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Music Books in this online selection represent only a sliver of what we offer in the store. If you've got a particular book in mind and want to check on its availability, call us at 415-362-8193.

<<< 1 2 3 >>>     sort list by title | author Out of the Vinyl Deeps Ellen Willis on Rock Music Ellen Willis, Nona Willis Aronowitz Ellen Willis captures the excitement, danger and kicks inherent in the 60s and 70s NY music scene, creating a passageway back to a long gone era with insights that are disarming, politically charged, and hilarious, while at the same time transmitting... Traveling the Spaceways Sun Ra, the Astro Black and other Solar Myths John Corbett, Anthony Elms, Terri Kapsalis Sun Ra (1914-93) - self-proclaimed visionary extraterrestrial of the "Angel Race," prophetic jazz band leader and composer, and lyrical proponent of Afro-futurism - was one of the most influential figures of twentieth-century music. Though many of his... Just Kids Patti Smith Winner of the National Book Award. Just Kids illuminates the impressive lover of literature that Patti Smith is. Her memoir will be of particular interest to City Lights enthusiasts as she is our quintessential reader, a fan of the Surrealists... Girls to the Front The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution Sara Marcus In the early 1990s a group of friends in Olympia, Washington decided to tell the world what it felt like to be young and female in America. Through consciousness-raising meetings, zine exchanges, and numerous kick-ass all-girl punk bands, with the... Head Hunters The Making of Jazz's First Platinum Album Steven F. Pond ". . . [a] very readable dissection of all the different ways in which Herbie Hancock's 1973 album Head Hunters broke the mould. . . . An entertaining and thought-provoking read." ---Jazzwise Magazine "An important and timely book. Pond's work... A Power Stronger Than Itself The AACM and American Experimental Music George E. Lewis Founded in 1965 and still active today, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) is an American institution with an international reputation. George E. Lewis, who joined the collective as a teenager in 1971, establishes the... The Rest Is Noise Listening to the Twentieth Century Alex Ross In this sweeping and dramatic narrative, Alex Ross, music critic for The New Yorker, weaves together the histories of the twentieth century and its music, from Vienna before the First World War to Paris in the twenties... Delightfulee The Life and Music of Lee Morgan Jeff McMillan One of the most individual stylists of his time, trumpeter Lee Morgan began his professional career in Philadelphia at age fifteen. At eighteen, after a short stint with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Morgan joined Dizzy Gillespie's orchestra, where... The House That Trane Built The Story of Impulse Records Ashley Kahn "A jazz-lover's delight."—Ray Olson, Booklist Noted jazz author Ashley Kahn brings to life the behind-the-scenes story of Impulse Records, one of the most significant record labels in the history of popular music. "Kahn mingles engaging stories... Kind of Blue Ashley Kahn A stunning new edition, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Miles Davis's timeless Kind of Blue, with a new afterword by the author. This acclaimed tribute to the most popular jazz album of all time is now available in a beautiful 50th... Pathways to Unknown Worlds Sun Ra, El Saturn and Chicago's Afro-Futurist Underground, 1954-68 Philosopher, Afro-futurist, and jazz legend Sun Ra (1914–93) constructed much of his complicated public persona during his sojourn in Chicago in the mid-1950s. Working with a still-shadowy underground fraternal organization, Ra amassed a library... R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz, & Country R. Crumb Anyone who knows R. Crumb's work as an illustrator knows of his passion for music. And all those who collect his work prize the Heroes of the Blues, Early Jazz Greats, and Pioneers of Country Music trading card sets he created in the early to-... Please Kill Me The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Gillian McCain, Legs McNeil A Time Out and New York Daily News Top Ten Book of the Year upon its release, Please Kill Me brings the sound of the punk generation to life. Iggy Pop, Danny Fields, Dee Dee and Joey Ramone, Nico, Patti Smith, and scores of other famous and infamous... Punk The Definitive Record of a Revolution Stephen Colegrave, Chris Sullivan Recreating the complete story of the punk phenomenon — including where it came from and what it turned into — Punk is a massive and visually stunning record of five years that changed the world: from 1975 to 1979. Collecting the testimony of... <<< 1 2 3 >>>