Book Musik 027 – Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina by Chris Frantz

Remain in Love by Chris FrantzTosh and Kimley discuss Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina by Chris Frantz. Frantz is a founding member of Talking Heads and as the drummer he was half of the rhythm section along with his wife Tina Weymouth on bass. They were at the epicenter of the infamous CBGB scene in 1970s New York along with The Ramones, Television, Blondie, and Patti Smith to name just a few. They broke fresh creative ground on what a rock band could be – quirky, geeky, arty, possibly too smart for their own good and oddly clean-cut but with a twist. Lester Bangs famously said they were so uncool that they were cool. Frantz adds his firsthand perspective on a time in rock ‘n’ roll history of which we can never get enough.

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

Book Musik 12 – Face It by Debbie Harry

Debbie Harry Face It book coverTosh and Kimley discuss Face It by Debbie Harry of Blondie fame, probably the most well-known band from the legendary 70s CBGB music scene in New York. Harry was hugely influential as one of the first women to lead a rock band and has spent most of her life hanging out with the denizens of the creative worlds of NYC. Andy Warhol, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith and Jean-Michel Basquiat are just a few of the intriguing people who show up in this memoir. She has some tales to tell but we were left with the nagging feeling that there’s more to the story than meets the eye.

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

Book Musik Episode 9 – Year of the Monkey by Patti Smith

Patti Smith - Year of the Monkey book cover

Tosh and Kimley discuss Year of the Monkey by Patti Smith. As a punk rock icon, she rocked our impressionable teenage souls and now she’s taking us on a dreamy literary excursion with her latest memoir. Patti Smith may be best known for her groundbreaking albums “Horses” and “Easter,” but we find that her latest writing takes her to an even higher plane. She shares the ups and downs, both personal and global, of the year 2016 – the Year of the Monkey.

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

Book Musik Episode 5: Charles Mingus – “Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Mingus”

Charles Mingus Beneath the Underdog book cover

Tosh & Kimley discuss Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Mingus, the memoir by iconic jazz musician and composer Charles Mingus. Mingus’s memoir is known for its picaresque telling of his childhood growing up in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles and his travels to the California Bay Area as well as his time in New York City. While the book doesn’t give a lot of detail on his musical work or his playing with all the greats of his era, it does give an illuminating perspective on race and growing up and living as a black man in America in the twentieth century. Not to mention his many escapades with pimps, prostitutes and assorted other riveting characters. This book swings like few others!

Listen on Substack or your favorite podcast app

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