knives Nancy. It's about tragi-hot Luke, and just-plain-tragic Mia Casey. It's about the dark underbelly of a curious neighborhood. It's about summer, and weirdness, and mystery, and music. And it's about life and death and grief and romance. All the good stuff.
Rock'n America: A Social And Cultural History
by Deena WeinsteinWhat is rock? This book offers a new and systematic approach to understanding rock by applying sociological concepts in a historical context. Deena Weinstein, a rock critic, journalist, and academic, starts by outlining an original approach to understanding rock, explaining how the form has developed through a complex and ever-changing set of relations between artists, fans, and mediators. She then traces the history of rock in America through its distinctive eras, from rock's precursors to rock in the digital age. The book includes suggested listening lists to accompany each chapter, a detailed filmography of movies about rock, and a wide range of visuals and fascinating anecdotes. Never separating rock music from the social, political, economic, and cultural changes in America's history, Rock'n America provides a comprehensive overview of the genre and a new way of appreciating its place in American society.