Posts filed under 'Books'
Stringbean Akeman was one best banjo players from the early days of bluegrass (he was one of the first members of the Blue Grass Boys) and one of the great country comedians. Sadly, he was murdered 1973. The grim story is told in this post on the WFMU’s Beware of the Blog, which also includes links to the happier moments from Stringbean’s life.-MJS
June 9th, 2007
In our fifth issue, we were pleased to publish a great article about Taj Mahal by John Kruth. It turns out John has been quite busy lately. He just released a new CD called Eva Destruction and if that wasn’t enough his biography of Townes Van Zandt has just been published. Here’s a good interview with John where he talks about his multi-faceted career.-MJS
April 5th, 2007
Here’s an excellent article from Forbes about Jim Bollman, the banjo collector and co-author of America’s Instrument, which is a wonderful book about the history of the banjo in the 19th century.-MJS
February 21st, 2007
It’s not the prettiest website I’ve ever seen, but the Bomp Bookshelf has an amazing number of books about rock listed. All of the major artists have their own sections, and figures like Bob Dylan and the Beatles have a pretty extensive number of subsections. Most of the books include reviews, which is helpful. I thought I had pretty good library, but there’s stuff included here I never knew existed. In a way, I’m sorry I found this site.-MJS
January 11th, 2007
This is an embarrassing mistake. In issue 4 we inadvertently credited Tom Wheeler as the author of The PRS Guitar Book. Tom Wheeler wrote the foreword, not the entire book. Dave Burrluck, the real author wrote me a gracious e-mail pointing out my mistake. He also mentioned that he has just finished revising the book and that the new edition should be out in the next few months. I apologize to Dave for the error and urge you all to buy the new version of his book.-MJS
January 2nd, 2007
I don’t make it a habit to post about things for sale on eBay, but this is too special to ignore. Gregg Miner, the proprietor of the Miner Museum, is doing some spring cleaning and getting rid of loads of stuff. Go here to bid on all kinds of instruments, including a 1950 Gibson Electraharp, a viola da gamba, a bass balalaika and whatever that thing in the photo on the left is. He also has loads of old books, back issues of magazines and some cool vintage cases. The opening bids are all really low, and most items have no reserve. So head on over, bid early and bid often.-MJS
May 7th, 2006
On May 19, 2006, the Noe Valley Ministry will host the San Francisco Guitar Summit. The players include the San Francisco Guitar Quartet; Adam Levy and Will Bernard, who will be playing as a duo; and Teja Gerken. The music will include classical compositions, jazz and contemporary fingerstyle. This is a wonderful venue to hear music and all of the players are first rate so if you’re around, you really should think about attending. In the interests in full disclosure (and shameless self-promotion) I should mention that Teja is a good friend of mine and that we wrote a book together with Frank Ford and Richard Johnston called Acoustic Guitar: The Composition, Construction, and Evolution of One of World’s Most Beloved Instruments.-MJS
April 18th, 2006
Recording the Beatles looks like it will be the definitive book on that subject when it comes out in August. The publisher is accepting pre-orders now.-MJS (Thanks, Phil!)
April 13th, 2006
If you’ve followed Brian Eno’s career in even a cursory manner, you’ve probably come across references to an arcane deck of cards known as the Oblique Strategies. These cards, which bear the subtitle “Over One Hundred Worthwhile Dilemmas,” featured gnomic sayings such as “Don’t avoid what is easy” and “Honor thy error as a hidden intention,” which Eno used to suggest solutions whenever he got into a creative jam. The Oblique Strategies, which first appeared in concrete form in a limited edition of 500 in 1975, were co-created by Eno and the artist Peter Schmidt. The first set was followed by two more limited editions in 1978 and 1979, each of which added new cards to the deck. Schmidt passed away in 1980 and Eno opted to retire the project for a while.
Over the years the Oblique Strategies have earned a reputation for being a fascinating way to unclog a musical or artistic block, but their scarcity has driven the price of the first three editions up over $150, if you can find them. Happily, there are now a few ways to access the Strategies. One is to visit Gregory Taylor’s website, which includes the text of all three editions as well as a privately printed fourth edition. If you use a Mac, there is great widget you can add to your dashboard. Perhaps the best way, though, is to order the new, fifth edition from Brian Eno’s website in England.-MJS
February 28th, 2006
A few years ago, Vanity Fair ran a great series of articles called “The Rock Snob’s Dictionary” that were eventually expanded into a book entitled, of all things, The Rock Snob’s Dictionary: An Essential Lexicon of Rockological Knowledge. The authors David Camp and Steven Daly have also started a webpage called Snobsite, where, along with plugs for their book, they have a nice section devoted to the nitpicks and suggestions for future entries sent in by readers. In a curious footnote, Daly was a founding member of the early 1980s Scottish band Orange Juice, whose music is undergoing something of a Rock Snob-driven reappraisal and revival. So, not only is Daly a Rock Snob, he’s a person of interest to other Rock Snobs. Oh, and David Camp just released The Film Snob’s Dictionary, with the able assistance of Lawrence Levi.-MJS
February 20th, 2006
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