Book Musik 048 – Roxy Music’s Avalon (33 1/3) – discussion with author Simon Morrison

Posted on June 15, 2021August 4, 2022 by Book Musik

Tosh and Kimley are joined by author Simon Morrison to discuss his new book Roxy Music’s Avalon (33 1/3). Mention Avalon to diehard Roxy Music fans and you’ll get a wide spectrum of responses, but few would put it at the top of their list even if they like it. However, Avalon (their last studio album), is the band’s most successful album in terms of sales and Morrison is more than happy to defend its brilliance with its lush production and sensuous vibe.

Spotify playlist | Apple playlist

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik 047 – You Lose Yourself, You Reappear: Bob Dylan and the Voices of a Lifetime – discussion with author Paul Morley

Posted on June 1, 2021August 4, 2022 by Book Musik

Tosh and Kimley are joined by author Paul Morley to discuss his new book You Lose Yourself, You Reappear: Bob Dylan and the Voices of a Lifetime. Morley explores Dylan’s development as an artist via his numerous “voices” both sonically and metaphorically from his early beginnings in the late 50s/early 60s to his astonishing release last year of Rough and Rowdy Ways. Dylan is notoriously known as someone who is loath to be pinned down and stay in the same place creatively. Those who are willing to go on the ride with him are more than happy, are in fact grateful, for every twist and turn, and every high and low.

Spotify playlist

Apple playlist

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik 046 – Liner Notes for the Revolution: The Intellectual Life of Black Feminist Sound – discussion with author Daphne A. Brooks

Posted on May 15, 2021August 4, 2022 by Book Musik

Tosh and Kimley are joined by author Daphne A. Brooks to discuss her new book Liner Notes for the Revolution: The Intellectual Life of Black Feminist Sound. Brooks asks: “Who gets to tell the story of Black women who were both performing and producing thought about popular music culture, and how will this story be told?” The vital and influential work of Black female performers, writers, critics, intellectuals and cultural historians has long been neglected, marginalized or lost altogether. Brooks has taken it upon herself to fill in the archives and gift us with this rich history long in the making that will undoubtedly send you down many a rabbit hole to discover even more.

https://www.daphneabrooks.com

Daphne shared this playlist for her book: Spotify playlist

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik 045 – A Band With Built-In Hate: The Who From Pop Art to Punk – discussion with author Peter Stanfield

Posted on May 1, 2021August 4, 2022 by Book Musik

Tosh and Kimley are joined by author Peter Stanfield to discuss his new book A Band With Built-In Hate: The Who from Pop Art to Punk. The Who is a band rife with contradictions and easily one of the most acutely self-aware bands to come out of the British music scene of the 1960s. From recording ads on The Who Sell Out to the rock opera Tommy, The Who explored the vast continuum of what popular music could be. They were anti-intellectual intellectuals who embraced constant change and who weren’t afraid to smash a few guitars along the way.

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik 044 – Carole King’s Tapestry (33 1/3) – discussion with author Loren Glass

Posted on April 15, 2021August 4, 2022 by Book Musik

Tosh and Kimley are joined by author Loren Glass to discuss his new book Carole King’s Tapestry (33 1/3). Carole King is one of the most successful songwriters of the 20th century. From her early Brill Building days writing hits with her first husband Gerry Goffin to this iconic solo album that broke sales and chart records as well as glass ceilings. Glass makes the case that Tapestry was not only the soundtrack to but also part of the engine for the women’s movement. Whether or not you’re a fan of Tapestry, you inevitably love many of her other hits as sung by the likes of Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, The Beatles and many of the early girl groups. Her back catalogue is still being mined regularly by more recent artists solidifying her legacy for many years to come.

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik 043 – Shonen Knife’s Happy Hour: Food, Gender, Rock and Roll by Brooke McCorkle Okazaki

Posted on April 1, 2021August 4, 2022 by Book Musik

Tosh and Kimley are joined by author Brooke McCorkle Okazaki to discuss her new book Shonen Knife’s Happy Hour: Food, Gender, Rock and Roll (33 1/3 Japan). Shonen Knife, a trio of women from Osaka, Japan have been sharing their own special brand of rock and roll since 1981 and are still going strong. Often referred to as a Japanese version of the Ramones, they have expanded far beyond that early comparison. Recording in both Japanese and English, they’ve built a worldwide fanbase. Singing about food is a dominant theme and they’ve found a way to unexpectedly mix cute with cool. Brooke makes it clear that there is no pigeonholing this hugely influential and eclectic band.

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik 042 – The Velvet Mafia: The Gay Men Who Ran the Swinging Sixties – discussion with author Darryl W. Bullock

Posted on March 15, 2021August 4, 2022 by Book Musik

Tosh and Kimley are joined by author Darryl W. Bullock to discuss his new book The Velvet Mafia: The Gay Men Who Ran the Swinging Sixties. Rock ‘n’ roll as we know it would not exist if not for this group of gay men in the U.K. during the late fifties and sixties fondly referred to as “The Velvet Mafia.” Larry Parnes, Brian Epstein, Joe Meek, Lionel Bart, and Robert Stigwood are some of the major players in this book who left an indelible mark on the pop/rock world. At a time in the U.K. when being gay was illegal and when pop music could only be heard from pirate radio stations, they managed to push the needle forward and open up a culture that allowed us all to swing!

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik 041 – Relax Baby Be Cool: the Artistry and Audacity of Serge Gainsbourg – discussion with author Jeremy Allen

Posted on March 1, 2021August 4, 2022 by Book Musik

Tosh and Kimley are joined by author Jeremy Allen to discuss his new book Relax Baby Be Cool: the Artistry and Audacity of Serge Gainsbourg. When Gainsbourg died in 1991, the French mourned the loss of an icon on par with the deaths of Elvis Presley or John Lennon. But outside of France few noticed or knew much about him beyond perhaps his infamous duet with Jane Birkin, “Je t’aime… moi non plus.” Eventually the cult of Gainsbourg began to grow outside of France and he’s become a huge influence on musicians far and wide. This book explores the mythos of Gainsbourg and doesn’t shy away from his often provocative and controversial life.

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik 040 – From Elvis in Memphis (33 1/3) – discussion with author Eric Wolfson

Posted on February 15, 2021August 4, 2022 by Book Musik

Tosh and Kimley are joined by author Eric Wolfson to discuss his new book Elvis Presley’s From Elvis in Memphis (33 1/3). Elvis is a paradox who became the mold for all rock stars to follow. He was the King of Rock in the 50s and then the king of schlock in the 60s but made an impressive comeback with the release of this album in 1969 that reinforced his place in the rock ‘n’ roll pantheon. Going back to Memphis where he started and working at the gritty, down-to-earth American Sound Studio helped him create what is considered by many to be his best studio album.

Links to Eric’s social media:
www.fromelvisinmemphis.com
Twitter: @FromElvisIn333
Instagram: @PresleyDayByDay

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik 039 – She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular Music by Lucy O’Brien

Posted on February 1, 2021August 4, 2022 by Book Musik

Tosh and Kimley discuss She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular Music (Revised and Updated 25th Anniversary Edition) by Lucy O’Brien. Respect! Women have been fighting the pop music establishment since the beginning for just a little bit… Rock ‘n’ rollers like to think they live by their own rules, outside the establishment, but women know that it’s an ol’ boys club on par with cliques of politicians and financiers. So, sisters are doing it for themselves and finding unique ways to assert their creative voices. O’Brien gives us an exhaustive look at the struggles and triumphs of women in the music biz since recorded music started.

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17