Books like Revolution in the head by Ian MacDonald

Invisible Republic traces the recordings Bob Dylan and the Band made in 1967 at Big Pink, exploring how these secret basement sessions reflected Dylan’s musical evolution and the cultural tensions of the 1960s.

Here, for the first time in print, is the history of The Beatles—by the Beatles. This extraordinary project has been made possible because Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr have agreed to tell their combined story especially for this book. Together with Yoko Ono Lennon, they have also made available the full transcripts (including all the outtakes) of the television and video series The Beatles Anthology. Through painstaking compilation of sources worldwide, John Lennon's words are equally represented in this remarkable volume. Furthermore, The Beatles have opened their personal and management archives specifically for this project, allowing the unprecedented release of photographs which they took along their ride to fame, as well as fascinating documents and memorabilia from their homes and offices. What a book The Beatles Anthology is! Each page is brimming with personal stories and rare and vintage images. Snapshots from their family collections take us back to the days when John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Richard Starkey were just boys growing up in Liverpool. They talk in turn about those early years and how they came to join the band that would make them known around the world as John, Paul, George and Ringo. Then, weaving back and forth, they tell the astonishing story of life as The Beatles: the first rough gigs, the phenomenon of their rise to fame, the musical and social change of their heyday, all the way through to their breakup. From the time Ringo tried to take his drum kit home on the bus to their eagerly anticipated meeting with Elvis, from the making of the Sgt Pepper album to their last photo session together at John's house, The Beatles Anthology is a once-in-a-lifetime collection of The Beatles' own memories. Interwoven with these are the recollections of such associates as road manager Neil Aspinall, producer George Martin and spokesman Derek Taylor. And included in the vast array of photographs are materials from both Apple and EMI, who also opened their archives for this project. This, indeed, is the inside story, providing a wealth of previously unpublished material in both word and image. Created with their full cooperation, The Beatles Anthology is, in effect, The Beatles' autobiography. Like their music, which has been a part of so many of our lives, it's warm, frank, funny, poignant and bold. At last, here is The Beatles' own story. John: 'The Sixties saw a revolution among youth—not just concentrating in small pockets or classes, but a revolution in a whole way of thinking. The youth got it first and the next generation second. The Beatles were part of the revolution, which is really an evolution, and is continuing. We were all on this ship—a ship going to discover the New World. And, The Beatles were in the crow's nest.' Paul: ' "To thine own self be true." I think that was very apt with The Beatles. We always were very true to ourselves— and I think that the brutal honesty The Beatles had was important. So sticking to our own guns and really saying what we thought in some way gave some other people in the world the idea that they too could be truthful and get away with it, and in fact it was a good thing.' George: 'The moral of the story is that if you accept the high points you're going to have to go through the lows. For The Beatles, our lives were a very heightened version of that: of how to learn about love and hate, and up and down, and good and bad, and loss and gain. It was a hyper-version of what everybody else was going through. So, basically, it's all good. Whatever happened is good as long as we've learnt something. It's only bad if we didn't learn: "Who am I? Where am I going? Where have I come from?"' Ringo: 'They became the closest friends I'd ever had. I was an only child and suddenly I felt as though I'd got three brothers. We really looked out for each other and we had many laughs together. In the old days we'd have the huges

Music historians Phillippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon delve deep into the history and musical origins of every Beatles album, recounting the circumstances that led to the composition of each song, the recording process and the instruments used.

Between 1965 and 1972, political activists around the globe prepared to mount a revolution, from the Black Panthers to the Gay Liberation Front, from the Yippies to the IRA. Rock and soul music supplied the revolutionary tide with anthems and iconic imagery; and renowned musicians such as John Lennon, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan were particularly influential in the movement. This is the definitive account of this unique period in modern history; a compelling portrait of an era when revolutionaries turned into rock stars, and rock stars dressed up as revolutionaries.

The book examines the ways in which popular music is produced, structured as text, and understood and used by audiences. It includes overviews and critiques of general theories, outlines of the most important empirical studies, and data on the contemporary production and consumption of popular music. Drawing on the theories of Adorno and Weber, Longhurst examines the contemporary organization of the music industry, the social production of music, and the effects of technological change on production. The history and politics of popular music are discussed, as are the connections of popular music and sexuality. Issues such as authenticity, stemming from the debates around black music, are addressed, and several different ways of studying the texts of popular music are reviewed. The literature on subculture and music is looked at in the context of an examination of the audience for pop music. Developing work on fans is considered, as are contemporary approaches which problematize relationships of production and consumption. . Clearly written and well illustrated, Popular Music and Society will be an excellent textbook for students in the sociology of culture, cultural studies, and media and communication studies.

Black‑comedic memoir of 1990s Britpop from the perspective of Luke Haines, frontman of The Auteurs, tracing his rise, setbacks, and the shifting landscape of British rock.