Fiction Pick of the Week: B-Sides and Broken Hearts

B-Sides and Broken Hearts by Caryn Rose 2011

Ever wonder what happens to those young girls who attend every concert of their favourite band, screaming their lungs out and crying; buy all the music; paper their rooms with posters; and treasure the music forever?  In this semi- autobiographical first novel, Caryn Rose will give you a quick look. 

To Lisa Simon, it’s always been all about the music. ‘Lisa from New Jersey’ is a 30-something computer programmer living in Seattle with her boyfriend Ian, though theirs is not a happy relationship.  Lisa is working one morning and a headline pops up: “Joey Ramone has died”.  How can that be? He was only 49. Email notifications start flooding in.

Lisa’s reaction to the unsettling news sends her on a whirlwind journey back through the stages of her life that brought her to where she is now.

Yes, the story IS about sex, drugs, and Rock and Roll, but not necessarily in that order. This is a heartfelt look inside the music world of the latter decades of the 20^th century, from a Superfan’s perspective. Enjoy!

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: The Tanning of America

The Tanning of America: how hip-hop created a culture that rewrote the rules of the new economy by Steve Stoute 2011
 
Stoute draws from his wide background in the music industry and brand marketing to bring us his thesis that hip-hop music is the major change agent in American society today.

Stoute chronicles how an upstart art form – street poetry set to a beat – came to define urban culture as the embodiment of cool.  His vision of hip-hop’s morphing into mainstream culture allows him to relate to a new generation of thinking. He illustrates his theory through conversations with and reflections on many well known names in this music genre who are driving the change. 

To his mind, the term ‘tanning’ reflects the mingling of racial characteristics to create an homogeneous economic and societal culture. He sees the streets of large urban centers on both coasts as the melting pot for modern American youth; and he sees this new society spreading across the country.

The Tanning of America is one insider’s close look at the changing mores of 21^st century American society and how a new generation interprets their American dream.

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Life

Life by Keith Richards 2010

Surprising things you didn’t know about Keith Richards: he was an only child, loved being a boy scout, enjoys reading, and now lives in Connecticut with his wife of 29 years, Patti Hansen. Even more surprising, this book won the Norman Mailer Prize for distinguished biography.

Appeal Factor: Told in a chatty style, guitarist Keith tells all, well, nearly all in this detailed biography about his years with the Rolling Stones. Richards exhibits an impressive memory even while admitting to a past of “checking out” due to excessive partying and drug abuse.

Also available on audiobook, narrated by Johnny Depp!

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week:The Top 100 Canadian Singles

The Top 100 Canadian Singles by Bob Mersereau 2010

This is a fascinating book that tackles the job of trying to list the top 100 music singles from Canada. Canadians from across the country, famous and just regular folk, took part in deciding what songs were included. The list includes songs from many decades and all types of music. It was lots of fun looking through the list for some of my most loved songs, from Gordon Lightfoot’s If You Could Read My Mind to Blue Rodeo’s Try. Included with each song is a bit of history about the artist and the song. So take a look and see if some of your favourite Canadian musicians and songs are included.