Black Friday titles 
Books — In Stock — Books 
A special selection of disc guides and discographies, music history, record art books, graphic novels, and some nicely-priced remainders!
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(Items 1 – 62 of 62)
Random House, 2007. New Copy ... $4.99 17.00
Our fair city of Chicago has always been a pretty sleazy place – but back at the start of the 20th century, there was a higher kind of sex trade going on – one that featured high class houses of ill-reputed, and well-educated hookers – which led to a lot more crossing over between ... read more Book
(The spine has a small remainder mark.)
Primary Information, 2018. New Copy ... $24.99 34.00
One of the coolest discographies you'll ever see in your life – a special book devoted to ultra-rare records created by artists as well as musicians – first published in 1989, and filled with a wealth of obscure records from the 50s through the 80s! Musical styles run from avant jazz ... read more Book
(Limited edition – and comes with a bonus flexidisc!)
Harper (UK), 2014. New Copy ... $6.99 18.00
Lou Reed gave us some mighty fascinating music over his many years of recording – and the man himself also led an equally fascinating life – one that's covered here in very great detail, in a hefty biography that begins with Reed's troubled life as a child, to his early years moving ... read more Book
Princeton Architectural Press, Late 60s/Early 70s/2015. New Copy ... $6.99 24.95
Not rare tapes by The Smiths – but a book of rare interviews conducted by journalist Howard Smith – an overlooked counterculture figure whose questions and commentary here go way past the usual fluff! The book features complete interviews conducted between 1966 and 1972 – key ... read more Book
Rick Bragg —
Jerry Lee Lewis – His Own Story (hardcover) ... Book Harper, 2014. New Copy ... $4.99 27.99
The story of the legendary Jerry Lee Lewis – told by The Killer himself to author Rick Bragg – who worked with Jerry for over two years on the creation of the book! There's a fair bit of passages in third person – the book is still more biography than autobiography – but ... read more Book
(The spine has a small remainder mark.)
Raymond Carver/Quantuck Lane, 2013. New Copy ... $6.99 35.00
A beautiful visual illustration of the writings of Raymond Carver – done in collaboration with photographer Bob Adelman, who was invited by Carver to take pictures of locations featured in his poems, stories, and letters! The book combines the photographs and writings in a really unique, and ... read more Book
John Leighton Chase, Margaret Crawford, & John Kaliski, eds —
Everyday Urbanism – Expanded Edition ... Book Monacelli, 2008. New Copy ... $6.99 45.00
A fresh update of this classic book – originally published in 1999, and a beautiful combination of city images and writings on the urban condition! The interior is even more striking than the cover – and the editors add to the core text, which focused mostly on "urban ... read more Book
University Of Chicago, 2019. New Copy ... $16.99 20.00
A tremendous achievement from music writer Aaron Cohen – a book that finally gets at the deeper, richer story of Chicago soul – the spirit of empowerment and pride that have always made us so honored to be part of the Windy City legacy! Cohen picks up where other soul writers have left ... read more Book
Thames & Hudson (UK), 2014. New Copy ... $6.99 35.00
A stunningly vivid portrait of New York in the postwar years – a time when the city's already-strong hold on American culture was taken to its apex – as the city became home to some of the most important artists, actors, writers, and creative forces of the generation! The book is ... read more Book
Hat & Beard, 2018. New Copy ... $52.99 60.00
A beautiful expansion of a famous moment in creative journalism – the famous 1968 issue of Esquire magazine that featured William S Burroughs, Terry Southern, Allen Ginsberg, Jean Genet, and Abbie Hoffman at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago! The results of that tumultuous event have ... read more Book
University Of Chicago, 2019. New Copy ... $22.99 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
Penguin Books, 2015. New Copy ... $5.99 30.00
A wonderfully-written autobiography from Elvis Costello – a book that's not only completely illuminating for any fan of his music, but which stands quite strongly on his own, even if you're not a longtime fan of the man himself! The volume almost sets a new standard for musician ... read more Book
(The spine has a small remainder mark.)
Dark Entries, 2019. New Copy ... $19.99 24.99
A book that's very much what it's promised – the homoerotic journal of dance music and soundtrack composer Patrick Cowley – a key figure on the San Francisco scene before he left this planet in the early 80s! The book is pure sex, and nothing but – save, perhaps, for some essays ... read more Book
(Be warned, the contents are all adult – for mature readers only!)
Prestel (Germany), 2015. New Copy ... $15.99 60.00
A treasure trove of beautiful objects designed at mid-century – all creations of designer Peter Muller Munk – German by birth, and part of the wave of creative talent to come to America during wartime – which meant that we got to reap all the benefits of Peter's genius! Famous ... read more Book
Thames & Hudson, 2009. New Copy ... $10.99 45.00
A beautiful book of design – one that traces the emergence of dozens of retro styles in today's contemporary work – presented in posters, packaging, publishing, and other formats too! The book begins with a large section at the start that unpacks graphic styles from the 20th Century, ... read more Book
Ballantine, 2017. New Copy ... $5.99 30.00
A heady look at Elton John during his glory days in the 70s – a book that charts his rise in the late 60s and explosion to stardom in the following decade – penned in a style that mixes familiar facts with a fair bit of insider information too! Author Tom Doyle has worked for British ... read more Book
(The spine has a small remainder mark.)
John Evans —
John Evans – Collages (hardcover) ... Book Quantuck Lane, 2004. New Copy ... $8.99 75.00
A hefty volume that's way more than the usual art book – partly because the artist is way more than the usual collage-maker too! John Evans lived in the east village neighborhood of New York in the 60s, 70s, and 80s – and in 1964, he began the process of creating one new artwork every ... read more Book
Hal Leonard, 2011. New Copy ... $8.99 24.99
A heavy-duty look at one of our favorite instruments of all time – the mighty Hammond Organ, a keyboard that forever changed the sound of jazz, soul, and even rock and roll on the US scene of the 50s, 60s, and 70s! The book is huge – a fully-illustrated history of the electric organ in ... read more Book
Yale University Press, 2015. New Copy ... $16.99 35.00
Coney Island is a hell of a place – a refuge for New Yorkers for over 100 years, and still pretty amazing today – with a surprisingly strong legacy that also includes the park's influence on more serious artists over the decades, a legacy that's presented beautifully in this oversize ... read more Book
University Of South Carolina Press, 2008. New Copy ... $5.99 19.98
South Carolina has been home to a surprising amount of jazz musicians over the years – a list of talents that includes Houston Person, Chris Potter, Webster Young, Etta Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Arthur Prysock, Nappy Brown, and a number of others – all of whom are featured in separate ... read more Book
Pantheon, 2017. New Copy ... $6.99 40.00
One of the greatest writers on singers presents his essential collection of albums from the 20th century – all served up with the kind of loving detail that's always made the prose of Will Friedwald so great! Will's written the book on Frank Sinatra – literally – and on Tony ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Doubleday, 2015. New Copy ... $4.99 26.95
The legendary Iceberg Slim has given us plenty of his own story over the years – but this book is the first to look at the man behind the man – writer Robert Beck, who started as a pimp and became a surprisingly successful author – as well as an underground figure who inspired a ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Liveright, 2015. New Copy ... $6.99 29.95
A hell of a memoir from Philip Glass – one that's breathtakingly open, and almost completely different than the man you'll know from his music! Glass is clearly a genius – we'd never dispute that fact – but despite the always-creative, always-perceptive mind that's transformed ... read more Book
University Of Pennsylvania, 2005. New Copy ... $4.99 24.95
Group soul harmony gets some great treatment here – in a well-done book that follows the music from the street corner to the airwaves – all with a thoughtful mixture of oral history and the larger issues of the time! Author Stuart Goosman focuses especially on harmony groups on the ... read more Book
Bloomsbury, 2018. New Copy ... $6.99 28.00
One of the best writers on Memphis gives us a journey through his musical hometown – portrayed through chapters that focus on some of the city's most legendary figures – including James Carr, Sam Phillips, Jim Dickenson, Robert Johnson, Charlie Feathers, Jeff Buckley, Tav Falco, Bobby ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Little Brown, 2018. New Copy ... $6.99 28.00
A detailed look at the moment when hip hop went from a sideline to a mainstream force in the music business – a time when producers became executives, major labels allowed smaller boutique imprints, and everybody started making a lot more money on the music! As you'd guess from the title, ... read more Book
(The spine has a small remainder mark.)
Dale Allen Gyure —
Chicago Schoolhouse – High School Architecture & Educational Reform 1856 to 2006 (hardcover) ... Book Columbia College Chicago, 2011. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
Our fair city of Chicago has been home to countless famous high school stars over the decades – important musicians, athletes, and even gang members and politicians – all of whom sprung from the large institutions that make up the city's educational system! This book looks at the years ... read more Book
Canongate (UK), 2017. New Copy ... $8.99 32.00
A mighty tribute to the legendary Jann Wenner – a humble editor by trade, but one who forever shaped the world of rock music and journalism with his magazine Rolling Stone! Wenner came along at just the right time to be able to provide just the right platform for a new sort of writer, and ... read more Book
Rittor (Japan), 2017. New Copy ... $18.99
A beautiful book on the decades of recorded output from one of our favorite composers ever – the legendary Michel Legrand – an artist known to most folks for his famous soundtracks of the 60s and 70s – but also a jazz musician, singer, and even a very groovy instrumental arranger! ... read more Book
Picador, 2018. New Copy ... $6.99 27.00
The story of the Wu-Tang Clan has been told often over the years – but this time around, it's told by one of the group's founding members – Lamont "U-God" Hawkins, who blends his own personal journey from the streets of Brooklyn with the rise of one of the most important hip ... read more Book
(The spine has a small remainder mark.)
Santa Monica Press, 2016. New Copy ... $4.99 24.95
Drummer Stan Levey shone most brightly during his west coast work of the 50s – where he was a key figure in both large and small group jazz performances – but he also had a much longer history, which included plenty of time away from the limelight – a rich story that's captured in ... read more Book
Thames & Hudson, 2012. New Copy ... $8.99 44.95
A very cool book that goes deep into the world of some of the greatest cartoonists of the modern age – a lavish, full-color volume that presents unseen art from the private sketchbooks of some of the modern greats – including Joost Swarte, Seth, Gary Panter, Charles Burns, R Crumb, Kim ... read more Book
Fantagraphics, 2013. New Copy ... $8.99 35.00
Iconic images from the Hernandez Brothers – the team of California cartoonists who forever changed the world with their Love & Rockets comic! This beautiful oversize book presents the first 50 covers of Love & Rockets – plus some graphic novel covers as well – all with ... read more Book
Fantagraphics, 2018. New Copy ... $6.99 22.99
Nicole Hollander's best known for her work in the field of comics – but she's also a native of our fair city of Chicago – and does a really wonderful job here of detailing her childhood on the west side of the city! Hollander mixes illustration and narrative in a great way – ... read more Book
(Please note – these copies have a remainder mark on the spine and are slightly shelf worn.)
Jacksons with Fred Bronson —
Jacksons Legacy – From The Family Archives – The 50th Anniversary Book (hardcover) ... Book Black Dog, 2017. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
The story of Michael and The Jackson 5 – all presented here in an array of fantastic materials all pulled together from the family archives! The book is stunning – hefty, full color, and with page after page of really great material – images of records, live shows, special events ... read more Book
Feral House, 2019. New Copy ... $16.99 22.95
A really amazing look at the secret art and language of gang culture in Chicago – the most detailed book we've ever seen to examine the words on the street during the 60s, 70s, and 80s! Chicago had a very special sort of language to communicate gang activity and culture during the heyday of ... read more Book
Equinox (UK), 2018. New Copy ... $24.99 29.99
The story of Mark Murphy – one of our favorite jazz singers of all time – written by Peter Jones, also a jazz singer himself! Jones is London-based, and as such, does a really great job of capturing the ongoing enthusiasm and excitement about Murphy's career that was always a big part ... read more Book
Beware Doll, 2015. New Copy Book & LP ... $15.99 79.99
A beautifully collaborative project – a hardcover book of photos by Sam Jones, packaged with a full album of music by Blake Mills! The Jones photos are more than enough in themselves – these large images of the contemporary south – often very open, airy spaces – with images ... read more Book
(Includes download!)
Hat & Beard, 2019. New Copy ... $52.99 60.00
A beautiful complement to the groundbreaking Big Ears music festival in Knoxville – an annual event that keeps on pushing the boundaries of listening, with a challenging roster of sonic activity that just keeps on getting better and better over the years! In the introduction, Ben Ratliff ... read more Book
(Also includes a download card – to download performances from the festival over the years!)
Dey St, 2016. New Copy ... $5.99 27.99
George Jones is one of the most amazing talents in country music – and he was also one of the most messed-up cats on the Nashville scene – with a lifestyle and legend that maybe tops the decadence of some of the bigger rock stars of the 70s! Writer Rich Kienzle clearly loves Jones' ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Fantagraphics, Late 40s/Early 50s. New Copy ... $8.99 35.00
Stunning work from one of the greatest artists to ever hit the comic book page – the mighty Bernard Krigstein, an artist who was decades ahead of his time – and had a huge influence on other artists for decades to come! The book was published in conjunction with the huge Fantagraphics ... read more Book
Library Of America, 2017. New Copy ... $11.99 40.00
Jonathan Lethem has given us plenty of great writing on his own – and here, he teams up with Kevin Dettmar to co-edit a volume of seminal writing on rock, pop, and soul music of the past 50 years! This isn't one of those "best of the year" books, with content that will seem dated ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Shawn Levy —
Dolce Vita Confidential – Fellini, Loren, Pucci, Paparazzi & The Swinging High Life Of 1950s Rome (hardcover) ... Book Norton, 2016. New Copy ... $6.99 27.95
Italy was hit hard in the postwar years – as you've no doubt seen in the urban landscapes of neo-realist directors from the time – but the city of Rome was one of the first places to really bounce back, and was ablaze with new cultural activity during the 50s! The story of that scene ... read more Book
Vocalion (UK), 2018. New Copy ... $32.99 33.99
Maybe the best book we've ever seen on the secret world of sound library music – those non-commercial recordings that are made away from the public, then lent out for later use in radio, film, and TV! Over the years, crate-diggers have brought a new sort of appreciation to sound library ... read more Book
Tim Mohr —
Burning Down The Haus – Punk Rock, Revolution & The Fall Of The Berlin Wall (hardcover) ... Book Algonquin Books Of Chapel Hill, 2018. New Copy ... $6.99 28.95
That's not a typo in the title – as this "haus" is the city of Berlin in the 80s – or more specifically, East Berlin – home to a punk rock underground that had a surprising amount of political power as the decade moved on! Berlin on the other side of the wall was home ... read more Book
(The spine has a small remainder mark.)
Natalie Y Moore & Lance Williams —
Almighty Black P Stone Nation – The Rise, Fall & Resurgence Of An American Gang (hardcover) ... Book Lawrence Hill Books, 2011. New Copy ... $4.99 26.95
A well-done look at one of the most legendary gangs in our city of Chicago – a group that began on south side street corners, rose to community organizing by the end of the 60s, then get embroiled in global politics with ties to the terrorist rein of Muammar Qaddafi! The Almighty Black P ... read more Book
Bis (Netherlands), 2011. New Copy ... $4.99 20.00
A book that's maybe not what you'd guess from the title – or maybe only partly from the title – as the whole thing is a love letter to the font style of Cooper Black, used on the front – served up in a fantastic array of images from the late 60s onward! The rounded font has been ... read more Book
Anne Stewart O'Donnell —
Motawi Tileworks – Contemporary Handcrafted Tiles In The Arts & Crafts Tradition (hardcover) ... Book Pomegranate, 2008. New Copy ... $8.99 29.95
A beautiful book that really follows up the image on the cover – offering up dozens of full color illustrations of contemporary ceramic work with a very vintage vibe – all tiles created by the Motawi Tileworks company in Ann Arbor, Michigan! The book is full color – and although ... read more Book
Princeton Architectural Press, 2002. New Copy ... $4.99 16.95
A pretty goofy little book, but a pretty entertaining read as well! The volume is exactly what it promises on the cover – posters for lost pets, mostly from the US, but also featuring entries from other farther-flung nations as well – laid out in a cool format that has a pet poster on ... read more Book
Tortoise Books, 2019. New Copy ... $25.99 29.99
A beautiful little book from one of the more inspired creative talents on the Chicago scene – writer/artist Dmitry Samarov, who's always got a talent for getting to the heart of the city – and for being very open about what matters, and why! This book is Dmitry's love letter to the ... read more Book
(Limited edition first pressing!)
Dey St, 2016. New Copy ... $8.99 27.99
A detailed look at one of the most famous rock and roll concerts of all time – the ill-fated Rolling Stones 1969 performance at Altamont race track, in which the group made the mistake of inviting Hells Angels to handle security! The Angels were bullies, and famously stabbed a concert-goer ... read more Book
(The spine has a small remainder mark.)
University Of Chicago, 2017. New Copy ... $26.99 32.00
A much-needed look at the genius of The Art Ensemble Of Chicago – one of the coolest, most compelling groups to emerge in the great wave of avant jazz in the late 60s – and one who continued to give the world a lifetime legacy of groundbreaking music! There's been plenty written on the ... read more Book
Viking, 2015. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
John Szwed has given us pivotal books on Miles Davis and Sun Ra – and this time around, he's turning his eye to the life and music of Billie Holiday – offering up a very fresh vision of the oft-told tale of the singer and her career! As the title might imply, Szwed gets past the myth ... read more Book
Indiana University Press, 2013. New Copy ... $4.99 25.00
That's "Dr Billy Taylor" to you – although we've always known him as just plain Billy Taylor, from a run of great jazz records from the postwar years onward – part of a fantastic musical legacy that's made Taylor one of the most active talents of his generation! Billy started ... read more Book
Grand Central, 2013. New Copy ... $5.99 16.00
You might know him as the drummer on the Tonight Show, or the powerhouse behind The Roots – but Questlove is also a hell of a sharp-mined fellow – always the guy in the room who has the most interesting thing to say, which is what makes this book so great! Questlove tells the tale of ... read more Book
Canongate, 2004. New Copy ... $5.99 16.00
Elvis Costello has given us his own detailed account of his life and music – but before that well-circulated volume was released, Grame Thomson did a pretty great job with this one – using his years of experience as a music journalist to plumb the depths of the man and his recordings! ... read more Book
Four Corners (UK), 2019. New Copy ... $22.99 24.99
One of the coolest record books we've ever seen – a smaller take on the album art format, but one that focuses exclusively on flexi discs – those thin little records which were usually given away free, and which are usually pretty hard-pressed to survive the passage of time! Yet author ... read more Book
Tina Turner —
My Love Story (hardcover) ... Book Atria, 2018. New Copy ... $6.99 28.00
Tina Turner tells the story of her life and music, her loves and struggles – at a level that's surprisingly personal overall – a book that's as much as a tale of her own persistence and strength of will, as it is the music she gave the world! Written from the perspective of 2018, the ... read more Book
(The spine has a small remainder mark.)
Carol Tyler —
Fab 4 Mania – A Beatles Obsession & The Concert Of A Lifetime ... Book Fantagraphics, 2018. New Copy ... $6.99 29.99
A pretty cool combination of music diary and graphic novel – done by cartoonist Carol Tyler as she explores the deeper reaches of her love of The Beatles back in the 60s! The book's adapted from a diary that Carol created in 1965 – and there's passages that follow that format, but ... read more Book
(Please note – these copies have a remainder mark on the spine and are slightly shelf worn.)
Backbeat Books, 2017. New Copy ... $6.99 29.99
Billy Vera's had a hell of a career in the music business – early years as both a performer and songwriter, then work behind the scenes as a producer and historian, a return to performing in the limelight – and lots of other surprising stops along the way! The book is told from Vera's ... read more Book
Peter Williams —
English Seaside ... Book English Heritage (UK), 2012. New Copy ... $6.99 29.98
A lovely look at the British seaside – the coastal resorts that have provided a crucial respite to city-dwellers for many years – and which have evolved into special spots all their own! We all know the parodies of these places from Fawlty Towers and Quadrophenia – but the ... read more Book
Woody Woodmansey —
Spider From Mars – My Life With Bowie (hardcover) ... Book St Martins, 2016. New Copy ... $5.99 27.99
Most folks don't know the name of Woody Woodmansey – but there he is on the cover, playing drums behind David Bowie – as one of the key members of the legendary Spiders From Mars! Woody's maybe not as important to the sound of The Spiders as Mick Ronson – but he was a fly on the ... read more Book
(Items 1 – 62 of 62)
