You’re in for some great reading whether you want to explore the history of rock and jazz, revisit new wave and Britpop, or dive deep into albums by Michael Jackson and Kanye West.
There Goes Gravity by Lisa Robinson
This book is technically a memoir by veteran music journalist Lisa Robinson, but every step of the way her focus is on her experiences – both personal and professional – with some of the most famous and important musicians of the past four decades. Robinson has been granted a rare and remarkable amount of access to huge stars over the years, and as a result this book gives you some real insight into what artists like David Bowie, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, Bono, Eminem, Jay Z, and Lady Gaga are really like when they're not performing.
Dangerous by Susan Fast
Canadian musicologist Susan Fast's book about Michael Jackson's 1991 blockbuster Dangerous rejects the usual media narrative about the iconic performer's later career, and makes a compelling case that it's a "coming of age" record that reflect his sophisticated take on adult sexuality and racial politics. Fast challenges the conventional wisdom about Jackson and his media image every step of the way, and places a great deal of emphasis on the singular style of post-Bad music.
The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs by Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus has built his considerable reputation as a cultural critic on his incredible skill for building fascinating alternative histories of the world based on seemingly randomly fragments of culture. This book is a new version of that old trick, and offers a fresh new take on the evolution of popular music between 1956 and 2008 that omits all the usual icons, events, and narratives.
Do Not Sell at Any Price by Amanda Petrusich
Amanda Petrusich's book digs deep into the insular subculture of 78 rpm record collectors, with deeply empathetic portraits of collectors willing to drop thousands of dollars on extraordinarily rare recordings of blues, folk, jazz, and gospel songs from the 1920s and 1930s. Petrusich's stories about her encounters with these often quirky collectors are lively and entertaining, but always take her subjects' mission of preserving the history of American music very seriously.
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