Books About Music to Read Now

Recommendations from People in the Community

Feeling blue about the lack of live shows right now? Try curling up with a good book about music to fill the hole in your heart. While cracking open a tome of music theory or a memoir about the thrills and chills of rock journalism might not be exactly the same as a trip to your go-to venue, it’ll help you channel the ecstasy you once felt in the crowd and gain a new understanding of the music you enjoy going forward. You might even discover another band to check out in concert once the pandemic has finally passed.

Here’s an extensive reading list to keep you busy during long socially-distanced days (or anytime, really). Some of these books are my own favorites; others were recommended by Soundshop founder Akpanoluo Etteh or Soundshop community members. Each of them investigates our everyday encounters with music from a unique perspective, whether personal, critical, or theoretical.

“There Goes Gravity,” Lisa Robinson

Lisa Robinson was one of the most prolific music journalists of the 20th century, writing for “Creem,” “The New York Post,” and “NME.” “There Goes Gravity” is a comprehensive account of her conversations (and adventures) with some of music’s most fascinating personalities, drawing upon hours and hours of cassette tapes. In its pages, she reminisces over early tours with rock giants the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin; she also spills about more recent encounters with pop culture game-changers like Eminem and Lady Gaga.

“Please Kill Me,” Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain

As the co-founder of “Punk” magazine, which helped name and define the punk movement of the 1970s, Legs McNeil is one of rock’s most important storytellers. In “Please Kill Me,” he teams up with poet and photographer Gillian McCain to interview dozens of punk icons, weaving their accounts into a comprehensive oral history of the genre. Iggy Pop, The Ramones, and Richard Hell are just a few of the seminal acts featured.

“Fangirls: Scenes from Modern Music Culture,” Hannah Ewens

The music industry simply wouldn’t be the same without the influence of teenage girls. In “Fangirls,” “VICE” journalist Hannah Ewens illuminates this truth by examining communities of young female music fans across eras and genres, from Beatlemaniacs to Directioners to the Beyhive. With chapter names like “Sex & iPhones & Rock & Roll” and “Witches Always Live Through This,” you’ll know you’re getting into something good from the first page.

“The First Collection of Criticism By a Living Female Rock Critic,” Jessica Hopper

Jessica Hopper has covered music for “GQ,” “Rolling Stone,” “The New York Times Magazine,” and “The Guardian.” This anthology includes some of her most thought-provoking and culturally relevant work. Highlights include “Emo: Where The Girls Aren’t,” in which she talks about anti-feminist sentiments within emo lyrics, and “Kendrick Lamar: Not Your Average Everyday Rap Savior,” in which she profiles the artist five years before his iconic Grammy sweep.

“Meet Me in the Bathroom,” Lizzy Goodman

“Meet Me in the Bathroom” does for the 2000s New York rock revival what “Please Kill Me” did for punk. Journalist Lizzy Goodman compiled 2,000 hours worth of interviews with 150 members of the scene while conducting research for the book; the result is an extensive oral history that explores what it meant to be a young rock star at a moment when America was undergoing an identity crisis and internet culture was on the rise. Fans of The Strokes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and LCD Soundsystem will especially enjoy this one.

“Let’s Spend the Night Together: Backstage Secrets of Rock Muses and Supergroupies,” Pamela des Barres

Pamela des Barres is best known for her memoir “I’m with the Band,” a tell-all account of her years as a Sunset Strip groupie and member of girl band the GTOs. However, “Let’s Spend the Night Together” might be her most compelling book yet. This time around, des Barres steps into the shoes of a journalist, interviewing several of history’s most notable groupies.

“I’m Not with the Band: A Writer’s Life Lost in Music,” Sylvia Patterson

British music journalist Sylvia Patterson has covered a bevy of artists: the ’80s stars she wrote about for pop magazine “Smash Hits,” the Britpop bands who ruled the ’90s, present day icons like Beyoncé and Eminem. In “I’m Not with the Band,” she talks about her adventures with these fascinating figures; she also opens up about her personal struggles with her family and health (but never without a touch of humor).

Soundshop founder Akpanoluo Etteh recommends Oliver Sacks’ “Musicophilia” and Daniel J. Levitin’s “This Is Your Brain on Music,” both of which he recently reread while preparing for his “Music and the Brain” salon with The Brain Bar. The former is a collection of case studies that examine the relationship between music and various psychological and physiological issues; Akpanoluo also cites it as “the book that ignited his interest in the connection between music and the brain as a neuroscience undergrad.” The latter is a scientific explanation of music-related phenomena ranging from our emotional attachments to certain artists to our predisposition to get songs stuck in our heads.

Music blogger John Althouse Cohen recommends three texts: Alex Ross’s “The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century,” Aaron Copland’s “What to Listen for in Music,” and Aniruddh D. Patel’s “Music, Language, and the Brain.” Ross’s book is a history of the 20th century through the lens of its music. Copland’s book is a guide to how to fully appreciate music from any genre. (It also contains “one of his favorite music quotes”: “The whole problem can be stated quite simply by asking, ‘Is there a meaning to music?’ My answer would be, ‘Yes.’ And ‘Can you state in so many words what the meaning is?’ My answer to that would be, ‘No.’ ”) Patel’s book is a multidisciplinary examination of the cognitive and neurological links between music processing and language processing.

Musician Conor Sullivan recommends two books geared toward artists trying to break into the industry: Don Passman’s “All You Need to Know About the Music Business” and Ari Herstand’s “How to Make it in the New Music Business.” He notes that “Passman’s book is a well known classic and more focused on the traditional label system,” while “Herstand’s book is more geared to independent artists.” Both are “worthwhile reads,” he states, “especially when talking about how the money works for each strategy.”

Finally, musician Steve Sandberg recommends both Ted Gioia’s “Music: A Subversive History” and Hazrat Inayat Khan’s “The Mysticism of Sound and Music.” The former investigates how music has been used as a tool of expression and power by those outside the mainstream; Sandberg describes it as “a fascinating overview of music as it relates to subversion, sex, aggression, rebellion….” The latter is a text explaining the divine nature of music as it is seen in the Sufi tradition, which Sandberg praises as “eternally deep and beautiful.”

— Brittany Menjivar

Brittany Menjivar is a music journalist for “The Young Folks.” She is currently studying English and Film at Yale University.