10 great music books for Hopscotch hangovers and IBMA attendees

These smart, fun books are the perfect antidote for throbbing ears and dehydrated brains after seeing a dozen or so Hopscotch shows, and for rainy afternoons waiting for the International Bluegrass Music Association to start its own Raleigh party on September 27th. Many of these books are published by the University of Texas Press, currently featured as Quail Ridge Book’s “Indie Press of the Month.”

Gorgeous illustrations, excerpts from David Bowie interviews, and fantastical elements combine in this beautiful “re-created biography” of the Great White Duke’s career. Not quite a graphic novel, this very-easy-on-the-eyes 2018 gem, recently translated from the original Spanish, is a perfect gift for Bowie lovers and just as much fun for everybody else.

Rolling Stone calls this book “thrilling,” “essential” and “one of the best books of the year.” The inspiring story of young East German teens hearing punk music for the first time and then creating a brave movement that helped bring down the Berlin Wall in the face of one of the most oppressive regimes of the 20th century. It’s not often you get to read something reviewers call both “an important work of Cold War cultural history” and “wildly entertaining.”

This exploration of A Tribe Called Quest’s place in black music culture is one of the most important books about hip hop to come along in ages. Pitchfork praised its “remarkably sharp insights about the band” and called the book “a marvel of criticism and self-examination” that perfectly captures the tension between popularity and personal taste.

This book is part of University of Texas Press’s “Music Matters,” a series that also includes theRamones and the Beach Boys. Tongson explores Karen Carpenter’s career, emphasizes her story’s value to marginalized communities, and makes sure to note Carpenter’s exuberant, talented drumming. Seriously, dig online for videos of Karen Carpenter’s drum solos. You’ll be amazed.

How much do you know about ground-breaking woman-centered punk bands like The Slits, The Raincoats, and X-Ray Spex? This eye-opening history reverses the usual narrative that tends to focus on male-dominated bands like the Sex Pistols and the Clash. A deeply feminist analysis of punk music that extends into the present day – one Rolling Stone says “feels like an exhilarating conversation with the coolest aunt you never had.”

A fabulous gift for fans of folk and psychedelic music, this brilliant, informative book explores the folk-rock of artists like Donovan, Traffic and Nick Drake (along with many other less famous but no-less brilliant artists), while also linking their work to the longstanding tradition of the pastoral ideal in British art and literature. If it sounds heady, it is, but is so filled with fascinating biographical detail about the music, drugs and ideas of British hippie culture that the rich cultural analysis goes down smooth.

A collection of 8 interviews from 1936-1959, including the famous one from a hospital bed where she lay dying. Lots of poignant observations about race, drugs and society, along with reminiscences about her early influences, musicians she worked with, musicians she loved, musicians who ripped her off, and much more.

NC music lovers already know native Tarheel Chris Stamey’s history, which stretches from his early 80s art-pop days with the dBs to extensive solo and production work over the next four decades, so we’ll let Kirkus Reviews speak for us here:

“A charming, knowledgeable memoir by an esteemed first-generation indie-rock musician…The author deftly combines a wry, self-effacing tone with clear, precise discussions of the intricacies of songwriting and production…A standout addition to the crowded shelf of recollections by the underground iconoclasts of the 1980s and ’90s.”

Burroughs’ cut-up, surreal, drug-infused influence on literature is well-documented, but his effect on rock music less so, and this book, another one from the University of Texas Press, dives deep into that part of Burroughs’ legacy. From NPR’s review: “Rae deftly maps out how one of America's most controversial literary figures — a homosexual drug addict with a penchant for guns who shot his wife in the head — transformed the lives of many notable musicians. He thus helped, without trying, to shape the history of audio recording, punk, industrial music, and rock and roll.”