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The Beethoven Encyclopedia
by Paul NettlThis comprehensive A-to-Z reference is comprised of detailed and authoritative entries on every aspect of the great composer&’s life. Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the most famous and revered composers in classical music. His instantly recognizable concertos and symphonies continue to be among the most performed by symphonies across the globe. In this definitive reference volume, eminent musicologist Paul Nettl provides students and researchers with an in-depth biographical resource organized in alphabetical entries. The Beethoven Encyclopedia covers the German composer&’s music, personal life, and patrons, among other topics, such as the forces that inspired his genius.
The Beethoven Medal (Pennington #2)
by K. M. Peyton"There are plenty of nice steady boys you could go out with," her mother told her, but Ruth Hollis knew that beside Patrick other boys would seem insipid and dull. Ruth was quiet, but she had a streak of stubbornness in her nature, and she enjoyed a challenge. When she was younger and crazy about horses, she had always liked to ride the most difficult ponies; so perhaps it wasn't surprising that now, as a girl of sixteen, she should find herself involved with Patrick Pennington--a singularly complex, wild, and talented young man. Nevertheless, Ruth found herself wondering if this particular challenge was going to prove too much for her--with far-reaching consequences for herself and her family. K. M. Peyton, winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Award for her distinguished contribution to children's literature, has written a tender, funny, and convincing story of two very appealing young people on the verge of love.
The Beethoven Quartet Companion
by Robert Martin Robert WinterWhile the Beethoven string quartets are to chamber music what the plays of Shakespeare are to drama, even seasoned concertgoers will welcome guidance with these personal and sometimes enigmatic works.This collection offers Beethoven lovers both detailed notes on the listening experience of each quartet and a stimulating range of more general perspectives: Who has the quartets' audience been? How were the quartets performed before the era of sound recordings? What is the relationship between "classical" and "romantic" in the quartets? How was their reception affected by social and economic history? What sorts of interpretive decisions are made by performers today?The Companion brings together a matchless group of Beethoven experts. Joseph Kerman is perhaps the world's most renowned Beethoven scholar. Robert Winter, an authority on sketches for the late quartets, has created interactive programs regarded as milestones in multimedia publishing. Maynard Solomon has written an acclaimed biography of Beethoven. Leon Botstein is the conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra as well as a distinguished social historian and college president. Robert Martin writes from his experience as cellist of the Sequoia Quartet. And the book is anchored by the program notes of Michael Steinberg, who has served as Artistic Advisor of the San Francisco Symphony and the Minnesota Orchestra.
The Beethoven Sonatas and the Creative Experience
by Kenneth DrakeThe definitive study of Beethoven&’s piano sonatas is &“remarkable as an insider&’s account of the works in an individual perspective.&” (European Music Teacher) In &“one of the most interesting, useful and even exciting books on the process of musical creation&” (American Music Teacher), Kenneth O. Drake groups the Beethoven piano sonatas according to their musical qualities, rather than their chronology. He explores the interpretive implications of rhythm, dynamics, slurs, harmonic effects, and melodic development and identifies specific measures where Beethoven skillfully employs these compositional devices. An interpreter searching for meaning, Drake begins with Beethoven&’s expressive treatment of the keyboard—the variations of touch, articulation, line, color, use of silence, and the pacing of musical ideas. He then analyzes individual sonatas, exploring motivic development, philosophic overtones, and technical demands. Hundreds of musical examples illustrate this exploration of emotional and interpretive implications of &“the 32.&” Here musicians are encouraged to exercise intuition and independence of thought, complementing their performance skills with logical conclusions about ideas and relationships within the score.
The Beginner's Guide to Vinyl: How to Build, Maintain, and Experience a Music Collection in Analog
by Jenna MilesThe ultimate guide to starting and keeping a record collection! Vinyl records are back--in a big way. Music lovers are turning back to vinyl for its pure sound and the fun of collecting. If you're ready to take the plunge, The Beginner's Guide to Vinyl will walk you through the basics of what is sure to become your newest passion. Whether your musical tastes are jazz, rock, country, classical, or show tunes, you can find vinyl records from your favorite artists--but you have to know where to look. And DJ-turned-vinyl-expert Jenna Miles will let you know all that and more. Check out:How records are madeWhere to purchase a turntableHow to take care of both the machine and your vinyl recordsAnd more!If you're a more advanced audiophile, you'll find plenty of information about hardware beyond the entry-level options, along with a backstage pass to tidbits and stories about artists and the industry that you've never heard before. It's the next best thing to an afternoon spent at the record store!
The Beginner's Guide to Vinyl: How to Build, Maintain, and Experience a Music Collection in Analog
by Jenna MilesThe ultimate guide to starting and keeping a record collection! Vinyl records are back--in a big way. Music lovers are turning back to vinyl for its pure sound and the fun of collecting. If you're ready to take the plunge, The Beginner's Guide to Vinyl will walk you through the basics of what is sure to become your newest passion. Whether your musical tastes are jazz, rock, country, classical, or show tunes, you can find vinyl records from your favorite artists--but you have to know where to look. And DJ-turned-vinyl-expert Jenna Miles will let you know all that and more. Check out:How records are madeWhere to purchase a turntableHow to take care of both the machine and your vinyl recordsAnd more!If you're a more advanced audiophile, you'll find plenty of information about hardware beyond the entry-level options, along with a backstage pass to tidbits and stories about artists and the industry that you've never heard before. It's the next best thing to an afternoon spent at the record store!
The Beginner’s Guide to Opera Stage Management: Gathering the Tools You Need to Work in Opera
by Danielle RannoThe Beginner’s Guide to Opera Stage Management is the first book to cover theatrical stage management practices specifically for opera productions, providing an invaluable step-by-step guide. Beginning with a brief history of opera and detailing its difference from musical theatre, the book covers stage management best practices through prep, rehearsals, tech, performance, and wrap up. From the moment a manager accepts a contract, right through to archiving paperwork, this essential toolkit covers each step of a stage manager’s journey. Working with a score, reading music, working with singers, conductors, and musicians, basic duties of a stage manager versus an assistant stage manager, and other tasks specific to opera are also included in this comprehensive guide. This book is full of tips and tricks, as well as the good, bad, and ugly stories from opera stage managers, sharing both their experiences and mistakes. This is the perfect how-to book for the professional or emerging stage manager looking to work in opera, or to expand their existing stage management skillset.
The Beginnings of the Modern Philosophy of Music in England: Francis North's A Philosophical Essay of Musick (1677) with comments of Isaac Newton, Roger North and in the Philosophical Transactions
by Jamie C. KasslerIn 1677 a slim quarto volume was published anonymously as A Philosophical Essay of Musick. Written by Francis North (1637-85), chief justice of the Common Pleas, the Essay is in the form of a legal case argued from an hypothesis. Utilising the pendulum as his hypothesis, North provided a rationale from mechanics for the emerging new musical practice we now call 'tonality'. He also made auditory resonance the connecting link between acoustical events in the external world and the musical meanings the mind makes on the basis of sensory perception. Thus began the modern philosophy of music that culminated with the work of Hermann von Helmholtz. As a step towards understanding this tradition, Jamie C. Kassler examines the 1677 Essay in its historical context. After assessing three seventeenth-century criticisms of it and outlining how one critic developed some implications in the Essay, she summarises the basic principles that have guided the modern philosophy of music from its beginnings in the 1677 Essay. The book includes an annotated edition of the Essay as well as the comments of the three critics.
The Bel Canto Violin: The Life and Times of Alfredo Campoli, 1906-1991 (Routledge Revivals)
by David TunleyFirst published in 1999, this biography from David Tunley draws on newly researched documentary evidence to chart Campoli’s early success and his later struggle for recognition as a serious artist. Campoli’s early success and his later struggle for recognition as a serious artist. Campoli’s career emerges as one particularly shaped and directed by the great economic and social forces of the first half of the century, and the story here is as much that of his times, as of his life. Described by Szigeti as ‘one of the last great individualists among violinists’, Alfredo Campoli was a household name in the field of British light music prior to the Second World War. Having made his début at the Wigmore Hall in 1923 Campoli toured with Melba and Butt, then turned to light music during the Depression. He became one of Decca’s early recording artists and broadcast frequently for the BBC with his light music ensembles and pursued a long, successful career as a distinguished international performer.
The Beloved Vision: A History of Nineteenth Century Music
by Ph.D. Stephen WalshA rich and luminous biography of nineteenth century music from the acclaimed author of Debussy: A Painter in Sound.When one thinks of &“great&” classical music—music with the most emotional resonance and timelessness—we harken back to the nineteenth century and the Romantic tradition. We recall the sweet melody of a Schubert song, the heroine dying for love in an Italian opera, the swooning orchestration of a Tchaikovsky symphony. The emotional resonance of nineteenth century has moved generations muscians and resonated with countless listeners. It has inspired artists and writers. But no writer until how has adopted such a vividly insightful narrative approach as Stephen Walsh and he shows how there is more to Romantic music that meets the eye—and the ear. With authority, insight, and passion, The Beloved Vision, links the music history of this singular epoch to the ideas that lay behind Romanticism in all its manifestations. In this complete, entertaining, and singularly readable account, we come to understand the entire phase in music history that has become the mainstay of the twentieth and twenty-first century concert and operatic repertoire. We also come to understand Beethoven, Mahler, Schubert, Chopin, and Wagner anew. The narrative begins in the eighteenth century, with C.P.E. Bach, Haydn and the literary movement known as Sturm und Drang, seen as a reaction of the individual artist to the confident certainties of the Enlightenment. The windows are flung open, and everything to do with style, form, even technique, is exposed to the emotional and intellectual weather, the impulses and preferences of the individual composer. Risk taking—the braving of the unknown—was certainly an important part of what the composers wanted to do, as true of Chopin and Verdi as it is of Berlioz and Wagner. It's an exciting, colorful, story, told with passion but also with the precision and clarity of detail for which Stephen Walsh is so widely admired. The Beloved Vision is a cultural tour de force, by turns bold, challenging, and immensely stimulating.
The Berimbau: Soul of Brazilian Music
by Eric A. GalmThe Brazilian berimbau, a musical bow, is most commonly associated with the energetic martial art/dance/game of capoeira. This study explores the berimbau's stature from the 1950s to the present in diverse musical genres including bossa nova, samba-reggae, MPB (Popular Brazilian Music), electronic dance music, Brazilian art music, and more. Berimbau music spans oral and recorded historical traditions, connects Latin America to Africa, juxtaposes the sacred and profane, and unites nationally constructed notions of Brazilian identity across seemingly impenetrable barriers. The Berimbau: Soul of Brazilian Music is the first work that considers the berimbau beyond the context of capoeira, and explores the bow's emergence as a national symbol. Throughout, this book engages and analyzes intersections of musical traditions in the Black Atlantic, North American popular music, and the rise of global jazz. This book is an accessible introduction to Brazilian music for musicians, Latin American scholars, capoeira practitioners, and other people who are interested in Brazil's music and culture.
The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening
by Ari ShapiroINSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“The Best Strangers in the World is a witty, poignant book that captures Ari Shapiro’s love for the unusual, his pursuit of the unexpected, and his delight at connection against the odds.”—Ronan Farrow, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and New York Times-bestselling author of Catch and Kill and War on PeaceFrom the beloved host of NPR's All Things Considered, a stirring memoir-in-essays that is also a lover letter to journalism.In his first book, broadcaster Ari Shapiro takes us around the globe to reveal the stories behind narratives that are sometimes heartwarming, sometimes heartbreaking, but always poignant. He details his time traveling on Air Force One with President Obama, or following the path of Syrian refugees fleeing war, or learning from those fighting for social justice both at home and abroad.As the self-reinforcing bubbles we live in become more impenetrable, Ari Shapiro keeps seeking ways to help people listen to one another; to find connection and commonality with those who may seem different; to remind us that, before religion, or nationality, or politics, we are all human. The Best Strangers in the World is a testament to one journalist’s passion for Considering All Things—and sharing what he finds with the rest of us.
The Best Thing About My Ass Is That It's Behind Me
by Lisa Ann WalterActress and comic Lisa Ann Walter offers a hilarious, star-studded collection of essays encouraging women to laugh at what they can't change, enjoy a guilty pleasure or two, and finally accept the lives and the bodies they're in now. The star of shows like Abbott Elementary and movies like The Parent Trap, Shall We Dance, and Bruce Almighty delivers a warm, wry, honest, and effective exhortation to find happiness where you are, in a serenity prayer for today’s woman that’s perfect for fans of Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project, Valerie Bertinelli’s Losing It and Chelsea Handler’s My Horizontal Life.
The Beyonce Effect: Essays On Sexuality, Race And Feminism
by Adrienne Trier-Bieniek<P><P>Since her late-1990s debut as a member of the R&B trio Destiny's Child, Beyonce Knowles has garnered both praise and criticism. While some consider her an icon of female empowerment, others see her as detrimental to feminism and representing a negative image of women of color. Her music has a decidedly pop aesthetic, yet her power-house vocals and lyrics focused on issues like feminine independence, healthy sexuality and post-partum depression give her songs dimension and substance beyond typical pop fare. <P><P>This collection of new essays presents a detailed study of the music and persona of Beyonce--arguably the world's biggest pop star. Topics include the body politics of respectability; feminism, empowerment and gender in Beyonce's lyrics; black female pleasure; and the changing face of celebrity motherhood.
The Big Bands
by George T. SimonGeorge T. Simon introduces you to the big band leaders during the period spanning 1935 to 1946.
The Big Book of Hair Metal: The Illustrated Oral History of Heavy Metal's Debauched Decade
by Martin PopoffMusic journalist Martin Popoff celebrates a decade of heavy metal debauchery in this illustrated history of Hair Metal bands.In the 1980s, heavy metal went mainstream. The dark themes and brain-busting riffage of bands like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple suddenly fell out of favor—replaced by a new legion of metalheads whose themes of girls, partying, girls, drugs, and girls were presented amid shredding solos and power ballads and who were somehow more acceptable to the masses. In this ultimate guide to the subgenre, acclaimed heavy-metal journalist Martin Popoff examines hair metal in an all-encompassing oral history jacked up by a kaleidoscope of outrageous and previously unpublished quotes, anecdotes, photos, and memorabilia.The Big Book of Hair Metal features the observations of dozens of musicians, producers, promoters, label execs, and hangers-on in examining hair metal’s rise and fall as well as all the bands that kept Aqua Net in business through the Reagan recession: Twisted Sister, Bon Jovi, Poison, Mötley Crüe, Ratt, Warrant, Great White, Whitesnake, Cinderella, Vixen, Skid Row, L.A. Guns, Guns N’ Roses, and dozens more. In crafting a narrative of hair metal, Popoff also examines the factors that contributed to the movement’s rise (including MTV, Reagan’s “morning in America,” and a general move toward prudish morals); the bands that inspired it (the Sweet, New York Dolls, Alice Cooper, and KISS, for a start); and the scenes that nurtured it (the Sunset Strip, anyone?). The ride finally ended circa 1991, when hair metal was replaced by grunge, but what a ride it was. Here it is in all of its primped-up glory.
The Big Book of Rock & Roll Names: How Arcade Fire, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Vampire Weekend, and 532 Other Bands Got Their Names
by Adam DolginsThe Big Book of Rock & Roll Names tells the behind-the-scenes stories of how the world’s most popular and influential rock and pop acts got their names. By turns fascinating, funny, and bizarre, the pages offer insight into the peculiar choices and idiosyncratic psychologies of hundreds of top musicians from the 1960s to the present. Originally published more than two decades ago to great success, it’s been out of print for years and has now been completely updated and expanded to feature dozens of exclusive interviews including conversations with groups like The Black Keys, The Killers, Twenty One Pilots, Coldplay, Cage the Elephant, and Vampire Weekend. From Arcade Fire to ZZ Top, this diverting and handsome collection reveals the often overlooked but defining histories of hundreds of the biggest names in rock and pop.
The Big Life of Little Richard
by Mark Ribowsky&“This entertaining, fast-paced biography&” of the legendary singer-songwriter &“will thrill fans of Little Richard and early rock and roll&” (Publishers Weekly). Richard Wayne Penniman, known to the world as Little Richard, blazed the trail for generations of musicians: The Beatles, James Brown, the Everly Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Prince . . . the list seems endless. He was &“The Originator,&” &“The Innovator,&” and the self-anointed &“King and Queen of Rock &’n&’ Roll.&” In The Big Life of Little Richard, Mark Ribowsky shares the raucous story of his life from early childhood in Macon, Georgia, to his death in 2020. Ribowsky, acclaimed biographer of musical icons―including the Supremes, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, and Otis Redding―takes readers through venues, gigs, and studios, conveying the sweaty energy of music sessions limited to a few tracks on an Ampex tape machine and vocals sung along with a live band. He explores Little Richard&’s musicianship; his family life; his uphill battle against racism; his interactions with famous contemporaries and the media; and his lifelong inner conflict between his religion and his sexuality. By 2020, eighty-seven-year-old Little Richard&’s electrifying smile was still intact, as were his bona fides as rock&’s royal architect: the &’50s defined his reign, and he extended elder statesmanship ever since. The Big Life of Little Richard not only explores a legendary stage persona, but also a complex life under the makeup and pomade
The Big Nothing (Neighborhood Novels Ser. #4)
by Adrian FogelinThis sensitive and often humorous book tells the story of an adolescent boy who begins to find himself after the people he has always depended on let him down. Alone. That's how thirteen-year-old Justin feels these days. His older brother Duane has left home, enlisting in the Army, and his father has walked out, maybe for good this time. His mom is too depressed to get out of bed, much less pay the bills and keep food in the refrigerator. And if that's not enough, his best buddy Ben has a new girlfriend and no longer has time to hang out. There's not much left for Justin to do but to put his brain in neutral and slide into the state he calls "the Big Nothing." But slowly Justin discovers he has more resources than he thinks. With the help of his classmate Jemmie and her grandmother, Nana Grace, he learns that underneath all the noisy confusion in his brain lies a talent for music. As he spends time with Jemmie, he begins to understand how simple notes make complex music, and how simple feelings can turn into deep emotions. Award-winning author Adrian Fogelin once again offers readers an emotionally charged story featuring a sympathetic adolescent trying to make sense of the people and world around him.
The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop
by Dan CharnasThe Big Payback takes us from the first $15 made by a "rapping DJ" in 1970s New York to the recent multi-million-dollar sales of the Phat Farm and Roc-a-Wear clothing companies in 2004 and 2007. On this four-decade-long journey from the studios where the first rap records were made to the boardrooms where the big deals were inked, The Big Payback tallies the list of who lost and who won. Read the secret histories of the early long-shot successes of Sugar Hill Records and Grandmaster Flash, Run DMC's crossover breakthrough on MTV, the marketing of gangsta rap, and the rise of artist/ entrepreneurs like Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs. 300 industry veterans-well-known giants like Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons, the founders of Def Jam, and key insiders like Gerald Levin, the embattled former Time Warner chief-gave their stories to renowned hip-hop journalist Dan Charnas, who provides a compelling, never-before seen, myth-debunking view into the victories, defeats, corporate clashes, and street battles along the 40-year road to hip-hop's dominance. Watch a Video .
The Bill Ferris Enhanced Omnibus E-Book
by William FerrisThis Omnibus Ebook for the first time brings together pioneering folklorist William Ferris's books on the music and arts of the South.Included in this ebook are:Give My Poor Heart Ease: Voices of the Mississippi Blues:Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Ferris toured his home state of Mississippi, documenting the voices of African Americans as they spoke about and performed the diverse musical traditions that form the authentic roots of the blues. Now, Give My Poor Heart Ease puts front and center a searing selection of the artistically and emotionally rich voices from this invaluable documentary record. Illustrated with Ferris's photographs of the musicians and their communities and including original music and original film, the book features more than twenty interviews relating frank, dramatic, and engaging narratives about black life and blues music in the heart of the American South.The enhanced ebook edition includes: * Almost 2 hours of video clips and interviews scattered throughout the text* An hour of original music, also imbedded throughout the text* Concludes with the full DVD of original film and full CD of original musicThe Storied South: Voices of Writers and Artists:The Storied South features the voices--by turn searching and honest, coy and scathing--of twenty-six of the most luminous artists and thinkers in the American cultural firmament, from Eudora Welty, Pete Seeger, and Alice Walker to William Eggleston, Bobby Rush, and C. Vann Woodward. Masterfully drawn from one-on-one interviews conducted by Ferris over the past forty years, the book reveals how storytelling is viscerally tied to southern identity and how the work of these southern or southern-inspired creators has shaped the way Americans think and talk about the South.The enhanced ebook edition includes 45 of Ferris's striking photographic portraits of the speakers and original audio and films of the interviews.
The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 9th Edition: Complete Chart Information about America's Most Popular Songs and Artists, 1955-2009
by Joel WhitburnThe Essential Reference Guide to America's Most Popular Songs and Artists Spanning More than Fifty Years of Music Beginning with Bill Haley & His Comets' seminal "Rock Around the Clock" all the way up to Lady Gaga and her glammed-out "Poker face," this updated and unparalleled resource contains the most complete chart information on every artist and song to hit Billboard's Top 40 pop singles chart all the way back to 1955. Inside, you'll find all of the biggest-selling, most-played hits for the past six decades. Each alphabetized artist entry includes biographical info, the date their single reached the Top 40, the song's highest position, and the number of weeks on the charts, as well as the original record label and catalog number. Other sections--such as "Record Holders," "Top Artists by Decade," and "#1 Singles 1955-2009"--make The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits the handiest and most indispensable music reference for record collectors, trivia enthusiasts, industry professionals and pop music fans alike. Did you know? * Beyoncé's 2003 hit "Crazy in Love" spent 24 weeks in the Top 40 and eight of them in the #1 spot. * Billy Idol has had a total of nine Top 40 hits over his career, the last being "Cradle of Love" in 1990. * Of Madonna's twelve #1 hits, her 1994 single "Take a Bow" held the spot the longest, for seven weeks--one week longer than her 1984 smash "Like a Virgin." * Marvin Gaye's song "Sexual Healing" spent 15 weeks at #3 in 1982, while the same song was #1 on the R&B chart for 10 weeks. * Male vocal group Boyz II Men had three of the biggest chart hits of all time during the 1990s. * The Grateful Dead finally enjoyed a Top 10 single in 1987 after 20 years of touring. * Janet Jackson has scored an impressive 39 Top 40 hits--one more than her megastar brother Michael!From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Billboard Guide to Writing and Producing Songs That Sell: How to Create Hits in Today's Music Industry
by Eric BeallBeall, an experienced A&R executive for leading music publishers, has designed this guide for songwriters who want to craft material that will meet the demands of the commercial marketplace. The author uses interviews with successful writers, producers and executives to reveal the secrets that open doors in a very competitive industry, and he has developed practical exercises that will help budding songwriters create the titles, hooks, rhythms and melodies that will appeal to contemporary audiences. A section analyzes the components that allow a song to become a hit such as radio airplay, the science of marketing singles and how to target an audience in advance. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
The Biographical Dictionary of Popular Music: From Adele to Ziggy, the Real A to Z of Rock and Pop
by Dylan JonesThe Biographical Dictionary of Popular Music is an incredible and opinionated collection of celebrated cultural critic Dylan Jones's thoughts on more than 350 of the most important artists around the world—alive and dead, big and small, at length and in brief. This A to Z reference is the true musical heir to David Thomson's seminal The New Biographical Dictionary of Popular Film. Jones writes entertainingly about bands that have inspired, bedeviled, and fascinated him over the years.
The Biographical Dictionary of Popular Music: From Adele to Ziggy, the Real A to Z of Rock and Roll
by Dylan JonesThere are dozens of music encyclopedias, and many are full of career minutiae and critical acuityThey’re also obsessively objective and pathologically comprehensive. The Biographical Dictionary of Popular Music is a book that springs from personal prejudice. Celebrated journalist Dylan Jones works his way through the work of over three hundred fifty of the most important artists in the world—alive and dead, big and small, at length and in brief. From A Tribe Called Quest to Frank Zappa, via Chet Baker, the Clash, Brian Eno, and Gorillaz, with a nod to Quincy Jones, Frank Sinatra, Tame Impala, and Scott Walker. Along the way he discusses the White Man’s Overbite, Aquacrunk, Air Snare, the Brill Building, doo wop, Eel Pie Island, funeral music, and Neurotic Boy Outsiders.Many of the people here have been included because they’re intriguing, and many more because it would have been perverse not to include them. Others are here for different reasons. We know that Julian Lennon will never have as much cultural resonance as his father, but as the child of one of the most influential entertainers of the twentieth century, his story is no less fascinating. And Lloyd Cole might not have built a career as sturdy as Leonard Cohen’s, yet as a tale of unfilled promise, his CV is second to none. “As a critic, the music you like completely informs any objectivity you might attempt about a particular artist—if you’re seeking communion with something, how can you not have an opinion about it? When music moves you, it makes you dizzy, and you’ve got every right to dismiss music that leaves you cold and unmoved. Yes, you might trust the judgment of those whose opinion you respect, but in the end, personal prejudice has to win out.”The Biographical Dictionary of Popular Music is the most opinionated book about music you will ever read.