Persona -- Books (LPs, CDs, Vinyl Record Albums) -- Dusty Groove is Chicago's Online Record Store
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Books

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

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Partial matches: 13
Partial matches1
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 together, and which takes personal and professional pathways in later years that are quite a surprise! Viv's writing style is as straightforward as her music – which can make the book especially illuminating when she tells tales about other famous figures, or about the scene in general – which she always seems to view with a sharp eye. The book is 421 pages, hardcover, with some black and white images. Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)

Partial matches2
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 records! Viv really opens up here, and the book offers up plenty for those facing mature years away from their youth – while still also offering up all the wit and sharpness that have always made Albertine's perspective so striking. Hardcover edition is 292 pages, with some black and white images. Book

Partial matches3
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 with individual chapters that really do a great job of telling the story! At some level, the book is a bit like the hip hop history of Ed Piskor, but there's a different approach to storytelling too – as the scenes are interwoven with more personal, reflective elements – almost a Harvey Pekar quality at times, which really makes the narrative come alive. The artwork is great – mostly black and white, but with some color as things move to the 21st Century – and we're really pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable the book is, and especially proud of the way it handles Chicago. Harcover edition is 239 pages, with images throughout – and a smaller text section at the end. Book

Partial matches4
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 before! First off, the large volume is very personal – part listening autobiography, part paean to the musical giants who shaped the decade, and part hindsight record review of all the amazing sounds that were created during the 70s! The book follows the decade with year-by-year chapters – yet it's hardly a history at all – as Corbett picks key songs and albums as touchstones for each year – partly because of their impact, but more because of the power they had for him as a listener. The albums run the gamut – from Nursery Cryme by Genesis, to Les Stances A Sophie by The Art Ensemble Of Chicago, to Pink Moon by Nick Drake – and songs include "Sex Machine" by James Brown, "School's Out" by Alice Cooper, and "Long Time" by Boston. 496 pages, hardcover. Book

Partial matches5
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 more of a visual delight than digging in the crates! The volume is huge – stuffed with over 1000 images, most in color – photos of album covers, street art, hip hop DJs and MCs, and countless other subjects – all presented in loose chronological order, alongside a history and evolution of the music, plus a timeline of key records and moments – all guided by some personal reflections by the author as well. Chuck D gives the book some huge props in the intro – and this updated volume is a heavy 446 pages, in a softcover edition, filled with images throughout. Book

Partial matches6
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 that are even more powerful than most music books that try to do the same – tracing the disparate roots of key figures like Robert Crumb, Gilbert Shelton, Trina Robbins, and others – as they end up converging in San Francisco in the late 60s, finding a way to express themselves through new styles and new means of production and distribution – then spread out as the 70s move in, and underground comix provide the building blocks for the graphic novel generation to come. The book is insanely well-researched, but also written with a lively style that really gets at both the creative talents and individual personalities of each of the folks involved – all at a level that makes for a hell of a read that goes way past the usual book on comics, music, or any other sort of cultural creative scene! Hardcover edition is 439 pages. Book

Partial matches7
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 version of Black Case – and brings together material from the original self-published version in 1974, plus other writings that Jarman had done over the years – some of which later turned up as texts on a variety of albums! The book is a mixture of poetry, free verse, and some prose – sometimes personal, but also very political – maybe even more so than the work of the AEOC. The whole thing is a fantastic revelation, and a representation of Jarman's connection to a much richer cultural world in Chicago – and the book is beautifully done – blue text on white pages, with some images sprinkled throughout – very much a facsimile of the original. 146 pages, softcover. Book

Partial matches8
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 deep in the Memphis scene, long before Stax Records – and the book recounts those days, and also follows the keyboardist as he moves west to California, opening up in superstardom in a very different way! The style is a bit unique – almost like these little diary entries written from different locations in different years, but put together to form this cool patchwork picture of Booker T's hopes and dreams, music and personal life, all with a very vivid approach. The hardcover edition is 336 pages in all, with a section of images in the middle. (Books, Books) Book

Partial matches9
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 language – and Lurie pulls no punches, both in the way he represents others, and his own experience – prose that will definitely stand as an answer to anyone who might have thought of Lurie as a poseur or a dabbler over the years. This hardcover edition contains some black and white photos, and is 434 pages in length. Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)

Partial matches10
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 personal issues that sometimes made the path between thought and expression a very long one! Here, Lynch himself recounts a lot of those years of struggle, with plenty of help from co-writer Kristine McKenna – who weaves together all sorts of material from dozens of interviews with people in Lynch's life and career, both personal and professional – voices that are added to David's own to provide a very illuminating picture of the real world that's obscured by the cinematic image. Hardcover edition is 577 pages, with many black and white images throughout. Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)

Partial matches11
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 pathways that shaped not just the man and his music, but Brown's role in our culture as well. The book is beautifully written – no surprise, given McBride's literary talents – and amidst all the hype and overblown myths about James Brown, the author really seems to unlock something new, and very personal as well. 232 pages, softcover. Book

Partial matches12
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 his work – but to us, the real draw is Mattotti – whose images sit like these beautiful little color paintings, two to a page – balanced with the text to draw the lovely, personal story forward with care and class that are unsurpassed in publications of this nature. The book is 118 pages, full color, and hardcover. Book

Partial matches13
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Martin TorgoffBop Apocalypse – Jazz, Race, The Beats, & Drugs (hardcover) ... Book
Da Capo, 2016. New Copy ... $7.99 25.99
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, and drugs from the late 40s through the 60s – with chapters that look at both famous figures and lesser-known personas – in a list that includes Billie Holiday, Lester Young, William S Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Charlie Parker, and many more. The book's filled with short chapters that almost each read like a story themselves – never too exploitative, and often never with any sort of judgement at all – just surprising detail about the relation between drugs and performance, writing, or other artistic creation. These short chapters work well to weave together a world behind the scenes – subtle forces that later shaped more famous creations – and the book is a hefty 412 pages, with some black and white images. Book
 
 
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