In 1973, Western music was banned in the People's Republic of China. But in a remarkable breakthrough cultural exchange, the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted a tour of closed-off China, becoming the first American orchestra to visit the communist nation. Jennifer Lin's Beethoven in Beijing provides a fabulous photo-rich oral history of this boundary-breaking series of concerts the orchestra performed under famed conductor Eugene Ormandy.
Lin draws from interviews, personal diaries, and news accounts to give voice to the American and Chinese musicians, diplomats, journalists, and others who participated in and witnessed this historic event. Beethoven in Beijing is filled with glorious images as well as anecdotes ranging from amusing sidewalk Frisbee sessions and acupuncture treatments for sore musicians to a tense encounter involving Madame Mao dictating which symphony was to be played at a concert.
A companion volume to the film of the same name, Beethoven in Beijing shows how this 1973 tour came at the dawn of a resurgence of interest in classical music in China--now a vital source of revenue for touring orchestras.
Following his memoir Cured, a fascinating deep dive into the dark Romanticism of Goth music, a misunderstood genre and culture, by co-founder of The Cure, Lol Tolhurst
GOTH is an entertaining and engaging historical memoir, a journey through Goth music and culture, and an exploration of a place that offered refuge for the misfits of the 1980s and ever since. Written by Lol Tolhurst, cofounder of The Cure, GOTH is infused with stories from Tolhurst's personal trove of memories, as well as anecdotes about the musicians, magicians, and artists who made it all happen--a veritable garden of earthly delights for the longtime Goth fan and newcomer alike. Equal parts teacher and storyteller, Tolhurst explores early art and literature that inspired the genre and looks into the work of T. S. Eliot, Edgar Allan Poe, Sylvia Plath, and more. He outlines the path of Gothic forebears and shows how many musicians played in punk bands before transitioning into Goth endeavors. He introduces readers to the "Architects of Darkness"--BAUHAUS, SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES, JOY DIVISION, and THE CURE--and discusses a group he calls the "Spiritual Alchemists," bands like DEPECHE MODE and COCTEAU TWINS. He tracks the expansion of the genre overseas, from England to New York, Los Angeles, and beyond. Gothic fashion was an important part of the movement as well, and Tolhurst discusses the clothing that accompanied and complemented the music. Finally, Tolhurst examines the legacy of Goth music, and shows how its influence can still be seen to this day. As thoughtful and thorough as it is utterly bewitching, GOTH is a timeless testament to why Goth matters--and why it always will.
OVER THE LAST SEVEN DECADES, some of rock 'n' roll's most celebrated figureheads have flirted with the imagery and theater of the Third Reich. From Keith Moon and Vivian Stanshall kitting themselves out in Nazi uniforms to Siouxsie Sioux and Sid Vicious brandishing swastikas in the pomp of punk, generations of performers have associated themselves in troubling ways with the aesthetics, mass hysteria, and even ideology of Nazism. Whether shock factor, stupidity, or crass attempts at subversion, rock 'n' roll has indulged these associations in a way not accepted in any other art form. But how accountable should fans, the media, and the music industry be for what has often seemed a sleazy fascination with the eroticized perversions of a fascist regime?
In This Ain't Rock 'n' Roll, award-winning music historian Daniel Rachel navigates these turbulent waters with extraordinary delicacy and care, asking us to look anew at the artists who have defined us, inspired us, and given us joy--and consider why so many have been drawn to the imagery of a movement responsible for some of the twentieth century's worst atrocities. Rachel asks essential questions of actions often overlooked or underplayed, while neither casting sweeping judgment nor offering easy answers. In doing so, he asks us to reassess the history of rock 'n' roll, and he sheds new light on the grim echoes of the Third Reich in popular culture and the legacy of twentieth (and twenty-first) century history as it defines us today.nd sheds new light on the grim echoes of the Third Reich in popular culture--and the legacy of twentieth (and twenty-first)-century history as it defines us today.
A "vivid and breathless" (Billboard) oral history of emo's takeover from 1999 to 2008, featuring My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Panic! At the Disco, Taking Back Sunday, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional.
If Meet Me in the Bathroom traced New York City's early 2000's rock scene, Where Are Your Boys Tonight? gives the inside story of the turn-of-the-millennium emo subculture that became bigger than anyone thought possible. There was Pete Wentz, the Fall Out Boy leader who launched a litany of scene-stealing bands and preposterous side-hustles, and Gerard Way, the wizard behind My Chemical Romance and The Black Parade. Panic! At the Disco and Paramore emerged soon after--a pair of intrepid outsiders who got massive playing by their own rules. As they ascended, MySpace took over the internet and the age of influencers dawned, with emo its choice aesthetic.
Music journalist Chris Payne experienced emo's mainstream takeover from sweaty crowds and mosh pits growing up in New Jersey. In Where Are Your Boys Tonight? he offers an authoritative, impassioned, and occasionally absurd account told through interviews with more than 150 people, from the scene's biggest bands, producers, and managers to the teenage fans who helped redefine American music culture.