Review: Best Music Books of 2012

Subject: Review: Best Music Books of 2012
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 23 Dec 12 - 01:06 PM

The Best Music Books of 2012, by Maria Popova, of the great web magazine, Brain Pickings -- she lists and discusses seven:

How Music Works, by musician David Byrne

*Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning, by neuroscientist Gary Marcus (Mudcat thread here.)

Where the Heart Beats: John Cage, Zen Buddhism, and the Inner Life of Artists, by Kay Larson

*The Carter Family: Don't Forget This Song, by writer Frank Young and illustrator David Lasky (Mudcat thread here.)

Beatles in Comic Strips, edited by journalist and music critic Enzo Gentile

Song Reader, edited & by Beck

Music: Ways of Listening, by composer Elliott Schwartz (not actually a 2012 book)

Any books to add (with links to existing *Mudcat discussion, if any)?

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: Review: Best Music Books of 2012
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 23 Dec 12 - 01:31 PM

a list from NPR's music staff, which overlaps the above with the David Byrne and John Cage titles. None particularly folkie.

a more "roots" oriented list from Engine 45 includes the Carter family graphic novel, also,

*The Southern Journey of Alan Lomax: Words, Photographs, and Music, by Alan Lomax (Mudcat thread here.)

Their "other notable books" include these:

*The Beautiful Music All Around Us: Field Recordings and the American Experience, by Stephen Wade (Mudcat thread here.)

Saved by Song: A History of Gospel and Christian Music, new revised edition. Don Cusic.

Then Sings My Soul: The Culture of Southern Gospel Music, Douglas Harrison. Illinois, 228 pages.

This Land is Your Land: Woody Guthrie and the Journey of an American Folk Song, Robert Santelli

*Pete Seeger: In His Own Words, Pete Seeger. Selected and edited by Rob Rosenthal and Sam Rosenthal (Mudcat thread here.)

---

Here's one to add:

*The New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs, edited by Steve Roud (Mudcat thread here.)

and just came on this one:

Revival: A Folk Music Novel, by Scott Alarik (info here and here)

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: Review: Best Music Books of 2012
From: GUEST,Fred McCormick
Date: 23 Dec 12 - 01:34 PM

God, that's more like it. Plus, most importantly, Dave Arthur's biography of Bert Lloyd.

Subject: RE: Review: Best Music Books of 2012
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 23 Dec 12 - 02:12 PM

oh, yes:

*Bert: The Life and Times of A. L. Lloyd, by Dave Arthur (one Mudcat thread here.)

(I should add, given that the list of all folk music books published in 2012 is probably not that large, I'm not placing great emphasis on the "Best" part of the subject line, but listing all I can find. If you can add a comment, that's great.)

Exploring American Folk Music: Ethnic, Grassroots, and Regional Traditions in the United States, by Kip Lornell (more info here.)

The Littlest Birds Sing the Prettiest Songs: Folk Music Illustrated by Jennie Smith (more info here.)

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: Review: Best Music Books of 2012
From: GUEST,sturgeon
Date: 23 Dec 12 - 03:04 PM

'The Otherworld - Music and Songs from the Irish Tradition'.

The Otherworld

Subject: RE: Review: Best Music Books of 2012
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 24 Dec 12 - 02:28 PM

On Googling on "new book" in the 'Cat for the past year I find:

*British Ballads from Maine Vol. II, edited by Philips Barry, Fannie Hardy Eckstorm, Mary Winslow Smyth (Mudcat thread here.) "The second volume of British Ballads from Maine, missing for 80 years has been found and published by the University of Maine. This is a volume of additional Child ballads and broadsides collected in the 1920's. " With a CD of tunes.

*The Best Anti-War Song Ever Written—a study of "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye", by Jon Lighter (Mudcat thread here.)

*New Book of Pirate Songs, by Stuart Frank. Revised and expanded from the 1998 Book of Pirate Songs. (Mudcat thread here.)

*Liverpool Lyrics - The Book - The Dots!, edited by John Haines & Gerry Jones (Mudcat thread here.)

*The Complete Poetry of Cicely Fox Smith, edited by Charles Ipcar and James Saville. (Mudcat thread here.)

*At Hame Wi' Freedom: Essays on Hamish Henderson and the Scottish Folk Revival, by by Owen Dudley-Edwards, Pino Mereu, Belle Stewart (Mudcat thread here.)

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: Review: Best Music Books of 2012
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 24 Dec 12 - 05:04 PM

and, if you are willing to include re-issues of previously-unavailable classics, there's the Sharp/Karpeles English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians from CAMSCO, who also released the Best Anti-War Song Ever Written, (Lighter) a well as John Garst's study of Delia, and Waltz's Gest of Robyn Hode.

Subject: RE: Review: Best Music Books of 2012
From: Matthew Edwards
Date: 24 Dec 12 - 06:07 PM

I would also recommend Elizabeth Stewart's story Up Yon Wide and Lonely Glen.

An excellent read; an account of her life and her songs, written with the help of Alison McMorland - it gives real insight into this great ballad singer and her Scottish traveller heritage.

Matthew

Subject: RE: Review: Best Music Books of 2012
From: Mark Ross
Date: 24 Dec 12 - 07:46 PM

Stephen Wade's THE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC ALL AROUND US published by the University of Illinois Press in the series MUSIC IN AMERICAN LIFE.
Wil Kaufman WOODY GUTHRIE AMERICAN RADICAL.

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: Review: Best Music Books of 2012
From: Stewie
Date: 24 Dec 12 - 10:47 PM

Expanded and updated reissue: Kip Lornell 'Exploring American Folk Music: Ethnic, Grassroots and Regional Traditions in the United States' University Press of Mississippi - Jackson.

Exploring American Folk Music.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Review: Best Music Books of 2012
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 29 Dec 12 - 06:08 PM

Got Stephen Wade's and Kip Lornell's books in my posts above, but some personal endorsements are always welcome. :-)

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: Review: Best Music Books of 2012
From: GUEST,Australian Guest
Date: 29 Dec 12 - 08:36 PM

'Voicing Scotland: Folk, Culture, Nation' by Gary West.

Subject: RE: Review: Best Music Books of 2012
From: Stewie
Date: 29 Dec 12 - 08:51 PM

My apologies, Becky. I somehow missed your Lornell listing.

Not quite 2012, but published late in 2011, is Sean Burns 'Archie Green: The Making of a Working Class Hero'.

Archie Green.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Review: Best Music Books of 2012
From: Elmore
Date: 29 Dec 12 - 09:20 PM

Wish I'd consulted this list before using up my Amazon gift cards. Some of these books are pretty expensive.

Subject: RE: Review: Best Music Books of 2012
From: oldhippie
Date: 29 Dec 12 - 09:31 PM

The Pete Seeger in his own words book is fascinating.