In 1989, Bob Mould took a left turn. Already legendary before his 30th birthday for his noise-and-nuance work in Hüsker Dü, Mould had recently walked away from his old band. He re-emerged with his debut solo album: Workbook. Filled with chiming acoustic guitars, multitracked vocals, pristine production, and even a cello, Workbook was both admired and questioned for Mould's perceived departure from his post-punk roots.Three decades later, the album has emerged as a...

The astonishing memoir of Brian Wilson, of the legendary music group The Beach Boys.As a cofounding member of The Beach Boys in the 1960s, Wilson created some of the most groundbreaking and timeless popular music ever recorded. With intricate harmonies, symphonic structures, and wide-eyed lyrics that explored life's most transcendent joys and deepest sorrows, songs like "In My Room," "God Only Knows," and "Good Vibrations" forever expanded the possibilities of pop ...

"A winning look at the stories behind 45 pop, punk, folk, soul and country classics" in the words of Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder, Cyndi Lauper and more ( The Washington Post).Every great song has a fascinating backstory. And here, writer and music historian Marc Myers brings to life five decades of music through oral histories of forty-five era-defining hits woven from interviews with the artists who created them, including such legendary tunes as the Isley...

Black Flag were the pioneers of American Hardcore, and this is their blood-spattered story.Formed in Hermosa Beach, California, in 1978, for eight brutal years they made and played brilliant, ugly, no-holds-barred music on a self-appointed touring circuit of America’s clubs, squats, and community halls. They fought with everybody: the police, the record industry and even their own fans. They toured overseas on pennies a day and did it in beat-up trucks and vans.Spray Pa...

When Nirvana first exploded onto the music scene in 1991 with the anthemic 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', few people could've predicted their subsequent global impact. No one knew then that Nevermind would become one of the seminal albums of the decade, selling over 30 million copies worldwide and spearheading a whole new 'grunge' movement. In so doing, the band's lead singer Kurt Cobain was transformed into one of music's most enduring and iconic figures.As drummer for the British group Capta...

"In the absence of love, there is loneliness, sorrow and desperation. And that's where I come in." --Greg Dulli, introducing "When We Two Parted" onstage in San FranciscoLike no record before or since, Gentlemen is fraught with the psychological warfare, bedroom drama, Catholic guilt, reprehensible deception and uncleansable shame that coincide with relationships gone seriously wrong. This story explores what happens when intellectual sophistication is star-crossed with outspoken b...

Clashing together outrageous musical influences and extravagantly visual imagery, Queen's place in history as the greatest glam band of them all is rock solid. Their fan base continues to grow, a decade and a half on from the death of Freddy Mercury, Queen's super-charismatic front man. Georg Purvis's meticulous, session-by-session, song-by-song, album-by-album, tour-by-tour record of the band's progress is the complete reference source that Queen fans have been waiting for. If you love th...

The shimmering, muscular guitar pop of The Smiths shone like a beacon through the eighties as they took up the mantle of the best British band since The Beatles. Their unparalleled musicality inspired a generation of popular bands including Oasis, the Stone Roses and Radiohead. Johnny Marr was the genius behind that revolutionary sound. Manchester-born Marr has proved to be a gun-slinger without equal, a guitarist who rode the longest highways to find the most thrilling sounds and who buil...

'You can only marvel at Robertson's brilliant audacity as he attacks the on-the-road-off-their-heads genre with giddy aplomb… He is either a genius or an utter madman' – NME'Robertson's raw portrayal of Liam Gallagher makes every indiscretion you've heard about seem perfectly feasible!' - TIME OUTOasis were a band like bands used to be. Hard-drinking and substance abusing. If they liked you, they loved you. If they didn't, you had to be prepared for confrontation.They ...

'...short, sharp, to the point, minimal. 'Never Mind the Bollocks' is a blackmail note - and we got you all to pay up!' - JOHN LYDON'When we first went in Wessex [recording studios] we went in through this side door. Freddie Mercury was there doing a vocal take and we walked right through with our guitars. He threw a wobbler.' - STEVE JONES''God Save The Queen' was definitely the pinnacle. It all went...

THE FIRST AND ONLY BIOGRAPHY TO CHART ONE OF PUNK ROCK'S MOST INFLUENTIAL AND IMPORTANT BANDS.Blink-182 started off as a power-punk trio that gigged relentlessly and goofed about constantly. Yet, over the course of five blistering studio albums, Blink evolved into one of the most influential post-punk outfits in music, which led to sales in excess of 20 million records worldwide.They split up in 2005 amidst tales of barbed acrimony after which the band was replaced by running record labels...

Stereo is everywhere. The whole culture and industry of music and sound became organized around the principle of stereophony during the twentieth century. But nothing about this-not the invention or acceptance or ubiquity of stereo-was inevitable. Nor did the aesthetic conventions, technological objects, and listening practices required to make sense of stereo emerge fully formed, out of the blue.This groundbreaking book uncovers the vast amount of work that has been required to ma...