Books — In Stock — Books (LPs, CDs, Vinyl Record Albums) -- Dusty Groove is Chicago's Online Record Store
Skip navigation
Scripting is disabled or not working. dustygroove.com requires JavaScript to function correctly.
Style sheets are disabled or not working. dustygroove.com requires style sheets to function correctly.

Books — In Stock — Books

XA special selection of disc guides and discographies, music history, record art books, graphic novels, and some nicely-priced remainders!

$




Items/page

Sort by
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Akuseru KomyunikeshonzuJapanese City Pop – Disc Collection Revised ... Book
Tankobon (Japan), 2020. New Copy ... $28.99 36.99
A great way to dive into the world of city pop music from Japan – that big flowering of new sounds and fresh ideas that really marked a key creative moment on the scene from the early 70s onward – a huge legacy that's only getting appreciation in recent years by English-speaking ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Viv AlbertineClothes Music Boys (hardcover) ... Book
Thomas Dunne, 2014. New Copy ... $8.99 27.99
You might know Viv Albertine as a member of The Slits – and that role enough would be more than enough to make this book exciting – but Albertine also gives us a surprisingly rich, surprisingly long tapestry of her life in music – one that begins years before The Slits came ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Viv AlbertineTo Throw Away Unopened (hardcover) ... Book
Faber, 2018. New Copy ... $4.99 24.99
A book that's even more powerful and personal than Viv Albertine's previous volume – and certainly one that's more so than her famous work in The Slits – a late life meditation on the continuing struggles and challenges of life, with topics that range nicely far from just music and ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Clifford AllenSingularity Codex – Matthew Shipp On Rogue Art ... Book
Rogue Art (France), 2023. New Copy ... $21.99 27.99
A really beautiful book, and one that's quite different than most other jazz books we can think of – in that it approaches its main subject matter from many different directions, in a way that actually proves to be more illuminating overall! As the title implies, the book looks at the huge ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Dorothy BakerYoung Man With A Horn (softcover) ... Book
Nyrb, 1938. New Copy ... $4.99 15.99
Maybe one of the best – and one of the first – works of fiction to deal with a jazz musician – a really wonderful piece of work from writer Dorothy Baker, served up in a way that's part pulp, part noir, part JD fiction – but served up at a level that also echoes the more ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Steve BergsmanI Put A Spell On You – The Bizarre Life Of Screamin Jay Hawkins ... Book
Feral House, 2019. New Copy ... $12.99 17.95
Screamin Jay Hawkins is best-remembered for his crazy R&B tune "I Put A Spell On You" – a wild track from the postwar years – and it turns out that the man himself has had a life that's equally wild over the years, served up here by author Steve Bergsman, pulled from ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Blank FormsBlank Forms 09 – Sound Signatures ... Book
Blank Forms, 2023. New Copy ... $17.99 25.00
A hefty journal that's almost bigger than a book – 300+ pages, all delivered with the kind of well-penned text and really compelling subjects that always makes Blank Forms such a winner! This time around, there's a very long interview with Detroit underground legend Theo Parrish – ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
David Blot & Mathias CousinSong Of The Machine – From Disco To DJs To Techno – A Graphic Novel Of Electronic Music (hardcover) ... Book
Black Dog & Leventhal, 2019. New Copy ... $6.99 24.99
A really cool project, and one that's even cooler than you might guess from the title – as the graphic novel is a very well-done exploration of key strands of electronic music – starting with the early years, moving through disco, Chicago House, Detroit Techno, and beyond – all ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Jacques BoyreauSuperTrash – Hermaphro Chic, Movie Fetish, 21st Century Anxiety ... Book
Fantagraphics, 2014. New Copy ... $5.99 29.99
A book that's way more compelling than you'd guess from the title and the cover – especially if you love the lower-reaches of pop culture from the 70s! The book features an essay by the author, but is primarily a random combination of images from a huge host of lesser-known material from the ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Cisco BradleyUniversal Tonality – The Life & Music Of William Parker ... Book
Duke University Press, 2021. New Copy ... $21.99 30.95
A huge book on the equally-huge creative legacy of bassist William Parker – a musician who first arose in the loft jazz scene in New York during the 70s, but who's gone on to be one of its greatest surviving players, and one who's transformed the inspirations of that world into so many ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Paul BuhleJews & American Comics – An Illustrated History Of An American Art Form (hardcover) ... Book
New Press, 2008. New Copy ... $5.99 29.95
A rich overview of the role of Jewish creators in American comics – from the early days of the art form, through important 60s and 70s underground years, to some of today's best indie moments! The book features plenty of images – from the likes of Art Spiegelman, Will Eisner, Robert ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Terry BurrowsArt of Sound – A Visual History for Audiophiles ... Book
Thames & Hudson, 2017. New Copy ... $34.99 50.00
A beautiful book of images – not just for record lovers, but for all fans of sonic delights – as the author starts from the earliest days of recorded sound, then moves up through decades of representation – following images of record players, radios, cassette tapes, albums, 78 ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Terry Burrows & Daniel MillerMute – A Visual Document ... Book
Thames & Hudson, 2017. New Copy ... $31.99 45.00
Mute Records was one of the most striking British labels of the post-punk years – second maybe only to Factory Records for the way it mixed art and design to package modern music – a legacy that began with the label's very first 45, and continued through countless great albums and ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Gavin ButtNo Machos Or Pop Stars – When The Leeds Art Experiment Went Punk ... Book
Duke University Press, 2022. New Copy ... $19.99 27.99
The rise of punk is usually tied to the scene of the Sex Pistols and others up in London – but right from the start, there was plenty happening up in Leeds – a scene that gave the world Gang Of Four, The Mekons, Soft Cell, Scritti Politti, and other key acts from the end of the 70s! ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
David Byrne & Maira KalmanAmerican Utopia (hardcover) ... Book
Bloomsbury, 2020. New Copy ... $4.99 24.00
Many years back, we always thought that David Byrne should have written a children's book – a volume to convey the best themes of some of the Talking Heads tunes to a younger, impressionable generation. And while that never actually happened, this beautiful edition of work released in ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Robert CataliottiDrumsville – The Evolution Of The New Orleans Beat ... Book
Louisiana State University, 2022. New Copy ... $27.99 39.99
A book that's as lively as the image on the cover – one that traces the role of drums and percussion in the music of New Orleans – following a legacy that runs from the 19th century all the way up to contemporary sounds as well! If you know the sounds of Nola, you know that the drum is ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Robert ChristgauGoing Into The City – Portrait Of A Critic As A Young Man – A Memoir ... Book
Dey St, 2015. New Copy ... $4.99 15.99
Robert Christgau is one of the coolest music writers of all time – a hugely important force for decades, through his work in the Village Voice – where he helped shape acceptance and understanding of generations of new sounds – and a contributor to other publications and broadcast ... read more Book
(Spine has a remainder mark.)

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Philip ClarkDave Brubeck – A Life In Time (hardcover) ... Book
Da Capo, 2020. New Copy ... $6.99 30.00
Journalist Philip Clark spent a good deal of time with piano legend Dave Brubeck in his later years – then did a really wonderful job of going backwards, and putting together all the many pieces of Dave's musical puzzle! There's no doubt that Brubeck was one of the most important jazz ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Daniel ClowesMister Wonderful – A Love Story (hardcover) ... Book
Pantheon Books, 2011. New Copy ... $5.99 19.98
One of the most heartbreaking stories we've ever read from Daniel Clowes – penned with a sense of pathos we never would have expected during his Ghost World years! The book has a great format – long sideways, like a newspaper comic strip – and Clowes' pages alternate between ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
John CorbettPick Up The Pieces – Excursions In 70s Music (hardcover) ... Book
University Of Chicago, 2019. New Copy ... $25.99 30.00
Writer John Corbett has given us words on a huge variety of musical styles over the years – a fair bit of them left field and avant – but this time around, he's tackling the full range of 70s rock, pop, and soul music – in a huge book that's unlike anything he's ever written ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Youssef DadudiMonk – Thelonious, Pannonica, &The Friendship Behind A Musical Revolution (hardcover) ... Book
First Second, 2018. New Copy ... $5.99 24.99
The baroness Pannonica De Koenigswarter was a key supporter of New York bop musicians in the postwar years – referenced in tunes like "Nica's Tempo", "Pannonica", and other classics – and a was also a friend to a number of important figures, including Thelonious Monk! ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Bill DahlArt Of The Blues – A Visual Treasury Of Black Music's Golden Age (hardcover) ... Book
University Of Chicago, 2017. New Copy ... $29.99 35.00
Way more than just another book of album cover art – as this impressive volume presents countless images from the evolution of blues music in the 20th Century, alongside detailed writings that also try to explore visual trends, tropes of representation, and the larger role of the music in an ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Robert DardenNothing But Love In God's Water – Black Sacred Music From Sit-Ins to Resurrection City (hardcover) ... Book
Pennsylvania State University, 2016. New Copy ... $4.99 34.99
Things really heat up in this second volume of Robert Darden's look at the rise of gospel in America – as he traces the music's journey from the pulpit to the public, from praise to protest – and really illuminates the power that gospel and its inspiration brought to black identity from ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Robert DardenNothing But Love In God's Water – Black Sacred Music From The Civil War To The Civil Rights Movement (hardcover) ... Book
Pennsylvania State University, 2014. New Copy ... $4.99 10.99
Part one of a massive two volume set that looks at the growth and change in African American sacred music from the Civil War onwards – shifts that occurred for years before the music became to be known as gospel, but with an ear towards all those elements that would really come to the ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Anna Mia DavidsonCuba – Black & White (hardcover) ... Book
Steidl (Germany), 2015. New Copy ... $8.99 60.00
Beautiful black and white photographs of contemporary Cuba – most shot at a level that really gets at the timeless quality of life in the nation after the US and west have left it behind! The images are from both urban and rural locations, and do a great job of getting past some of the ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Gene DeitchCat On A Hot Thin Groove – 78rpm Artwork From Record Changer Magazine (softcover) ... Book
Fantagraphics, 2013. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
An amazing collection of 40s and 50s jazz drawings by Gene Deitch – the complete anthology of his work for legendary jazz magazine Record Changer! Gene was an amazing artist and cartoonist, whose work helped solidify the legacies of some of the most famous cartoon characters in the American ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Renee Hytry DerringtonFormica Forever ... Book
Metropolis, 2013. New Copy ... $4.99 39.99
Formica may seem like an everyday surface to some – but at the time of its creation, it was a pretty revolutionary development – one that allowed household and business spaces to step free from longer-term care – giving the workers and residents lots more time to pursue their ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Philip K DickPhilip K Dick's Electric Dreams Vol 1 ... Book
Gollancz (UK), 2017. New Copy ... $6.99 11.99
Fantastic fiction from one of the all-time greats – a special selection of short stories by the legendary Philip K Dick, brought together in conjunction with the anthology series inspired by these tales! Each of these stories is the basis for a different episode of the show Electric Dreams ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Jim DineThis Goofy Life Of Constant Mourning (hardcover) ... Book
Steidl (Germany), 2004. New Copy ... $15.99 50.00
A book that's a piece of art in an of itself – as it's the only way these different strands of creative activity from artist Jim Dine could have come together! The approach is unusual – the book is something of a poem, but created from words that Dine wrote on various surfaces in ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
DJ SemtexHip Hop Raised Me – Updated Edition ... Book
Thames & Hudson, 2022. New Copy ... $31.99 45.00
One of the most lavish, loving books on hip hop that we've ever seen – a huge volume that manages to be a history of rap music, a photo book, a guide to key albums, and also a personal journey as well – all served up with a vivid, non-stop array of images that make the whole thing even ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
John Doe with Tom DesaviaMore Fun In The New World (hardcover) ... Book
Da Capo, 2019. New Copy ... $6.99 14.99
A look at the important second chapter in the LA punk scene – the years 1982 through 1987 – examined in great detail by John Doe, who was very much on the spot as a member of the band X! Doe gets help from writer Tom Desavia, and both open the door to contributions from a whole host of ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Brian DohertyDirty Pictures – How An Underground Network Of Nerds, Feminists, Misfits, Geniuses, Bikers, Potheads, Printers, Intellectuals & Art School Rebels Revolutionized Art & Invented Comix (hardcover) ... Book
Abrams, 2022. New Copy ... $6.99 30.00
One of the best books we've ever read on any sort of creative scene and cultural moment – a superbly-penned account of the rise of underground comix in the 60s, and the growth and changes of the movement in the decades that followed! Author Brian Doherty makes the scene come alive in ways ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Rob DrewUnspooled – How The Cassette Made Music Shareable ... Book
Duke University Press, 2024. New Copy ... $18.99 26.95
A great look at a format that was very near and dear to our hearts back in the day – especially in the pre-digital world, when the cassette tape was the easiest way to circulate music! As you can guess from the title, the author takes this topic and really runs with it – showing how ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
WEB DuBoisBlack Lives 1900 – WEB Du Bois At The Paris Exposition ... Book
Redstone Press (UK), 2022. New Copy Book ... $24.99 35.00
A fantastic slice of work from WEB Dubois – materials showcased at the Paris Exposition of 1900, in a special exhibit in which Dubois tried to convey the reality of black life in America to a larger international audience! The materials include a number of handmade charts, graphs, and maps ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Tony FletcherAll Hopped Up & Ready To Go – Music From The Streets Of New York 1927 to 1977 (paperback) ... Book
Norton, 2009. New Copy ... $7.99 18.95
A huge testament to the power of New York City in American music – especially during those 20th Century years when the city was able to foster scene after scene, style after style – serving as a launchpad for sounds that would forever transform the world! The book looks at Latin, bebop ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Ralph J GleasonMusic In The Air (hardcover) ... Book
Yale University Press, 2016. New Copy ... $6.99 30.00
Ralph J Gleason might just be one of the coolest cats to ever write about music – a key part of the San Francisco scene during the postwar years – where his talents helped illuminate both the worlds of art and music during the beat generation – then really helped shine a spotlight ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Matthew GoodyNeedles & Plastic – Flying Nun Records 1981 to 1988 ... Book
Third Man, 2022. New Copy ... $27.99 39.99
A hugely detailed look at one of the hippest rock labels of the 80s – New Zeland's Flying Nun Records, an imprint that also had a huge impact on the rest of the world at the time! Flying Nun were key in helping guitar-based sounds get past the modes of the punk and post-punk years – ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Paul GormanStory of The Face – The Magazine That Changed Culture ... Book
Thames & Hudson, 2017. New Copy ... $34.99 50.00
A loving look back at The Face – one of the most important British magazines of the 80s – and a key outlet for music, style, and all things that had to do with the cutting edge of culture! The Face was a beautiful publication that combined art and criticism – all with a very left- ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Paul GormanWild World Of Barney Bubbles – Graphic Design & The Art Of Music ... Book
Thames & Hudson, 2022. New Copy ... $31.99 45.00
You may not know the name of Barney Bubbles, but you're likely to have seen his artwork – important images that graced key records in the post-punk years – vinyl from Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Devo, Hawkwind, and dozens of others – all presented here in very vivid color! Bubbles ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Steve GuarnoriAll Platinum – Making Of A Sound ... Book
Stephen Guarnori (UK), 2023. New Copy ... $74.99 89.99
An insanely fantastic book on one of our favorite record labels of all time – the All Platinum family of labels from the New Jersey scene of the late 60s/early 70s – a precursor to the later Sugar Hill hip hop empire, and home to The Moments, Whatnauts, and countless other great groups! ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Peter GuralnickLooking To Get Lost – Adventures In Music & Writing (hardcover) ... Book
Little Brown, 2020. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
Peter Guralnick has written some mighty big, career-defining books on key figures in music – but from the start, we've always loved his shorter pieces the best – the kind of work we first fell in love with in books like Sweet Soul Music and Lost Highway! And if you dig his shorter ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Agustin Gurza/Jonathan Clark/Chris StrachwitzArhoolie Foundation's Strachwitz Frontera Collection Of Mexican & Mexican American Recordings ... Book
UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, 2012. New Copy ... $6.99 19.95
A fascinating look at the world of Mexican music in the 20th Century – put together in collaboration with Arhoolie Records, the label that's done plenty to reissue the music over the years! The book begins with the huge archive of recordings by the label's founder, Chris Strachwitz – ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
John HiggsLove & Let Die – James Bond, The Beatles, & The British Psyche (hardcover) ... Book
Pegasus, 2023. New Copy ... $8.99 29.99
A fascinating criss-cross of cultural moments in the UK – as the writer begins with the fact that the first James Bond film and the first Beatles single were issued on the same day in 1962 – and looks at the way both cultural juggernauts shaped identity in the years to come! John Higgs ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
David N HowardSonic Alchemy – Visionary Music Producers & Their Maverick Recordings ... Book
Hal Leonard, 2004. New Copy ... $5.99 18.95
If you love records as much as we do, you know that often the producers are as important to the sound of the music as the artists themselves – a fact that's spun out again and again in this look at some key record producers of the 20th Century! The book shows that, in the right hands, the ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Steven IsoardiDark Tree – Jazz & The Community Arts In Los Angeles (revised edition) ... Book
Duke University Press, 2023. New Copy ... $22.99 29.95
A much-needed look at the amazing underground jazz scene in LA – the richly creative spiritual and avant underground that flourished strongly in the 60s, 70s, and 80s! Although the city's best known for its cool jazz of the 50s, there's an even greater amount of left-field jazz that's come ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Richard Morton JackLabyrinth – British Jazz On Record 1960 to 1975 ... Book
Lansdowne (UK), 2024. New Copy ... $114.99 124.99
A stunning book – even more amazing than we were expecting, and we were really expecting a lot! This is a heavy, hardcover, full color volume that takes a deep dig into the world of British jazz during some crucial modern years – presented with oversized images throughout, in the ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Joseph JarmanBlack Case Vols 1 & 2 – Return From Exile ... Book
Blank Forms, 1977. New Copy ... $16.99 20.00
A fantastic side of the many talents of Joseph Jarman – best known as a key member of the Art Ensemble Of Chicago, and a saxophonist whose talents were crucial to the formation of the AACM – but also a very strong writer, as you'll discover in this book! This version is the full 1977 ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Jazz CritiqueIssue 217 – Hank Mobley/Dexter Gordon ... Book
Jazz Critique (Japan), 2020. New Copy ... $16.99 19.99
This special issue of Jazz Critique looks at two key tenor players of the postwar years – Blue Note legend Hank Mobley, and the great Dexter Gordon, who moved from early fame on the LA scene to a key career stretch overseas! The issue offers up discographies of both players – with ... read more Book
(Note that most text is Japanese – but using Google Translate or other programs via the camera on your phone, you should be able to make your way through the contents.)

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Jazz CritiqueIssue 233 – Two Horn Quintet ... Book
Jazz Critique (Japan), 2023. New Copy ... $16.99 19.99
A very unusual issue of this long-running jazz magazine – one that offers up a special selection of 100 key albums that boast a two-horn quintet – that is, a five piece group with a trumpet and a sax player in the lineup! As with other issues, this one begins with a full color section ... read more Book
(Note that most text is Japanese – but using Google Translate or other programs via the camera on your phone, you should be able to make your way through the contents.)

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Katherine Rye JewellLive From The Underground – A History of College Radio ... Book
University Of North Carolina Press, 2023. New Copy ... $22.99 29.95
Dusty Groove owes plenty to the world of college radio – and in fact, our store grew out of long years of experience on a college station on the south side of Chicago – so we're extra-pleased not just to see a really comprehensive book on the glory days of college radio, but also one ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Booker T. JonesTime Is Tight – My Life, Note By Note (hardcover) ... Book
Little Brown, 2019. New Copy ... $6.99 30.00
The title's a reference to one of the greatest hits of Booker T & The MGs, the legendary Memphis group that featured Booker T himself on organ – a hell of a player, and an individual with a much longer legacy than just his early recordings for Stax Records! Booker has roots that go way ... (Books, Books) read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Dylan JonesSweet Dreams – The Story Of The New Romantics (softcover) ... Book
Faber, 2021. New Copy ... $4.99 17.99
An insanely deep look at the rise of the "new romantics" on the British music scene at the end of the 70s – a book that's bigger than most we've seen on more "classic" rock figures and moments – and which really takes its project seriously! The book starts way ... read more Book
(Tidy new softcover edition with an exclusive new chapter!)

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Jason Jules & Graham MarshBlack Ivy – A Revolt In Style (hardcover) ... Book
Reel Art, 2021. New Copy ... $37.99 49.95
A great look at a really unique moment in fashion – a time when the mainstream trappings of ivy league styles were taken up by African-American cultural figures – a moment of cooption that led was key to a rising sense of pride and power in the postwar years! You'll instantly recognize ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Michael KalerGet Shown The Light – Improvisation & Transcendence In The Music Of The Grateful Dead ... Book
Duke University Press, 2023. New Copy ... $20.99 28.99
As any fan of the live Grateful Dead experience will tell you, improvisation is the key to the way the group puts their music over on stage – long jams that are filled with musicianship that just got better and better over the years, and which can lead to a very heavenly experience for ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
John Duke KischSeparate Cinema – The First 100 Years Of Black Poster Art (hardcover) ... Book
Reel Art, 2018. New Copy ... $34.99 45.00
Beautiful posters from a huge legacy in film – 100 years' worth of images that were used to promote black cinema – with entries that run from the early silent era, through unusual mid-century material, 70s blacksploitation movies, and both mainstream and indie films from later decades! ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Mati KlarweinMati & The Music – 52 Record Covers 1955 to 2005 (hardcover) ... Book
Galerie 213/RM (France), 2012. New Copy Book ... $46.99 55.00
Amazing images from the painter of the Bitches Brew album cover – the legendary Mati Klarwein – an artist with a very colorful style of painting nude bodies! Mati's artwork has graced many albums over the years – not just work from Miles Davis, but records by Buddy Miles, Jerry ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Satoshi KojimaAvant Music In Japan ... Book
Du Books (Japan), 2023. New Copy ... $28.99 34.99
A pretty amazingly deep dive into the world of avant garde music in Japan – not just jazz or experimental sounds, but a range of different recordings – all presented in a style that's similar to other Japanese disc guides on music! The approach has each page listing one or two records ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Joseph LanzaEasy Listening Acid Trip – An Elevator Ride Through 60s Psychedelic Pop ... Book
Feral House, 2021. New Copy ... $19.99 24.95
About 30 years back, Joseph Lanza first turned us on to an amazing array of 60s easy listening records that we'd never fully given their due – and here, he continues the journey, but with a key shift into the world of psychedelia too! The book is a wonderful look at the way that easy ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Jonathan LealDreams In Double Time – On Race, Freedom, & Bebop ... Book
Duke University Press, 2023. New Copy ... $18.99 25.95
A very different sort of book on bebop – one that looks at the music during its key years of midcentury, but through a very different prism than the sorts of all-star players who usually get most coverage by jazz writers! Author Jonathan Leal digs very deep to uncover three obscure players ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Beth LesserDancehall – The Rise of Jamaican Dancehall Culture (softcover) ... Book
Soul Jazz (UK), 2008. New Copy ... $34.99 49.95
A beautiful book on the dancehall scene in Jamaica – one that's done in a different style than some of the other Soul Jazz books – which are often focused more on album cover art! This book's got a very different approach – and is more an art book with photos of the dancehall ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Vicki Gold Levi & Steven HellerCuba Style – Graphics From The Golden Age Of Design (softcover) ... Book
Princeton Architectural Press, 2002. New Copy ... $4.99 24.99
A treasure trove of images from pre-Revolutionary Cuba – posters, flyers, advertisements, and images of other ephemera from a time when US citizens used to pop down for a weekend in Havana! The book is filled with photos of rare objects from famous hotels and nite spots too – glassware ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Michael Lewis & Stephen Spignesi (ed)Outdated Advertising – Sexist, Racist, Creepy & Just Plain Tasteless Ads From A Pre-PC Era ... Book
Skyhorse, 2017. New Copy ... $5.99 17.99
A hilarious book, and one that's exactly what it promises in the title – a huge compendium of once-popular advertisements that are now pretty darn creepy by today's standards! Almost all the ads are from old magazines, presented here in both color and black and white – depending on the ... read more Book
(Spine has a remainder mark.)

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
LightmellowObscure City Pop CD Disc Guide – 1986 to 2006 ... Book
Du Books (Japan), 2023. New Copy ... $24.99 34.99
A great guide for digging into the world of Japanese music from the mid 80s onward – and a book that's different than some of the more vinyl-centric disc guide, in that it focuses strongly on city pop titles that were only issued on CD! The Japanese city pop movement really got going at the ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Emily J LordiMeaning Of Soul – Black Music & Resilience Since The 1960s ... Book
Duke University Press, 2020. New Copy ... $18.99 25.95
A beautiful treatise on the lasting power of classic soul music – yet a book that also goes way beyond the simple readings and overdone cliches that are often attached to accounts of the music! Instead, author Emily J Lordi looks at not just the source recordings, but also the evolving ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Mario LunaBeyond Heaven – Chicago House Party Flyers Vol 2 – From 1981 to 1992 ... Book
Almighty & Insane Books, 2020. New Copy ... $16.99 20.00
The secret history of Chicago house music – a side of the scene that's even more obscure than its many rare records or long-departed clubs! The book is a fantastic follow up to the first volume – and like that one, features rare flyers, posters, and ads for some of the underground ... read more Book
(Back in print!)

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ John LurieHistory Of Bones – A Memoir (hardcover) ... Book
Random House, 2021. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
John Lurie rose to fame from the New York scene of the late 70s – soon to become a world-class musician, actor, and even TV personality – but definitely someone who spent time in the trenches, and earned his stripes along the way! The book is written in very honest, down to earth ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
David Lynch & Kristine McKennaRoom To Dream (hardcover) ... Book
Random House, 2018. New Copy ... $6.99 32.00
From our perspective in the 21st Century, the film career of director David Lynch is the stuff of legend – long and loudly hailed – yet for the man himself, the road to success was a long one – and even along the way, Lynch struggled with countless creative difficulties and ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Kit MackintoshNeon Screams – How Drill, Trap & Bashment Made Music New Again (softcover) ... Book
Repeat, 2021. New Copy ... $3.99 14.99
Witer Kit Mackintosh begins with the use of auto-tune in the first decade of this century, the uses that as a springboard to look at a the underground genres listed in the title! Kit's trying very hard to be current, and add in a chapter of musical history that's sometimes overlooked by more rock ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Greil MarcusThe History Of Rock 'N' Roll In Ten Songs (softcover) ... Book
Yale University Press, 2014. New Copy ... $3.99 18.99
A groundbreaking book from Greil Marcus – one that gets past some of the overblown histories of rock music, to look at the medium in a completely different way! Marcus eschews all the big name performers and movements – and instead looks at the music through ten different songs – ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Chris MarkerStaring Back (hardcover) ... Book
MIT Press, 2007. New Copy ... $8.99 29.95
A career-spanning retrospective of the photographic side of Chris Marker – an artist who's probably better-known for his work in film, such as the seminal La Jetee – a movie that is really just a set of photographs too! The title gives away part of the approach here – as a good ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Burgin MathewsMagic City – How The Birmingham Jazz Tradition Shaped The Sound Of America ... Book
University Of North Carolina Press, 2024. New Copy ... $22.99 29.95
The mighty Sun Ra is on the cover, and also famously named a record Magic City – which was also the nickname of his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama – a city that gets plenty of coverage here for its long musical legacy! Birmingham was given the "magic city" nickname late in ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Masato Matsumura & Tsutomu Noda90s Disc Guide – Japan Edition ... Book
Ele-King (Japan), 2021. New Copy ... $22.99 29.99
A really deep dig into the Japanese scene of the 90s – a unique discography that brings together key records in a variety of different styles – from tuneful to noisy, soulful to electronic! The book's a more contemporary variation of the sort of Japanese discographies we normally stock ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
James McBrideKill Em & Leave – Searching For James Brown & The American Soul ... Book
Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2016. New Copy ... $6.99 19.99
A great contrast to some of the more straight-ahead James Brown biographies on the market – as writer James McBride takes a circuitous path to look at the genius of The Godfather – not the shining stars of the bigger highlights in his career, but the lost corners and more distant ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Anthony McCall & David GrubbsSimultaneous Soloists ... Book
Pioneer Works, 2023. New Copy ... $14.99 35.00
A book that documents a compelling intersection of creative activity – the ephemeral light sculptures of Anthony McCall, and a set of improvising soloists who accompanied their exhibition – all presented here in a well-done volume that may well be the only physical trace of the project! ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Jimmy McDonoughSoul Survivor – A Biography Of Al Green (hardcover) ... Book
Da Capo, 2017. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
The first really in-depth look at the life of the great Al Green – a book that traces the fascinating journey that led a young man from Memphis to the top of the soul charts in the 70s – only to leave the world of secular music for the church in the following decade, then go on to a ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
David MenconiOh Didn't They Ramble – Rounder Records & The Transformation Of American Roots Music ... Book
University Of North Carolina Press, 2023. New Copy ... $19.99 27.99
The full story of one of the most important indie labels in the world of folk, roots, and acoustic music – an imprint who are maybe only second to Folkways Records fo the way they've not only preserved the past, but helped foster a new future as well! Rounder Records was begun as a labor of ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Barry MilesZapple Diaries – The Rise & Fall Of The Last Beatles Label (hardcover) ... Book
Peter Owens (UK), 2015. New Copy ... $4.99 26.95
A really cool look at a label that was maybe one of the hippest things the Beatles ever did – the short-lived Zapple imprint – which was part of their main Apple label, but dedicated to more experimental work from a variety of musicians and writers! The imprint is perhaps best ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Roscoe MitchellKeeper Of The Code – Paintings 1963 to 2022 ... Book
Corbett vs. Dempsey, 2023. New Copy ... $36.99 40.99
A long-overdue document of the artistic activity of Roscoe Mitchell – best known to most as a key member of both the AACM and Art Ensemble Of Chicago as a jazz musician, but a surprisingly accomplished painter too! Mitchell's artistic career is captured here in both distant chapters – ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Ruben MolinaChicano Soul – Recordings & History Of An American Culture (10th Anniversary Editin) ... Book
Texas Tech University Press, 2007. New Copy ... $24.99 34.95
A tremendous look at an under-documented genre – the huge wave of Chicano soul that sprung up from LA, Texas, and other southern spots in the 50s and 60s – then went onto have a huge impact on wider culture in the mainstream! Although issued on an indie press, this book is top-shelf ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Paul MorleyFrom Manchester With Love – The Life & Opinions Of Tony Wilson (hardcover) ... Book
Faber, 2021. New Copy ... $5.99 27.99
Paul Morley wrote famously for the NME during the key years of punk, post-punk, and new wave – which makes him very able to draw a rich portrait here of contemporary and scenemate Tony Wilson – the man behind Factory Records, The Hacienda club, and a huge legacy of music in the 80s and ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Gregor Muir & Yilmaz Dziewior edAndy Warhol (paperback) ... Book
Tate (UK), 2020. New Copy ... $8.99 31.00
Way more than just another art book on the creations of Andy Warhol – although there are plenty of those inside, too – as the large volume is part of an exhibition at the Tate in London, which looked not just as Warhol's artwork, but also his past, his ties to the larger scene, and some ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Akira ObuchiCity Soul Disc Guide 2 – 1970s to 2020s ... Book
Du Books (Japan), 2023. New Copy ... $22.99 29.99
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 ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Meredith OchsAretha – The Queen Of Soul – A Life In Photographs (hardcover) ... Book
Sterling, 2018. New Copy ... $6.99 24.95
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, ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
William ParkerVoices In The First Person – Vol 2 ... Book
Centering/Aum Fidelity, 2023. New Copy ... $25.99 30.99
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 ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Albert D PattersonBeats To The Rhyme – A Collection Of Instrumental Hip Hop Records For The Beat Connoisseur (hardcover – with bonus CD) ... Book
Gingko Press, 2013. New Copy ... $6.99 24.95
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 ... read more Book
(Includes bonus CD mixed by DJ Spair!)

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Anthony B PinnDeathlife – Hip Hop & Thanatological Narrations of Blackness ... Book
Duke University Press, 2024. New Copy ... $18.99 26.99
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 ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Lorenzo Mattotti & Jorge ZentnerCrackle Of The Frost (hardcover) ... Book
Fantagraphics, 2012. New Copy ... $4.99 19.99
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 ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Lou ReedI'll Be Your Mirror – The Collected Lyrics (hardcover) ... Book
Faber & Faber (UK), 2019. New Copy ... $11.99 30.95
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 ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Ricky RiccardiWhat A Wonderful World – The Magic Of Louis Armstrong's Later Years (softcover) ... Book
Pantheon, 2011. New Copy ... $6.99 17.99
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 ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Julian Rothenstein edA2Z+ – Alphabets & Signs (paperback) ... Book
Lawrence King (UK), 2018. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
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 ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Hilton Ariel Ruiz & Beatriz Ruiz (editors)Forty Deuce – The Times Square Photographs Of Bill Butterworth 1983 to 1984 (hardcover) ... Book
Powerhouse Books, 2012. New Copy ... $8.99 39.95
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 ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Bobby RushI Ain't Studdin Ya – My American Blues Story (hardcover) ... Book
Hachette, 2021. New Copy ... $6.99 29.00
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 ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Paul Schimmel & Lisa GabrielleUnder The Big Black Sun – California Art 1974 to 1981 (hardcover) ... Book
Prestel, 2011. New Copy ... $3.99 60.00
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 ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Tom ScioliJack Kirby – The Epic Life Of The King Of Comics (hardcover) ... Book
Ten Speed Press, 2020. New Copy ... $4.99 18.99
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 ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Jamel ShabazzJamel Shabazz – Albums (hardcover) ... Book
Steidl (Germany), 2023. New Copy ... $34.99 50.00
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 ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Brian SouthallThe White Album – Revolution, Politics & Recording: The Beatles & The World In 1968 (hardcover) ... Book
Carlton, 2018. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
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 ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Peter SpirerBook Of Rhyme & Reason – Hip Hop 1994 to 1997 (hardcover) ... Book
Reel Art, 2023. New Copy ... $34.99 49.95
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 ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Kevin Strait, Kinshasha Holman Conwill & OthersAfrofuturism – A History of Black Futures ... Book
Smithsonian, 2024. New Copy ... $20.99 29.95
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 ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Takaya SuzukiReggae Definitive 1958 to 2018 ... Book
Ele-King (Japan), 2022. New Copy book ... $24.99 32.99
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 ... read more Book

CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Horace TapscottSongs Of The Unsung – The Musical & Social Journey Of Horace Tapscott ... Book
Duke University Press, 2001. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
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 ... read more Book
 
 



⇑ Top