Music Books

I was fortunate to hear Bri Maya Tiwari speak at the Southwest Yoga Conference...simply because our booth was in the same room as the scheduled lecture...what a blessing! Her methods which incorporate the healing nature of sound, food, and breathing are easy to understand and implement if one truly desires attunement with the natural rythms of life...I immediately bought her book, and have begun to use many of the techniques to bring my life closer to the truth and balance we are designed to live...

Bri Maya Tiwari has shared some of her very personal stories of her own life and healing journey. Her wisdom she shares throughout the book is priceless and timeless. She has again, as in her other books, made available to the world, simple life nuturing and sustaining methods that will enable all those who read her book to start or stay on their path of living in a vibrant and healthy way. Through her books and workshops I have been able to heal myself of seasonal allergies and have also begun to heal some deep ancestorial/family issues. I recommend this book highly.

I have read this book and found it to be absolutely wonderful. It is filled with helpful, practical and attainable suggestions for developing a daily practice that will bring you back to yourself. Bri Maya tells her own healing journey which is healing in itself just reading it. The stories of those she has encountered along her path and how she has helped them help themselves are so moving and brought me to tears more than once. I highly recommend this book, and not only for women. There are healing therapies recommended for women, but are good for men to know as well. The food information, setting up your kitchen, realizing that food is so much more than just fuel is information that will change your life, and again, show you your truest self. I recently gave this book to a friend. She said, "Well, I don't think I'll read it but I think it will give good energy just being on my bookshelf." I agreed with what she said about the good energy, but I recommend reading this book. It is written by an enlightened woman teaching us in a time when so many things pull us away from our path, or dharma and ourselves. This book is one opportunity to look within and gives suggestions to develop a practice of doing so in our daily lives.

As a beginner in the study of Vedic Practice, Bri Maya has written in words much that is wonderful, soft and serene. Perhaps the most difficult portion to describe is what is written between her lines.

The tender and affectionate tone of her words conveys all that I have hoped Ayurveda would be. She is a shinning example of what can be accomplished when a science based on infinite wisdom is applied with love.

Bri Maya has titled her book " A Womans Book of Ayurvedic Healing" and while I don't know her true intent here surely this is a lovely book for anyone. I was in awe and am now an official fan.

Bri. Maya Tiwari is a rare soul who is totally dedicated to helping people renew their spiritual selves. For years I have been aware of the healing value of food, breath, and sound, but this book helped me understand these practices as interrelated, spiritual concepts. The Path of Practice was a great, general boost for me to get serious about my spiritual practice and I have since been inspired to maintain a daily yoga practice. And I never imagined that grinding mustard seeds by hand would induce such a calmness and meditative stillness. And, there is much wonderful information in this book that is applicable to men too.

I have found this book to be helpful in my quest to play the penny whistle. When I started I could not read music or carry a tune. In the past few months I have taught myslf to play over 20 songs and am getting the hang of reading music!
This publication was delivered early and in A-1 condition

I recomend this book, and the seller.

A best buy, especially considered the low price. Nice collection of tunes, suitable for all instruments and most importantly nice arrangements and chord settings for an excellent selection of useful songs for the beginning or grown musician. You simply can not go wrong investing 6quid here, whatever you're background. Get it while still in print and a big hand to Williams for providing us this treasure of Bluegrass, Irish and traditional British tunes along with useful introductions to each number. Put short; an excellent book of reference value to any folk based player out there.

It's great to finally receive this book. The seller was prompt, payment easy, and on the whole a pleasure to do business with.

Good book, with a slew of old tunes, but if you are a beginning whistler, check out Bill Ochs " The Clarke Tin Whistle." Then buy this book. Whistle on!

The author provides a spectrum of good selections and some solid advice on performance. Many of the selections translate well to fiddle too. Over the years I have bought a number of different books, but this is one I keep coming back to.

This was really like a videocam on somebody's private life. Just that it gets turned on and off randomly. It makes sense, if you just keep in mind that this guy is never up to any good, whatever he's doing.

Someone had left this on the seat in the Red Line when we got stuck the better part of an hour on the bridge. There is a limit to how long you can sit and look at MIT so I began reading it.
It seemed to be a pretty quick book, the kind you would hide behind on the subway to avoid any kind of contact with the other passengers. But I ended up reading the whole thing, finishing late that night while my upstairs neighbor was dancing to a Bruce Springsteen CD.
I cannot describe the sense of grief I had after finishing this book. Taking Merlin Black's (i.e. Miles Davis) final affair as its starting point, the author picks up various points in the trumpeter's life, using psychological rather than plot connections to explain who this man really was. Talk about an anti-hero! And yet you accept Merlin's sleaziness as his natural condition, rather like dealing with a life-long disease. It becomes impossible to judge him.
I would highly recommend this book.

This book is an interesting life story. I felt that the author had valid points to make about the character, who as I understood it, is a disguised version of a now deceased jazz musician. This was a man who was not really in control of himself, however talented he may have been. It was gripping enough to read as the author managed to endear the character to me even though few would consider him admirable.
I don't know why so many intelligent authors today feel they must stick explicit descriptions of sex acts in every twenty pages or so. This book was recommended to me by a fellow church member as an example of how a very intelligent individual can go through life, getting no better and no worse, if they pay no attention to religion. I suppose the sex was there just to show, Merlin did not have his own best interests for eternity at heart.

One thing I do, on the road, is track this man Miles. I have been everywhere, this man has been. Every nasty dive that's now a parking lot, every apt. bldg., if he was there, I've been there. And sometimes I stop in a library, NYPublic by Grand Central usually, and look up the newest book on Miles. Until this book, which is kind of rare, I never got further than twenty pages.
Now this book fit with the pattern that I can see, going the places he went, and thinking of his music, which I memorized, all of it. I've talked to some people who actually knew him, but not big light people, and the picture you get is like the one drawn by this man Walter Ellis. He wasn't a nice guy, but mad all the time and even kind of violent when he wasn't too messed up to kick. This is the real picture. And Ellis starts the story when Miles was flopped, a sorry rich man who hadn't played trumpet in five years. By flashbacking to all the separate times he got somewhere and then got down with the dogs again, he gets you into this man's mindset, which was failure and all kinds of ways to fail in dealing with failure. And when you understand that, you'll understand the music.

We had to read "fiction" about an African American artist for the Black History Month assignment, but they would not let us do Rap. I got this from the assignment sheet and I did not want to but had to because I had been out sick the day of the first picks. The teacher said it was about Miles Davis, even though the wrighter calls the dude Merlin Black. I had never heard of either one, but a friend of mines stepfather says he knows who he was sure. He playde jazz, which is slow, I thought.

And man this is a real surprise. This is the kind of dude I want to be, because he is a bad mother in many ways but really good. He held off some pretty bad racists and always did his own jobs. He was not nice to his women but there were a lot of them and he always felt sorry. I got my friend to get some cds of this Miles from his stepfather and I really liked some of his music eventhough some of it really is slow.
Also the book is short. I didn't want to read a long one.

You know how there's a haitus in your reading when you're waiting for the next book of a series to come out? Well that's what happend as I continued to randomly pick up books to read as i awaited several books to be published.

I'm really glad I picked up The Principles of Love because its a wonderful book starting out the series. Love's life is interesting and relatable in many different aspects. I gave this book five stars for a reason and readers should definitely give it a read.

Spoilers Below!

Cute book! One massive complaint before moving on to details--the font. I hate being so nitpicky, but ugh, could there be a smaller, tougher-to-read font? Quite frankly, that's the only reason I'm docking a star, because sometimes, it just gets really hard to read, no matter how interesting the book is, when your head's throbbing from squinting at the pages.
Now on to specifics. I have a lot to talk about with the names. Obviously, the first name to discuss would be Love's. How amazing is that? I really want to name my kid Love or something like it now, that's got to be the prettiest name ever, and it suits her, too! Oh, the irony of it all, right? Another name: Robinson. Is it just me, or is the bad guy always named Robinson? And third, Jacob. Jacob, Jacob, Jacob. Anyone else seeing the horrible Jacob Black parallels here? He's the other guy, the friend. Kind of awesome.
Plot stuffs. Love's got the coolest Dad in the world, seriously. I would definitely love to see more about her mom, and seeing as we've now got a box of her letters, I think I'd bet we're about to learn more, and I'm excited. I totally saw the DrakeFan thing coming wayyyy early, it was pretty obvious that it was Jacob. I did not, however, see Love and Jacob together, although I thought they were adorable. You knew Robinson was the bad guy, the first guy, the 'lust' guy, he's always a bad guy, at least in the YAs.
The cultural references were stunning. Could it get any more Gilmore Girls than this? LOVE it.
I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. I thought I'd like this book a lot less than I did, and envisioned, God forbid, something more like "Prep". Glad that was disproved. Highly looking forward to the rest of the series!

Super witty, lucky, mysterious, and modern is Love's life, and reading about each of her experiences from an honest, confused, and lovable perspective is refreshing and addictive. I just can't wait for the next book next month!

This book is very great and so is the series. The books are short but packed with details of a young girl named Love. She is smart and funny even though she doesnt always see herself that way. The only downside is every book has a cliff hanger at the end so you have to get the next one or like me wait until they come out about six months apart. Even so, they are still some of the best books out there right now!

According to a critic this book is suppose to accurately delve into boarding school life, but I think it accurately portrays adolescence whether it's set in public or private school. Of course this book is a fictional creation, so some of the events in the book are unreal (unless you're the luckiest teenager in the world), however this book is highly entertaining and you end up rooting for this character through her triumphs and mistakes. Another plus is the fact that, to a music lover like me, there are several really great (so far) references in the book that I've explored and have yet to explore. If you like fast reads, good plot lines, and music, this book is a must.

Brilliant read, not as fundamental as Doctors or The Class, but still something worth occupying a book shelf.

Prizes is an truly terriffic book. It has a plot similar to that of a daytime soap opera, however, it is much more sophisticated and realistic. Although very exciting with many interesting twists and turns, the book displays a strong theme of man's selfish nature, and causes one to take a serious look at the ethics of the world today. The themes of great human achievment and perseverence are also prominent. I enjoyed "Prizes" thouroughly, and I strongly recommend it for readers seeking a well developed, entertaining story.

First, the characters are great. Their descriptions are very thorough. You can almost see them, as if they really are true persons. Second, the plot of the story is very well-defined. Third, the flow of the story is well-timed.

This is the second book I've read from Erich Segal, the first being "The Class", and all I can say is that its a very, very enjoyable book to read. I can't put it down. After this, I'm looking forward to buying his other books as well. Good work, Mr. Segal.

Erich Segal proved that he knows how to pull our emotional chains as well as any contemporary writer in Love Story and Oliver's Story. He may well just have done it again in Prizes, the engrossing tale of three brilliant individuals. Their professional quests plus their lives and romances make for rapt reading.

Child prodigy Isabel da Costa has made a significant discovery, creating a formula that Einstein was unable to piece together. Sandy Raven, his personal life bordering on destruction, has capped his dedication to research by reversing the aging process in cells, and Adam Coopersmith, a physician, has developed an almost miraculous drug to help women who have been unable to become pregnant. His already full life is further complicated by his marriage to a career-minded lawyer and his introduction to Anya, an irresistible Russian emigre. Beckoning all of them is the ultimate accolade, a Nobel Prize.

A compulsively readable tale.

- Gail Cooke

What a great book! Fishman's book gives a comprehensive overview of a subject only one in a thousand knows anything about. The Public Domain.

The public domain consists of art, music, literature, software, etc. that belongs to no one and can be repurposed by anyone for other use.

If you and your community group wanted to stage a musical version of Tom Sawyer set in the year 2502, you can do this very easily as Tom Sawyer (and all of Mark Twain's works) are in the public domain. There are no licensing fees.

Fishman gives you a methodology for finding and locating works and for understanding how to track them down and protect yourself should someone want to press a claim against (most likely spurious)

Highly recommended.

Cheers!

Copyright law is complex, sometimes counter-intuitive, and the rules change for each media type. This excellent book not only gives you the basics of copyright law, it expands on the specifics of the law for various media types. The best part of this book, the most brilliant part in my opinion, is the addition of a checklist for each media type. With this checklist, you can verify that your item is in the public domain or if it requires copyright permission. The checklist replaces an expensive copyright law attorney for cases where you can figure it out yourself. Anyone producing media for the public or using media released to the public should own this book. It is an invaluable resource in my professional library.

I made the mistake of buying the first edition of this book (published in 2001), but found it to be an excellent guide to the legal issues involved with public domain textual material. I have already published one book which relied heavily on public domain materials, and am working on a second, and when I bought this book I had several specific questions that I was trying to answer. This book answered all of them, as well as some that I hadn't thought of! I'll probably end up buying the second edition, just to see what has changed in the last few years.

This fat and informative book is a goldmine for anyone interested in public domain works, whether writings, music, art, films or just about anything else. The author, Attorney Stephen Fishman, begins with an examination of copyright laws and the public domain. After that, the book begins each of the chapters on copyrightable materials with a handy checklist for use in determining public domain status, and then launches into a discussion of how to determine the public domain status of such an item. After those useful chapters, the author examines the use of copyrighted and public domain works.

This is one of the most useful books I have ever encountered. It contains most everything you need to know in determining the public domain status of a work, and it is organized in a simple, easy-to-use format (ala the ___ for Dummies books), that is sure to inform the reader, and never lose him or her. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in whether or not something is in the public domain, and thus open to free use.

I probably had the wrong expectations for this book but I was hoping it would (quickly) help me validate whether info I've used required permission. I suppose it did this in an indirect way, however, the free use stuff included old songs etc. that were not appropriate for my topic.

Book is well written so long as it fits with what you need to validate.

This is one of the most honest portraits of a human being you will ever find.. I would recommend this along with Charles Mingus' 'Beneath the underdog' for a taste of the 'jazz life'. It is amazing what these guys lived through - and still created such beautiful music!

This was the first jazz biography I have read. Hawes does a great job of portraying the terrible effects of heroin addiction. I knew some jazz musicians were busted for heroin use in his time. But I didn't understand how rampant heroin use was in the industry. This book gives great insight into the life of a wonderfully talented jazz pianist. But more importantly, it gives insight into the tumultuous life of a drug addict. Initially, the piano seems to be Hawes' only love. But then there is the realization that heroin is his real love. It is his only motivation to even play the piano.

This book is all of these things and more. This is the story of an essentially decent person fighting his own demons. A beautifully crafted book written in the subjects own idiom. A must have for anybody wanting to get inside jazz during the be bop era.

I love this book. Remember, back then when you played this music, it wasn't exactly a sweet world for the musicians (Black ones). I'm glad he let everyone know how hard it was out there. Drugs took this Bad Boy out the game and the world passed him by. Musicians like Brother Hawes, will never be acknowledged for their great playing in the U.S.A.

If there was a dumb remark in this book, I didn't see it. Again, think back to the times he was living in. He talked about Jimmy Rushing and the way he thought about things. Jimmy Rushing came out of a different era, yet Some of his thoughts were not far behind. When he described Black people, some were light skninned, some were black... The book is not dated, it's just good.

I enjoyed reading this book very much.

It is first of all Hampton Hawes biography of his life as a jazz musician. It tellls us of his way from being a little boy attending his father's church on Sundays to a highly acclaimed jazz pianist, his downfall because of his heroin addiction, his 10-year jail sentence (which was reduced to six after Hawes had written to John Kennedy!), his way back up on the European market, his love relationship with Jackie, and his new found love after separating from Jackie after almost two decades. The very last sentence of the book speaks about his ex-wife Jackie - and it is very touching and shows that Hawes indeed must have been a nice man.

There is only one really dumb remark in the book that I felt was disgusting. (Find it for yourself... ;-))

Hawes repeatedly talks about Black issues. I personally feel that those statements are very intelligent, and can therefore recommend this book not only to those of you interested in jazz, but also to anyone into Black issues.

I'm a longtime RHCP fan and a guitar player (obviously since I bought the tab!). I have both the Mother's Milk and Blood Sugar Sex Magik tablature books and have learned almost all of the songs in both. That said, I was a little hesitant in ordering the Stadium Arcadium book for two concerns: 1) the album is so effects laden, it may be hard to reproduce at home; 2) usually, when audio is provided on a CD with a tab book, examples are truncated snippits or examples of songs taken out of context--not very helpful, IMHO. Let me cut to the chase: buy this book with the CDs! The CDs contain ALL 2 SA discs with FULL songs from beginning to end sans drums and vocals. You get to hear John Frusciante's guitar parts and Flea's bass interacting together for all of the songs. I'm hearing things being played that I've never noticed before on the original SA release. Actually, what the recordings have confirmed is a suspicion I've had that SA was mixed horribly for the final release... a little too smooth and compressed, finally killing the BSSM era peppers sound. However, listen to something like "Hump De Bump" on this book's audio and you will hear guitar and bass every bit as raw, inventive, and funky as anything from BSSM. Why did this get lost in the final release? The tabs are pretty spot on, too. I've noticed a few voicing inconsistencies with JF's live playing of the songs... but this is a minor quibble. This book is a must (for this price) for any RHCP fan that plays bass or guitar. The audio is also an awesome stand-alone look into the writing and musical process of a inventive band of musicians.

The bass and guitar tracks on the CDs really help to identify the individual notes, riffs and chords. Extremely worth it!

I am a big fan of the RHCP's and enjoy trying to replicate their sound. I am by no means a good guitarist but still have a lot of fun going through the book and playing pieces of their songs. The tab appears to be very accurate but I am not sure that it is 100% (still, good enough for me). I found it very useful to look at some of the lessons on Youtube as an aide to the book.

First of all, I must say, I really enjoyed this album. I don't normally use the words "dude" or "money", but dude, the Jupiter disc is *money*. The Mars disc was good too, but I think every song on the aforementioned disc was a hit, thus making them the ones I wanted most to learn to play.

All recordings feature the guitar and bass with no drums or vocals. This makes picking up the guitar parts considerably easier. All effects used are mentioned in the tab, and the tabs themselves seem very accurate when reading them and listening to the disc.

I think Frusciante's style of playing is interesting, and a good study for any guitarist. It's refereshing to hear a guy who is talented and really makes good arrangements, but isn't shredding and wanking all over the place. He also doesn't just whack on the same power chords all day long like every other modern rock band.

Furthermore, the band as a whole definitely remains fresh and valuable in a world where, I'm sad to say, rock is starting to suck really bad. RHCP makes me want to pick up my guitar, jam out, and be a better musician.

Fallout Boy does not.

Don't think twice before you get this. I'll be able to listen to all the tracks with guitar / bass isolated. They even mention the effects on the tabs.
Gotta have it.

Not since the release of The Count of Monte Cristo has a reader felt so deeply for an honest man's demise, nor been so thrilled to see his enemies pay the price.

Rewind is written in a wonderfully revealing style, allowing the reader to see the story through each individual's eyes, one by one. As always, the people portrayed in Bruce Kimmel's fictional novels are not just two dimensional characters; they have personalities we grow to care for, detest, and ultimately want to know more about.

Along with a great murder mystery, the reader also gets a special look at what life is like in the recording business, which is always a treat when written in Bruce's vividly descriptive prose.

My favorite part of reading Bruce's mysteries is reading them a second time, once I know the secret ending. Then all the little hints and cleverly worded phrases pop out and I throughly enjoy the book in a whole new way.

When you finish this one, read bruce Kimmel's other books, you will not regret it!

Here is a novel for those of us who enjoy sweet revenge, who would like to believe that those who have been truly and hideously wronged can occasionally turn the tables and actually see some punishment--in fiction, of course.

In "Rewind," Jonathan Goldman is a seasoned record producer and singer/songwriter of the hit song, "Getting Away With You," whose record company has chosen to part ways. Not content to simply fire him, they are out for blood. Nasty, vicious, vindictive--you name it. They attempt to not just ruin his career, but bankrupt him, as well. The novel has a grit, an immediacy, that I quite like. You're engrossed from page one and stay right there until the end. And a satifying ending it is.

Mr Kimmel demonstrates that he can write a tight novel, pull the reader in, and hold him there until he is done. He writes well and gives us characters which are both believable and interesting. The reader needs no knowledge of the recording industry to enjoy this romp; indeed, one comes away feeling that one has truly been there and seen it first-hand. Highly recommended.

Oh, BOY!! From the giddy-up - and I emphasize "giddy" - this story grabs ya and takes you on the monster roller-coaster, whirling teacups, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and then some. A tight, fast (we're talking white-knuckle fast) blitz of a story, in the multiple-personality first-person. I guessed part of it about halfway through - because of the vicarious thrill of doing in those whose goose I never got to cook... 'Tis said that Revenge is a dish best served cold... Well, for anyone who ever felt majorly WRONGED, and had the tenacity to hold a grudge beyond death, which I suspect is a goodly number of yuz, this gourmet concoction is WAY delicious.

In Bruce Kimmel's new novel, "Rewind" we are introduced to the dog eat dog industry of the recording business. All the in's and out's of what goes into to recording a single track of music is that we take for granted which arrives on our doorstep on a shiny bright CD for our listening pleasure, is dissected here in this novel.

Not only are we introduced to the methods and workings of creating an album, but we are privy to the goings on behind the scenes, behind the music, and ultimately, behnd the people that hold the money. This novel can easily be a handbook on what not to do when attempting to make it in the world of small record label business.

Without giving away what actually happens in this work of fiction, it's a keen example of what I'm sure a lot of people would like to do when they are faced with something as cruel and vicious as what happens to the main charactor in this novel, Jonathan. His story may seem familiar to any reader that knows the business. Kimmel takes it a step further and gives the reader some satisfaction in taking the matter ...

If you are interested in the recording business or have read Kimmel's other novels, (Writers Block, Bejamine Kritzer, Kritzerland, and Kritzer Time) it's worth taking the time to read "Rewind" as it's a great work of fiction and a joy to read.

Rewind, the fifth novel by Bruce Kimmel, is a fast and furious romp through the world of music producing, gone wrong. Mr. Kimmel has once again given us a story that is "un-put-downable", filled with details only someone who spent many years in this business could provide. I opened the book for a quick browse of the first chapter and re-emerged three hours later at the end of the last page. The fast pace derives from the interesting style in which this was written. The story is told in the first person, but each part is told from different character's perspective. To say more would give away too much. Do not miss this one, it is a fun ride, just when you think you know what's going on, you find out you don't!

Ironic that Amazon would actually piggyback narcotics offers next to a book which uses "narcotic" to describe pop evil. But as Carducci suggests, both pop music and narcotics appeal way beyond their legitimate purposes. So pop some oxycotin and turn on some pop, or do the right thing and rock out.

This book is impressive, and not only for the deep knowledge of rock that Carducci displays. The opening chapters describing what the "real" sounds of rock are should be required reading for anyone interested in forming a band. The scope of this book is unrivalled and the selections for the most influential bands will raise more than a few eyebrows (No where else will you see James "Blood" Ulmer mentioned in the same vein as Sabbath). Carducci rightly praises the "Black" bands (Sabbath and Flag) as the most influential in their respective genre's, but it may come as a surprise to many that Carducci attributes (perhaps correctly) the original "wall of sound" approach to Eddie Cochrane. While this book doesn't cover heavy metal and it's sub-genres very completely (see Ian Christe's Sound of the Beast for that), it wasn't meant to (see Title). In addition, this is one of the few books that credits (rightly) the Ramones for their widespread influence (early Black Flag and the Misfits to name two of the most well-known). In addition to the depth of knowledge displayed, Carducci will have you rolling in laughter more than once. If all the above is not enough, the appendices with original poster art and one of the funniest Ray Pettibon paintings (Give me librium or give me meth....) are worth the price of the book alone. Buy it and then buy some essential music!

This is the first book I read that spoke about rock music intelligently and at the same time it was not the elitist slobber most critical views of popular culture resort to (making us suffer). It ain't policticlly correct--but rock shouldn't be that way either and sadly today--it is--for the most part. After I read this book I incoorporated it in to most of my college research papers. (I am an A student)

Aside from being the first and only book to provide a useful aesthetic definiton of rock and roll, aside from the fact that this book builds a wonderful canon of the music, aside from the fact that the author manages to demolish just about every received opinion generated by rock critics for good -- aside from all of this, Mr. Carducci actually managed to transform me from a life-long left winger to a right-leaning libertarian with just an offhand, tossed-out sentence. When discussing the rock critical establishment as a Left cabal, appropriating the music to further a discredited political agenda at the expense of Art, he says (and I paraphrase) that the Left traditionally uses those under them on the ladder as a cudgel against those above them, rarely actually caring for or helping their constituency (and usually doing some harm; look at the welfare state); I immediately had a flash of self-recognition (and recognition -- I never met a Leftist who didn't suffer from this sort of bad faith.) So, if you ever read this, Joe, thanks for opening my eyes.
The book's damn funny too.

I agree with other reviewers' comments. I read this after Michael Azerrad's "Our Band Could Be Your Life," and Carducci's insider perspective plays off A's chapters on SST bands well. What chaps my hide is C's haughty inclusion of an LA Times article criticizing Black Flag's refusal to intervene when the moshers pounded on the innocent bystanders. C. acts as if the band had no responsibility for the brutality some of its fans perpetrated against other fans. C. thinks that the music matters not its context, and to me, as somebody who was there, that's b.s. The two are inseparable and you don't have to be a PC straight-edge Dischord disciple to agree. C's taking the easy, if provocatively punkish, way out here, just as gangsta rap's apologists do.

That out of the way, I do welcome any tome that celebrates both The Fall and Hawkwind, and his stream-of-consciousness rants on all sorts of po-mo critically reviled 70s music does mesh with what happened as SST devolved into a hair-metal crudge label! Where would Queens of the Stone Age, Velvet Revolver, and all that Seattle sludge have heard that it was ok to listen to Zep and Ozzy?

And, truth be told, Carducci's spot on when it comes to many of his ravings, even if Lester Bangs, Richard Meltzer, Chuck Eddy and Chuck Klosterman have all howled the same cry. Much as some of this book in its calculated slumming gets my goat, other chunks soothe my soul, and make me feel as superior as you do to what passes for street cred, as we get angrier and crustier compared to/about those darned kids. Heck, my sons now realize what a cool record collection their geek dad has, and passing along C. to them for expanding their horizons, where the unfashionable joins the unlistenable, continues to further the underground resistance, when real punks don't go to Hot Topic chain stores or don leather and mohawks to prove their commodified (non?)conformity. It's an attitude, as C. points out--not the puerile suburban tantrums that stifled so much creativity in the 80s, as his label's own slump then demonstrated irrefutably.