2. Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush (2024 Omnibus Remastered Edition) by Graeme Thomson<\/h2>\n
At 432 pages, this is a slim volume compared with the likes of Ray Davies: A Complicated Life<\/a> (800 pages), Madonna: A Rebel Life<\/a> (880 pages), or The Life and Times of Malcolm McLaren<\/a> (892 pages). But what it lacks in physical heft, Under the Ivy more than makes up with the weight of research that has gone into it.<\/p>\n Thomson is forensic in his detail, both in terms of researching Bush\u2019s life (he conducted more than 70 interviews with school friends, band mates, studio collaborators, former managers, producers, musicians, video directors, dance instructors and record company executives), and in analysing her songs, which he does with the keen eye of a music critic. Trying to form a single picture of an artist as enigmatic and complex as Bush is, in Thomson\u2019s words, \u201clike trying to complete a jigsaw when some of the pieces are missing\u201d. And making a coherent, entertaining and informative read from that is an even bigger challenge. Luckily for us, Thomson is up to it.<\/p>\n By page four of his autobiography, Eels singer and songwriter Mark Everett (known professionally as \u201cE\u201d) has been attacked with a butcher\u2019s knife, found his 51-year-old father dead in the family home, and told us about how, at 19, he fantasised about driving his car off a bridge. As if this weren\u2019t enough tragedy for one lifetime, E then tells us about his sister\u2019s suicide, the months of nursing his bedridden mother before she eventually succumbed to breast cancer, his flight attendant cousin dying during the Pentagon plane crash on 9\/11, the deaths of several close friends, and the numerous rejections of his music.<\/p>\n In other hands, Things The Grandchildren Should Know might have been one of the saddest, most harrowing autobiographies ever written. And it certainly had every right to be. That it somehow succeeds in being one of the most uplifting, positive, and inspirational autobiographies is a testament to both E\u2019s skilful writing, bone-dry sense of humour, and infectious optimism in the face of adversity. I\u2019ve read it at least once a year since its release in 2008, usually in one sitting. It\u2019s one of those books that never fails to raise my spirits. Even if you haven\u2019t heard a single note of Eels\u2019 music, or you don\u2019t normally bother with books about rock or pop stars, this story is so good; it\u2019s a must-read.<\/p>\n That it is the only authorised biography of The Beatles ever to be produced is reason enough to read this 1968 classic. But knowing that, for 18 months, Hunter Davies partied with the band, went to work with them and was introduced to all their friends<\/a> makes it an essential. And the 18 months were those between 1967 and 1968, when the band were changing not only music, but pop culture at large<\/a>.<\/p>\n Strangely, for all the magic of the now well-known story of the band\u2019s rise to global domination, the real highlight comes toward the end of the book, where Davies details the time he spent at each Beatle\u2019s house. Here we get to see the world\u2019s most celebrated icons behind closed doors, unguarded and relaxed. And the mundanity of it is delicious. There\u2019s Lennon playing with a loose filling before swigging milk straight from the bottle; Ringo pottering around his garden; Paul eating fried eggs, bacon and buttered bread; and George answering the phone pretending to be \u201cEsher Wine Store\u201d.<\/p>\n Mike Skinner burst onto the British garage scene with his project the Streets in the early 2000s, with songs about sitting around on the sofa, working at JB Sports and getting pissed on the plane back from holiday<\/a>. After five hit albums, Skinner took a hiatus from The Streets in 2011, releasing this book the following year.<\/p>\n Skinner makes it clear from the outset that he\u2019s \u201cgoing to be as honest as the publisher\u2019s lawyers will allow\u201d, but the book is so much more than a warts-and-all account. Much of it focuses on musical inspirations, the craft of songwriting<\/a>, and his production techniques.<\/p>\n It may come as a surprise to some that The Story of The Streets is written with such intelligence and insight, especially given that Skinner\u2019s lyrics brim with colloquialisms, profanity and ineloquence. But as those of us who\u2019ve followed his career closely will know, this is a man who is able to build character as well as he builds story, and the \u201ceveryman\u201d we see portrayed in the Streets\u2019 songs is only the tiniest part of a much more complex person.<\/p>\n This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons, and may contain links to bookshop.org<\/a>. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something from bookshop.org<\/a> The Conversation UK may earn a commission.<\/em><\/p>\n Glenn Fosbraey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This year is the national year of reading, and if you\u2019re a music lover, I urge you to pick one up about your favourite musician. The lives of musicians are often full of highs and lows, which makes for compelling reading. Here are five of my favourites. 1. Fight The Power by Chuck D I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}3. Things The Grandchildren Should Know by Mark Oliver Everett<\/h2>\n
4. The Beatles by Hunter Davies<\/h2>\n
5. The Story of The Streets by Mike Skinner<\/h2>\n
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