A Cappella and Decatur CD featured books

If you subscribe to our semi-weekly newsletter (and you really should; the right hand side of this website can help you out), you may have already read this. But we're all about our seven-month-old books section, and happy to give you any reasons at all to peruse it. Here's one more...staff recommended books:

Warren sez...
Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer by Chris Salewicz
This is a thoroughly engaging account of Joe Strummer and the formation of a band that would dramatically change the profile of rock and activism forever. Joe was an idealist and a terror all at once, always embarking on his own musical course. Knowing how much I like his music with the Mescaleros, I'm already missing all the musical collaborations that were undoubtedly to come, including, yes, in my opinion, a reunion with Mick Jones.

Eliot sez...
White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s by Joe Boyd
White Bicycles is named after the catchy single by the London psychedelic rock band Tomorrow. The book, however, opens with author Joe Boyd hunting down long-forgotten American blues-singers. Clearly, Boyd had a hand in all kinds of music during the 1960s. And because he was one of the few people in the biz that didn't have LSD for breakfast every morning, he remembers it all. Whether recounting a scathing castigation from Coleman Hawkins or offering his condolences to a grieving Fairport Convention, Boyd's gripping stories add a new depth to some of the best-loved music of the '60s while also introducing his audience to some lesser-known acts. It all adds up to what Brian Eno calls "the best music book I've read in years." And who are we to doubt Brian Eno?

Austin sez...
Heavy Metal Fun Time Activity Book by Aye Jay (with foreword by Andrew WK)
Metal and crayons don't mix, you say? Bite your tongue! (Or, more in keeping with the spirit of this book, cut it off and feed it to one of the members of Gwar.) This hilarious collection includes all sorts of fun games with metal themes. Help Spinal Tap through a backstage area maze. Connect the dots and color in Dimebag Darrell's (RIP) goatee. Unscramble the names of seven bands Mike Patton has fronted. The book is a hoot, an ideal sincere gift to your metal-loving friend or a gag gift for most anyone who enjoys music. But don't take my word for it...take Ronnie James Dio's! "At last, an activity book for metal heads. From Slipknot to Spinal Tap, the brain teasers are all there. Use some magic and the answers are sure to come."