10 Brilliant Music Books on the Art & Industry
From rock to hip-hop to country to punk to emo, here’s a list of superb music books to deepen the education for you or the music lover in your life.
music criticism
5 Great Books That Reinvent Music Criticism
This is by no means a comprehensive survey of contemporary music criticism, but these five books all point a way forward for the field.
The Best Books of 2024
PopMatters Best Books of 2024 include a broad range of nonfiction, many books on music, short fiction, a novel that turns a Mark Twain classic inside out, and much more.
Greil Marcus Explains Why Creativity Is Better Left Unexplained
In What Nails It Greil Marcus delivers a philosophical treatise wherein fact and fiction merge into poetic indeterminacy, like a nebulous 1960s garage rock tune.
Biography of ‘Rolling Stone’ Co-Founder Ralph J. Gleason Rocks and Swings
‘Rolling Stone’ co-founder Ralph J. Gleason predates that golden era of music journalism when Lester Bangs and Robert Christgau thrived.
Sasha Frere-Jones: Portrait of the Critic as a Young Man
Sasha Frere-Jones’ anti-memoir memoir, Earlier, moves around in time without clear logic, keeping things alive and even suspenseful, though somewhat cryptically.
James Baldwin Digs Into the Roots of American Music
James Baldwin’s writing about music illuminates the significance of racial slavery for all American music. Black American music can help America to move forward if used properly.
Bob Dylan’s ‘Visions of Johanna’: Same Song Different Readings
Bob Dylan’s 1966 song, “Visions of Johanna”, stirred Germaine Greer, Greil Marcus, and other notable critics to argue the song’s meaning and influences. Who is right?
The Unmentionable Whiteness of ‘Americanaland’
John Milward’s new history of Americana puts the mixed genre at the corner of country and rock while slighting race and the music’s Black roots and performers.
No One Asked Ian Brennan to “Show Me Don’t Tell Me” and It Shows
I had to take numerous breaks while reading Silenced by Sound. Ian Brennan’s self-righteous clairvoyance would just not stop beating me over the head.
On IDLES’ Danceable Relatable Battle Hymns
It is not in IDLES’ oft-derided lyrics but in their visceral performances that they connect with listeners.
24-Carat Black’s ‘Ghetto’ Is the Most Sampled Album Never Heard
33 1/3 book 24-Carat Black's Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth, is a refreshing outlier in the series in that it's about an influential yet barely known album.