The Wheel's Still In Spin

Songbook by Nick Hornby

Nick Hornby’s Songbook is a collection of essays on 31 songs and 15 albums. It is not typical music criticism. This novelist does not get into the historical relevance or excessive emphasis on the musical miracles that coincided to create great pop music. He “wanted to write about what it was in these songs that made [him] love them, not what [he] brought to the songs.”

This form of musical appreciation makes the book much more personal that some that Greil Marcus or even Lester Bangs would write. These essays show how “Thunder Road” by Bruce Springsteen has continued to makes its way onto Hornby’s mix tapes for 30 years; how owning 20 albums by and knowing more historical facts about Bob Dylan than William Shakespeare does not make him a “Dylan fanatic”; and how Patti Smith leaves him “wanting to read, or write, or paint, or go to a gallery, or run fast…” As Hornby declares, “That kind of inspiration is rare, in any area of the arts.”

The Mansion On The Hill by Fred Goodman

The Mansion On The Hill begins by delving into the effects of Dylan plugging in an electric guitar. There have been hundreds of biographies and stories about the artistic ramifications that were spurred by the event. Goodman explains the roots of the folk movement and the anti-establishment motives many felt. Instead of focusing on how some felt Dylan was selling out by going electric and playing pop music, this book looks at the effect that managers had over the development of music into a commercial business model.

Bob Dylan's manager, Albert Grossman, is described as the first manager who was "more powerful than the record company presidents he, by turns, negotiated with, bullied, and taught." While Grossman managed Janis Joplin, Odetta, Richie Havens, the Band, Gordon Lightfoot, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and Peter, Paul and Mary, the artist that he is most associated with is Dylan. Grossman didn't manage "talent," his clients were given the respect of being "artists." That attitude combined with his foreboding and forceful presence changed the shape of music. His shrewd and domineering business sensibilities helped release musician's rights from the record labels, but he opened a Pandora's box of managerial and business greed for future generations.

The Trouble With Music by Mat Callahan

Most independent musicians consistently voice basic complaints about the music industry. It is now run by corporate companies that don’t care about artist development or the quality of music released. The only concern of the major record companies is the amount of sales. Furthermore, radio stations are now run by large companies that own a large number of stations. These corporate run stations are only concerned with increasing advertising sales. They create playlists that are homogenized. There is less diversity in radio airplay. The music industry is now run my businessmen. The Trouble With Music by Mat Callahan addresses these concerns, explains the history of music and the industry, and offers solutions to make the industry more appeasing for musicians and listeners.

Perfect From Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life by John Sellers

When I was at the bookstore, I opened Perfect From Now On and read the first line. “I hate Bob Dylan.” Even so, I still bought the book. Dylan was the reason I started playing music. When I was in high school, I heard my first Dylan recordings – really listening to them – and was transformed. When Sellers explains his explanation for hating Dylan, it became understandable. His dad forced Dylan on him. I can relate. My parents did something similar, but not as conscious. They played nothing but Neil Diamond for the first five years of my life (to the best of my knowledge). For these precious developmental stages of my life I thought “music” meant “Neil Diamond.”

This is the story of how John Sellers went from listening to Journey and Queen as a child to obsessively dedicating his ears to indie rock, most notable Guided By Voices (read about the first GBV show I ever saw). He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where “you weren’t conditioned to seek out anything.” Luckily early 80’s MTV gave Sellers a glimpse of what else was out there. There was Duran Duran (Again, I can relate. The first tape I ever bought was Arena. It’s true.) and U2. (I still have the cassettes of Boy and War that I stole from my sister.)

Love Is A Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield

Love Is A Mix Tape tells the story of how Rob Sheffield fell in love, got married, and lost his love to premature death. His description of Renee emphasizes all of the qualities that Rob loved about her. (I refer to them as “Rob” and “Renee” because the book is written with an honesty and personal touch that makes the reader feel like you are reading about two of your close friends – or at least two people who have now become two of your close friends.) He describes an energetic, beautiful, and unique woman. Renee sounds like a one-of-kind woman full of vivacity for both life and music.

The story is told through mix tapes. Each chapter has the listings of a TDK mix tape and the month and year the tape was created. The story chronicles Rob’s love for music and mix tapes from his childhood through recent years. These cassettes tell the story of how and what Rob learned about women, marriage, regret, growth, and solace.

I would guess that at least 5-10% of the sentences Sheffield has written are actually lyrics from the songs on his mix tapes. He throws them in the middle of his descriptions in a way that actually makes them more a part of his memories than as song lyrics – no quotes around them. If you don’t know the songs, you may not even recognize the references.

This Is Your Brain On Music by Daniel J. Levitin

Daniel J. Levitin worked as a musician, recording engineer, and record producer. He then decided to devote his career to neurology. He studied the brain's functions and amassed an abundance of research about how the brain responds to music. He explains his theories and supports them with his research findings in This Is Your Brain On Music.

From the introduction of this book, it is very interesting. Levitin explains his love for both music and science and asks why anyone would want to mix the two. He draws interesting parallels between the two fields. And he argues that explaining the neuroscience of how the brain reacts to music, an art enjoyed by everyone throughout creation on some level, can begin to show us “the deepest mysteries of human nature” – our emotions, personal preferences, subconscious, and psyche.