The Ultimate Music Nerd Booklist

My New Years' resolution for 2022 was to read more. Considering 2021 was still in the middle of the pandemic, I knew I’d have the time to dedicate to reading. However, I still found myself struggling. I struggled because I couldn’t find anything to read that captivated me. I couldn’t find anything that expanded my knowledge, enticed my heart, or ignited any sort of passion. 

That is, I couldn’t find anything until I discovered the music section at Barnes and Noble. Shelf after shelf were full of novels, biographies, and histories of all of my favorite artists and genres. Being the music nerd that I am, I wanted to read anything and everything that would help expand my knowledge about music. I wanted to learn more about the power of music in people's lives - the lives of the ones who create the music and the ones who experience life to the sound of it. 

With this new year, I expect that many of you likely have the same resolution: to read more. So if you’re like me - obsessed with all things music - here are some of the books I’ve read that I guarantee you’ll love.

Fiction

Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Daisy Jones and The Six tells the story of the explosive team up of two musical legends: firecracker Daisy Jones and band-on-the-rise The Six. The book is written in an interview format, making each character feel more realistic, feel like true 1970’s rock ‘n’ roll legends. The interview is conducted far in the future though, with each character reflecting on their own time with the band. We see the emotional and physical toll that living on the road and in the limelight has on each person. We see how jealousy, sexual tension, ego, and, of course, obsessive love for music influence the band. You will love this book especially if you are a fan of the 2000 movie Almost Famous.

A Visit From The Goon Squad by Susan Egan

A Visit From The Goon Squad is a glimpse of the self-destructive, reckless, and earnestly well-intentioned actions of a full cast of characters. Every chapter follows a different character, all connected within a thin web of mutual acquaintances, experiences, and hopes and fears. The characters span all sides of the industry and many walks of life. A Visit From The Goon Squad is a heart-wrenching story which asserts that with true passion, hard work, and most of all - resilience in times of turmoil, you can achieve even your most outlandish goals - even those of rock stardom.

Non-Fiction/Memoir

Love Is A Mixtape

Never has there been a book with the power to make my cry quite as much as Rob Sheffield’s Love Is A Mixtape. In Love Is A Mixtape, Sheffield reflects on his romance with his late wife Renee through the mixtapes they made and listened to together. Their love was a true experience of life through music. Love Is A Mixtape not only tugged at my heartstrings but also introduced me to so many artists that I’ve grown to love. 

Joni

This one goes out to all of my fellow Joni Mitchell super fans. The Joni Mitchell Anthology, edited by Barney Hoskyns is just that: an anthology consisting of all of the articles, interviews, and reviews composed about Joni Mitchell and her music. This book helped me learn both about Mitchell’s life, personality, and creative drive, but also how Mitchell and her music were received at the time. We get to see society learn to accept and celebrate the talents of female artists. 

History

1965: The Most Revolutionary Year In Music

In this period study, author Andrew Grant Jackson takes a deep dive into the year 1965 and all of the music that became popular at the time. We get detailed analyses of different songs, spanning across all genres as well as commentary on how each song influenced the future of music as a whole. Jackson also details several anecdotes featuring some of the most iconic artists at the time including The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and others. 

Sellout

Where are my fellow emos at? In Sellout, Dan Ozzi looks at the rise (and sometimes fall) of some of the biggest bands in the worlds of pop-punk, emo, and hardcore rock as they “sell out” by ditching their hometown DIY scene for the majors. Sellout gives us an exclusive look into the early lives of the legendary artists we know and love. Furthermore, Sellout reveals where the bands that deserved to be legends ended up and how they went wrong. Ozzi also holds up a magnifying glass to the flaws surrounding both the DIY scene and the major music industry. It goes to show that with the right amount of talent and the proper drive, anyone can make it big … but it takes a great deal of sacrifice, support, and even sheer dumb luck to stay big. 

A Subversive Music History by Ted Goia

This one is for the truly dedicated, insatiably curious music nerds. Ted Goia’s A Subversive Music History is a comprehensive look at the entirety of recorded/documented human history and the music that was made. In this book, Goia asserts that the art of music is not advanced by those in power, i.e., those who exist in the mainstream - but by those who are oppressed or sidelined within their society. We see this sort of rebellious artistic expression at every point in history from Sappho, to the Baroque, even in the modern day. 

The Birth Of Loud

Ian S. Port’s The Birth Of Loud shows how the friendship, and then later intense rivalry, between Les Paul and Leo Fender led to the invention, production, and rapid popularity of the electric guitar. In this book we  learn how technology inspires the progression of art across several decades, even beyond each inventor’s passing. We learn about how the personalities of the inventors influenced the sound and look of each instrument as well. I actually loved this one so much that I read it twice and then gifted it to my father for Christmas, knowing that he’d love it just as much. 

Science

This Is Your Brain On Music

This one is for all my fellow super nerds. Daniel J. Levetin’s This Is Your Brain On Music is a scientific exploration into the physical power of music in our lives. Levetin translates some of the latest findings of leaders in the fields of biology, physics, musicology, and more to explain - in simple but highly descriptive terms - exactly how sound exerts such emotional power over us all.