Does anyone read about musicians?

@jjw Thank you for the recommendations! I only know Warren Zevon for ā€œ Werewolves of Londonā€. Loved ā€œWalk the Lineā€.

I have liked a few music moviesā€¦
ā€œ The Thing Called Loveā€
ā€œA Star is Bornā€
ā€œEmpire Recordsā€

@jjw oh and the movie ā€œhigh fidelityā€.

@roger_holland I find hope in music. It allows people from all different backgrounds to come together peacefully.

I just finished reading The Dirt by Motley Crue. Its a wild ride. I recommend it to anyone interested in seeing the antics these troublemakers got up to during the 80s and 90s. Be forewarned, there is a lot of cursing and vulgarity, so if youā€™re sensitive to that, youā€™ve been given a heads up.

Another book that I read that isnā€™t exactly about individual musicians but musicians as a whole and the music industry in general is Rockonomics. It gives a lot of insight as to relationships between musicians and industry people, how the money flows in the industry, and how important touring is for bands.

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I think a couple of people above may have mentioned it, but I would heartily recommend Keith Richardā€™sā€™ autobiography ā€œLife.ā€ It really is a beautifully written book, equally funny and tragic. He tells fascinating stories about how the Stones came together, how songs were composed and albums were recorded, writes in accessible detail about guitar theory (especially the open G tuning), and discusses his drug use frankly, neither glamorizing his 1970s lifestyle nor moralizing about its excesses and the toll that it wrought.

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Funny you post that Suzie, Iā€™ve seen She Talks to Angels from that concert but didnā€™t know it was part of a wider set, Iā€™ll 100% be checking that out, thank you!

Talks to Angels has been on my learning rota for a while now but I want to do it justice which unfortunately Iā€™m nowhere near yet! Plus itā€™s a damn hard song to sing range wise!

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yeah, great movie. A Star is Born was also really good. I donā€™t think Iā€™ve seen the others you mentioned, I will keep an eye out for them.

Oh, ā€œThe Commitmentsā€ is also a movie I liked when it came out (in the '90s, I think).

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Yeah, there are some hilarious stories in it like the one about the court trial that opens the book.

But it was somewhat telling that one the one hand, he emphasized how he always made sure to use medical grade coke instead of random stuff from the street and was careful about dosing, while on the other hand the tour itineraries were made in a way to make scoring easy.

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Some other titles I like are:

Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music
Gimme Shelter
Dont Look Back
The Night James Brown Saved Boston
Zappa
Long Strange Trip
The Other One: The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir

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Oh, I agree that the contradictions abound. Iā€™m sure there are some embellishments and things that Mick Jagger or others would and have disputed (I think Mick Taylor gets short shrift, for example). But overall, that book helped me to appreciate the Stones even more than I already did. And it was such a fun read!

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@artax_2 Rockonomics sounds like something to read. I was just telling a friend that I wish big bands would play small theatres. They are so much more comfortable and intimate than a stadium full of people. I get they need the cash though.

@TheLightStones A book by Keith Richards would be great because If I remember correctly I have a hard time hearing him when he talks. :smiley:

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@Notter Love that idea! I hear you on doing it justice. I have 2 cds of BC and I need to see if I like whatever the bandmates are doing now.

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Yes, it was informative. Thereā€™s reasons behind every single decision, nothing is without an intent.

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@jjw1 The commitments looks funny! :+1:

Hi JĆ³zsef,
Not so much at onceā€¦then weā€™ll lose Suzanne again for a long time :grin:ā€¦But there are some nice ones in between that i knowā€¦see Zappa last weekā€¦Wow, what a man that was. ā€¦I knew he
was special,ā€¦but this exceeded all my expectationsā€¦ :sunglasses:
Greetings,Rogier

Paul Stanleyā€™s autobiography was a good listen. As was Rob Halfords of Judas priest.

Bruce Dickinsonā€™s was also a good listen as was Gary numans.

Iā€™m on audible app. If you sign up you get your first book or audiobook free. If you donā€™t enjoy the experience, cancel your subscription and you will still keep the book. The are thousands of good books to listen to as well as lots of freebies too. It costs Ā£8 a month.

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Thatā€™s an all time fav music movie of mine. Such joy in the blues music. And I love the line when the trumpeter rode his motorbike to the band audition and announced that ā€˜jesus sent himā€™ and the reply was ā€˜on a suzuki?ā€™

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@suzieq Iā€™ve been a fan for many years, my first proper gig was to see them at Brixton in early 90s on the Shake Your Money Maker tour. Southern Harmony (etc) is their best work imo.

Bizarrely after they broke up I saw Rich Robinson in his ā€œnewā€ band about 8 years ago now which was disappointing tbh. Was great to know theyā€™d got back together.

Great book, a very interesting story, even though the brothers apparently didnā€™t like Steveā€™s take on their career.

Dave seems like a genuinely nice guy. My favourite story of his is still how he played a gig in Australia, flew to US for his daughters school dance and then back to Australia for another gig (and he caught food poisoning somewhere on the way). The audiobook has a bonus chapter at the end, so if you havenā€™t itā€™s worth a listen.

Keith Richardsā€™ and Eric Claptonā€™s biographies are also great reads.

I would definitely recommend three more books.

The first one is Sound Man by Glyn Johns, one of the most well known producers in the history of rock music. Even if you do not like reading, just read the last page, or if you hate reading, read the last sentence of the book. A great closure.
Sound Man

The other two are fictional but hold a lot of valuable advice on music (and life if we want to go deep). The Music Lesson and The Spirit of Music, both written by Victor Wooten.
The Music LessonThe Spirit of Music

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