A massive folkloric project – one that really shows how much the form has evolved since the early days of recording! This huge book-length collection looks at the rich legacy of Appalachian music as it moved north towards the Mason-Dixon line – from roots in Virginia and Tennessee, to northern spots in Maryland and Pennsylvania as those older communities languished. The first half of the collection focuses on important 60s recordings of Ola Belle Reed and the New River Boys – done by folklorist Henry Glassie, and very well recorded – and the second half looks at the long legacy of music that's continued in that area, sometimes after the sounds have faded from the source of their original roots. CD one features all recordings of Ola and her contemporaries – while CD two features recent material with a surprisingly vibrant feel – and artists include TJ Lundy, Ryan Paisley, Hugh Campbell, Zane Campell, Dave Reed, and John Miller – as well as the Debusk-Weaver Family. The book itself is worth the price of admission – hardcover, full of photos and writings – and over 250 pages long! (Folk/Country, Books) CD

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

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 late 60s through the early 80s – b-movie posters, comic book covers, weird advertisements, strange drawings, and more – all laid out with little in the way of explanation, at a page-by-page juxtaposition that makes the whole thing even more startling overall! There's so much unusual stuff here – Cliff Robertson movies we hardly remember at all, beautiful horror magazine covers, and lots more – plus some shots of this material laid out in a Super Trash gallery show. 222 pages, softcover, and full color. Book