A guide to classical records, of sorts – but one that features older albums all picked by the well-known Japanese writer Haruki Murakami! Murakami is well-known as a lifetime lover of music, which comes through in his fiction, and which is almost more foregrounded in his essays – a ... (Books) read moreBook
A really strange side of an equally strange author – the legendary Haruku Murakami, the Japanese writer whose work has helped redefine the world of fiction in the past few decades! Murakami's known for being an enthusiast whose love for certain things shows up in his work – most ... (Books) read moreBook
A guide to classical records, of sorts – but one that features older albums all picked by the well-known Japanese writer Haruki Murakami! Murakami is well-known as a lifetime lover of music, which comes through in his fiction, and which is almost more foregrounded in his essays – a ... (Books) read moreBook
A very unique book on the Japanese crate-digging scene – one that has a strong focus on DJ Muro, the man who's given us countless great mixes and compilations over the years! The book is in Japanese, and begins with an initial interview with Muro, complete with lots of photos – but it ... (Books) read moreBook
A really beautiful book, and one that's very different than most other hip hop books we've ever stocked – as this well-done volume is a companion piece to a show at the Baltimore Museum of Art – one that looks at the way that hip hop has influenced different strands of art and culture ... (Books) read moreBook
To those in the know, Mike Nesmith has always been way more than a Monkee – a genius at business, a sensitive songwriter, and a guy who's had a hand in so many key moments in music and culture – even if he doesn't always take credit for his work! That understated quality has always ... (Books) read moreBook
Beautiful work from the glory days of the adult film – hundreds of posters that were used to publicize erotic cinema – often themselves a masterpiece in erotic aesthetics! Given that most of the posters were outside the theater, open to the public, there's a fair bit of hide and seek, ... (Books) read moreBook
A Japanese book, but one with a very deep dive into urban soul from the 70s onward – mostly American and European records that together represent a whole new wave of cool, sophisticated R&B! This isn't the deep soul of the 60s – although many of the singers still have a wonderful ... (Books) read moreBook
Fantastic photographs of the Queen Of Soul – images that start from her early years in Detroit, then move to her rise to fame on Atlantic Records in the 60s – and continue with images that follow Aretha well into her later years too! The book mixes together color and black and white, ... (Books) read moreBook
A huge book of oversized posters from artist Juan Ortiz – all based on specific episodes of the 60s sci fi classic Lost In Space – and presented here in a dizzying array of styles! As you can see by the image on the front, Ortiz has a strong eye for retro modes – and throughout ... (Books) read moreBook
(Please Note – The spine has a small remainder mark.)
A fascinating slice of work from the legendary Johnny Otis – the longtime LA bandleader who had such a strong role in the worlds of jazz, soul, and R&B – and who also turns out to be a hell of a writer too! The book is Otis' answer to the Watts riots of 1965 – a mixture of ... (Books) read moreBook
A fantastic volume put together by bassist William Parker, and one that shows his larger connection to cultural activity in general – as it features Parker interviewing four key artists, most of whom are represented here in ways that go far beyond music! The subjects within include ... (Books) read moreBook
Think you know hip hop records? Think again – because if you only know the commercially released and vocal versions of the material, then you only know half the story – because among true collectors, the instrumental wax can be even more in-demand! This book opens up that secret world ... (Books) read moreBook
Amazing photographs from Frank Paulin – a sometimes overlooked talent from mid century – an artist with an amazing eye for juxtaposing an individual and an urban landscape, which is mostly the subject matter of this book! Most of the photographs were shot in New York City in the 50s ... (Books) read moreBook
An interesting look at MTV and its Canadian counterpart, MuchMusic – both of whom are considered back in the glory days, when they still focused on music! Author Kip Pegley traces similarities and differences in both programming and the way the networks interact with a larger cultural milieu ... (Books) read moreBook
A well-titled book from Liz Phair – as it's not a direct narrative of her life and music, as most memoirs tend to be – but instead a set of shorter vignettes, most of which are at crucial moments in her life – told from a backstage, behind-the-scenes perspective – and with ... (Books) read moreBook
A really no-holds-barred look at contemporary hip hop – one that focuses on the way the music continually deals with topics of death, and in a way that's very different than more mainstream concepts that would be found in white America. The author uses Afropessimism and black moralism to ... (Books) read moreBook
If you find the image on the cover as striking as we do, wait until you see what's inside – page after page of brilliant black and white photographs, all taken from the long-running Hamburger Eyes publication – still somewhat young when this book came out, but already clearly a leading ... (Books) read moreBook
That's a famous AC/DC album cover image on the front – and that's a great introduction to the work of Hipgnosis – the legendary British design firm who did a huge amount of work for albums during the classic rock generation! Hipgnosis were one of the first forces to really see the ... (Books) read moreBook
An incredible package – one that brings together four rare publications by Sun Ra – printed words that are every bit as groundbreaking as his music – and which together represent the farther-flung corners of his vast cultural enterprise! The set represents each of the texts in ... (Books) read moreBook
Compelling photographic portraits snapped during the pandemic – done at a distance, as most of the faces here were presented to the photographer via Facebook Messenger – but also given a very organic component, as the camera shot the images through a real-world filter – often a ... (Books) read moreBook
The soundtrack to Valley Of The Dolls is one of the longstanding favorites in the world of vinyl – and the original book and film are even more sensational – covered here in great detail by the author! Stephen Rebello looks at both the initial creation and circulation of Valley Of The ... (Books) read moreBook
A well-done guide to the legendary years of city pop music in Japan – and one that's got way more than the hundred albums hinted at by the title! The book follows the format of other Japanese disc guides – with images of key records in the genre, mostly presented in full color – ... (Books) read moreBook
A beautiful graphic novel from the brush of Lorenzo Mattotti – an artist we first fell in love with for his groundbreaking Fires book back in the 80s, still very much at the top of his game here! The text is penned by Jorge Zentner, and the book marks the first English translation of any of ... (Books) read moreBook
A mighty hefty book – but that's maybe no surprise, as it contains the collected lyrics of the great Lou Reed – from his early years with The Velvet Underground, through his decades of standout solo material! Reed picked up some unique diction during his solo career, but the book is ... (Books) read moreBook
A hefty book on the great Otis Redding – one of the best soul singers of all time, even though he left this planet all too soon! Redding's career on record was less than a decade long, but marked by a huge amount of work – not just time in the studio, with the legendary Stax Records ... (Books) read moreBook
A really great look at the later years of Louis Armstrong's life – that time when he'd moved from being an underground jazz musician to a surprising star of both radio and screen – using his undeniable charisma in ways that really cemented his legend! And sure, there's some folks out ... (Books) read moreBook
A series of essays on the music and creative practice of the great composer, John Cage – material written over the space of 50 years, by a variety of different authors – each of whom look at a key aspect of Cage's theory and influence! The October title is a reference to the journal of ... (Books) read moreBook
A book that's a typographical masterpiece – a look at letters and signs from around the globe, past and present – organized in a wonderfully striking way! The book is part history, and much more about art and graphic design – as it's filled with page after page of really ... (Books) read moreBook
A fantastic collection of images from Times Square, pulled from the years before Disney took over – at a time when the action moved 24 hours a day, and at a non-stop pace! Bill Butterworth was right on the streets during the early 80s – and presents stunning full color shots of a range ... (Books) read moreBook
A wonderfully down to earth book from the great Bobby Rush – southern bluesman by birth, and a key figure on the Chicago scene in the 60s and 70s – with a mighty long story that's told here in words that are very much his own! Co-author Herb Powell helps polish things up a bit, but ... (Books) read moreBook
Neal Samors has given us some very cool books on the history of Chicago over the years, but this book may well be one of the coolest – as it's an overview of famous nite spots, clubs, and other venues that provided entertainment during the postwar years – all presented on large pages ... (Books) read moreBook
A great document of the ever-evolving city of Chicago – one that focuses on key areas and landmarks – initially presented in vintage postcards, often with a few examples of each – then shown in more contemporary photographs too! The book is similar to other projects from the ... (Books) read moreBook
One of the most important books that Jon Savage has ever written – a huge volume that takes all the knowledge, experience, and energy he brought to his work on punk rock, and turns it to the crucial year of 1966! As the title indicates, Savage finds this year to be an important one – ... (Books) read moreBook
We're not normally the biggest fans of hip hop photo books, but this one really does a great job of breaking the mold – by featuring excellent photographs of live performers and their audiences by David Scheinbaum – and interspersing the images with writings by Michael Eric Dyson, Brian ... (Books) read moreBook
A pretty amazing survey of the Cali art scene of the late 70s – served up here in a book that's half essay, half images – with work from dozens of important artists who include Edward Ruscha, Jim Melchert, Charles Gaines, Joe Goode, Patrick Hogan, The Kipper Kids, Hal Fischer, Judy ... (Books) read moreBook
A biography of one of the key creators in comics in the 20th Century – done in the format that he helped pioneer! The book is written in the first person – so more of an autobiography – although writer Tom Scioli provides all the words, and traces Kirby's evolution from a young ... (Books) read moreBook
An unusual little book – one that's partly an instruction guide, but also a great look at the power of posters in the 20th century – filled with historical examples that are used alongside the oversized pages on instruction! The text within is relatively loose and open – ... (Books) read moreBook
A huge book of jazz reviews from the UK – all penned by journalist Chris Searle from the Morning Star – and presented here with a bonus 2CD set of rare material from the UK scene! The CD is really incredible – and is almost worth the price of the package alone – as it ... (Books) read moreBook
The biggest book we've ever seen to focus on the photography of Jamel Shabazz – a Brooklyn photographer who was out on the streets in the glory days of the old school – famous for his work capturing key sides of the early hip hop scene, and plenty of other New York culture as well! The ... (Books) read moreBook
A book that's both a history of legendary singer Eartha Kitt, and a memoir of her daughter – told in a way that's deeply personal, and which gets at a side of Eartha's life that most of us never knew existed! Daughter Kitt Shapiro provides surprising details about Eartha's life as a mixed ... (Books) read moreBook
One of the deepest explorations of the disco era we've come across from author Peter Shapiro – not at all a nostalgic look back, really more of a cultural study that looks into the music and the world around it. Shapiro does a great job of putting it all into perspective, from the social ... (Books) read moreBook
The lovely Jane Birkin is maybe most famous for her late 60s duets with Serge Gainsbourg, but the singer's also got a huge legacy of great music as well – both with Serge and on her own! Author Gary Simons digs deep into the long legacy of Jane Birkin's recordings – from those late ... (Books) read moreBook
One of the most unique books to ever look at the music of Sun Ra – and one that's very near and dear to our hearts, given that the role of Chicago is seen as vital to the development of the music! The book digs very deep into Ra's early years – time that isn't covered in as much ... (Books) read moreBook
A wide-ranging book on soundtrack cultures from around the globe – presented as a series of different essays on the music by a variety of different academic who specialize in film music! Mark Slobin edited the volume, and contributes a few early essays on American film music – ... (Books) read moreBook
We're not normally ones to stock urban fire books here at Dusty Groove – but as you probably know, our hometown is Chicago, a city with a pretty incredible history – part of which is a fantastic fire that burned the whole place to the ground back in the 19th century! This huge book ... (Books) read moreBook
One of the strangest art forms we've ever come across – British Christmas cards that feature a protest message or a statement of social consciousness – collected by the authors over the span of 40 years! The topics here are very wide-ranging, and represent a shifting leftist politics ... (Books) read moreBook
A beautiful combination of words and image – as the poetry of Patricia Smith is combined with vintage 70s photographs by Michael Abramson – the same sort of material that was featured in the Light On The Southside book/album from the Numero Group! This presentation is quite different ... (Books) read moreBook
The title's no lie, as the book is exactly what is promised – a surprisingly cool photo book that documents the laundromats of New York City – conveniently divided up into different chapters for each borough, with the real address of each location as well! Every image has the same ... (Books) read moreBook
Michael Snow —
Photo Centric ... Book Yale University Press, 2014. New Copy ...
Out Of Stock
Michael Snow is a man of many talents – a musician, and maybe most famously a filmmaker – responsible for the structural classic Wavelength, and the early New York Eye & Ear Control – which had a famous improvised jazz score issued on ESP! Yet here, Snow is presented as a ... (Books) read moreBook
An art book on a format that almost never gets is full due – that of the opening credit sequences in cinema – often a whole genre of film unto themselves! Fortunately, the authors correct the big lack of writing on the mode – and offer up hundreds of pages that reproduce opening ... (Books) read moreBook
A unique sort of book – one with both an a-side and a b-side, each of which takes a different approach to The Beatles' classic white album! The first half of the book is an in-depth look at the musical masterpiece – presented with lots of vintage images, reflections on the record by ... (Books) read moreBook
A beautiful recreation of this legendary and short-lived publication – a key voice from the black underground of the late 60s – and one that was a very different look at jazz than the mainstream world of Downbeat! Amiri Baraka was one of the founders and editors, and issued the ... (Books) read moreBook
A huge array of photographs from the golden years of 90s hip hop – all captured within a few short years by Peter Spirer, at a time when he was diving deep into the scene to really document the sort of energy that's made this stretch such a legendary one for the music! These photos are way ... (Books) read moreBook
The first-ever full collection of work from underground comix pioneer Frank Stack – an artist who arguably created the first ever underground comic, and whose work appeared in a variety of publications over the years – from National Lampoon, to some of Harvey Pekar's most compelling ... (Books) read moreBook
Writer Peter Stanfield provides a great case for the year of 1972 as the moment when the third wave of rock and roll came into being – a moment that was especially strong on the London and New York scenes, as artists like Lou Reed, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Iggy Pop, Marc Bolan, and The New ... (Books) read moreBook
Bob Stanley's turned us on to plenty of great music over the years – via countless compilations on Ace Records, Cherry Red, and other labels – but this time around, he's going way way back – to look at the American scene in the early part of the 20th Century! Stanley argues that ... (Books) read moreBook
Writer Paul Steinbeck has already given us a great book on the Art Ensemble Of Chicago – but this time around, he looks at the larger scene from which they came, the groundbreaking AACM moment in jazz, which emerged in Chicago in the late 60s! Steinbeck provides some cultural and historical ... (Books) read moreBook
A hefty paper presentation of the fantastic Smithsonian exhibit of the same name – filled with images from the important showcase at the Museum Of African American History & Culture – and balanced with new essays penned for the book! The book is filled with striking images ... (Books) read moreBook
One of the coolest Japanese disc guides we've ever seen – even if it's one of the most obscure in its approach! The book calls itself one of the first all-genre disc guides – and although it's similar to Japanese books of this nature on funk, jazz, and soul – the approach is much ... (Books) read moreBook
A really great book if you're digging for reggae records – one that features hundreds of listings of albums, both classic and hard to find – each with a small color image of the cover, dates and labels in English, and a small review in Japanese! You've probably seen this format for ... (Books) read moreBook
A wonderful biography of one of the most colorful and significant figures in modern music. There's no need for us to go into the impact Sun Ra's music has made in the realm of the sort of records our pages are filled with – in spite of the mainstream musical audience's ignorance of his vast ... (Books) read moreBook
A long-overdue moment of exposure for pianist Horace Tapscott – one of the greatest creative forces in west coast jazz in the 60s, 70s, and 80s – but an artist whose genius was often kept away from the limelight! That hardly seemed to matter to Tapscott, though – as his legacy is ... (Books) read moreBook
Gary Taxali is an artist with a really great style – a way of taking vintage aesthetics and giving them a more contemporary, underground vibe – maybe a bit like some of the artists associated with Raw magazine many years back, but at a level that makes Taxali's art a lot more versatile ... (Books) read moreBook
A completely hilarious book, and one that maybe makes the best use of computer photoshopping technology that we've ever seen – as Sean Tejaratchi remakes and remixes work from a whole host of familiar sources – and comes up with these really weird and wonderful images in the process! ... (Books) read moreBook
(Note: The book does contain some adult images – and may not be suitable for younger or more sensitive readers.)
A surprisingly beautiful book on the famous 60s radical Jerry Rubin – one that's not only the first-ever look at the man's life, politics, and influence – but one that's also presented in a lavishly visual style that really conveys the crossroads of art and ideas of which Rubin was a ... (Books) read moreBook
An overstuffed edition of the Goldmine Jazz Price Guide – filled with great information! First off – forget the prices in this one, because we hate price guides, and we don't suggest that they actually have any correspondence to the real world – because people buy records at all ... (Books) read moreBook
A surprisingly cool little book – even though you probably hardly need a guide to record collecting! That's the main framework of the book – but the contents inside are a lot more intriguing taken bit by bit – as the volume features all sorts of little sections on the rarest ... (Books) read moreBook
An insanely detailed book on the role of drugs in American music – written by a guy who's already written a fair bit about drugs and culture! This time around, Martin Torgoff turns his eye towards the postwar years – looking at the interwoven landscapes of jazz, underground culture, ... (Books) read moreBook
A well-known book around these parts – and a very important piece of Chicago history! The playful title is no mistake – as Dempsey Travis tells the story of black Chicago through his own history – his youth on the south side, rise as an important African-American businessman, and ... (Books) read moreBook
A crazy idea for a book, but a great one too – and maybe the coolest so far from Jonny Trunk, the man who's given us lots of visual pleasure with his volumes on record store bags, candy bar wrappers, and automobile advertisements! This really beautiful book features four decades' worth of ... (Books) read moreBook
An incredible guide to sound library music around the world – one that features artwork from countless different labels, and brief notes on their history and output! The package is quite unique – not really a discography, not really an art book – but kind of a mix of both – ... (Books) read moreBook
Here's a book that will blow your mind – and your ears as well – a richly detailed look at the way that sound has been used as a weapon – both as a direct force of sonic power, and as a more subtle means of disturbing space and human activity! The writer is as direct as the title ... (Books) read moreBook
A weird and wild take on the traditional Japanese disc guide – one that certainly offers up a range of heavy metal records, as promised in the title – but which also presents sidestreams in punk, jazz funk, and other styles too! As with similar books, the core text is in Japanese, but ... (Books) read moreBook
A detailed look at the "dozens" that long-running African American tradition of trading insults and witticisms – a mode that's influenced music from the blues years onward, with an especially important contribution to the development of hip hop in the contemporary scene! We feared ... (Books) read moreBook
Scott Walker started out as a pop star singing other peoples' lyrics – then he stunned the world when he went solo, and started to create some really amazing songs of his own! The Walker-penned contributions on the first few solo albums are still some of the most revelatory pop of the late ... (Books) read moreBook
We love the work of cartoonist Chris Ware, but we maybe love his Rusty Brown character even more than the rest – as Rusty's an inveterate collector, with the sort of special drive that's plagued us all of our lives! Yet the depth of this volume really matches Ware's more famous character ... (Books) read moreBook
The first 5 issues of the legendary Wax Poetics – the one-and-only genius publication dedicated to the art of crate-digging, aka funky soul & hip hop vinyl archeology – collected in this massive hardcover tome! Anthology Vol 1 tackles the essential chore of bringing those earliest ... (Books) read moreBook
A well done book about the continuing importance of soul and R&B in black culture over the decades – one that begins its journey in the 70s, and moves right up to the present with a key chapter on the music in the post-George Floyd landscape in America! Author Alexander Ghedi Weheliye ... (Books) read moreBook
An album-by-album, song-by-song look at David Bowie in the 70s – in a book that almost offers up album reviews for each Bowie classic, but then breaks the albums down into songs – and has a lengthy passage on each! Some sections are the story behind the song, others deal more with the ... (Books) read moreBook
A gorgeous visual celebration of the legacy of Motown – a huge full-color book that features rare photographs, magazine ads, record jackets, labels, and lots lots more – all presented with a history of the label as well! And yes, there have been plenty of books written about the ... (Books) read moreBook
Photographer John Williams has a great way of capturing people in space – a quality that comes through again and again in this beautiful book of street photography from the late 60s and early 70s – partly shot in his native Sydney, but also featuring images from around the world! ... (Books) read moreBook
We're not usually fans of books on a single album – but in this case, we gladly make an exception – as the creation and circulation of Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue is definitely powerful enough to fill volumes of writing! Author Richard Williams does a great job of exploring this crucial ... (Books) read moreBook
A beautiful picture book on the cinematic legacy of Frank Sinatra – one that's full of color images, movie stills, and lots lots more – with just a bit of supporting text from the author, as well as family members Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra Jr! The main appeal of the book is its ... (Books) read moreBook
A rich overview of the shift in art that took place in the UK from the mid 60s through the late 70s – that moment of new practice and unusual forms that was quickly known as conceptual art, thanks to its mix of theory, politics, and culture! The book offers up a history of the movement, ... (Books) read moreBook
A fascinating look at our fair city of Chicago – a city of neighborhoods, which are often very separate and divided – as you'll discover in this detailed look at four of them by William Julius Wilson and Richard P Taub! The volume follows on Chicago classics like Black Metropolis, but ... (Books) read moreBook
We spent a big part of our lives driving up and the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago – and we still do now, as we circle the city looking for records, books, and food – given that the roadway is the main gateway to the city's south side! So maybe we're a bit biased, but we love this book ... (Books) read moreBook
A weird and wonderful assortment of things from the collection of Andy Warhol – not his own artwork, but a mix of popular culture and special objects that certainly inform his creations! The slight bit of material on the front cover is only the tip of the iceberg – as the huge color ... (Books) read moreBook
The music of Robert Wyatt often comes across with a surprisingly poetic quality – one that finally gets its due here in a well-presented book that mixes words from his songs with images and other writings – most done in collaboration with Wyatt's longtime creative partner Alfie Benge! ... (Books) read moreBook
Dig jazz on the screen? Here's a great book to help you spend your jazz video dollars wisely – filled with reviews by All Music Guide essential writer Scott Yanow! Reviews are Yanow's life, and he really does a great job here of summing up jazz performances both on music-specific videos and ... (Books) read moreBook
One of the most essential discographies we've ever seen – mostly because we own almost none of the records in the book, which makes it an essential volume to use for digging in the crates! This time around, the folks at Rittor – who've given us other great record books over the years ... (Books) read moreBook
A great book that looks not just at the music of Sun Ra, but also the theory behind it – the special take on reality, and interstellar philosophy that made Ra as important a thinker as he was a musician! The music is approached from a theoretical framework that's extremely illuminating ... (Books) read moreBook
Remember the days when hip hop was so underground, it was hard to get pressed on vinyl? And most of the audience wasn't going to play the music on CD – leaving tapes to be the main format to circulate the music back in the underground! This cool volume really digs deep into that musical ... (Books) read moreBook
That's a pretty crazy image on the cover, and there's some pretty crazy images within – as this well-done book looks at the way the BBC conceived of presenting a public, permanent face to its ephmeral broadcast identity in the early 20th century – through the creation of the modernist ... (Books) read moreBook
Images of the Caribbean in many styles – from the striking color image on the front, to vintage black and white shots throughout the book – all at a level that really illuminates the criss-crossing cultures of the island scene! The book's got a wonderfully sharp sensibility – as ... (Books) read moreBook