Television Books

This one is definately one of the best, pointing out many of the nitpicks and netpicks we've philes have already discovered in addition to new ones that sent me back to look for them. The trivia is extremely difficult and interesting.

I recommend this book to all philes who think they know it all. Take a few months to memorize this book and then you will know it all.

During the 90's, when gansta rap and the East coast vs. West coast fight broke out, I was too busy working on my Bachelor's and Master's degrees to pay much attention to anything else.
I had also heard of Suge Knight and Sean Combs, but only from newspaper reports. Reading this book really filled in a lot of the details for me. Suge Knight is portrayed in a postive light as really caring for his artists and seeing to it that they were treated right. He became violent only when he thought that those artists were being taken advantage of, and that they (as well as he) were losing part of the money they were entitled to. I had always wondered what had prompted this violent streak of his. I remember the newspapers would only report the latest incidents, never try to explain them. The book also explains what it is, in fact, that Sean Combs does. I had always wondered: Is he a rapper? A producer? An executive? And, how did he amass so much money? Combs had always been a mystery to me. To some extent, he still is, but the book goes a long way toward solving this riddle too.

This book explores many interesting puzzles like these and shows how intricate relationships within the hip hop community had become, even by the 90's. Biggie Smalls is portrayed as a flawed yet sympathetic character. At first, he's a child attending Catholic school in uniform, who feels different from all the others hanging out on the corner. His mother is a teacher, he's fatherless, and while not rich, he's by no means poor. His mother gets all the latest gear for him so he doesn't go out and get in trouble. As he grows older, however, the lure of quick profits grows stronger, so that by the time he's 16, he's dropped out of school and become a full-time crack dealer. The book wants us to believe this is so he can buy even more of the latest gear, and that he's never statisfied with what he's got. I'm not sure that that's the whole story, but surely his life was never as bleak as what he depicted later in some of his songs. One gets the feeling that somewhere along the line, something just isn't right - either with the world, or with Biggie. Then, once Biggie becomes a rap star, he says in the book that he never expected to, that rapping was just a hobby and that the profession he had actually chosen was that of the crack dealer. So, we're expected to believe that this rap star thing just happened as a fluke, and came just as much as a surprise to him as to the rest of the world. Maybe all this is so, but if it isn't, the book makes no alternative explanations, nor even attempts to. All we're left with, instead, is an incomplete portrayal of the man who would later become known as the Notorious BIG. All in all, despite the inadequacies in the portrayal, one is still able to admire and respect the genius and charisma of this man. This is both a tribute to the man and to the author. It makes us aware that even legends have character pitfalls, yet we're still able to remember and love them for who they were.

This book gave a first account on how he went for "ashy to classy" and how hard he tried to keep it once he found out that he really had talent for music rather than talent for selling crack.

What I didn't know, but really didn't surprise me was how much of a playa Biggie was. He had his wife Faith, Lil' Kim and Charlie Baltimore and I am going to say that it was more than that. It bugged me out him and Faith never even spoke to each other when the saw each other on the night he died. I guess it is true that you never know that last time you may see someone for good.

I love the loyalty of his true friends from St. James, mainly Lil' Cease. This book also showed you how grimey Lil' Kim really is. What devastated me that most was how his relationship between him and Tupac just crumbled over bullsh--, straight bullsh--. If you ask me my opinion and this is just my opinion, I think Tupac what just in the wrong place at the wrong place, just like the rest of his situations. Now, don't get me wrong that's my boy too, he just makes bad judgements, just like Biggie staying out in Cali, like everything was cool.

Overall, this book was the best biography I ever read. It was straight up real, it made you feel as if Biggie was telling you the story of his life himself.

Later!!!

As for the book, of course it's fabulous! You get to learn behind the scenes info on, of course Pretty Woman, but all his other shows and movies as well. His sense of humor cracks me up, especially when he overheard someone talking about Exit To Eden saying "That movie was so bad he doesn't deserve to be Penny Marshalls father!" I laughed SOO hard at that. Not to mention that you can't help but love a director who thanks his wife at the end of every one of his films.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know the ends and outs of the entertainment industry from a vetern who knows what he's talking about!:)

One of the neatest things about reading this book is that now when I see Gary England on TV clips saying those now-famous words during the May 3, 1999 Oklahoma City Tornado, "You NEED to be underground to survive this one!" I look at him with a knowledge of his life story and how he got to be where he is, and I'm filled with such respect. Thank you, Gary, for suffering through petty politics to be able to save so many lives.

Also the pictures are wonderful.

Bettina

Edwards, born in the Delta around 1915, worked the fields as a kid before he learned to play the guitar and began hoboing around the South. He rode the rails, played in innumerable small towns, and polished his craft. Along the way, he hung out and played with the likes of Sunnyland Slim, Big Walter Horton, Little Walter Jacobs, Robert Junior Lockwood, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and yes, Robert Johnson. The book describes how these architects of the modern blues passed songs, licks, and stories back and forth, keeping a form that relies so heavily on tradition dynamic and vital.

A major strength of the book is Edwards' distinctive voice, transcribed by his collaborators to retain its distinctive rhythms and dialect. The book's title sums up his attitude. His memories include violent death, physical and emotional loss, and great material want. Still, you sense strongly that he wouldn't have had his life any other way. His narrative is devoid of self-pity, but it never glosses over the difficulty of the times he endured, which included stints in prison.

The book concludes with useful appendices that define key terms and offer capsule biographies and discographies of musicians Edwards encountered. A good bibliography is also included. Highly recommended for those interested in the blues and in American social history. Great read.

Honeyboy's tales gives the reader his firsthand accounts of plantation life, the 1927 Mississippi River flood, vagrancy laws, makeshift courts, the racial problem and economics of southern blacks and the Depression.

This book came about because of the stories that Honeyboy told his manager of 25 years, Michael Robert Frank, who is also the founder of Earwig Records and Janis Martinson, a freelance writer. Martinson did the transcribing and left Honeyboy's speech patterns intact. My friend, Travis Brown is from Tennessee and after reading this book remarked that reading the words of Honeyboy took him back "home". Martinson also did the research and wrote the three appendices that appear in the back of the book. Want to find out what the "killin' floor" is (was) than buy this book.

Earwig has also issued a CD with the same title, I had that CD and Robert Johnson's in my changer while I read the book, they provided the perfect soundtrack to the theater of the mind.

Tony Houston, 1999

Take a front-row seat to see Maestro Bernstein, America's foremost musician, perform in his favorite role -- teacher. Watch and listen as he demonstrates, explains, and reveals music as you have never heard it before, performed by his beloved orchestra, the New York Philharmonic. As you enjoy the experience, you will gain something precious: a love and understanding of great music. With the Young People's Concerts, mastering music is all pleasure!

The World's Great Music -- Made Understandable and Enjoyable
Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts span fifteen years during which the incomparable Mr. Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic -- the century's most charismatic conductor leading America's premier symphony orchestra -- reached out in televised live performances to share with the whole world the joy of understanding beautiful music.

Getting to Know Symphonic Music -- From the Master Conductor! This set of Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts is a genuine musical education in a form that's fun, fascinating, and easy. Just sit back and enjoy as Maestro Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic show you the thrilling, passion-filled world of the symphony orchestra. You'll be having such a good time, the learning will feel like pure entertainment!

Something for Everyone -- Young and Old, Novice and Expert Leonard Bernstein captivated a diverse audience. The programs are called Young People's Concerts -- but when they were broadcast, millions of adults enjoyed and benefited from them, too. Mr. Bernstein speaks in familiar terms that anyone can understand -- and what he says intrigues even seasoned professional musicians.

In the world of music, for sheer education and entertainment value, there has never been anything comparable to Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts. They are, quite simply, the musical event of a lifetime.

"The Young People's Concerts are among my favorite, most highly prized activities of my life." -- Leonard Bernstein

Each Young People's Concert is an elegant, sparkling musical event-with-a-message -- a message that speaks to people of all ages who want to hear and understand music more enjoyably than ever before.

A Maestro With a Mission Pianist, composer, conductor, lecturer, author -- the world-famous Leonard Bernstein lived and breathed music his entire life because he truly loved it. He was also aware that "highbrow" music could be intimidating. So the Maestro made it his lifetime mission to turn great music into something everyone could understand and enjoy.

That's why the Young People's Concerts, aired on the CBS Television Network from 1958 to 1973, were so fabulously successful year after year. People packed the live performances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Across America, families eagerly tuned in to watch every exciting new program. Around the world, television stations rushed to rebroadcast these unique musical events, translating them into a dozen foreign languages.

Maestro Bernstein's Young People's Concerts were a treasure -- a key that unlocked the door to the secrets of the world's great symphonic music. People watched... listened... enjoyed... understood... and simply couldn't get enough of the Young People's Concerts. There had been nothing like them before. There has been nothing like them since.

For You, Whatever Your Age or Musical Ability Most amazing of all, Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts appeal to people of all ages and at every level of musical ability. There is nothing difficult about these musical events. You don't need any musical experience. Every concept is simple, concrete, immediate. The Maestro describes a musical idea -- then sings it, plays a few bars on the piano, or lifts his baton to lead the New York Philharmonic through a glorious symphonic rendition of the theme. Suddenly, you hear great music as you never heard it before. You pick out melody, counterpoint, rhythm, structure -- and you grasp complex music in a way you never thought possible.

Explaining What Music Means Starting with What Does Music Mean?, Mr. Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic present one spellbinding concert-with-commentary after another, showing you step by step what makes symphonic music an art form, and why great performances draw thunderous applause from audiences around the world.

Music's Most Exciting Moments

A world of beauty and meaning awaits you in Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts. These digitally remastered recordings of the original televised performances provide you with a deluxe guided tour of great music, led by America's best-loved music teacher. The Young People's Concerts let you experience the most exciting and entertaining moments in American musical history.

You will find the Young People's Concerts delightful -- relaxed and informal, yet absolutely authoritative. And whatever your level of musical knowledge -- novice, student, or professional -- you are certain to learn and benefit from these timeless musical events.