Arts / Music

Life Is Not a Fairy Tale

by Fantasia

FANTASIA tells of her astonishing rise from hopeless high school dropout to American Idol superstar in the inspirational New York Times bestseller Life Is Not a Fairy Tale

In one moment, with one tearful performance...

Alien Rock: The Rock 'n' Roll Extraterrestrial Connection

by Michael Luckman

From Elvis to the Beatles, from Michael Jackson to Marilyn Manson, rock stars claim to have seen, communed with, been inspired by, and sometimes even descended from extraterrestrials. Alien Rock is an irreverent,...

Third Rail: The Poetry of Rock and Roll

by Jonathan Wells

"The poets who fill these pages have come to testify, to bear witness to the mysterious power of Rock and Roll. -- from the Foreword by Bono

"The thread or the theme That holds this tune Together is the same...

The Advanced Genius Theory: Are They Out of Their Minds or Ahead of Their Time?

by Jason Hartley & Chuck Klosterman

Let the debate begin...

The Advanced Genius Theory, hatched by Jason Hartley and Britt Bergman over pizza, began as a means to explain why icons such as Lou Reed, David Bowie, and Sting seem to go from artistic...

The Pirate's Dilemma: How Youth Culture Is Reinventing Capitalism

by Matt Mason

It started with punk. Hip-hop, rave, graffiti, and gaming took it to another level, and now modern technology has made the ideas and innovations of youth culture increasingly intimate and increasingly global...

Let's Talk About Pep

by Sandy Denton, Missy Elliott & Queen Latifah

She's the spiciest ingredient in the legendary rap group Salt-N-Pepa, and the outspoken star of VH1's smash-hit reality show. She's Sandy "Pepa" Denton -- and she's never at a loss for words. Now, in her first...

Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star's Revolution

by Salman Ahmad

"The story you are about to read is the story of a light-bringer....Salman Ahmad inspires me to reach always for the greatest heights and never to fear....Know that his story is a part of our history."

-- Melissa...

Improvising Jazz

by Jerry Coker

With musical scores and helpful charts, noted jazz educator and featured jazz soloist, Jerry Coker, gives the beginning performer and the curious listener insights into the art of jazz improvisation.

Improvising...

From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside, Queens

by 50 Cent & Kris Ex

GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN'

That's what this book is about--the good times and the bad times. I wrote this book to explain the world I come from. To a lot of people, I may be too young to reflect on life. And they...

Grand Obsession: A Piano Odyssey

by Perri Knize

A fascinating, lyrical memoir about one woman's obsessive search for the perfect piano-and about finding and pursuing passion at any age

How can a particular piano be so seductive that someone would turn her...

Straight from the Source: An Expose from the Former Editor in Chief of the Hip-Hop Bible

by Kim Osorio

Kim Osorio had a front-row seat for the biggest beefs, battles, and blow-ups in hip-hop. As the first female editor-in-chief of The Source, she had come up.

From her corner office, Kim got the goods on hip-hop's...

Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story

by Chuck Klosterman

For 6,557 miles, Chuck Klosterman thought about dying. He drove a rental car from New York to Rhode Island to Georgia to Mississippi to Iowa to Minneapolis to Fargo to Seattle, and he chased death and rock 'n'...

The Art of the Band T-Shirt

by Amber Easby & Henry Oliver

ONCE,

T-shirts were just unadorned undergarments. But with the evolution of screen printing and the birth of band merchandising, T-shirts became so much cooler. Now every band with an ounce of savvy knows the...

Perfect from Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life

by John Sellers

TOP FIVE MUSICAL THINGS I HOPE HAPPEN NOW THAT THE ORIGINAL LINEUPS OF THE PIXIES AND DINOSAUR JR. HAVE REUNITED

1. Ian Curtis is resurrected.

2. The Smiths reunite for a private party at my favorite bar....

Halfway Home: My Life 'til Now

by Ronan Tynan

Yes, I am a singer. But I am also a horseman, an athlete, and a doctor. I am a son, a brother, and a friend. I can sing as I do only because of the life that I've led. With each decade, I've found myself in...

Lit Riffs

by Jonathan Lethem, Tom Perrotta & Lester Bangs

Following in the footsteps of the late great Lester Bangs -- the most revered and irreverent of rock 'n' roll critics -- twenty-four celebrated writers have penned stories inspired by great songs. Just as Bangs...

Note by Note: A Celebration of the Piano Lesson

by Tricia Tunstall

In this luminous book, Tricia Tunstall explores the enduring fascination of the piano lesson. Even as everything else about the world of music changes, the piano lesson retains its appeal. Drawing on her own...

It's No Secret: From Nas to Jay-Z, from Seduction to Scandal--a Hip-Hop Helen of Troy Tells All

by Carmen Bryan

Carmen Bryan is no stranger to the rap world. Not only did she work at Def Jam and Capitol Records but she shares a daughter with hip-hop superstar Nas -- a relationship made extremely public through Nas's celebrity...

In Heaven Everything is Fine: The Unsolved Life of Peter Ivers and the Lost History of New Wave Theatre

by Josh Frank & Charlie Buckholtz

On March 3, 1983, Peter Ivers was found bludgeoned to death in his loft in downtown Los Angeles, ending a short-lived but essential pop cultural moment that has been all but lost to history. For the two years...

Hiding in Hip Hop: On the Down Low in the Entertainment Industry--from Music to Hollywood

by Terrance Dean

Everyone wants to know the truth about their favorite celebrities' heart's desire. Within the masculine culture of Hip Hop and Hollywood, there is a well-known gay subculture that industry insiders are keenly...