Music Zines and Books Thread

#12

Oh yeah, I’ve seen the Presets book in web shops before. Looks great!
Is it just a series of essays / ruminations?

#13

Yes, I guess?
Goldmann interviews eight (quite different) artists or teams who had something to do with instruments presets, tells their story, and focuses on various aspect of presets. Some of these stories were quite unexpected / surprising to me (of course, music means very different things to different people).
The book website has more details about the interviewed.

#14

Can any of you please recommend books and zines about industrial and EBM? Assimilate by S. Alexander Reed is a good one, but these genres seem to live on through interviews and zine articles, not (auto)biographies or academic stuff.

Also, while we are at the topic of zines: I wholeheartedly recommend Myrkfaelni, an amazing Icelandic underground zine with cassette compilations on Icelandic-only music. Weird, lovely and completely on the top of my shopping list.

#15

Just finished reading this one.


Really enjoyed the essay at the beginning and also a nice history of Drexciya at the end. The artist presented in the book are interesting if you like contemporary art practice (and with diverse practice and approaches which is nice for this kind of thematic exhibition).

#16

Also I guess it’s a classic among you folk but David Toop’s book is a MUST READ

#17

Probably my favourites are Energy Flash by Simon Reynolds, a thorough investigation & history of various rave scenes (mainly UK & US), and Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azzerad which is about US punk & hardcore in the 80s and has loads of interesting stuff about bands, labels, business approaches etc.

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Been reading a bit about grime too. Really enjoyed This Is Grime by Hattie Collins & Olivia Rose which is like a photo book with essays and interviews from key players. Just about to start Dan Hancox’s new one which has been well received.

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Also recently enjoyed Viv Albertine & Wiley’s autobiographies.

A history of radical club culture
#18

For the past year I’ve been slowly reading more sociology/cultural studies/anthropology… books on music, 'cause of possible diploma and developed a little digital library of them, but some of them that really left an impression are:

  1. In Defense of Disco - Richard Dyer
  2. Maria Pini - Club cultures and Female Subjectivity

Now I’ve started Attali Jacques - Noise: The Political Economy of Music.

Recommendations highly appreciated.

#19

I thought This Is Grime and The Story of Grime were both really good.

Just finished reading Sound System: The Political Power of Music by Dave Randall, which had some interesting stuff on e.g. the political/rebellious origins of carnival and Adorno’s rather inflexible attitude towards pop (explored in more depth IIRC in Grand Hotel Abyss by Stuart Jeffries). I think I expected a bit more of an insight into contemporary debates about music and politics, but the book’s probably good as an introduction to the topic (and there’s an infinite amount you could write).

I had a look through a book on Umeå hardcore, with lots of great photos of Refused, Final Exit etc, but I’m not sure if it’s available to buy any more. Have also started Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult, which is interesting and talks about the first wave rather than just obsessing about Norway, but it is 600 pages long…

#20

I’ve been slowly working my way through Robert Loss’s Nothing Has Been Done Before:
Seeking the New in 21st-Century American Popular Music, a book of essays regarding the concept of newness/innovation in music. It’s a bit dense at times, but overall very good. Lots of philosophical underpinnings in his arguments even as he analyzes Katy Perry’s Superbowl halftime performance.

Also I read anything I can get my hands/eyes on that Jenn Pelly writes. Her 33 1/3 on The Raincoats’ self-titled was superb. Her writing on the playlistification of music was what first caught my attention and she’s supposedly writing a book about it as well, I think. In the meantime, her Problem with Muzak Baffler salvo and Secret Lives of Playlists WATT piece are stellar.

#21

@pixi “Presets” is a very good and surprising book! Especially when you keep in mind, that so many people want to avoid presets at all and just want to build their own sounds … really enjoyed this :slight_smile:

#22

I ordered the Presets book from Forced Exposure, very excited to dig in, as an avid user of presets myself :slight_smile:

I also recently stumbled across the Swiss magazine Zweikommasieben, which focusses on “contemporary club culture”. Columns, photo essays etc. The latest issue features Terre Thaemlitz, Steve Hauschildt, Laurel Halo, and Nina, among others. Distro is practically non-existant in the US, but I ordered a few back issues from the shop. Really curious to check 'em out.

#23

this book has some very interesting thoughts by Francois Bonnet aka Kassel Jaeger (ina-grm director and i think he also directed those grm reissues for editions mego):


it’s sort of like post-schaeffer thought incorporating insight from ppl like barthes d&g foucault merleau ponty etc

#24

Got a couple of these and can recommend as well.

#25

Always wanted to read this. Also the antithesis of the rather tiring modular trend within recent techno.

#26

Is it an academic style book? Or more easy-to-read novel?
Looking to read more into music, but the thought of reading dense academic work puts me off.

#27

It is academic, but not dense as far as I know and structured around interviews with sound designers (I haven’t read it). Stefan Goldmann is a producer himself as well.

#28

picked up vols 2 and 3 of this a little while ago, shame vol 1 sold out

#29

It’s not hard to read, even for Germans like me.

#30

Really liked Kode9’s Sonic Warfare (Written as Steve Goodman). Also liked Kodwo Eshun’s more brilliant than the sun, but you have to get used to his style. Both books on politics & music
Just finished reading Stevphen Shukaitis’ Imaginal Machines. Though a bit overly heavy in his discourse, it had some interesting parts on music. here’s an interesting quote:

“Organizing to undermine the state, capitalism, and all forms of social domination does not mean that one is faced with a choice between the joys of dancing and reveling and the serious work of class struggle. Far from it, Indeed, if one wants to be a revolutionary, perhaps it is the dancing that one should take more seriously.”

Also just finished reading Mark Fischer’s Capitalist realism and some essays by him. He has a really light writing style and uses lots of more known examples and references. Really interesting stuff…

#31

Co-sign… This is probably my favorite piece of music writing ever. I was so sad he never did another book. Any recommendations for books in this vein?

https://www.versobooks.com/books/2342-more-brilliant-than-the-sun