Before all this stuff he suggested, I already bought two books:
– Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984 by Simon Reynolds. Reynolds is a British music journalist who now lives in New York. He used to be a senior editor for Spin magazine, and contributes music coverage to some of the most revered publications for arts coverage, including the New York Times, the Village Voice, and Uncut. I have only just started the book (literally on page 6, after introductory material) and I'm learning so much. This will be a good read.
– Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain. I don't know why I haven't read this one already. All my friends have. They all suggested it. I am intrigued with the topic. Why haven't I read it? Considering that the punk scene effectively did something very similar to what the music industry faced earlier this decade (confusing the market, allowing abnormal, obscure, or extreme music the chance to "make it"), I think it will be a good read.
And now, the email:
Hi Emilia,
You've chosen a massive topic. It covers things like fashion, self-fashioning, technology, role of labels, 'community', to name just a few.
What even constitutes a 'rock star' is a hefty subject.
I've listed a few books and films that might help. I've (over-?)emphasized the role of management, but also have stuff on labels and on the music press.
You might want to use particular bands as case studies.
These days, when so many bands are effectively over before they've even released a record, maybe anonymity is a better (marketing) strategy?
* Andrew Loog Oldham, Stoned [very funny former boss of Stones]
* Johnny Rogan, Starmakers and Svengalis: The History of British Pop Management
* Stephen Davis, Hammer of the Gods [very good on the manager of Led Zeppelin]
* David Cavanagh, The Creation Records Story [very amusing story of one of key 80s indie labels]
* Fred and Judy Vermorel, Starlust: The Secret Life of Fans
* Jon Savage, England’s Dreaming [great punk history]
* Jon Savage, Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture
* Jon Savage and Hanif Kureishi (eds.), The Faber Book of Pop [lots of good essays]
* Lisa Lewis (ed.), The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media
* Caroline Sullivan, Bye Bye Baby: My Tragic Love Affair with the Bay City Rollers
* Julie Burchill, I Knew I Was Right [about the NME]
* Paul Gorman, In Their Own Write: Adventures In The Music Press [role of music press in shaping British pop culture]
* Philip Norman, Shout: The Beatles in Their Generation
* Joe Boyd, White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s [US-born label boss and producer of Nick Drake/ Vashti Bunyan]
* Michael Moorcock, The Great Rock n Roll Swindle
* Ray Coleman, The Man Who Made the Beatles: An Intimate Biography of Brian Epstein
* Andrew Motion, The Lamberts: George, Constant and Kit [Kit was the tortured manager of The Who]
* Rob Young, Rough Trade: Labels Unlimited [key (post) punk label]
* Peter Hook, The Hacienda: How Not to Run a Club [New Order bassist spills all]
* David Buckley, Strange Fascination: David Bowie: The Definitive Story [great companion to ‘Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’ film]
My favourite:
* Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond [aka The KLF]: The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
http://www.kirps.com/web/main/
Watch these:
* Telstar: http://www.telstarthemovie.co.
* Slade In Film:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Slade-
* Brothers of the Head:
http://www.brothersofthehead.
* Velvet Goldmine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
* 24 Hour Party People
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Good thing I already watched and own Velvet Goldmine and 24 Hour Party People. As for the books, I don't have any of them. Nor can I afford all of them. If anyone has read any of these before and thinks they do or don't fit my subject, please tell me so I can perhaps slim down this plump list of suggestions!
Have you asked your professor if you can borrow the books from him? Do you think he has them? How's the reading going? Yikes, it's a lot of ground to cover. I suggest narrowing, narrowing your topic as you research.
ReplyDeleteNarrowing is hard, but I agree it has to be done. I need to figure out what element of this massive topic is 1) most important or most affected and 2) most interesting to me!
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