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Vibe Merchants: The Sound Creators Of Jamaican Popular Music (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series)
by Ray HitchinsVibe Merchants offers an insider’s perspective on the development of Jamaican Popular Music, researched and analysed by a thirty-year veteran with a wide range of experience in performance, production and academic study. This rare perspective, derived from interviews and ethnographic methodologies, focuses on the actual details of music-making practice, rationalized in the context of the economic and creative forces that locally drive music production. By focusing on the work of audio engineers and musicians, recording studios and recording models, Ray Hitchins highlights a music creation methodology that has been acknowledged as being different to that of Europe and North America. The book leads to a broadening of our understanding of how Jamaican Popular Music emerged, developed and functions, thus providing an engaging example of the important relationship between music, technology and culture that will appeal to a wide range of scholars.
Vibes Up: Reggae and Afro-Caribbean Migration from Costa Rica to Brooklyn
by Sabia McCoy-TorresExamines reggae culture as an expression of cultural, racial, and gender empowerment in the West Indian DiasporaIn popular media Caribbean culture has either been reduced to stereotypes of laziness, marijuana, and reggae music, or conversely, to an identity centered around a refutation of colonialism. Both are oversimplifications, and do not explain the enduring Caribbean identity and empowerment throughout the diaspora. Vibes Up offers an exploration of Caribbean culture as it is felt, understood, and expressed, centered on research conducted in Brooklyn and Costa Rica.Sabia McCoy-Torres demonstrates how reggae culture—which encompasses the music and performance modes of both “roots” and “dancehall”—helps to shed light on dynamics relating to migration, diaspora, queerness, Blackness, and Caribbean cultural subjectivity. Through an examination of elements of the Black outdoors, including nightlife venues, sidewalks, and streets in front of homes, the book shows the important role that reggae plays in articulating the frustrations of migration, establishing community and belonging, and forming transnational relationships.Although reggae’s creators and producers are often perceived as homophobic, Vibes Up also offers a more nuanced examination of the transforming relationships between hetero and LGBTQ+ people in reggae spaces and the accommodation of an array of queer intimacies. The framing of Caribbean Blackness as an expression of perseverance, agency, joy, and the erotic, as opposed to a reaction to colonization, oppression, and enslavement, is a distinctly important and timely view.
Vibrate Higher: A Rap Story
by Talib KweliFrom one of the most lyrically gifted, socially conscious rappers of the past twenty years, Vibrate Higher is a firsthand account of hip-hop as a political forceBefore Talib Kweli became a world-renowned hip-hop artist, he was a Brooklyn kid who liked to cut class, spit rhymes, and wander the streets of Greenwich Village with a motley crew of artists, rappers, and DJs who found hip-hop more inspiring than their textbooks (much to the chagrin of the educator parents who had given their son an Afrocentric name in hope of securing for him a more traditional sense of pride and purpose). Kweli’s was the first generation to grow up with hip-hop as established culture—a genre of music that has expanded to include its own pantheon of heroes, rich history and politics, and distinct worldview.Eventually, childhood friendships turned into collaborations, and Kweli gained notoriety as a rapper in his own right. From collaborating with some of hip-hop’s greatest—including Mos Def, Common, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and Kendrick Lamar—to selling books out of the oldest African-American bookstore in Brooklyn, ultimately leaving his record label, and taking control of his own recording career, Kweli tells the winding, always compelling story of the people and events that shaped his own life as well as the culture of hip-hop that informs American culture at large.Vibrate Higher illuminates Talib Kweli’s upbringing and artistic success, but so too does it give life to hip-hop as a political force—one that galvanized the Movement for Black Lives and serves a continual channel for resistance against the rising tide of white nationalism.
Vibrazioni Rock
by Daniel IchbiahNatale 1976: il nuovo album degli Eagles arriva sugli scaffali. Una settimana dopo, un milione di copie vengono vendute. Eppure nessuno sa che Hotel California, puro momento di grazia musicale, è nata in un‘atmosfera in cui c’era una tensione infernale. In quel periodo, c’era burrasca tra i membri del gruppo e spesso arrivano addirittura alle mani dopo un concerto. È proprio vero, le canzoni di punta del rock hanno tutte la loro storia e sono affascinanti. Like a Rolling Stone, Stairway to Heaven, Mélodie Nelson, Sultans of Swing, Losing my religion, oppure Un autre monde e Smells Like Teen Spirit e molti altri successi mitici non sono altro che il risultato perfetto della passione e del romanticismo che solo il rock poteva creare. Dietro le quinte delle grandi etichette, guadagnando la fiducia sia degli autori che dei musicisti, Daniel Ichbiah ha fatto le sue ricerche e ha ricostruito il puzzle del successo dagli Stones ai Nirvana passando per Bashung. Che dire? Raccontare la genesi dei successi del rock non è stato facile. Ma più di un lettore lo ha ammesso: è impossibile lasciare andare queste pagine una volta che ci si è avventurati nei meandri di molte canzoni diventate mitiche. Ricco di rivelazioni, impregnato di testimonianze esclusive, questo documento d'eccezione ci trascina nel cuore delle canzoni che hanno segnato la nostra epoca. Raccontandoci l'elaborazione e le saghe di successi leggendari, Vibrazioni Rock ci fa rivivere il brivido di decenni di storia del rock.
Victor and Hugo
by Robert J. BlakeFrom the creator of beloved stories about dogs--their bravery, loyalty, and companionship--comes a celebration of music, friendship, Paris, and puppies set against an exquisitely illustrated Parisian backdrop!On a beautiful bridge in Paris, performing dogs Victor and Hugo dance and sing as their Maestro plays his music. But when Maestro&’s accordion falls over the side of the bridge and onto a barge, the music stops—not only for Maestro, but for everyone! Victor and Hugo must rescue the accordion, and as they chase after it, they know that saving the accordion for their Maestro will mean saving music for the entire city as well. In this rollicking adventure through Paris, Victor and Hugo show us that friendship and music can combine to create the greatest magic of all.Praise for Victor and Hugo:"A high-energy, exuberant romp through the City of Light. For lovers of art, music, and action-packed adventure."--School Library Journal
Victor Feldbrill: Canadian Conductor Extraordinaire
by Walter PitmanVictor Feldbrill is an account of the life and cultural contribution of one of Canada’s most talented conductors. Born in 1924, he made his Toronto Symphony conducting debut at 18. He went on to become the artistic director of the Winnipeg Symphony, a conductor with the Toronto Symphony, and a guest conductor of virtually every major symphony orchestra in Canada. Feldbrill was also the first conductor-in-residence at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music from 1968 to 1982. However, what really set Feldbrill apart was his limitless enthusiasm and support of Canadian music and young musicians, as well as his insistence on playing the music of Canadian composers despite the reluctance of some orchestral managers and the initial opposition of audiences at the time. In doing so he reached out to young people and trained many to take their places as members of Canadian orchestras from coast to coast.
Victor Herbert: A Theatrical Life
by Neil GouldVictor Herbert is one of the giants of American culture. As a musician, conductor, and, above all, composer, he touched every corner of American musical life at the turn of the century, writing scores of songs, marches, concerti, and other works. But his most enduring legacy is on a different kind of stage, as one of the grandfathers of the modern musical theater.Now, Victor Herbert has the biography he deserves. Neil Gould draws on his own experience as a director, producer, and scholar to craft the first comprehensive portrait in fifty years of the Irish immigrant whose extraordinary talents defined the sounds of a generation and made contemporary American music possible.Mining a wealth of sources—many for the first time—Gould provides a fascinating portrait of Herbert and his world. Born in Dublin in 1859, Herbert arrived in the United States in 1886. From his first job in the orchestra pit of the Metropolitan Opera, Herbert went on to perform in countless festivals and concerts, and conduct the Pittsburgh Orchestra. In 1894, he composed his first operetta, Prince Ananias, and by the time of his death in 1924, he’d composed forty-two more—many of them, such as Naughty Marietta, spectacular Broadway hits. Along the way, he also wrote two operas, stage music for the Ziegfeld Follies, and the first full score for a motion picture, The Fall of a Nation.Gould brilliantly blends the musical and the theatrical, classical and popular, the public and the private, in this book. He not only gives a revealing portrait of Herbert the artist, entrepreneur, and visionary, but also recreates the vibrant world of the Herbert’s Broadway. Gould takes us inside the music itself—with detailed guides to each major work and recreations of great performances. He also makes strong connections between Herbert’s breakthrough compositions, such as the operetta Mlle. Modiste, and the later contributions of Rudolf Friml,Sigmund Romberg, Jerome Kern and other giants of the musical theater.As exuberant as Herbert himself, this book is also a chronicle of American popular culture during one of its most creative periods. For anyone enraptured by the sound of the American musical, this book is delightfully required reading.
Victorian Culture and Classical Antiquity: Art, Opera, Fiction, and the Proclamation of Modernity (Martin Classical Lectures #29)
by Simon GoldhillHow did the Victorians engage with the ancient world? Victorian Culture and Classical Antiquity is a brilliant exploration of how the ancient worlds of Greece and Rome influenced Victorian culture. Through Victorian art, opera, and novels, Simon Goldhill examines how sexuality and desire, the politics of culture, and the role of religion in society were considered and debated through the Victorian obsession with antiquity. Looking at Victorian art, Goldhill demonstrates how desire and sexuality, particularly anxieties about male desire, were represented and communicated through classical imagery. Probing into operas of the period, Goldhill addresses ideas of citizenship, nationalism, and cultural politics. And through fiction--specifically nineteenth-century novels about the Roman Empire--he discusses religion and the fierce battles over the church as Christianity began to lose dominance over the progressive stance of Victorian science and investigation. Rediscovering some great forgotten works and reframing some more familiar ones, the book offers extraordinary insights into how the Victorian sense of antiquity and our sense of the Victorians came into being. With a wide range of examples and stories, Victorian Culture and Classical Antiquity demonstrates how interest in the classical past shaped nineteenth-century self-expression, giving antiquity a unique place in Victorian culture.
Victorian Vocalists
by Kurt GanzlVictorian Vocalists is a masterful and entertaining collection of 100 biographies of mid- to late-19th-century singers and stars. Kurt Gänzl paints a vivid picture of the Victorian operatic and concert world, revealing the backgrounds, journeys, successes, failures and misdemeanours of these singers. This volume is not only an outstanding reference work for anyone interested in vocalists of the era, but also a compelling, meticulously researched picture of life in the vast shark tank that was Victorian music.
Victory Is Assured: Uncollected Writings of Stanley Crouch
by Stanley CrouchThe grievous loss of Stanley Crouch, one of America’s most renowned intellectuals, is underscored by the posthumous appearance of these remarkable essays. With Stanley Crouch’s untimely death in 2020, American literature lost “a critic without peer” (Ta-Nehisi Coates). Born in Los Angeles in 1945, Crouch—a towering stylist, fearless columnist, and without question, one of the finest jazz critics of all time—was Rabelaisian both in stature and in intellectual appetite. Beloved yet cantankerous, Crouch delighted and enflamed the passions of his readers in equal measure, whether writing about race, politics, literature, or music. In these essays—some discovered on his computer, unpublished until now—Crouch tackles subjects ranging from Malcolm X (“a thorned bud standing in the shadow of sequoias”) to the films of Quentin Tarantino (“With Django, Tarantino has slipped down . . . into a shallow and bloodstained hip-hop turn that his own best work has well-refuted”). Introduced by Jelani Cobb, with an afterword by Wynton Marsalis, and collected by his longtime editor Glenn Mott, Victory Is Assured canonizes the legacy of an inimitable, indispensable American critic.
Una Vida
by Ednita Nazario“Ednita siempre ha sido la “gran dama” que nos señaló el camino, con un espíritu de innovación, tenacidad y entendiendo lo que es la música actual”. —Ricky Martin Pocos cantantes han sido capaces de generar el interés internacional y multigeneracional del que ha disfrutado la artista Ednita Nazario. Una de las estrellas del pop latino más admiradas y con más grabaciones que han resultado en hits, es reconocida por su riqueza vocal y su magnética presencia en los escenarios. En estas páginas Ednita, la diva más amada de Puerto Rico, por primera vez abre su corazón narrando su vida entera, con detalles nunca antes revelados al público. Desde sus humildes comienzos en Ponce, pasando por la pérdida de su gran amor, la bancarrota emocional y financiera y finalmente el regreso al estrellato. Ednita nos abre su corazón y su historia con absoluta sinceridad y transparencia, desde los momentos más felices de su vida hasta los más desgarradores. Una historia de inspiración, amor, familia: esta es Ednita Nazario con toda la pasión y el talento que la han convertido en una de las estrellas más celebradas de nuestra era.
La vida de María Callas: Tan fiera, tan frágil
by Alfonso SignoriniUna biografía novelada de la vida íntima de la gran Maria Callas, la diva por excelencia. «Fiera inmortal [...], generosa y vengativa, [...] majestuosa y vulnerable, Maria Callas marcó su época.»Jesús Ruiz Mantilla, El País Mucho se ha escrito y dicho sobre Maria Callas, uno de los mitos del siglo XX, pero casi nadie ha tenido acceso a su correspondencia privada, unas cartas en las que Maria expresaba su yo más íntimo. Alfonso Signorini, devoto desde la infancia de la voz de la gran artista, tenía entre manos estos documentos cuando se puso a escribir La vida de Maria Callas. Tan fiera, tan frágil, la biografía novelada de la diva que nació en Nueva York en 1923 en una familia de inmigrantes griegos. Toda la vida de Maria Callas desfila por estas páginas, pero no a través de sus éxitos, sino buceando en las dudas y miedos de una mujer que empezó cantando en los peores bares de Nueva York, que fue explotada por la codicia de su madre, que cuando llegó a Italia para iniciar una verdadera carrera tuvo que hospedarse en una pensión de ínfima categoría y que luchó con uñas y dientes por dejar atrás a la niña que había sido. Desde su feroz enamoramiento de Aristóteles Onassis, que la abandonó por Jackie Kennedy, hasta su declive vocal, esta apasionante biografía devuelve a la vida a la gran Callas en un retrato único y descarnado de una diva triste que conoció, a la par, la gloria y la soledad. Reseñas:«Crecí comiendo pan y Callas porque mis abuelos se conocieron escuchando La Traviatta, y toda mi vida he estado acompañado por su voz».Alfonso Signorini «Fiera inmortal, criatura capaz de desafiar una vida de humillaciones para convertir su constante drama personal en arte, icono del divismo [...] en la era de los fenómenos globales, revitalizadora de un modo de expresión caduco como la ópera [...]. Generosa y vengativa, fiera indomable [...] majestuosa y vulnerable, Maria Callas marcó su época».Jesús Ruiz Mantilla, El País
La vida secreta del rock argentino
by Marcelo Fernandez BitarEste libro rescata el trabajo de los héroes anónimos que ayudaron a consolidar la carrera de figuras como Spinetta, Charly García y Soda Stereo. Un aspecto poco conocido en la historia del rock nacional es el vertiginoso avance técnico que ocurrió durante la década del 80 a la par del alcance masivo de las canciones más emblemáticas, la exportación de artistas hacia otros rincones de Latinoamérica y la llegada al país de figuras internacionales de primera línea. Detrás de escena hubo un puñado de actores que acompañaron el crecimiento del rock local con pasión, entusiasmo desbordante, amor por su profesión y ganas de trascender las fronteras. Marcelo Fernández Bitar rescata el trabajo de estos héroes anónimos que rodean los éxitos de la época de oro de figuras como Spinetta, Charly García y Soda Stereo. Figuras que, contra viento y marea, sorteando las crisis económicas, lograron que la escena musical creciera y sentara las bases para el fenómeno actual del rock en la Argentina.
Vida y Música de Alejandro Marcovich
by Alejandro MarcovichEn este libro, Alejandro Marcovich, el legendario guitarrista de Caifanes, uno de los grupos más influyentes del rock en español, reproduce su andar a través de la música, recuerda su infancia y sus primeras canciones. En esta autobiografía, el músico nos relata su vida y cómo se convirtió en uno de los pocos guitarristas con un sonido propio, identificable desde las primeras notas, capaz de hacer hablar a la guitarra desde lo más dulce hasta lo más desgarrado y extremo, para transformarse en una inspiración para varias generaciones.
The Viennese Ballroom in the Age of Beethoven
by Erica BuurmanThe repertoire of the early Viennese ballroom was highly influential in the broader histories of both social dance and music in nineteenth-century Europe. Yet music scholarship has traditionally paid little attention to ballroom dance music before the era of the Strauss dynasty, with the exception of a handful of dances by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. This book positions Viennese social dances in their specific performing contexts and investigates the wider repertoire of the Viennese ballroom in the decades around 1800, most of which stems from dozens of non-canonical composers. Close examination of this material yields new insights into the social contexts associated with familiar dance types, and reveals that the ballroom repertoire of this period connected with virtually every aspect of Viennese musical life, from opera and concert music to the emerging category of entertainment music that was later exemplified by the waltzes of Lanner and Strauss.
A View of Berg's Lulu: Through the Autograph Sources
by Patricia HallAfter 50 years of analysis we are only beginning to understand the quality and complexity of Alban Berg's most important twelve-tone work, the opera Lulu. Patricia Hall's new book represents a primary contribution to that understanding—the first detailed analysis of the sketches for the opera as well as other related autograph material and previously inaccessible correspondence to Berg. In 1959, Berg's widow deposited the first of Berg's autograph manuscripts in the Austrian National Library. The complete collection of autographs for Lulu was made accessible to scholars in 1981, and a promising new phase in Lulu scholarship unfolded. Hall begins her study by examining the format and chronology of the sketches, and she demonstrates their unique potential to clarify aspects of Berg's compositional language. In each chapter Hall uses Berg's sketches to resolve a significant problem or controversy that has emerged in the study of Lulu. For example, Hall discusses the dramatic symbolism behind Berg's use of multiple roles and how these roles contribute to the large-scale structure of the opera. She also revises the commonly held view that Berg frequently invoked a free twelve-tone style. Hall's innovative work suggests important techniques for understanding not only the sketches and manuscripts of Berg but also those of other twentieth-century composers. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1996.
Villager Jim's Moorland Wildlife
by Villager JimVillager Jim, the famous Peak District photographer, takes us on a journey to his very favorite places on the moors surrounding the Peak District National Park, where he lives. From wonderful wild deer to breathtaking buzzards and other birds of prey, Jim allows us a glimpse of his daily moorland travels with all the abundant wildlife that lives in that part of the world. Jim often concedes that it is his most favorite place on earth, being out alone with his camera within this unforgiving landscape, watching the sun rise on the horizon, whilst at the same time, seeing stags wander, grazing on the moorland. It is here also that many of his favorite birds of prey abound. And, of course, he is there to capture the beautiful landscape shots rolling in mists or washed in the golden light of dawn.
Vincent Novello: Music for the Masses (Music in Nineteenth-Century Britain)
by Fiona M. PalmerToday Vincent Novello (1781-1861) is remembered as the father of the music-publishing firm. Fiona Palmer's evaluation of Novello the man and the musician in the marketplace draws on rich primary sources. It is the first to provide a rounded view of his life and work, and the nature of his importance both in his own time and to posterity. Novello's early musical training, particularly his experience of music-making in London's embassy chapels, influenced him profoundly. His practical experience as director of music at the Portuguese Embassy Chapel in Mayfair informed his approach to editing and arranging. Fundamental moral and social attitudes underpinned Novello's progress. Ideas on religion, education and the function of family and friendship within society shaped his life choices. The Novello family lived in turbulent times and was widely-read, discussing politics and religion and not only the arts at its social gatherings. Within Vincent and Mary Novello's close circle were radical thinkers with republican views - such as Leigh Hunt and Charles Cowden Clarke - who saw sociability as a means of reorganizing society. Thematic studies focus on Novello as practical musician and educator, as editor, and as composer. His connections with institutions such as the Covent Garden and Pantheon Theatres, the Philharmonic Society and Moorfields Chapel, together with his adjudicating and teaching activities, are examined. In his wide-ranging editorial work Novello found his true vocation positioning himself as preservationist, pioneer and philanthropist. His work as composer, though unremarkable in quality, mirrored the demands and expectations of his consumers. Novello emerges from this study as a visionary who single-mindedly pursued greater musical knowledge for the benefit of everyone.
Vincenzo Bellini: A Guide to Research (Routledge Music Bibliographies)
by Stephen WillierThis comprehensive bibliography and research guide details all the works currently available on Vincenzo Bellini, the Italian opera composer best known for his work Norma, which is still regularly performed today at Covent Garden and by regional opera companies. 2001, the bicentennial anniversary of Bellini's death, saw several concerts and recordings of his work, raising his academic profile. This volume aims to meet the research needs of all students of Bellini in particular.
The Vintage Guide to Classical Music: An Indispensable Guide for Understanding and Enjoying Classical Music
by Jan Swafford<p>The most readable and comprehensive guide to enjoying over five hundred years of classical music -- from Gregorian chants, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to Johannes Brahms, Igor Stravinsky, John Cage, and beyond. <p>The Vintage Guide to Classical Music is a lively -- and opinionated -- musical history and an insider's key to the personalities, epochs, and genres of the Western classical tradition. Among its features: <p> <li>chronologically arranged essays on nearly 100 composers, from Guillaume de Machaut (ca. 1300-1377) to Aaron Copland (1900-1990), that combine biography with detailed analyses of the major works while assessing their role in the social, cultural, and political climate of their times; <li>informative sidebars that clarify broader topics such as melody, polyphony, atonality, and the impact of the early-music movement; <li>a glossary of musical terms, from a cappella to woodwinds; <li>a step-by-step guide to building a great classical music library.</li> <p> <p>Written with wit and a clarity that both musical experts and beginners can appreciate, The Vintage Guide to Classical Music is an invaluable source-book for music lovers everywhere.</p>
Vinyl: A History Of The Analogue Record (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series)
by Richard OsborneVinyl: A History of the Analogue Record is the first in-depth study of the vinyl record. Richard Osborne traces the evolution of the recording format from its roots in the first sound recording experiments to its survival in the world of digital technologies. This book addresses the record's relationship with music: the analogue record was shaped by, and helped to shape, the music of the twentieth century. It also looks at the cult of vinyl records. Why are users so passionate about this format? Why has it become the subject of artworks and advertisements? Why are vinyl records still being produced? This book explores its subject using a distinctive approach: the author takes the vinyl record apart and historicizes its construction. Each chapter explores a different element: the groove, the disc shape, the label, vinyl itself, the album, the single, the b-side and the 12" single, and the sleeve. By anatomizing vinyl in this manner, the author shines new light on its impact and appeal.
Vinyl: The Analogue Record in the Digital Age
by Ian Woodward Dominik BartmanskiRecent years have seen not just a revival, but a rebirth of the analogue record. More than merely a nostalgic craze, vinyl has become a cultural icon. As music consumption migrated to digital and online, this seemingly obsolete medium became the fastest-growing format in music sales. Whilst vinyl never ceased to be the favorite amongst many music lovers and DJs, from the late 1980s the recording industry regarded it as an outdated relic, consigned to dusty domestic corners and obscure record shops. So why is vinyl now experiencing a ‘rebirth of its cool’?Dominik Bartmanski and Ian Woodward explore this question by combining a cultural sociological approach with insights from material culture studies. Presenting vinyl as a multifaceted cultural object, they investigate the reasons behind its persistence within our technologically accelerated culture. Informed by media analysis, urban ethnography and the authors’ interviews with musicians, DJs, sound engineers, record store owners, collectors and cutting-edge label chiefs from a range of metropolitan centres renowned for thriving music scenes including London, New York, Tokyo, Melbourne, and especially Berlin, what emerges is a story of a modern icon.
Vinyl Age: A Guide to Record Collecting Now
by Max BrzezinskiFrom Carolina Soul Records, one of the world's largest online record sellers, comes the definitive guide to every aspect of record collecting in the digital era. Any music fan knows that there's nothing like the tactile pleasure of a record. Even with access to a variety of streaming services, digital technology has paved the way for the analog revival; from multiplatinum megahits to ultra-obscure private presses, millions of records are available for purchase from all over the world. Vinyl Age is the ultimate post-internet guide to record collecting.Written by Max Brzezinski of Carolina Soul Records, one of the world's largest high-end record dealers, Vinyl Age combines an engaging narrative and incisive analysis to reveal the joys and explain the complexities of the contemporary vinyl scene. Brzezinski demystifies the record game and imparts the skills essential to modern record digging -- how to research, find, buy, evaluate, and understand vinyl in the twenty-first century.
The Vinyl Countdown: The Album from LP to iPod and Back Again
by Travis ElboroughVINYL MAY BE FINAL NAIL IN CD’S COFFIN ran the headline in a Wired magazine article in October 2007.Ever since the arrival of the long-playing record in 1948, the album has acted as the soundtrack to our lives. Record collections-even on a CD or iPod-are personal treasures, revealing our loves, errors in judgment, and lapses in taste.In The Vinyl Countdown, Travis Elborough explores the way in which particular albums are deeply embedded in cultural history or so ubiquitous as to be almost invisible. While music itself has experienced several different movements over the past sixty years, the album has remained a constant. But the way we listen to music has changed in the last ten years. In the age of the iPod, when we can download an infinite number of single tracks instantaneously, does the concept of the album mean anything?Elborough moves chronologically through relevant periods, letting the story of the LP, certain genres, youth cults, and topics like sleeve designs, shops, drugs, and education unfurl as he goes along. The Vinyl Countdown is a brilliant piece of popular history, an idiosyncratic tribute to a much-loved part of our shared consciousness, and a celebration of the joy of records.
The Vinyl Diaries: Sex, Deep Cuts, and My Soundtrack to Queer Joy
by Pete CrightonA poignant, funny, and lively memoir of sexual awakening, music, and discovering one's true self. Pete Crighton came of age in the early/mid 1980s in the shadow of HIV/AIDS. Growing up in Toronto, he was terrified that his friends and schoolmates would find out that he was &“different&” at a time when being gay felt like a death sentence. His only comfort was music, the songs a balm to his painful adolescence. Struggling to make sense of his sexuality and fear of the disease stifled Crighton as a sexual being. Instead of exploring sex, he began curating a massive music library. He then took what he thought was a safe path and entered into two long-term monogamous relationships, both doomed to fail. Finally, in his 40s, Crighton decided to ignore his fear and live his queer life to the fullest.The Vinyl Diaries is the story of Crighton&’s mid-life sexual awakening. From one-night trysts to friendships resulting from app-based hookups, Crighton is honest and unapologetic as he chronicles the pursuit of his erotic desires. Each new connection and lover is linked to an artist, song, or album from his vast collection and backdrops the stories Crighton tells about his life, interconnected with the artists' work and histories. Kate Bush, the B-52s, Prince, The Smiths, Yoko Ono, and Stevie Nicks are just a few of the artists who provide an extraordinary soundtrack to Crighton&’s adventures.Big-hearted, funny, thoughtful, and wildly entertaining, The Vinyl Diaries is a celebration of sex, music and the discovery of our true selves.