Books I Would Like to Read (Updated) - Progressive Rock Music Forum

Author

Message

Topic Search

Topic Options

moshkito

Forum Senior Member

Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 16163

Posted: April 15 2016 at 09:29

pianoman wrote:

Codex Seraphinianus.

Though no one can read that, except Luigi himself, if its not just gibberish.
...

I'm actually thinking of getting this ... but these are hard to express and explain and even take an effort to review ... other than say something stupid like ... it's crazy, it's silly ... over and out! Which is kinda sad, and would not really say a whole lot about the art work itself ... Luigi, fits in the same area as Searle and some other great cartoonists, at a time, when it was valuable, a bit more than it is now.

These pictures are always great, and I just wish I had a BIGGGGG ONE for my wall, on a poster or bigger, to impress myself each and every morning, and blow out my friends when they saw it! It would say just about everything about all the CD's and LP's in front of them!

Hahaha ... sorry ... couldn't help it ...

PS: I would also want Roger Dean and Hipgnosis posters on the wall from here to the kitchen! Heck, I would like a whole wall painted that way! Smile

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

moshkito

Forum Senior Member

Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 16163

Posted: April 28 2016 at 09:41

Hi,

Got past one third of the way in the "EUROCK" book by Archie Patterson. It's 1981 that I am reading about right now.

Incredible book, really. If you don't know the years and how so much of this music was referred to, you really ought to hear from the musicians themselves and their plight for some attention. It was pretty much all over Europe and then some.

(Makes me wish there was a book like this about other music's around the world. I can imagine how so many African cultures feel, when so much of their music was taken and turned into "western music" in Europe and America!)

Must read bits: Peter Michael Hamel's discussion in 1980 about music and its cultural threads. Richard Pinhas interview about the music he and others play.

Essential reading for understanding a lot of "progressive" music and its design. I think that we forget how "big" and how "small" Europe is, and how close to each other everyone is, and thus how these cultures mix and interact with one another. Quite visible in the music history, btw. It is massive, on the socio/political relevance of many of these bands, although it never needs to touch the big three at all, and in fact, there are a lot of mentions and bands, and records that were pretty much copied by at least 2 of the 3.

This book, is, by very far, the best historical book on the music ... period. Sadly, it is told with the articles at the time, which is different, and not something that we are used to reading and looking at, but after the first couple of years, it gets better and easier to relate to. But hearing from so many bands, directly, and how disappointed they were that they could not get enough attention, is, to say the least, gut wrenching and very sad, and it helps to see how so many of these things fell apart so quickly ... and then how some commercially presented stuff made it so easily!

For me, it helps define music ... and its desire and need, beyond just "entertainment".

Edited by moshkito - April 28 2016 at 09:45

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

moshkito

Forum Senior Member

Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 16163

Posted: June 11 2016 at 07:49

micky wrote:

Steve WIlson's bio - tentatively titled..

how to become famous, beloved, and make a million all while duping supposedly intelligent music fans with sh*t music LOL

Or even better, Micky ... how EROC can make Steven look like a child playing with knobs!

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

Greys0n

Forum Groupie

Joined: March 28 2016
Location: US
Status: Offline
Points: 44

Posted: June 14 2016 at 07:17

i have so many books in my list that i don't know when i will have time to start it

BaldFriede View Drop Down

Prog Reviewer

Joined: June 02 2005
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 10261

Posted: June 14 2016 at 10:42

pianoman wrote:

Codex Seraphinianus.

Though no one can read that, except Luigi himself, if its not just gibberish.

We actually have that book in our library. I bought it in 1985 after having read an article about it. My parents called me mad because it cost no less than 289 DM, which was almost all the money I got for my school holiday job (I worked in a book store). A figure in comparison: The average gross wage in Germany of 1985 was 35286 DM per year. It is the most expensive book in our library!

BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.

Rednight

Forum Senior Member

Joined: January 18 2014
Location: Mar Vista, CA
Status: Offline
Points: 4807

Posted: June 14 2016 at 12:14

Micky Dolenz's account of his time with the Monkees.

"It just has none of the qualities of your work that I find interesting. Abandon [?] it." - Eno

moshkito

Forum Senior Member

Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 16163

Posted: June 20 2016 at 03:16

Greys0n wrote:

i have so many books in my list that i don't know when i will have time to start it

It really does not matter where you start ... as long as you do.

There is enough satisfying stuff all around ... now if someone could translate that German stuff on Amon Duul ... it would help ... not sure I can learn German fast enough to read it!

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

Slartibartfast View Drop Down

Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator / In Memoriam

Joined: April 29 2006
Location: Atlantais
Status: Offline
Points: 29625

Posted: June 21 2016 at 11:37

For any of you XTC fans out that may not be aware of it, there is a collection of interviews with Andy Partridge that's a really good read called Complicated Game.

Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

progaardvark View Drop Down

Collaborator

Crossover/Symphonic/RPI Teams

Joined: June 14 2007
Location: Sea of Peas
Status: Offline
Points: 48752

Posted: June 21 2016 at 11:56

BaldFriede wrote:

We actually have that book in our library. I bought it in 1985 after having read an article about it. My parents called me mad because it cost no less than 289 DM, which was almost all the money I got for my school holiday job (I worked in a book store). A figure in comparison: The average gross wage in Germany of 1985 was 35286 DM per year. It is the most expensive book in our library!

Costly, but sounds like it was a wise investment, both financially and for enjoyment. I believe the original 1981 Italian edition published in 2 volumes can fetch between $4000 and $7000 depending on condition. The other editions published in 1983 aren't that far behind. That's from a quick scan of AbeBooks.com.

I think there is a more affordable Rizzoli edition published a few years ago. But for those of us that can't afford this, there is a scan of the one published by Abbeville Press here: http://www.principiadiscordia.com/downloads/CodexSeraphinianus.pdf

Still, the physical book is probably many times better to look at than a scan. I wonder if Serafini was inspired by the Voynich manuscript?

----------
i'm shopping for a new oil-cured sinus bag
that's a happy bag of lettuce
this car smells like cartilage
nothing beats a good video about fractions

moshkito

Forum Senior Member

Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 16163

Posted: June 23 2016 at 23:55

Slartibartfast wrote:

For any of you XTC fans out that may not be aware of it, there is a collection of interviews with Andy Partridge that's a really good read called Complicated Game.

I would be interested in this ... always enjoyed that band and their attitude towards music.

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

moshkito

Forum Senior Member

Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 16163

Posted: June 24 2016 at 00:00

Hi,

Been reading a book on the Jefferson Airplane, and while it is nice to read a few things, in many ways, it is also a very sad book. You get to appreciate and hate the flower scene, and how people that were associated with it, also came to hate it, and then how their own music suffered as a result.

The book is very good, but man ... it really hits the guts at time, and you can't help feel that a part of you has been left behind. Your innocence, or ignorance, I guess ... something that is very scary for all of us. I'll post a review when done.

One thing ... not sure I am enjoying the antics, even by someone like Grace Slick, which I have found distasteful in some cases, but that's like saying that other artists did not do the same thing, and we know they did!

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

Atavachron View Drop Down

Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: September 30 2006
Location: Pearland
Status: Offline
Points: 64353

Posted: June 24 2016 at 03:39

^ Yes it was a very contradictory time; peace & love one minute, deceit and treachery the next. All it took was one idiot or bad acid trip and the whole thing was shot.

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy

moshkito

Forum Senior Member

Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 16163

Posted: June 24 2016 at 10:11

Atavachron wrote:

^ Yes it was a very contradictory time; peace & love one minute, deceit and treachery the next. All it took was one idiot or bad acid trip and the whole thing was shot.

My favorite part always was when the family moved to Santa Barbara, from Madison, WI in 1972, and it only took me 5 minutes to find that long hair was a fad, and smoking dope meant you were cool, and could stay at the party.

Time to leave and get rid of the hair! And Santa Barbara, was probably worse. And it is not getting better. 10 years ago, when I visited mom, I stopped at Safeway for a few things, and I had one of those Univision baseball caps on which I got at work (Cable Company), and the sneer and comment from the person behind me was ... look at that ugly spic!

Cool and fauxplasticrich hip ... your perfume is cheap and smells like ...... ! It was bad, and 40 years later, it only got worse. No respect. No education. For me, it was the main reason why California is long dead, and needs to die more so some of these vermin, leave for the South Pole.

The book is bringing up a lot of those things to mind, and it's hard to not sympathize with Grace's wit and sometimes over bearing comments. She was not wrong, even in saying it.

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

moshkito

Forum Senior Member

Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 16163

Posted: October 26 2017 at 09:36

Hi,

(updated 10/26/2017 as new post)

Andy Partridge

"Complicated Game". So far very interesting and fun read. In the vein of Robert Wyatt kind of fun reading and humor. And he knows his music history, too! Kinda hard to write about this one, and I have not figured out how to do it yet. Can not find a way to write a decent review of this book. Am planning on re-reading it, but since it is a one song at a time thing, there is a lot of the early stuff I do not know.

Jerry Garcia

Book by his friend, that details Jerry's trip. Very nice book, though you know that it will come to an end sadly. Very nice book all around, and it really goes deep into the history of the area, with the folks ... difficult to review for me, though, as that is one scene I do not really know enough about and I did not follow or listen to Hot Tuna and the other bands mentioned. Lately, listening to some of the early GD, really brings out, how good a guitarist he was ... I may have to re-read this in order to review it, but his drug addictions are really hard to take and ... work through.

Meatloaf

Interesting and curious on this one, for a guy that is as good a singer as he is an actor, but I think he got spoiled by rock music and the attention, to give the stage more time. Curious to read it and see what he says, but I have a feeling he won't say much about the stage.

Very interesting and FAST read and lots of fun. Still working on a review of it, but it may be difficult since he looks at singing like an actor does his script and this is something that a "progressive" audience is not likely to get or understand, because it's not rock'n'roll.

Klaus Schulze - By Greg Allen
Exhaustive listing all the way to 2007 and is as complete as you will ever find, and reviews every single album. Not sure that I can review that fairly and as detailed as this work was. Trying to write this one. The words for writing this are not coming. The whole book is an album review, more than anything else.

Got a Revolution - The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane
Strong record of the SF scene, just like the Garcia book, as it pretty much shows how the whole thing started and came to fruition, and one of the groups that was at the forefront of it all. Strong read, although many folks will not like the many moments that Grace Slick was out of control (so it seems), but in the end, the point was made, and the group maintained and survived. Also a great history of Hot Tuna. Tough book to review, as it is not really a "positive" look at the whole thing, and it has a tendency to say that Grace was just a bitch!

Nick Mason
Finished ... working on a review. Not sure I can review this as heavy as the book is, btw! Tongue

Not planning on reviewing this ... for me it has nothing new, really, since I was around since 1972 and a lot of this I had seen, and catching it on a book, creates an inner feeling that ... something is wrong here. There are, a couple of comments Nick makes that seem to explain a thing or two, but in the end, they still will not explain the making of WYWH and putting it out before they did ANIMALS. The two rockers were excellent and vibrant. The material that became WYWH was nice, but not half as well put together and interesting as what they did, and then made fun of the record company by having someone sign the hands of a devil (man on fire), and having a song putting down the very machine that paid them millions. AND after that a very cynical song sung by Roy Harper, that should have been on a Roy Harper album, not a PF album!

Too many ... missing too much in between ... and I think that sometimes things were done just because people could see the direction and the thread.

Tangerine Dream
We finally have a deadline for Edgar Froese's book. On his birthdate next year. It's review should be fun! A deadline that has been delayed forever, but the book is now out as of 09/29/2017, but is subject to the turtle delivery system, and it took almost 4 weeks for them to make it to the country next to them, which means that it will be another 4 to 5, maybe 6 months before it gets here to the American West Coast ... does the West Coast have ANY folks that love TD? I doubt it, sometimes!

A few other things:
Still trying to get Daevid Allen's CD/DVD's of him talking about his early days, but they seem to be impossible to get and one of them was on sale for over $200 ... way over my head and budget! Mine is the used book variety for the most part, or I can't get anything!

Kinda running dry of reads lately, but sadly some of that German stuff is not getting translated, so I'm out of luck on those German books, Italian books and (probably) Japanese books. A compiled book with the stuff from the videos from YMO and Sadistic Mika Band, would be an interesting thing. Ryuichi, seems to have a lot of material and videos on the tube and for all intents and purposes these make a nice bunch of chapters, and my favorites are actually his solo piano stuff, and that is yet another thing that is more than just the progressive/experimental material that he was doing.

Edited by moshkito - October 26 2017 at 09:37

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

Squonk19

Forum Senior Member

Joined: April 03 2015
Location: Darlington, UK
Status: Offline
Points: 4706

Posted: October 26 2017 at 17:53

Just ordered Greg Lake's autobiography - Lucky Man - and going to hold off reading it until the Christmas break - when I've got no lesson planning or book marking for a couple of weeks, and can snuggle into a comfy armchair with some ELP and King Crimson in the background - and maybe an Islay single malt by the side......hmmmmm!

Keep meaning to give Smallcreep's Day another go - having run out of steam after a few chapters a few years ago. Not sure if I'll find it has a profound message, or just a rather quirky, unsatisfactory finale?

Edited by Squonk19 - October 26 2017 at 17:57

“Living in their pools, they soon forget about the sea.”

Rednight

Forum Senior Member

Joined: January 18 2014
Location: Mar Vista, CA
Status: Offline
Points: 4807

Posted: October 27 2017 at 15:36

moshkito wrote:

micky wrote:

Steve WIlson's bio - tentatively titled..

how to become famous, beloved, and make a million all while duping supposedly intelligent music fans with sh*t music LOL

Or even better, Micky ... how EROC can make Steven look like a child playing with knobs!

Or "How Can I F' Up Someone Else's Music With a Remaster."

"It just has none of the qualities of your work that I find interesting. Abandon [?] it." - Eno

moshkito

Forum Senior Member

Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 16163

Posted: October 28 2017 at 12:14

Rednight wrote:

moshkito wrote:

micky wrote:

Steve WIlson's bio - tentatively titled..

how to become famous, beloved, and make a million all while duping supposedly intelligent music fans with sh*t music LOL

Or even better, Micky ... how EROC can make Steven look like a child playing with knobs!

Or "How Can I F' Up Someone Else's Music With a Remaster."

In case no one knows, Eroc is the name of the drummer for the Grobbschnitt band and he has a few solo albums and they are very good. It appears he is/was the engineer (for the most part) of all things Grobbschnitt, and the remastered "Solar Music Live" is worth having for 2 or 3 or 4 different versions of the same thing, and the recording side of it is really clean. I like, specially, Erig (Eroc's) transitions in drumming ... some folks simply count 8 or 16 beats to get started, and I like to joke that Eroc starts his transition yesterday ...

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

moshkito

Forum Senior Member

Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 16163

Posted: October 29 2017 at 22:28

Squonk19 wrote:

Just ordered Greg Lake's autobiography - Lucky Man - and going to hold off reading it until the Christmas break - when I've got no lesson planning or book marking for a couple of weeks, and can snuggle into a comfy armchair with some ELP and King Crimson in the background - and maybe an Islay single malt by the side......hmmmmm!

...

I'm planning on getting this, although I was (probably) one of the first to get the two solo albums he had when he first went alone, and I loved the first one with the two huge anthems in them, and then the 2nd album was a total wash down of every thing, and a great disappointment ... sorry , I was into Bob Dylan the whole time, and the far out music is not interesting to me ... kind of thing.

It was nice to see him, though I never caught him in concert, finally go back and be able to perform some of the great things he sang way back, going all the way back ... even if the renditions were not great themselves, at least they stood up lyrically. Compare some of these with KC doing some of these things recently, and it is quite different.

I always thought that Greg was more of an actor saying his words in a lot of the stuff he did, from the very early days, but I think that the rock'n'roll media thing got to him, and he tried the conventional singing thing and did not make it sound OK. Some will say, there is no difference, but there is ... ask Meatloaf about that ... "I'm an actor singing!"

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com